Put it in the bank: Mohamed Sanu

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

There's a downfield sprint that occurs repeatedly in NFL games, and that's WRs going full-tilt on fly-patterns and other deep routes with corners in hot pursuit.
So for those 2 positions, 40 times have real relevance, other wise not so much.

Guys who are fast running 40 yards are generally fast. Guys who are slow running 40 yards are generally slow. So it has a little more relevance than fly routes. Especially for a guy from a bad team in a mediocre conference who did not play against great DBs.

[HPF Bob]

Jerry Rice had a slow 40 time. That and being from a small college is how he fell all the way to the 49ers.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Jerry Rice had a slow 40 time. That and being from a small college is how he fell all the way to the 49ers.

Clearly that was a miss.

But there are about 1000 guys who were slow who didn't pan out. Film study should be the first concern, but if Sanu doesn't play very fast on film (and I'm not sure) then his competition and his 40 are huge concerns. Good hands, good size, good blocker, but slow sounds like Kevin Walter more than a 1st round pick.

[chuck]

Wide receiver is a funny position, isn't it? There are some guys who are just completely built to be hall of famers, they have all the size and speed you could hope for, but for one reason or another simply cannot play the position. Then you have guys who are small or slow or both who somehow are geniuses at getting open. Bob will like this reference because he's white: Wayne Chrebet. The dude was small and relatively slow but that mofo was ALWAYS open. Open as in wide-ass open, not NFL-open. No-one-within-five-yards-of-him open.

I have no idea what Steve Smith's combine was like (or if he was even invited) but I do know that teams passed on him 73 times that draft. The first WR taken in 2001 was David Terrell. Terrell has the perfect size to play the position but could not. Steve Smith is smaller than I am and will go straight to Canton.

[HPF Bob]

Chrebet? Heck, what about former Oiler draft choices Charlie Joiner and Steve Largent? They're both in Canton but neither had the size or speed to appear as obvious top receiver prospects. Rod Smith of the Broncos was not drafted at all but he's the franchise's all-time receiving leader. Nobody has yet found a way to measure heart and determination. All three of those guys had it.

[barrett]

I agree with all of this.

But it still doesn't change the fact that more fast guys suceed than slow ones. And more big guys than small ones.

I don't want to turn into the Raiders and draft the top of the 40 yard dash list every year, but it isn't either or. In the first round we ought to be able to find a guy who shows up on film and can run.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

I don't want to turn into the Raiders and draft the top of the 40 yard dash list every year, but it isn't either or. In the first round we ought to be able to find a guy who shows up on film and can run.

I agree totally. I guess my main point is that WR is a deceptively difficult position to scout.