Rueben Randle. WR out of LSU

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:13 AM EST

Damn, I'm on a roll for posting. lol

Anyways, if BB were to take any WR early in the draft (like late first round, early second) it would be Rueben Randle.

At 6'3", 208 lbs, Randle is extremely talented, and is a playmaker as a deep threat, and underneath routes. He can break tackles, jump up for the ball, and sell his routes with effectiveness. I like his body control when he fights for the ball. he seems like he can adjust on his routes nicely as well. He has been consistent throughout his college career as well. Here is what collegesportsmadness.com has to say:

Overview:

Rueben Randle is a big, physical, junior wide receiver who never took a redshirt. In 2011 he reeled in a team high 53 catches for 917 yards and eight scores. He was a First Team All-SEC selection by the coaches and Second Team by the AP. He does a good job to use his size to shield defenders from the ball and provides a big target for the quarterback. He is a competitive player and ultra talented. Even playing in the talented SEC, he was able to make an impact as a freshman, and never let up through his junior season.

Final Projection:

Randle has a lot of playing experience and is extremely talented. He was highly coveted out of high school and showed why on a weekly basis. He played against tough competition both in practice and in games, so he is one of the most polished and battled tested receivers in this year’s class.

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/3117

And to quote mynfldraft.com's Tom Patterson:

On why he is not a 1st rounder:

Rueben has not had the productivity of a 1st rounder in the NFL, partly because he has not had a QB that excels passing the ball downfield and he plays on a team that is able to protect their lead by running the ball late in games. He seems to have a limited impact on a handful number of games each year. Although he has good athletic measurements they are not quite going to compare with last year’s 1st rounders AJ Green or Julio Jones, he doesn’t seem to have their intensity either.

And part of his final thoughts:

he is very well rounded and playing on the outside he profiles as a guy that can produce against any type of coverage. With the competition he has faced in practice alone at LSU, (Patrick Peterson, Morris Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu), leads me to believe he can leave now and play in the NFL.

http://www.mynfldraft.com/NFL-Draft-Profiles/2012/Rueben-Randle

Here is some video on him:

Rueben Randle Highlights 2011 [HD] (via PraqticuL)

Like I said, I doubt BB will draft him mainly because I don't think he'll draft a WR in the late first or early second. I think BB would rather invest in a center, and trade the 31st pick for a 1st next year. Not to mention I don't know how he would fit in our offense. He seems like he can run the underneath routes, but I don't know if the pats route tree involves a lot of deep passing routes where Randle can be effective, and stretch out the field. Who knows. With McDaniels coming here I'm sure the offense can adjust with someone like Randle in there, and help our offense become more dynamic.

Other WRs I'll look at are Jarius Wright (4th rounder) and Nick Toon (3nd rounder), and Joe Adams (3rd/4th rounder).

Poll

If the pats were to pick a WR with the 31st pick, would Randle be a solid pick up?

Yes

31 votes

No

6 votes

37 votes | Poll has closed

The views expressed in these FanPosts are not necessarily those of the writers or SBNation.

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Comments

A 3rd round WR in Tommy Streeter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Bu3538FdY

Not bad. Wonder about the competition. He has long arms though, and very good speed, and 6’4" height.

I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:44 AM EST reply actions

don't be surprised if Streeter starts moving up

i could see him get over-drafted on the size/speed potential (at that size, he’s a possible high 4.3/low 4.4 guy). I don’t know if he’s that good, and he really lacks the suddenness that Belichick tends to like in receivers, but I could see his size/speed ratio entice Belichick in the 3rd/4th if he falls there. Not sure they’d pluck him any higher.

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 12:58 PM EST up reply actions

Yep.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

Jeff Fuller. 6-4, 217. 4th-5th rounder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE7pfJbrzgU

profile: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1620863/jeff-fuller

he looks like a good pickup too.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:49 AM EST reply actions

positives negatives

I can see that he doesn’t really get good YAC… but he looks to have very good concentration and hands. CBS draft says he has good route running skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RPvwk8Wu7Y

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:57 AM EST up reply actions

Juron Criner- WR University of Arizona

He is the missing piece IMO and is a 2nd round grade

Tedy Bruschi- "How do we feel about being AFC Champs?"
Team- "Aww Yeah!!!"

