In case you missed it, I held a contest last week. I provided evaluations of three NFL players when I studied them at the college level. The first three people to correctly name the three prospects would win a past issue of the RSP from 2006-2010.

The contest had a good response, but the question proved difficult and only one person named all three players correctly. Randy Booth. Congratulations Randy, a well-deserved win!

Before I reveal the correct answers, my accounting firm of Bilk, Chisel, and Swindle, CDO doctored a report on the collective responses of the contestants. To protect the guilty, I am not revealing the identities of the individuals I make fun of below:

Best Trio of Wrong Answers or “Scanning the Interwebs has its drawbacks”: Ryan Broyles (Player A), Kendall Wright (Player B), and Mohamed Sanu (Player C). The contest was to name three past college prospects. Thanks for making me laugh though…good job!

Player Profile With the Most Number of Unique Answers: Player C with a total of 38 unique answers. Although to the contestants’ credit, the second-most common answer was the correct answer. The most common and incorrect answer for Player C was Antonio Brown.

The Worst Answer for Player C: Michael Crabtree and Jordy Nelson. The first sentence in the second graph of the player profile says, “Player C is an undersized receiver that I love to watch play football.” Crabtree and Nelson are not undersized. Mohamed Sanu is about Crabtree’s size 6-1 or 6-2 and 215 pounds and technically that’s the worst answer, but Crabtree and Nelson are the worst answer of the participants who at least know that reading is somewhat fundamental; comprehension is another story.

Player Profile With the Least Unique Answers: Player B with 26 unique answers. As with Player C, the second-most common answer was the correct answer. The most common and incorrect answer for Player B was Randall Cobb. At least I know you guys scanned my posts enough in August to have seen his name quite a few times. Plus, Cobb really makes a lot of sense as this answer because in many respects he’s a lot like Player B, he’s just more physical than Player B.

Most Frequently Named Players Regardless of Player Profile

Player	Total Answers
Antonio Brown	37
Randall Cobb	32
Austin Collie	17
Harry Douglas	16
Dexter McCluster	16
Earl Bennett	12
Vincent Brown	11
Dane Sanzenbacher	9
Jeremy Maclin	9
Doug Baldwin	9
Davone Bess	8
Golden Tate	8
Victor Cruz	7
Jacoby Ford	7
Steve Johnson	6
Jordy Nelson	6
Emmanuel Sanders	6
Greg Jennings	5
Denarius Moore	5

Two of the three correct answers were two of the top five answers provided for the three players. I also thought most of you were really on the right track, guessing receivers with potential to play in the slot and return kicks.

No. Correct Player A: 9

No. Correct Player B: 21

No. Correct Player C: 9

No. Correct Players A&B: 5

No. Correct Players A&C: 2

No. Correct Players B&C: 2

All Three Correct: 1 (Randy Booth)

Player A

Player A is one of those players that do enough things better than you think. Despite slightly below average height/weight, he uses his hands and feet well to defeat press coverage and he adjusts well to down field throws in tight coverage to fight for
the ball – he plays big.

Player A has decent down field speed and the ability to accelerate off the line of scrimmage to get on top of a defender on the perimeter. He consistently caught the football and demonstrated quickness out of turns on routes.

Player A is a hands-catcher, but he tends to catch the football very tight to his body, which could result in dropped passes in a more physical league. Its questionable whether he is even 5-11, because he doesn’t appear that tall on tape. He needs to get more depth into his routes against tight coverage and use his hands and feet to set up some of these routes, such as slants in tight coverage. He isn’t a strong runner after the catch; he doesn’t have the strength to use a stiff arm effectively against cornerbacks and he won’t run through a lot of arm tackles or even wraps up high.

Player A is a reliable college receiver with a shot at a slot role in the NFL if he can demonstrate the athleticism to consistently gain yardage after the catch. We’ll see if he continues to surprise. Player A is Doug Baldwin.

Player B

Player B is a playmaker because of his speed and vision in the open field. He runs with good balance for a man of his size, and he will lower the shoulder to finish
plays. He works well with his QB in scramble drills and he can catch the ball well with his back to the line of scrimmage. He usually can make the first man miss and string moves together to set up the second and third defender in pursuit.

The commentators with NFL experience in this game compared Player B to Percy Harvin. From a speed and quickness standpoint I agree. He has the burst and hands to
develop into an NFL receiver. He catches the ball away from his body and his speed makes him a threat to make big plays from anywhere on the field as a returner, receiver, or
runner on the perimeter. He adjusts well to the football in the air and shows some wiggle both as a route runner and ball carrier. He’s still a raw player and needs to refine his game,
but he is very much worth taking a chance on.

Although there are elements to Player B’s game that compare favorably to Harvin, he is far less physical than Harvin. He’s fearless, but not as strong. He doesn’t break a lot of tackles or bounce off hits like Harvin. He runs reasonably well like an RB in terms of technique but he’s not a player that could carry the ball as many times as Harvin did at Florida. In fact Harvin could probably carry the ball for the Vikings 10-15 times in a game and perform well if they were desperate for him to do so. He isn’t as polished a route runner as Harvin.

He doesn’t sink his hips into to breaks and he is unproven against tight coverage or press coverage. If he can show he has skills to develop these techniques, his upside is good. If he can keep passes away from his body, run more routes over the middle than crosses, and defeat the jam, he’ll be much more than a return specialist in the NFL. Player B is Antonio Brown.

Player C

Player C

Player C is one of the best natural receivers in the this draft class. He reminds me a lot of Derrick Mason–a smaller receiver who has enough speed to get deep, enough quickness
to get longer gains from short passes, and the toughness to go over the middle on routes where he knows he will have to get hit to make the catch. He’s a good route runner and
makes the effort as a blocker.

Player C is an undersized receiver that I love to watch play football. He has demonstrated no problem going across the middle in traffic to catch the football and he adjusts to the football very well. He is fearless across the middle and he will make possession catches with imminent contact. The big question is whether he can defeat press coverage and whether he has enough speed to be a multidimensional threat in the NFL.

He catches the ball with his hands and demonstrates the ability to adjust to the ball in the air. He has the savvy to get separation on defenders either as a route runner or positioning himself at the last moment on jump balls. He has very good acceleration and can gain yardage after the catch.

Player C should be an effective punt returner or valuable slot receiver early in his career. Although undersized, he has the potential to become a starting receiver in the right offensive system. He  may not be the next Marvin Harrison or Terry Glenn, but he’s a smart, tough receiver who made [his quarterback] look very good. Derrick Mason potential is possible here. He’ll be a bargain for someone. Player C is Harry Douglas.

In case you scan…

Player A = Doug Baldwin

Player B = Antonio Brown

Player C = Harry Douglas

I’ll do this again in a month…