***
He is a good zone-feel receiver who likes to sit in holes, catch the ball, and then work up field. He is a strong and physical player who makes his presence felt when blocking downfield.
Gets his head snapped around quickly, puts his foot in the ground and likes to Stealing Sharp it right through the teeth of the defense. Displays strong hands and a powerful frame when asked to adjust and high point the football, looks like a power forward the way he comes down with the throw.
Now, isn’t real explosive off the line, a strider who takes a bit to get up to full speed. Isn’t going to consistently run by defenders vertically at the next level, but he has the ability to gain speed as he goes and can be tough to keep pace with if a corner routinely sits on his routes as he displays the strength to shrug off a defender and turn his route up the field.
Isn’t real fluid out of his breaks, routinely is forced to slow his feet in order to break round and rounds of his angles consistently. Even when asked to run less sharply breaking routes he routinely rolls into his slants in the three step game.
Displays a good feel underneath working the short passing game. Recognizing zone/man concepts quickly does a nice job finding soft spots, breaking tackles and creating after the catch. Works well for his quarterback consistently drifting toward better angles and creating after his initial route is stalled. Plucks the football well away from his frame over the middle and is a natural plucker.
However, will get lazy at times letting the ball into his frame, trapping it against his chest and occasionally will put the ball on the ground. Works a lot from the slot over the middle of the field and despite his physicality he’s not real sudden off the line and strikes me as the kind of athlete who doesn’t have the short area quickness needed to beat press on the outside in the NFL.
However, vs. off man he has the kind of balance/grace needed to set up his routes and get his big frame between the ball and defender.
Broke his foot in December of 2010 and needs to prove he’s clean medically.
Impression: Isn’t real dynamic of an athlete and it takes him a bit to build speed. However, he can box out defenders, go get the football and break tackles after the catch."
Weaknesses: Cunningham lacks the explosion, burst, and top end speed to be a top receiver in the draft. He lumbers at the line of scrimmage in press man situations as he lacks the short area quickness to get by the press. He isn’t going to run by many NFL CB’s as he takes a long time to get to full speed. While he’s a natural hands catcher, balls do get inside on him which usually results in the ball on the ground.
Bottom Line: Teams looking for a dynamic outside receiver should look elsewhere. Cunningham is a crafty, physical receiver that could be successful working the underneath routes from the slot. Cunningham is undervalued and over analyzed but the productivity is there. I like him more than most.
Draft Projection: B.J. Cunningham probably goes in the 4th-5th round but he is a 3rd rounder for me."
Is immature and has some underachiever traits."