by freeland1787 on Feb 7, 2012 2:19 AM EST reply actions

Not bad.

seems stiff though. Not fluid…. but thats just early impression.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 2:36 AM EST up reply actions

love his hands and concentration though.

dont know about route running…

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 2:38 AM EST up reply actions

i think it's clear we go after a WR

i’m just not sure if it’s going to be draft or FA. BB clearly wants it in the gameplan to have a WR to stretch the field on the outside and beat man coverage. That’s why he brought in Ocho, but it just didn’t work out. I think it is one of the offseason priorities to add a body on the outside that can make plays. I just don’t know who they will target.

by jamiesinnott on Feb 7, 2012 9:13 AM EST reply actions

Some people have Alshon Jeffrey falling to 31.

Basically, the only guys I’ve seen consistently gone before the Pats pick are Blackmon, duh, and Michael Floyd. That leaves Alshon Jeffrey, Kendall Wright, Rueben Randle, and Mohamed Sanu potentially available at 31. Of them, Wright is the fastest, Jeffrey is the most skilled, and I’d say Sanu is the best route runner.

Ideally, I’d like to see them nab Whitney Mercilus out of Illinois at 27, Jeffrey at 31, and sign LaRon Landry and Marshawn Lynch.

Tom Brady. Nuff said.

by Cub Style on Feb 7, 2012 11:00 AM EST reply actions

Alshon does not have good route running skills according to CBS Sports. Scouts say its his glaring weakness.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

That was Dez Bryant's big weakness as well.

Both are very skilled and Bryant has shown to be a successful receiver in Dallas. I would hope that BB could do the same with Jeffrey.

Tom Brady. Nuff said.

by Cub Style on Feb 7, 2012 1:39 PM EST up reply actions

for the most part

route running is something that most college receivers need work on. For example, Chad Jackson was a notoriously poor route runner out of college (and that perhaps should’ve been a big warning sign). I’m not sure route running alone will get BB to shy away, but again, just hunches.

I do wonder, though, if Jeffrey has the type of suddenness that BB would want. I think BB will make an exception on some veteran receivers, guys who might not fit that profile, but on young receivers, I get the feeling that, beyond overall specimen/top end speed, that BB looks for suddenness, and I’m not sure Jeffrey has that.

Of course, the argument against that is the Pats don’t necessarily need suddenness, they need a guy to take the top off of a defense to allow their multiple short-intermediate guys (Welk/Hernandez/Gronk) to excel.

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 1:46 PM EST up reply actions

BB drafted WRs with no route running skills

and there ARE college Wrs who have route running skills. Look at Nick Toon in CBS Draft, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright. The last two are blazing fast that can get behind a defense. although 5’11", they can go deep.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:56 PM EST up reply actions

BB has a tendency

to fall for specimens at times. All coaches do, and when they see a specimen, they’ll over-look some negatives. The issue with Adams might be that his ceiling might not be more than a slot guy, as I’m not sure he’s that lead target, downfield threat type.

To be honest, the Pats offense has reinvented itself quite a bit over this decade. It started off as a power running, west coast principle attack (when Brady took over that is … easy to forget that Charlie Weis incorporated a lot of WCO principles, which have been passed down to McDaniels/O’Brien a bit. As Brady developed, and as his arm got better to go with his elite wrist snap, they started spreading it out a bit more, and then came the Moss era when they had a legitimate deep game. I’ve seen some folks compare it to Martz’s offenses in St. Louis, and while there were some similarities, I tend to think the nuances in how they jumbled receivers together, along with the reading they required made it different. Then, came the post-Moss era where it became a seam-stretching, 2 TE game (and I find it funny how people talk about Gronk/Hernandez and the TE usage as a new thing – Belichick has always been big on TE’s, dating back to his assistant days, but specifically, Daniel Graham and Ben Watson).

With Brady in his prime, you want the ball in his hands as much as possible, but it’s easy to note how the team isn’t as physical offensively (and perhaps defensively, but that’s another thread/post). I wonder if it’s time for them to slightly reinvent their offense again, perhaps utilizing a 2 TE power run attack a bit to go with their spread looks. If they do, a big physical receiver, someone who might lack elite straight line speed or suddenness, could be a consideration.

