Lafell going pro

Ok but for a 1&1/4 seasons at Oakland with that struggling organization no qb would accel. Bust can be: alex smith, David carr, Rex grossman, all get chances to not be considered a bust, but JR is because he is not liked by some tiger fans.

 

I tend to believe he as done really well as a pro. To have the longevity he's had is very impressive considering his size. He's only 5'10 and has made a living as a receiver in the NFL for nearly a decade!

 

Disagree. Couple of things at work, IMO. First, he had a good season, but he has the potential to have a great season if the QB situation is better next season. Second, LSU has a much better chance of being a top tier team this coming season, which will impact LaFell's final draft status.

There's a lot of tape out there of LaFell dropping footballs. Another season at LSU could provide scouts and owners one last season of tape with few drops and more catches like JJ's bomb to him against GT that was called back. He does that 3 or 4 times next year, and he's a first rounder. That's not a small bump by any stretch.

JMO.

 

If anything was proven this year on tape, it was that LaFell had terrible QB play for at least 7 games, and still managed to break 1000 yards receiving. He won't go any higher next year, even if he has as good a year in 2009.

 

LaFell will have the combine and Pro Day to reassure scouts about his hands. If he performs well at both, he's a late first round choice at worst.

 

What would you expect out of a five foot ten receiver in the nfl? Based on what you'd expect, what would qualify as really well for a player of that size?

 

Since I'm not a huge fan of the NFL, this is based purely on who's out there and disregards individual team needs. So, to call it a "projection" is a HUGE stretch. But here's who I think is in front of LaFell in 2009:

Crabtree, Maclin, Heyward, Harvin, Britt, Nicks, and maybe Massaquoi - that'd put him solidly in the third round, I think. Late second round at best. I think Hartline has declared for the draft, so he could go before LaFell as well, but I doubt it.

2010? Dude - who knows. But here are the known quantities that will still be out there and would challenge him in terms of draft order IMO:

Benn from Illinois and Mitchell from South Florida? Of course, there are tons of guys getting their first real shot next year so who knows how they break out.

But, based on what I'm seeing across all the NFL draft sites out there, LaFell looks very attractive as a first rounder in 2010, maybe early second round.