Corey Davis Scouting Report ~ 2017 NFL Draft

* 05/0/17 Update ~ No Change ~ He's a Beast!! *

Split End ~ Corey Davis ~ Western Michigan Broncos ~ 6025/210

Regarding Split Ends

Most Fans don't know that WideOuts can generally be broken down into 3 Categories, based on traditional Roles, and that those Roles naturally enough call for 3 distinctive Skill Sets, based on the classic X, Y, and Z Positions:

Split Ends are usually the bigger, taller WideOuts who line up in the X Position, on the Line of Scrimmage.
SlotBacks are usually the quicker, smaller WideOuts who line up at the Y Position, off the Line.
FlankerBacks are usually the faster WideOuts who line up at the Z Position, off the Line.

The Split End prototype would be about 6030/225 or so.
The Flanker prototype would be about 6000/200 or so.
The SlotBack prototype would be about 5010/195 or so.

And I'm adding a 4th: The Slot End.

The term may make some Readers cringe, for the same reason that the term "Jumbo Shrimp" might.

And it's a term, as far as I know, entirely of my own Invention.

But it is of course the perfect Tactical term for a WideOut lined up in the Slot yet on the Line of Scrimmage.

And it strikes me as an excellent term to describe a WideOut who's not necessarily tall ~ like a Split End ~ not necessarily fast ~ like a FlankerBack ~ and not necessarily spry ~ like a SlotBack ~ and is often a bit Beefy. Not necessarily beefy enough to take on a Flex End's Blocking Responsibilites, but beefy enough for a Split End's.

I'm talking about WideOuts who're well suited to catch Balls in Traffic, and Move The Chains.

However a given Coach chooses to deploy the Soldiers at his disposal is of course entirely up to him, and most WideOuts will see Snaps at multiple Positions and in multiple Alignments, but I believe that it is valuable to categorize WideOuts in terms of classic Skill Sets, to better define the differences in the kind of Impact they might wield at the next level.

This is how I break things down when I'm evaluating all WideOuts:

Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.

Catch Point Capacity: In Transit or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing.

Yards After Catch are well and fine, but it seems to me that 90% of the Value of a Flex End and any WideOut is getting open and catching the Ball. Anyone who's read my Work extensively knows that I consider Blocking to be the Heart & Soul of FootBall, but that is a philosophical position, and I recognize that with most Philosophies, where it comes to Wide Receivers and Flex Ends...it's just Gravy. And so is Yards After Catch: Moving The Chains is What Wins.

Chunk Yardage: An highly overrated Aspect of the Game, I believe, so much so that in fact I didn't even include it in 2016. It is not a negligible Aspect of the Game, so I'm bringing it back, but getting open, catching the Ball, and Moving the Chains are far more crucial to a Team's Success, I believe, than making Splash Plays and getting on ESPN HighLights Reels. Power, Fluidity, Ricochet, Speed, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed/Field Vision all play into Chunk Yardage.

Blocking: It was a Mistake to leave this Aspect ~ my very favorite Aspect of FootBall ~ out'f 2016's Flex End Reports, and I'm very happy to correct that Mistake, evermore. Blocking of course comes down to Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor, and further breaks down into In Line Blocking and Open Field Blocking.

Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:

Separation

* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision

Catch Point Capacity
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan

Chunk Yardage

* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Speed
* Combat Skills
* Field Vision

Blocking

* Power
* Agility
* Frame
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor

Corey Davis ~ Scouting Report

Separation: Exceptional. Davis reportedly packed on about 10 Pounds of Beef, last OffSeason, though I'd rate his Power no higher than effective, but his Combat Skills are excellent, and the combination renders'm exceptional against Press Coverage. His Acceleration and Long Speed are mediocre, though his Ricochet out'f'is Breaks and his Fluidity are effective, but his Route Running is extraordinary. Davis routinely anticipates the Seems and gets Open.

Catch Point Capacity: Exceptional. Before starting up the Tape, I read a lot about Davis's mediocre Hands. I do not greatly  disagree, although I'd bumpm up to Average. He'll plant his share of FootBalls, and I won't be surprised if his Hands ultimately come in as small when they're measured. However, Davis's Combat Skills on Contested Catches, his Processing Speed and Timing, on Contested Catches and In Transition, and his Vertical Agility are tremendous.

So while I'd rate'm as Break Even on Hands alone ~ that's "Meh", to you Earthlings!! ~ he adds enormous Value, by Virtue of all the Catches he makes ~ that he rescues!! ~ because of his tremendous Timing, his remarkably serpentine Vertical Agility, his outstanding Combat Skills, his Ferocity, and of course because of his extraordinary WingSpan!!

Chunk Yardage: Exceptional. Davis boasts neither tremendous Power nor tremendous Agility, so I don't believe that he'll be barrelling through or shaking too many Defenders, but he runs hard and rapidly reads the Tactical LandScape. Therefore, I don't anticipate him leaving any Yards on the Field, and when there's an Opportunity, he'll exploit it.

More importantly, though, and the reason why I give'm such a high Grade, here, despite his pedestrian Power and Speed, is that is that he's shown that he can consistently run deeper Routes and then cut back towards the QuarterBack. Therefore, he's able to routinely rack up Chunk Yardage as soon as he catches the FootBall!!

Blocking: Effective. Sufficient Effort. Impressive Combat Skills. Excellent WingSpan.

Corey Davis ~ Prospectus

My Concern with Prospects who've racked up enormous statistics at a Division 47 School ~ or whatever Division it was, as Corey Davis has, is not only that they've done so against lighter Competition, which raises the Question of whether or not their Success will translate to the NFL ~ even more so than if they'd played Division I, you understand ~ but also if Years at a lower Division School have them left bereft of high quality Training & Development, the result of which could be not only that they're Years behind in their Development, but may've acquired a lot of Bad Habits along the way.

I have no such Concerns.

Corey Davis is by all Accounts imbued with a sensational Work Ethic, and his extraordinarily well-developed Route Running ~ remarkable even by Division I Standards ~ loudly proclaim his FootBall Intelligence.

That's right, baby!! Trajectory!! Woot!!

"Trajectory > A Philosophical Formula that calculates a Prospect's Potential & Risk, based on perceptions of Talent, Intelligence, Passion, and Work Ethic: Talent x Intelligence x Drive = Potential/Risk."

In terms of Talent, Corey Davis, by my Measure, brings only a tremendous Frame and few other scraps of Talent to the Field of Battle. Based on those alone, I'd give'm a Competitor Rank and a 4th/5th Round Grade.

But his level of Processing Speed and Field Vision are elite. And the combination of Intelligence that his Processing Speed renders clearly evident and the Drive that the fanatical Work Ethic that his Coaches, other Team's Coaches, and his TeamMates rave about make me extremely confident that Davis will become every bit of what he can be.

And despite mediocre Speed ~ and it's quite possible that his Stock will plummet, once he runs the 40 in the next month or two ~ Davis brings a exceptional Separation Skills and potential Catch Point Dominance to the Field of Battle.

Corey Davis has a far higher Ceiling than his Speed calls for...and an extremely high Floor.

Low Risk/High Reward, as you Earthlings might say.

Pay the Man.

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

Yank Rank: Beast ~ Par Value

Market Value

1st Round

Yankee Grade

1st Round

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!