By Bob Evans
Senior Writer
The 2013 NFL Draft, like any draft, features a number of players who have seen their draft stock fall considerably since the beginning of the 2012 college football season. Whether it is from a lack of production from the previous season or red flags, scouts have deemed certain players as major risks from the draft grade they received heading into last year.
No player—even USC quarterback Matt Barkley—in the 2013 NFL Draft class has seen their stock fall like Washington State wide receiver Marquess Wilson. Once widely considered to be one of the top wide receivers potentially available in the draft, Wilson has seen his stock slide to the late rounds thanks to his suspension by head coach Mike Leach followed by him quitting the team during the season. Wilson cited “abuse” from the coaching staff as his reason for leaving the Cougars.
Prior to the events of the 2012 season, Wilson was easily one of the most dominant wideouts in all of college football—despite playing on a team that was not in the national spotlight.
As a freshman, Wilson utilized his then lanky 6’3” and 185-pound frame to victimize defensive backs in 2010. He hauled in 55 receptions for 1,006 yards and six touchdowns—averaging an amazing 18.3 yards per catch in his first season. The highlight game of his two-win season came in a loss to Stanford, as he racked up six receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Proving himself to be a reliable option as a freshman, Wilson became an even bigger part of the Cougs offense in 2011. He hauled in 82 passes for 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 16.9 yards per catch in the process. Wilson put up some gaudy games in his sophomore season, but none more impressive than his eight catch, 223 yard and three touchdown performance in the team’s win over Arizona State late in the season.
After racking up 2,394 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first two seasons, it was no surprise the junior-to-be was making his way into the first round of every 2013 NFL Mock Draft heading into the 2012 season. As a sophomore he displayed a different level, utilizing his knack for making big plays and ability to outrun defenders to separate himself from the wide receiving competition. However, problems at quarterback coupled with the brewing problems with the coaching staff would derail his junior campaign.
In nine games, Wilson would rack up 52 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns—including a 12 catch, 182 yard and one touchdown performance in the team’s blowout loss to Oregon. Marred in a frustrating six-game losing streak, Wilson would then be suspended by Leach and quit the team prior to their final three games.
His production despite whatever distractions were going on behind closed doors is impressive, but the way he handled the situation so late in the season is why scouts are struggling to give him any type of a mid-round grade. Even with those red flags, the Cleveland Browns need to think long and hard about this kid in the 2013 NFL Draft for a number of reasons.
First off, the team took a flier on Josh Gordon last year in the Supplemental Draft despite leaving Baylor due to drug issues and never seeing a snap at Utah. They saw raw talent and ability behind the red flags, and were rewarded in Gordon’s rookie season.
Wilson possesses the saw raw talent and ability that Gordon flashed, but actually proved it on the collegiate stage. He utilized his unbelievable concentration while the ball was in the air to haul in passes over defenders, and would provide an excellent target for Brandon Weeden next season.
Measuring in at 6’3” and 194 pounds at the combine, Wilson showed he can add bulk to his small frame (some scouts said he looked 175 pounds soaking wet during his playing days) and impressed as a top performer in the three-cone drill (6.65 seconds), broad jump (122 inches) and vertical jump (34.5 inches). While those numbers do not translate to the NFL game, he looked fluid during drills and ran in the 4.4s unofficially, registering a 4.51 official 40-yard dash time.
The major knocks, outside of the red flags, on Wilson come in regard to his frame—which he has already worked on—and his lack of initial burst off the line of scrimmage by most major outlets. However, after going back and reviewing his game film there are a couple of things these scouts left out about what he does after the snap.
Wilson utilized his upper body strength to create his own separation, and has a second and third gear on the field that was very difficult on opposing cornerbacks. In his highlight reels on YouTube, you will constantly see him display these gears by getting 10 yards behind defenders despite looking like he was going to be jammed at the line of scrimmage—and that is something that will definitely translate to the NFL level.
With the Browns in need of another wide receiver to add to the mix with Gordon and Greg Little, Wilson could be a steal if his current sixth to seventh round projection holds up. This time last year he was considered a first-round prospect, and those natural tools didn’t just go away because of some issues with the coaching staff.
If Wilson has a successful interview with the Browns and can answer questions regarding the situation at Washington State well, the team should not take the chance of landing him in the sixth round. Utilizing a fourth or fifth round pick on a guy who was a first-round talent just 12 months ago would be a gamble this writer is willing to take on his upside.
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Bob,
My favorite not-to-be-named VP of Player Personnel trashed the Josh Gordon pick. Said he wouldn’t go near the player. Panic pick. Waste of a 2nd round pick. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah
After having read your article quite carefully, I would have to agree with you that the Browns ought to look at this young man. There are typically two sides to every story. I for one would like to hear his.
Greg Little and Josh Gordon also had problems and I believe that together, they will form the best tandem of wide outs this team has had since its return, and if they continue to grow, maybe the best set of receivers this team has had for decades.
Adding another quality kid to the mix would create nightmares for the other team’s defensive coordinators.
Question: Given what the present “brains” in the front office have said, “Character” blah blah and “Sabmoronmetrics”, do you think they would take this young man in the draft, even in the later rounds?
