working

ADVERTISERS

Sports Outside the Beltway

NFL Draft 2009 Round 3 #87 – Miami Dolphins- WR Patrick Turner

The ESPN crew doesn’t like this pick at all. Mel Kiper called Turner a 6th or 7th round pick.

NFL.com analysis-

Positives: Long, lean build with adequate overall muscle development. Long arms and big hands. Good lateral quickness and hand play to get off the line of scrimmage cleanly. Better foot quickness and balance as a route-runner than most receivers of his height. Good vision and willing to cut back inside against the grain to generate yards after the catch. Times his leaps well and has the strength to go up and make the catch with defenders draped on him. Can track over his shoulder and can extend. Stepped up his play as a senior and was a pleasant surprise at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Negatives: Relies on build-up speed to get downfield. Lacks the burst off the snap or out of his breaks to threaten defenders, potentially allowing NFL-caliber cornerbacks to stick in his pocket on underneath and intermediate routes. Not the physical dominator his size would indicate. Doesn’t use his size and strength often enough to generate separation from undersized defenders. Lacks the agility in the open field or the strength to run through tackles to be much of a playmaking threat after the reception.

ESPN writes-

Turner is a bigger receiver who lacks the quickness and fluidity to create adequate separation at the NFL level. He also lacks the top-end speed to ever be considered a home-run threat. However, he does an excellent job using his frame to shield defenders from the ball and does not drop many balls when catching within his frame.

How he fits: This is an interesting pick because of the mixed feelings regarding Turner, combined with the receivers still on the board. Miami desperately needed a target to play opposite of Ted Ginn Jr. and compete with Greg Camarillo. It remains to be seen if Turner is that guy. He is a big body who can contribute on special teams. This may be the replacement for Ernest Wilford, who appears to be a bust.

This is another puzzling choice made by Miami. There had been a rush of Wide Receivers before the Dolphins made their pick, but there were much higher ranked(Scouts Inc. had him as the 38th best WR and he was the 14th selected) available receivers out their than Turner. Turner at 6’5 has size, but alot of question marks.

 
Related Stories:
 
Recent Stories:
 
 
 
Comments

Comments are Closed

 
 


Visitors Since Feb. 4, 2003

All original content copyright 2003-2008 by OTB Media. All rights reserved.