Ranking the 2012 WR draft class

[Don't Panic]

This is an interesting take on the WR class, using age, height, weight, 40 time, YPA and vertical YPA as the criteria. I am not overly concerned with age and I could see shorter players still being effective, but the YPA and 40 time stuff definitely catches the attention. Floyd and Blackmon tied for 6th out of 10 on this list. No. 1: Stephen Hill, followed by Rueben Randle (who I am definitely a fan of). Here's the link:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/_/id/7769463/ranking-2012-nfl-draft-top-10-receivers-nfl

[CleveSteve]

Re: Ranking the 2012 WR draft class

I saw this ranking on the Browns' board I post on and I think it's ludicrous. The way the stats are split are heavily weighted towards receivers who are targeted deep more than receivers who are mainly targeted underneath.

Also, just as important to these rankings as average yards gained per attempt to the receiver is age. Reuben Randle is rated as the #2 WR prospect because he's "easily the youngest" in the list. Really? How about the fact that he only has a 34" vertical? Or that his three-cone is crap? Or that his collegiate production isn't that great?

Also, the guy says Kendall Wright "plays much faster than" his 4.61 at the combine (he ran a 4.45 at his pro day) yet he calls him the "slowest" receiver of the group. He used Blackmon's pro day 40, so why not use Wright's, especially if you think it's more indicative of his abilities?

And for Hill to be the top receiver, he sure does a poor job on gaining yards on passes thrown below 10 yards in the air. Here are the numbers on them for that stat taken from that article:

Kendall Wright: SYPA: 8.1 (55 targets)
Justin Blackmon: SYPA: 8.1 (85 targets)
Reuben Randle: SYPA: 7.2 (38 targets)
Michael Floyd: SYPA: 7.1 (87 targets)
Jarius Wright: SYPA: 6.5 (50 targets)
Marvin McNutt: SYPA: 6.3 (55 targets)
AJ Jenkins: SYPA: 6.0 (60 targets)
Joe Adams: SYPA: 5.7 (35 targets)
Alshon Jeffrey: SYPA: 5.6 (29 targets)
Stephen Hill: SYPA: 4.0 (13 targets)

Overall, I think it's a really poor ranking. they don't even give a basis for their criteria, like "we saw that x players graded well in these criteria and went on to have a good nfl career," it's like they just picked them out of thin air in a way to make Stephen Hill the best WR prospect.

[stuckincincy]

Re: Ranking the 2012 WR draft class

I saw this ranking on the Browns' board I post on and ...I

Did they put mustard on your Egg McMuffin this morning?

[Don't Panic]

Re: Ranking the 2012 WR draft class

I like the data, just not the way its all compiled and the conclusions he jumps too. If you think about what Gailey looks for in WRs (creating separation, route running and hands), this acts as a nice compilation when compared to the evaluations that the WR class has gotten. I just thought it was good to have these numbers and to see another perspective.