MJM,
It looks like your favorite VP of Player Personnel had a title change this afternoon and now is the General Manager since they brought in the very accomplished Ray Farmer to be Assistant GM. To be honest, I am not sure what they will do…and I will not pretend I do until they have one offseason under their belts. He is a solid football player who had a suspension and quit his team with three games to go–no drug issues, work ethic issues, etc. Just a problem with the coaching staff claiming he was “abused”. If all parties (front office and coaching staff) are included in the draft process…he is the PERFECT type of WR for Norv Turner’s offense because of his second and third gears that help him gain separation on the longer routes which are run in this system.
Bob,
Don’t know if you will get this posting, but if you do, I have a couple of questions and thoughts regarding the Ray Farmer hire as assistant GM.
I have carefully reviewed the major newspapers covering the Browns, as well as the ESPN Cleveland site where Grossi reports so well.
It was reported that Farmer will be very active going out and scouting players, looking at tape, etc. From my research, Farmer played something like three years with the Eagles and had a “grand” total of 50 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception. While not pro bowl caliber, being good enough to last even three years, and having been through the training camps, games, exposure to super stars, etc., places him in a far better position to understand the game than certainly either Haslem or Banner.
From a practical standpoint, with being assigned to involvement out “on the field” so to speak, it would appear to me that with his background as a player, and experience in the draft room, that Farmer’s opinion will carry equal, if not greater weight than that of Lombardi.
And yet, Haslem or Banner said that Lombardi’s involvement and authority in the draft will not change. What’s up with that?
I was a fan of the Browns when Lombardi first began messing up the drafts for the team. And his record subsequently, with the one exception of the year he was with the Eagles, has been very mediocre to poor to awful to atrocius to “this uneducated fan could have done a better job”.
Do you think that Banner had second thoughts about putting his buddy in charge of the draft, and brought in someone far more qualified to make these assesments, but announced it as they did to “save face” not just for Lombardi, but for themselves?
I hope that is the case.
I think your hate for Lombardi and Banner is clouding what is really happening in the Browns’ front office–that they are assembling a TEAM of evaluators and not just allowing one guy to have complete say in it all. I disagree with your statement that Farmer’s experience on the field makes him more qualified to make picks and scouting assessments on players, because I have spoken with many players who have stated they could not understand the scouting assessments and the demands of each position as well as a lot of the people who sit around and study film all day.
With that said, Farmer has proven himself to be very good at what he does since becoming a scouting/player personnel guy in the NFL. The Browns are lucky to not only land the guy they wanted (whether you like him or not) in Lombardi, but ALSO their second candidate in Farmer. A similar scenario occurred on the coaching side of the ball, where they got Chud and Horton who were two of their Top candidates for the job.
As far as Banner having second thoughts about Lombardi, very doubtful. He would not have hired him in the first place if he was going to have doubts before even allowing Lombardi to attempt to sign free agents or make draft picks. I know that is the scenario you want, but it is just not how business in the NFL works. If he had worries about Lombardi, he would have outright fired him and hired Farmer instead.
Like I have said before, I have confidence that if the coaching staff and front office work together as a team to target free agents and draft picks, that this collective group of football minds can put together a winner. And I am certainly not ready to judge them based on some people’s views of Lombardi screwing up drafts nearly 20 years ago.
Bob, OK. I hear what you are saying, and it would be fruitless probably to continue a debate as to my “feelings” about Michael Lombardi. However, you have mentioned more than once that I hate Michael Lombardi. I don’t hate him. He seems to be a nice guy, a family man who, like many of us, is just trying to make a living.
However I don’t believe he is qualified for the position he was given, or for the Banner’s reference that he has “one of the best minds in football.”
You also implied that we cannot measure this man by the drafts 20 years ago, drafts done when many of the Browns fans were not even in school yet.
So, let’s go back, not 20 years, but to the recent year of 2006, to the second to the last drafts he oversaw for Al Davis. Al was about 82 at the time, and most likely, although we cannot be sure, he was probably relying heavily on Mr. Lombardi for draft analysis and selection.
So, how did the present GM of the Browns do on that draft? Here is what I found. I tried to compared Mr. Lombardi’s picks with players at the same position that he bypassed. Here is what I found:
Round 1
Michael Huff / Safety
Tackles 483
QB Sacks 5.5
Interceptions 11
Forced Fumbles None listed
He passed on:
Roman Harper S — Saints
Tackles 615
QB Sacks 17
Interceptions 6
Forced Fumbles 14
Notable players bypassed
Haloti Nagati DT / Baltimore (Hall of Famer for sure)
Tamba Hali DE / Chiefs
Round 2
Thomas Howard OLB
Tackles 492
Sacks 6
Interceptions 7
No other Line backers of note taken after him. — So maybe give him a pass on this, if the Raiders needed a linebacker.
