WR David Douglas - Keep an eye on him

[BleedinBlue]

I've been researching all our UDFA's and seems we might have another possible player who might make it big in the NFL. If he lives up to half the hype, he could become a solid slot receiver. He'll be in the mix with Jernigan and Barden competing for a spot on the team. Anyway....

 

I was reading "Bleacher Report" (I know, some of you guys hate the site....or at least Storm does), and they gave grades to each of our 11 UDFA's. Most were "B's" and "C's", but Janzin Jackson was an "A+" and David Douglas was an "A". That of course stirred my interest to see why he'd be graded an "A". ( http://bleacherrepor...k-giants/page/3 )

 

Then I read Sports Illustrated which does a piece each year called the "Wes Walker Watch List", which lists the top 10 UDFA's among all UDFA's to try and forecast the next Wes Walker. In the intro, they discuss Victor Cruz as an example of extreme talent sifting through the cracks and not getting drafted. Anyway, they have David Douglas as one of the 10 UDFA's who could turn into something great. ( http://sportsillustr...list/index.html )

 

From all I have read, this kid has "slot receiver" written all over him. The book on him is that he runs extremely precise routes and can catch anything. Although he wasn't used at Arizona as a return guy, when the team was ahead, the coach would use him as the return guy just because he has such good hands and never dropped the ball and would be told, "just catch it and don't do anything fancy". He's also a workaholic and a gym rat kind of guy always pushing himself.

 

On his pro day in Arizona, he ran a 4.4, and has keep football sense. At 6'1" and 207 lbs, he shows his leaping ability and athleticism by dribbling a basketball between his legs and then crossing the ball behind his back as he makes a power dunk. Pretty good for a white guy under 6'5".

 

Anyway, here's a couple of quick writeups on him from local papers in Arizona:

 

1) Is David Douglas the Next Wes Walker? http://www.azdeserts...next-wes-welker

 

"The NFL Draft is far from perfect. When it comes down to it, careers aren't made tomorrow's first day of the draft, nor the next or the next.

 

They're made in training camp, when those players show their teams that throwing the bank at them based on studying long hours film was a good decision.

 

Lots of talent goes unnoticed, and for all we've talked about Arizona Wildcats Nick Foles, Juron Criner, and even Trevin Wade as draft talents, down the road it might be David Douglas who finds himself heartily contributing to an NFL team.

 

Sports Illustrated writer Don Banks has Douglas on a shortlist of players he calls the Wes Walker Watch List, which is "a compilation of 10 little-known prospects who have a shot to make it in the league even if they don't get drafted, or wind up being selected in the late rounds."

 

And Douglas is the only one who fits the Welker profile of being short, white and unheralded.

 

Like Welker, a former Texas Tech wideout, Douglas played in an offense spawned from the ideals of Mike Leach. Like Welker, Douglas will probably go undrafted.

 

At 6-foot-1, 207 pounds, Douglas actually has more size than Welker, and Foles, one of Douglas' best friends, has said he's unassumingly one of the better athletes on the Arizona football team.

Here are Banks' thoughts on Douglas:

 

 

 

 

 

The Wildcats' No. 2 receiver behind the more highly regarded Juron Criner, Douglas didn't have gaudy stats as a senior (65 catches for 666 yards and four touchdowns), but he flashed real potential this spring, running in the 4.4s with a 39-inch vertical leap. He has excellent short-burst quickness and the ability to find the gaps in a defense, and at 6-1, 207 pounds he has the necessary size to project to the NFL.

 

Douglas will be either a late-round pick or a priority collegiate free agent, and scouts have grown more impressed with his soft hands, tight route running and football instincts as the spring has worn on. The Lions and Bills are two of the teams thought to be interested in his market".

 

-----------------------------------

 

2) Former receiver David Douglas breaks out at UA's Pro Day

 

"A quick look around the Internet will show you which former Arizona football players are likely to get drafted to the NFL in April. Quarterback Nick Foles, receiver Juron Criner and cornerback Trevin Wade, all projected to be selected as high as the second round in the draft by various websites, were even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

 

David Douglas, a former UA receiver, was nowhere to be found — at least, until Monday when Arizona held its Pro Day.

 

In front of scouts and personnel from nearly every NFL team, Douglas stole the show from his more highly touted counterparts, running a blazing unofficial 4.45 second 40-yard dash, putting up 20 bench press reps of 225 pounds and recording a 36.5 inch vertical jump, according to Foles.

 

“I thought I had a good day,” Douglas said. “I feel like I performed well in everything, it went well playing with Nick and all in all it was a good day for me.”

 

The 6-foot-1 receiver from McKinney, Texas, turned more than a few heads on Monday, and might have played his way into the NFL Draft. Former UA quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo, who conducted the workouts on Monday, said the Wildcats might not have utilized Douglas as much as they could have when he played for Arizona. “David did what we asked him to do while he was here, I think today he showed that we didn’t ask him to do enough,” Scelfo said. “David made some money today.”

 

Now that Douglas has firmly placed himself on the NFL radar, the fact that people have been overlooking him in terms of his NFL prospects gives him a chip on his shoulder. “It’s definitely a motivational factor, I mean (Criner, Wade and Foles) deserve all the attention, those guys are great players and you have to give them credit, but it’s just something that motivates you,” Douglas said. “Not being invited to the combine, there’s nothing you can do about all of that. I just focused on coming out here and doing the best at the Pro Day I could. I felt like I trained hard and it paid off and I had a pretty good day.”

