Hey there all you “experts”. On all the boards I’ve been on, this is by far the most negative one regarding this pick. I guess I should have known by the title of it. Anyway, here’s an article from the draft expert of the Sporting News that was published two days before the draft. He’s a former scout for multiple teams. I’m thinking he might know a little bit more about the topic than us armchair experts on this here internet board.

Here’s the url if you want to check it out for yourself:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=403984

Draft Dish: Houston’s Avery rockets up WR ranks
Posted: April 24, 2008

When talking about the top wide receivers in the 2008 NFL draft, there has been much talk about the falling stock of both Michigan’s Mario Manningham and Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly. Meanwhile, Michigan’s Devin Thomas has been the biggest riser up draft boards.

One receiver who should be talked about more, however, is Houston’s Donnie Avery. Avery, viewed as somewhat of a raw receiver even after the ‘07 college football season ended, was once likely to be a third-round pick. Since then, however, his strong performances at the Senior Bowl — where he took coaching so well to improve his game throughout the week — at the Combine and in his personal workouts have caused teams to value him higher.

Avery’s value shot up even more when teams in their draft meetings could get a better look at his acceleration, speed and elite explosiveness on game film. Now, he should be one of the first speed receivers drafted, possibly as high as the late first round.

Here’s a post by paranoidmoonduck on the nfldraftcountdown forum about this:

I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising. This draft had a lot of two things. It had a lot of small speedy guys and a lot of inconsistent big guys. The only guy bridging the gap was Devin Thomas, who most had #1 as a result, and his inconsistent hands knocked him down a few boards.

Keep this in mind: Avery is the quickest player that may have been in any draft in a really long time. His pro day numbers were unfathomable. His 3-cone time (6.30) was .15 faster than the best time anyone could find from any year. His short shuttle was 3.91. He isn’t the best route runner, but no one at the top was. He catches the ball well, finds the open spot decently, and he’s an absolute monster with the ball in his hands (better than both Jackson’s, Royal, and anyone else you care to name, in my opinion).

After a year where a guy like Wes Welker constantly tore up the underside of defenses, is this really that surprising?

To drive home the 3-cone thing, the closest anyone came to Avery at the combine was a 6.57. The best time that was found from any year (thanks to DG), was Charles Rogers, who got a 6.45.

Another post from nfldraftcountdown by NGSeiler:

I’m fine with this. The Rams needed to add speed to their receiver corps. Holt is losing his speed because of his knee injury. Bennett is a tall guy, not incredibly fast. Caldwell isn’t going to burn you. Avery is one of the fastest guys in the draft, and he has better size than Jackson.

It seems obvious that NFL teams don’t view this WR class as having a lot of top talent. Devin Thomas went right after we took Avery, but then the Packers took Jordy Nelson. Right now Jackson, Sweed, and Hardy are still on the board. Jackson’s weight is probably worrying some teams. Sweed’s injury could be the cause of his slip. Hardy has off the field character concerns.

Avery has elite quickness and is a deep threat. He has a lot of starting experience in college and was very productive. His ability to change direction is considered to be top notch. He needs to work on his route running and his ability to beat the jam at the line, but those are the kinds of things that can be taught. Legitimate 4.3 speed cannot. I think he’ll be a good fit in Saunders’ scheme, definitely a guy who could be a weapon in multiple receiver sets.

Again, the fact that Jordy Nelson got picked over Jackson, Sweed, Hardy demonstrates that NFL boards may not have had the WRs valued in the same manner as most fans and some analysts.

Someone is hitting the crack pipe if the war room!

One last thing from nfldraftcountdown:

Bernie from his message board on Avery…

Quote:
* He isn’t as raw as some are suggesting.

* Henry Ellard worrked him out personally, twice, and put a great grade on this guy…

* Saunders told the brass when asked that he’s the guy who best fits what he’s trying to do, because he wants to put him in the slot (at first) and make defenses be accountable for his speed. Al wants to be able to spread that defense. Which makes a helluva lot of sense to me. Unless you all want to see more of the same, slow, plodding BS we were treated to last year.

* He has a chance to be a real threat as a KOR.

Call me silly, but I’ll take the word over the great WR Henry Ellard and a pretty damned good offensive football coach (Saunders) over some insta-draft experts on this here Internet board.

Hey other Robert. It’s George Boone, not Young

kmac,

You have no clue how good or bad we will be next year. If you do then you should be able to place football bets all year and make millions…Good Luck with that. Its nice to see that the fans in St. Louis are so optomistic (wonder why the cards left?). Enjoy your shitty football season. I on the other hand enjoy every game next season win or loss and just hope they gel and pull out the W’s.

Tom…

Wow, nice blog….