Notable players bypassed —
Maurice Jones Drew RB / Jacksonville
Deven Hester CB / Bears
Marcus McNeil OT / Chargers
Round 3
Paul McQuisten OL Guard
Games Played — 47
Games Started — 19
He passed on —
Wille Colon OL Guard — Pittsburg 4th Round
Games Played — 62
Games Started — 62
Notable Players bypassed —
Brandon Marshall WR / Broncos
Leon Washington RB Return Specialist / Jets
Elvis Dumervil DE / Broncos
RE: Dumervil — Using the dull sabremetrics system, if Dumervil were available this draft, Lombardi and Haslem would bypass on him because he was considered too small. Has made three Pro Bowls so far.
All in all, so far from this recent 2006 draft, there have been 40 players selected to one or more Pro Bowls. None, zero, zip, nada were selected by Mr. Lombardi.
Surely, one of the “best minds in football” could have done better than this.
Bob, this was like his drafts for the Browns. It is why, at least this fan, has been so discouraged that Michael Lombardi somehow found his way back to the Cleveland Browns draft room.
With all this being said, let us hope that the addition of Farmer, along with Heckert’s scouts which were retained, will bring in some wisdom to this process. This team will need it if it is to compete at a more competitive level.
Ok, maybe disdain for Lombardi is a better term for your feelings then haha. Hindsight in any draft is 20/20, and there have been more than one media reports that Al Davis controlled the players selected and only used Lombardi’s opinions on the matter. With that said, the person who drafts the players is only partially responsible for what happens to them after draft day. It is up to the player, as well as the coaches, for that person to be successful.
Going with your analysis right there, you forget that safety was a major area of need for the Raiders heading into that draft and Huff was widely considered the best available. I’m not going to say he couldn’t have drafted better players, because there were obviously players in the draft that ended up having better careers….but the fact is that it happens to numerous teams every year where players do not pan out, not just to Lombardi.
If you recall I broke down Lombardi’s time at each stop, and he did have quite a few good selections as part of their draft team:
http://www.buckeyestatesports.com/cleveland-browns-michael-lombardi-naysayers-need-a-wake-up-call/
I’m just saying give the guy a chance to either be good or bad in Cleveland this time around…hell fans rallied around Mike Holmgren like he was the next coming of Vince Lombardi and he was an AWFUL GM in Seattle.
Bob, I really enjoy these discussions which, though given Sir Lombardi’s hire, they are kind of pointless. I also admire zen-like fatalism with the hire. Only Cleveland produces fans like us.
And certainly, hindsight for the draft is always 20-20. However, in my opinion, we are looking at a body of work over decades. Certain trends do appear. And the trend for Mr. Lombardi has not been favorable.
As it relates to his tenure in Oakland, either Davis or Lombardi was in charge. If Lombardi was nothing but an advisor in the draft room for the owner, then the short-lived success the Raiders had when they returned to Oakland has to be attributed to Al Davis, not Michael L. If Lombardi was in charge, their eventual decline had to be attributed to the overall less than mediocre drafts he oversaw.
The 1998 draft for Oakland was kind of interesting, whoever was in charge.
Actually it was a very tought year for the Lombardi / Davis duo. Lombardi (or whoever) did select Charles Woodson with the 4th pick of the draft. But his next pick, Leon Bender, died of some sort of seizure disorder before he could even play. In the third round he passed on Ahmad Green, who eventually became the Packers all time leading running back (9,200 yards / 4 times Pro Bowl 2 time All Pro) in favor of Jon Ritchie, Fullback who gained all of 1,200 yards in his career.
After Woodson, his best pick in the draft came on the last day when he selected none other than Phil Dawson who, yes, did make it to the Pro Bowl this year, and yes, is presently on Michael’s chopping block. Talk about irony. The same man who selected Dawson at the beginning of his career, will now probably let him leave to FA, after arguably one of Dawson’s best seasons.
Of the 34 players who eventually made it to the Pro Bowl from that class, Michael Lombardi did select two of them, Woodson and Dawson.
I did read your article and thank you for the link. It was, as usual, well written and eloquently stated your point about giving him a chance. Last thought, and after this I will probably turn my attention to the upcoming year. There is a reason why so many fans in this area were angry at Lombardi’s re-hire to this team.
I am not alone in my opinion, an opinion that seems to be shared by many long-time Browns fans. We saw what we saw and drew our conclusions. Like our conclusions about Shurmer, Savage, Mangini, Crennel, and the other failed coaches and GM’s this team has had. And the only reason this fan welcomed Holmgren, was because he did have a better resume that the owner, when it came to running a team.
And don’t forget, Holmgren was instrumental in retaining Heckert, who just oversaw what could prove to be one of the best overall drafts since the Browns return.
I don’t know what I would do if I had to make a choice between the Holmgren Shurmer Heckert trio and the Banner Lombardi Farmer Chud group. After some thought I might choose the latter because at least Chud has inherited, in my opinion, a team filled with good young talent. Even though I don’t think it will be supplemented much in this year’s drafts and upcoming drafts (if Lombardi ultimately will be making the decisions), from this core of Heckert’s picks, our new coaching staff should be able to forge a good competitive team. Don’t think Shumer would have been able to do that.
I enjoy your site. My son and I thank you and your partners for creating it. Along with ESPN Cleveland, it is the source of a lot of our Browns news.