Greg Cosell’s draft preview: A third WR belongs in Cooper/White top tier
Leading up to this year’s draft, there’s a consensus that Amari Cooper and Kevin White are the top two receivers in the class, in a tier by themselves.
I agree that both of them are in a top tier. Cooper and White are both very good prospects. But I’d add a third receiver to that tier: UCF’s Breshad Perriman.
I think Cooper is the top receiver prospect this year. But if you asked me who is No. 2 among White and Perriman, that’s a tougher question. I really like Perriman. I heard an interesting comparison on Perriman from a scout the other day: Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas. I can see that. Perriman is a big powerful, explosive, fast guy. Although he and White are about the same size, on film Perriman looks like the bigger guy. I could see ranking Perriman even with or ahead of White, although I’m in the minority on that.
Since I think there are three receivers in the top tier and not just two, let’s take a look at what all three do well.
Amari Cooper, Alabama
I like Cooper and think he’s the top receiver in this draft. But let’s put it this way – if Sammy Watkins, Odell Beckham and Cooper were in the same draft, where would Cooper go? I’d say he’d be the third one taken, and I think most people would agree. Cooper is the same size as Sammy Watkins coming out of Clemson but not as naturally explosive.
But that doesn’t mean Cooper isn’t a very good prospect. Quickness and precision are the foundations of his game. As a result he can be very effective in all three areas of route running: short, intermediate and deep. He has natural quickness and fluidity as a route runner, compact movement in and out of breaks, and little wasted motion. Route quickness is a definite strength of Cooper’s game.
He has a deceptive vertical burst, and I believe he will be able to get on top of NFL corners with his understanding of route running and a deceptive second gear. An 80-yard TD touchdown against Tennessee on the first play of the game showed Cooper’s outstanding short area burst and long speed.
Cooper also showed burst with ball in the air, which is more important than timed speed. A receiver must be able to separate late in routes and Cooper did that.
Cooper clearly was well coached by the Alabama staff, as he showed some subtleties of route running that will transition well and early to the NFL. He showed a sense of refinement and pace as a route runner, and understood the purpose of routes and how to set up corners.
Kevin White, West Virginia
It’s not hard to figure out what NFL evaluators like about White. He has a lot of tools. Watch this 68-yard touchdown against Oklahoma, and see how he gets vertical in a hurry with smooth acceleration, showing off great foot quickness and burst.
White’s size and body fits the NFL game. There’s a physical nature to his movement; he looked powerful and strong. There’s also excellent short area quickness and burst for a big receiver. He showed explosive traits as both a route runner and running after the catch, and his combination of power and speed is in some ways reminiscent of Terrell Owens. White is also a hands catcher when well-covered, not allowing the ball to get into his body – that transitions well to the NFL.
There are things he’ll need to refine. White has a tendency to run his routes a little too upright; he needs more forward lean to vertically challenge off-coverage corners. White is not quick in and out of breaks; that’s not his strength. He’s more of a straight-line route runner, a speed cut receiver with a big body. There are a lot of athletic and movement traits to work with, but how quickly can White learn the subtle nuances of playing receiver in the NFL?
Breshad Perriman, UCF
Perriman has the movement of a smaller receiver, and plus suddenness for a big receiver with his body type. He has excellent acceleration off the line of scrimmage when he had free access. He showed short-area burst and explosion on vertical routes; you can see a second gear. But what I liked about Perriman was he played big and powerful. That will transition well to the NFL.
Perriman has an NFL body with excellent height/weight/speed combination (6-foot-2, 212 pounds and a 40-yard dash time of less than 4.3 seconds) and long strides that eat up ground.
At this point Perriman is not a refined route runner, as he has a tendency to round off his routes. But there’s a lot to work with. Perriman is not as purely explosive as Julio Jones was coming out of Alabama, but he is similar in size and movement. You could make the argument that Perriman has similar size and movement traits to Dez Bryant. He has all the physical tools and traits NFL teams look for in a receiver.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
