I broke down the first set of wide receivers that were 2015-eligible returning to school earlier this draft season. Now, Jamal Robinson out of Louisiana-Lafayette is headed back to school – on a medical hardship waiver, turning into a 2016 NFL Draft prospect. Robinson marks the 4th receiver with a projection model score of at least 60 – an average score for a day two pass-catcher in the NFL Draft – to leave the 2015 ranks and head to the Devy list of future talent.
I discussed even back in the summer of 2014 that the 2015 NFL Draft was shaping up to be the year of the running back. That was prior to D’haquille Williams, Leonte Carroo, Travin Dural, and now Jamal Robinson filtered out. Not that Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Devin Funchess, Sammie Coates, Dorial Green-Beckham, and a few others are chopped liver, but the wide receiver have taken a beating overall in comparison to the running back position.
As of today (pre-combine), only three major conference receivers have projection model scores of at least 70, with no one above 72. Four receivers finished the draft process finished in the 72-77 range in the 2014 class as a point of comparison. Typically a wide receiver’s score is more likely to sag down a few points post-combine than dramatically rise, so consider the current state of the top wide receivers a best case scenario for the next few months.
As for Jamal Robinson, he joins a stacked group of major conference receivers for the 2016 class, with another opportunity to boost his already top-notch production score.
