Bob McGinn evaluations of our drafted players

[CJD]

(04-30-2020, 09:04 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: When I was talking myself out of him before the draft, I was using the physicality of Okudah punishing him off the LOS at Ohio State.  That, his forty time, and his lack of an even decent vertical.  

When I started talking myself in to him was when I realized he had been in the National Championship game against Alabama, and won in 2018.  He had 3 receptions for 81 yards and a TD as a true Sophomore.  That is the other thing:  He is just 21 years old.  What you said about his back shoulder ability is my final thought as well:  He tracks the deep ball as well as anyone I have ever seen.  That isn't as easy as it sounds.  Someone with a bouncy gait, whether fast or not, has trouble focusing on the ball as their eyes are bounding up and down as it approaches.  Higgins may not be a burner, but he is smooth and he has sure hands.  

I think if Higgins had not been in the Championship game the past two seasons, or the playoff for that matter, he could have had time to rest, heal, train, and have a much better combine/pro day.  

When I think of what he can do here, I think a lot of AJ drawing safeties to his side of the field and Higgins having a lot of big plays down the field.  Contested or not, I think there aren't many CBs that are going to beat him on balls in the air.  

And, he is a Bengals fan.  

Yea, I mean he had a good game against Alabama in 2018. It wasn't dominating, but getting a 3 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown off of that defense is impressive in its own right. The touchdown grab was really good extension too, although I'm not thrilled that he dropped it when he hit the ground. I'm not 100% sure that is considered a touchdown in the NFL (The Calvin Johnson rule may have something to say about it).

He had a fairly good game against LSU in January as well with 3 catches for 52 yards and that beautiful 36 yard touchdown run that really exemplified his ability to break tackles and outrun legitimate speed players like Grant Delpit (4.39 40) to the sideline.
And that's with a 48 yard touchdown being called back on a super duper sketchy OPI call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92JdKqmhe2k

All told, he could (and probably should) have accounted for 7 catches, 181 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 36 yard touchdown run in two national championship games. And that's as the team's #2 WR haha.

I didn't watch the Clemson vs Ohio state game, but I did find the all 22 footage of each of Higgins' targets and I don't think you can really blame Higgins for some of these poor throws from Lawrence. Take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRUglfVNtB8

0:07, that's a lot of separation vs Okudah. Nearly 2 yards.
0:35, He comes down with the ball vs Okudah, but it's too far outside. No one would be able to catch that pass in bounds. A better thrown ball may be a big gain, but the target area may have just been too small to realistically keep this pass in bounds.
1:11, you'd prefer he get more separation from Arnette here, but that's "NFL Open." Arnette is also clearly holding him by the collar at the top of his route, and it looks like it was flagged (not certain if it was or not, but there's flags on the field)
1:20, Lawrence just gives Higgins a chance on a 50-50 ball and it just doesn't happen for him. He kind of got tangled up with Okudah there. Good play on Okudah's part.
1:44, this is a bad pass. Higgins ran Okudah off with ease and Lawrence throws off target. Higgins probably should catch this though, as he got his hands on it.
2:09, a good little quick out that Higgins takes for the first down through 3 OSU defenders.
2:31, a little bubble screen type play. Higgins shows a little wiggle but, ultimately, I don't think he's quick enough to make these plays work in the NFL.
2:53, a disaster of a screen. OSU obviously sniffed this one out.
3:31, another play where Higgins gets "NFL Open" vs Okudah. But Lawrence was rushed (by Young) and threw it a yard or 2 behind Higgins. He slows to adjust to it and Okudah swamps him. A properly led ball is a completion here. Also...Okudah held his jersey in this play. Should have been called.
3:40, A really good scramble drill where Higgins breaks away from Okudah and makes a great catch for the two point conversion. Really good play from Lawrence and Higgins.

There were definitely some poor throws from Lawrence in that game. Looking at the passes at 1:11, 1:44 and 3:31, that's at least 30 yards that Lawrence left on the field.

Now, maybe on the plays in which Higgins was not targeted he was getting blown up by Okudah, I dunno. But I wasn't too worried about his ability to separate watching these snaps in particular.

Also, didn't he leave the game after the hit he took due to that toss up at 0:35? It's good that he came back in for the 2nd half, but that probably had some impact on him as well.

As far as Higgins' vertical jump of 31 inches, I care more about what I see on tape than in a gym. And, on tape, Higgins can definitely get vertical. It's also worth noting A.J. Green only had a 34.5 inch vertical and he has had a pretty good career .

I'm concerned about Higgins' testing overall, as you seem to be, but when I put on the video of his snaps, he performs much better than those numbers seem to indicate.