Matt Waldman’s RSP Boiler Room examines three plays from FAU WR Jovon Durante’s tape and shows some compensating qualities that can make a lighter than average receiver a compelling prospect. 

Whether they realize it or not, a lot of people use a positional template for their evaluation of players. These boundaries that govern physical dimensions and measurements are training wheels or oversized bumpers for prospect evaluation — letting the evaluator know that they’re treading into dangerous territory.

There’s a contingent of analysts that believe it’s best to identify outliers with the purpose of avoiding them. I prefer to study the outliers with the intention of learning why some have success and if these insights can be applied to future outliers.

One of these insights is what I call “compensating qualities” — qualities that make up for something a player lacks.

T.Y. Hilton, Desean Jackson, and Paul Richardson were compelling prospects despite lacking the desired weight for an NFL wide receiver. It’s easy to pinpoint speed and quickness as compensating factors that make up for a lack of size. Another important quality that can compensate for size is comfort with physical play.

It doesn’t mean that a tough little receiver should be run into harm’s way like Brandon Marshall during his prime but proven physicality can mitigate concerns about the prospect of using them in them on offense.

This RSP Boiler Room on FAU’s Jovon Durante reveals some of Durante’s compensating qualities that could help him one day earn NFL playing time.

Seems far-fetched that Durante could become an NFL starter, right? Many thought the same when T.Y. Hilton entered the league. He seemed like a big-play slot receiver at best. Several years later, Hilton has proven that — and I’m not being generous enough —he’s an above-average starter, especially how he performed through a significant ankle injury this year.

I’m not this bullish on Durante at this time, but I’ve seen enough compensating qualities in Durante’s game that require further investigation.

For the most in-depth analysis of offensive skill players available (QB, RB, WR, and TE), get the 2019  Rookie Scouting Portfolio. If you’re a fantasy owner the Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 – 2018 RSPs at no additional charge.

Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. You can purchase past editions of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio for just $9.95 each. You can pre-order the 2019 RSP now (available for download April 1).