Surprising disparity among WR grades from teams
Despite the general consensus among the media that Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon is viewed as the unquestioned elite talent at the position by teams, NFLDraftScout.com has received indications that at least one club has Notre Dame's Michael Floyd or Baylor's Kendall Wright as the top receiver available in the 2012 draft and that there is great disparity among club as to how many pass-catchers will ultimately be drafted in the first round.
NFLDraftScout.com recently polled representatives of seven NFL teams as to this year's top receiver prospects. Five had Blackmon as the top talent at the position. Four of these five saw him as a likely top ten pick.
But identifying the elite talent at the position wasn't the only way in which opinions differed. The number of receivers given first round grades by clubs also showed a startling lack of consensus.
For example, one high-ranking source for a team thought likely to be considering using an early pick on a receiver indicated that his club had only one -- Blackmon -- graded as a first round prospect.
An official for another team, however, cited five receivers -- Blackmon, Floyd, Wright, LSU's Rueben Randle and Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill -- as players his club had given preliminary top 32 grades.
Different teams giving prospects varying grades is no surprise. To see this much disparity at this late point in the evaluation process is rare, however. Frankly, the last time I recall there being this much disagreement at the receiver position was in 2008 -- when zero receivers ultimately went in the first round.
Blackmon certainly won't allow history to repeat itself four years later but at least some NFL teams believe the expected run on receivers won't happen until the draft's second round rather than halfway through the first.
NFLDraftScout.com recently polled representatives of seven NFL teams as to this year's top receiver prospects. Five had Blackmon as the top talent at the position. Four of these five saw him as a likely top ten pick.
But identifying the elite talent at the position wasn't the only way in which opinions differed. The number of receivers given first round grades by clubs also showed a startling lack of consensus.
For example, one high-ranking source for a team thought likely to be considering using an early pick on a receiver indicated that his club had only one -- Blackmon -- graded as a first round prospect.
An official for another team, however, cited five receivers -- Blackmon, Floyd, Wright, LSU's Rueben Randle and Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill -- as players his club had given preliminary top 32 grades.
Different teams giving prospects varying grades is no surprise. To see this much disparity at this late point in the evaluation process is rare, however. Frankly, the last time I recall there being this much disagreement at the receiver position was in 2008 -- when zero receivers ultimately went in the first round.
Blackmon certainly won't allow history to repeat itself four years later but at least some NFL teams believe the expected run on receivers won't happen until the draft's second round rather than halfway through the first.