Anyhow, that’s the other thing I’d look for in a BB draft, particularly at the WR position – a physical specimen. He might gamble on a guy just for the heck of it, to see if the physical potential comes to fruition (hence why I wonder about Dwight Jones).

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 3:40 PM EST up reply actions

Everyone looks for physical specimens with talent.

And BB tends to draft those guys. However, in our option offense, it is wise to get a WR with very good route running skills and hands. A WR who is raw in that department will take much longer to develop, and drafting a player in the second round, or even 1st round, and waiting for him to develop his route running, is detrimental.

Get a guy who is very good at route running, has good hands, and you got yourself a player that can make an impact faster than a guy who does not have those.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 4:06 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you

As noted, I think Kendall Wright, a bit more polished than some of the other top WR options, would be someone the Pats would jump on (that said, I think Wright will go higher than people think, I could see him mid-first, in the 13-18 range).

I’m just saying, it wouldn’t surprise me if he took a specimen in the 2nd-4th round range to develop.

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 5:40 PM EST up reply actions

Me neither. :)

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 5:47 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah but every receiver the pats drafted (well most) were bad route runners.

But I see your point. I’ll look at Alshon.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 1:54 PM EST up reply actions

I tend to think

that WR will be a fairly high priority for the Pats, but whether or not the appropriate talent is there will be the factor (there are very few guys that are potential FA’s that would seem to fit the Pats need for a downfield threat, unless an Ochocinco like gamble emerges somewhere that I’m not aware of at the moment).

Belichick’s history has been to go after athletic guys that show a level of suddenness in some manner, whether it be “timed” suddenness, or in-game ability. Taylor Price, Brandon Tate, Chad Jackson all showed that to certain degrees.

It’s certainly possible they change things up and go after a Floyd or a Randle, but I have my doubts. I think Randle is a bit under-rated – had he had a good QB, we might be talking about a first round talent, as he’s not that different from, say, a Floyd. I don’t see an Alshon Jeffrey. I’m just not sure these guys fit the mold of guys that Belichick likes, but a dog can learn new tricks.

Honestly, if he fell to the late first, I do think that Kendall Wright would be a guy that they would show a lot of interest in. If they decided to slide up a few slots to nab Wright, I wouldn’t be surprised either. I doubt they’d go too high for him, though. A sleeper that could emerge as a “specimen” that might attract BB might be someone like Dwight Jones.

As for the draft, it is far too early to really mock anything, but it looks like the late first -2nd round area should be a good time to find a CB and a possible rush backer to groom. A possible idea in the first, if he’s there, might be a C like Peter Konz, perhaps a bit unconventional for the Pats, but it’s time to find the next guy up for the future. I expect them to deal down with one of the firsts and perhaps collect a future pick, but I doubt they’d go too far down (that is, I think they’d want a 2nd back).

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 1:12 PM EST reply actions

Kendall Wright

Wright doesn’t get much love in mocks, is it just because he isn’t 6’3"? Will he be there at 48?

Come see the violence inherent in the system, help help I'm being repressed.

by sweetjesusihatethejets on Feb 7, 2012 3:47 PM EST reply actions

Doubt it. He is a late first round talent like Randle.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 7, 2012 4:06 PM EST up reply actions

it's partly size

but it’s more because i think there’s a level of question on how much impact RG3 had in making him look good, along with some small questions on his hand size (supposedly small) and their offensive scheme/opponents defenses.

Personally … I think he’s the best WR prospect, on paper, in this class… including Blackmon, a sudden, explosive guy who is polished (doesn’t mean I think he’ll go ahead of Blackmon, though). Reminds me of Lee Evans coming out of Wisconsin. I tend to think he’ll go much higher than people think, perhaps mid-first when it’s all said and done. He’s an excellent fit for the modern NFL, with his explosion, agility, hands.

by toonsterwu on Feb 7, 2012 5:44 PM EST up reply actions

then we should start talking him down...

He’s a midget, he’s nothing without RG3, he has hands the size of a squirrel’s and I’m starting to hear whispers of character issues including smoking rock and drinking vanilla extract. I heard a rumor that he enjoys spending all day at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Come see the violence inherent in the system, help help I'm being repressed.

by sweetjesusihatethejets on Feb 8, 2012 9:27 AM EST up reply actions