Jackson is the only guy who, in my mind anyway, has proven he is a good WR at this level.
I think he is a given to be our top go to guy in the slot. Might also get some snaps on the outside.
You left Queeley out of your list completely. I think that is a mistake. He had a disappointing season but he has the most experience and production we have and I think he is almost surely going to be part of the rotation. He is probably our best blocker and has been more reliable than most in this group.
Cooper looks like an adequate slot guy. Not real fast, not real big, not really good hands. But he is a vet and I think we can count on him to know the play and not to panic, leave early, make a horrible penalty trying to block someone, etc.
I am thinking Coop is going to battle Pena for PT as our second slot guy. Looked to me as though Pena was playing slot most of the time he was in last season (which wasn't a ton). He got hurt and missed a lot of time with that injury. I think he would have gotten a lot more production and touches if not for that injury. But Pena has to be one of our fastest WRs, doesn't look really comfortable going to balls thrown over the middle and maybe is better suited to outside WR.
I have heard a lot of good things about Gadsden. Haven't seen him play. I like he is the son of a player and that he appears to have some toughness. That is something we haven't had much of for a while with this group.
I liked the film of all of our young WRs but Hatcher for some reason really stuck out to me. I think he can be a special guy, especially with YAC. He is my darkhorse I am hoping explodes on the scene this spring. Guessing it will be him or Gadsden.
Williams is another guy I really haven't seen play. Between HS and college, he has been injured so much, I am not putting any expectations om him ever contributing.
I think the thought with CJ Hayes is that this is a guy who is experienced, will remember the snap count and the route he was asked to run, will line up on sides and not move before the snap. Our youngsters were so bad at the basics, I think we felt we needed someone who has been through a few years of college ball and knows how to be a WR. I don't expect him to make huge contributions on the field. Hopefully he will set an example and lead the group. That would be huge.
Alford is another guy we gave a lot of chances to last year. He ran the wrong route, dropped balls, made a series of awful penalties, was not looking when the ball was thrown to him...you name a mistake, he made it. But he has size and strength and maybe he is about done with screwing up.
I hope so. He is everything you want when you look at him standing on the sideline.
Getting in waaay late here. Agree with mostly everything tomcat says in his summary.
Completely agree with Courtney Jackson being the WR go to at this level. Led the team in receptions in 2021 - 48 catches for 460 YDS, but also added 3 PR's for 110 YDS and 1 TD, 4 KR for 78 YDS, PFF all ACC. 8 catches for 92 YDS, 2 TDS against Pitt. He's a valuable commodity for us and hopefully will stay uninjured to contribute all season. Runs a 4.5 which to the uninitiated is very fast.
Hatcher's film, if you have not watched it, you should. The "small receiver in the room at 6'3" is fast, explosive and has great hands and as is mentioned above I as well think he's something special.
The other thing I have to say about the WR's is that the coaches have added to a WR room who have speed which the position requires IMO.
Donovan Brown is the standout here with speed just below the elite level, 100 10.95, 200 21.83, 400 48.46, 40 4.4. For those of you who aren't familiar with track speed, those numbers are the new fast for WR's on this team. Hopefully his hands are as soft and he catches balls as fast as he runs.
I'm not going to defend Alford for last year, per above - I agree, but he started ball late went from Montreal to Fla to learn the game and in 2022 he's going to be more focused, know the playbook and catch more passes like the one that got me out of my seat cheering when he outraced and caught with those 3XL+ hands the 45 yard pass for touchdown that sealed our win in the game at VT. Special size and talent is going to shine better than it did last year for him.
For the 14 WR's in the room I think the most important thing we have going for us with admittedly young but talented WR's is the hiring of Robert Anae, Jason Beck and Michael Johnson. With their knowledge and experience I believe this years group will gain knowledge of how to play the position,
catch the ball, develop a chemistry with their QB and learn how to score via the pass. It's about time we had someone like Marvin Harrison step up and be THE GO TO GUY. I do hope that happens.
