And nine went before Latimer. Your point is?



Of the 8 that went before Adams:

Watkins - 4.43
Evans - 4.53
Beckham - 4.43
Cooks - 4.33
Benjamin - 4.61
Lee - 4.52
Matthews - 4.46
Richardson - 4.40

So if Mike Evans is "slow," then so are Lee and Benjamin. That would make 4 of the first 9 receivers taken "slow" by your reasoning.

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Yup. Exactly. Evans and Benjamin have tremendous height.

BTW, Lee was thought to be injured and much faster than how he timed at combine: (from cbssports.com) It was hoped that Lee, NFLDraftScout.com's No. 3 wide receiver and No. 18 overall prospect, would run as the the 6-foot, 192 pounder was clocked at 4.52 seconds in the all-important 40-yard dash in Indianapolis, exhibiting less explosiveness in this drill than he'd shown throughout much of his spectacular career.

This led to speculation that Lee still wasn't fully recovered from the nagging leg injuries which played a significant role in his dropping from 118 receptions for 1,721 yards and 14 touchdowns during his Biletnikof Award-winning sophomore season to just 57 receptions for 791 yards and four scores in 2013.

---So, I would say Lee's speed is good. I liked it on YouTube...I would've been good with him. Evans and Benjamin are slower but offer a huge target which is a reasonable trade off.

Our guy isn't the cream of the crop, or anywhere near it, when it comes to speed. Again, i wanted Matthews, Latimer or Moncrief prior to the draft. We got the turtle of average height.

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Yup, tradeoffs, like Adams' 39.5 inch vertical, which was better than all but 2 receivers that were eligible for the draft and better than all of the top receiver prospects.

Tradeoffs like not dealing with a nagging knee injury.

Tradeoffs like having excellent ball skills and hands by all reports.

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Didn't want a guy who had to be a tradeoff...wanted a guy who could fly to add to the stable.

I agree with McGinn, yet, again...

Adams' 40 time wasn't good. In the NFL today, however, some of the wideouts catching all the balls aren't much faster. With his hands and ability to leverage in traffic, he won't be a disappointment.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/dont-expect-huge-impact-from-packers-draft-class-b99267571z1-258854451.html#ixzz31qq2VArf 
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Then you better hope the Lions cut Calvin Johnson because every other receiver in the league has their pros and cons.

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That's a little too far, there. We're focusing on what was available in the draft. There were 3 guys I really liked at WR... Matthews, Latimer and Moncrief. (three low to mid 4.4 guys) I was okay with Lee and Robinson but was worried about both of them for different reasons...Lee: injuries... Robinson: speed. Loved the fact we took Charles Johnson last year but we really handled him badly. Now, we have Janis... a guy who is line with what we need. A guy who is big, strong and fast. 4.42... 20 reps on the bench, 37.5 on the vertical and 6'3. Plus, his 3 cone was incredible at 6.64. In comparison, Abbrederis was 6.80 on 3 cone and Adams 6.82. Janis is a superior specimen. Can he play?

If you're happy watching James Jones walk in FA and seeing the org use a 2nd round pick to get back the same guy that they just let walk away that's good for you. I was hoping for a different (better) WR with a better overall package to replace the one we lost. Sounds like we may have come out even... a push, if you will...but the guy we get is green... a rook whereas James was a proven pro who played his role. That is assuming a lot...that this guy will even be as good as James Jones.

Will be fun to banter about this once the games go off. We'll be able to see a little bit this year who has the goods and who doesn't.

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Davante Adams' pro day workout 40 time was 4.51 Exactly the same 40 time as Jordy Nelson. Somehow that 4.51 is working beautifully for Nelson.

Yes, Cody Latimer is fast. Ran a 4.39 and a 4.43 with a broken bone in his foot. He had surgery in January to repair the break, and ran his pro day time in March. He is reported to be limited in his TC participation with Denver. The Broncos took other receivers with foot injuries in the past. Demaryius Thomas had a broken bone, and Eric Decker has a Lisfranc. Both players worked out pretty well for Denver, but not until their 2nd seasons. This does call into question just how much Latimer will contribute this season for Denver.

I wanted us to draft Latimer too, for his size, strength and speed. But, Ted clearly felt Davante Adams was the better choice.

Let's forget 40 times and height. Let's just take a look at production on the field instead, since that is really what we want:

Cody Latimer Game Log 2013:
http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/player/306/1039707/receiving/gamelog.html 

Cody Latimer Game Log 2012:
http://www.cfbstats.com/2012/player/306/1039707/receiving/gamelog.html 

Cody Latimer Game Log 2011:
http://www.cfbstats.com/2011/player/306/1039707/receiving/gamelog.html 

Davante Adams Game Log 2013:
http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/player/96/1038921/receiving/gamelog.html 

Davante Adams Game Log 2012:
http://www.cfbstats.com/2012/player/96/1038921/receiving/gamelog.html 

To me, there really is no comparison from a pure production standpoint. Especially when you consider Adams did this in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons.

Speaking strictly production, Latimer had 6 games with 5 or fewer receptions in 2013. That's half the season. Adams had 1. Latimer had 9 TDs compared to Adams' 24 TDs. Latimer had 6 as a sophomore, Adams had 14 as a freshman.

Latimer had 7 100 yd games receiving between 2012-2013. Latimer had 1 game with 185+ (189, and 3 of his TDs against hapless Illinois.)
Adams had 13 100 yd games receiving during that same time. 5 of those games were 185+, with 3 200+ yd games.

Latimer is just 1" taller, otherwise they measure about the same 212-215, same arm length, Latimer's hands are 9 5/8 v. Adams' 9".

Add to this, Adams faced roughly the same or more difficult coverage in putting up his numbers (based on the chart steve had found). Not to mention, Todd McShay stated only 3 WRs in the entire draft class had #1 rated hands. Adams was one of them.

So, when you look at all of THAT, true production on the field, I can easily see why Ted made the choice in taking Davante Adams.

*An interesting note, our 7th round pick, Jeff Janis, is bigger (6-3 219), faster (4.30 unofficial) and also had better production than Cody Latimer...

How many times are you going to throw his production out there? Yes, at FRESNO freaking STATE. In a goofy trick passing offense. His running mate, Burse, had 100 receptions this season and wasn't drafted. Marqise Lee put up 112 receptions at USC 2 years ago. Cooks put up incredible numbers at Oregon State. Jordan Matthews put up over 100 receptions in the SEC. That is what I respect...REAL production.

What you're doing is the equivalent of bragging 4 weeks into the college football season that the Badgers are going to win the national championship because they beat 4 tomato cans to start the season in dominating fashion. Who cares? Davante cupcaked his way to his numbers just like the Badgers do with opening season wins. That box that showed level of success vs. top CB's was encouraging and is about the only encouraging thing outside of his impressive vertical jump that stands out about him. Oh, and his hands which are pretty important.

You can look throughout NFL history at guys who had huge production in college who were absolute failures in the NFL and the exact opposite...guys with little production that were outstanding. Davante sounds like he'll be a middle of the road guy for us. Was hoping for a guy who sounded like he'd be an actual difference maker.

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Considering his specialty is the place where our offense seemed weakest I'm not sure I'd write him off from being a difference maker.

Whoa, a WR who specializes in offensive line play? BONUS!![rockon]

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