 

Even though people outside of the Arizona locker room might just be discovering Douglas’ freakish athleticism, it’s not as if this is the first glimpse of Douglas the public has had. For the last two seasons, Douglas was the Wildcats’ second-leading receiver behind Criner in a passing offense that was ranked sixth in the nation in 2011 and eighth in 2010. Over the last two years, Douglas has averaged 58.5 catches, 590.5 yards and 4.5 touchdowns. He had the best game of his career in 2011 when he caught 10 balls for 156 yards and two touchdowns against Utah.

 

Foles, who has been training with Douglas in the weeks leading up to the Pro Day and is currently staying at Scelfo’s house with Douglas, said the performance his friend put on for Monday came as no surprise to him. In fact, he believes Douglas could have done even better.

 

“I knew he was going to do that, he helped (himself) a lot, it was huge,” Foles said. “His vertical was 36.5, but he’s really a 40-inch vertical, I don’t think he was warm. I've seen him make highlight plays with a basketball... there’s a dunk with him just messing around. He’s not even warm and he just goes up under his legs and slams it. The guy is a frickin’ athlete.”

 

Douglas put the NFL on notice with his performance on Monday. “They all saw what I did,” Douglas said in regards to the scouts in attendance.

 

Prior to Monday, the only website to even rank him was CBSsportsline.com — a site that ranks every prospect. CBS had Douglas ranked 739 overall, and as the 104th best receiver prospect. Only about 224 players get drafted.

 

But after Monday’s performance, it’s safe to say that Douglas’ stock is on the rise.

[CrazedDogs]

Now this guy.... I can't understand why he didn't get drafted. Over 6' tall, 100+ catches in college, plus NFL-level gym numbers? Seems like an obvious mid round pick, not somebody that is short or slow and would therefore get disregarded by NFL scouts. Makes me think there's something we're missing here...

[gmenroc]

Now this guy.... I can't understand why he didn't get drafted. Over 6' tall, 100+ catches in college, plus NFL-level gym numbers? Seems like an obvious mid round pick, not somebody that is short or slow and would therefore get disregarded by NFL scouts. Makes me think there's something we're missing here...

Exactly

[BleedinBlue]

Now this guy.... I can't understand why he didn't get drafted. Over 6' tall, 100+ catches in college, plus NFL-level gym numbers? Seems like an obvious mid round pick, not somebody that is short or slow and would therefore get disregarded by NFL scouts. Makes me think there's something we're missing here...

 

I have no idea if anything is missing. I think he was on a team with several high level prospects so he didn't get as much attention. And he wasn't the primary receiver on the team. More than anything, I think it's just a matter of no team is able to throroughly analyze every single player in college and some really good athletes fall through the cracks on draft day....such as Cruz. Hopefully, there is a hidden gem in our UDFA's this year and I think between Douglas and Jackson, we might sift through the chaffe and find a winner.

 

It all depends on how the competition works out. Reese and TC don't draft to fill holes, they draft athletes that they groom for a year or two down the road oftentimes, plugging in a veteran for one year to hold the fort as the more athletic, less refined players get up to speed. And they love competition....the more the better. It lights fires on last years crop of draftees as well as those drafted even further back. And competition reveals the most promising player as it unfolds before the coaches eyes. You just never know what you got until the players prove one is better than another.

 

There will be a ton of competition at the receiver position. Being a great special teams player will help a couple of up and comers stay on the team that wouldn't stick elsewise.

 

In the end....the draft is a crapshoot. 5 years from now, half the guys who got drafted will no longer be in the NFL. And of course, the stories are endless of those who never got drafted and went on to star in the NFL. Maybe we have one or two in camp, maybe we got nothing.

 

Regardless....any UDFA is a free risk and potential high reward.

[CrazedDogs]

I have no idea if anything is missing. I think he was on a team with several high level prospects so he didn't get as much attention. And he wasn't the primary receiver on the team. More than anything, I think it's just a matter of no team is able to throroughly analyze every single player in college and some really good athletes fall through the cracks on draft day....such as Cruz. Hopefully, there is a hidden gem in our UDFA's this year and I think between Douglas and Jackson, we might sift through the chaffe and find a winner.

 

It all depends on how the competition works out. Reese and TC don't draft to fill holes, they draft athletes that they groom for a year or two down the road oftentimes, plugging in a veteran for one year to hold the fort as the more athletic, less refined players get up to speed. And they love competition....the more the better. It lights fires on last years crop of draftees as well as those drafted even further back. And competition reveals the most promising player as it unfolds before the coaches eyes. You just never know what you got until the players prove one is better than another.

 

There will be a ton of competition at the receiver position. Being a great special teams player will help a couple of up and comers stay on the team that wouldn't stick elsewise.

 

In the end....the draft is a crapshoot. 5 years from now, half the guys who got drafted will no longer be in the NFL. And of course, the stories are endless of those who never got drafted and went on to star in the NFL. Maybe we have one or two in camp, maybe we got nothing.

 

Regardless....any UDFA is a free risk and potential high reward.

 

I usually look at UDFAs as human tackling dummies.

[Treehugger]

1) Nicks

2) Cruz

3) Hixon

4) Randle

5) Jernigan

6) Douglas

7) Waterboy

8) Barden

[Allstarjim]

To call Bleacher Report the National Enquirer of sports websites would be to elevate it's status. I would much sooner just read bigblue25's posts, or team's fan sites over b/r. It's almost as if anyone can put anything on b/r. Their contributors know next to nothing about anything. There is a good reason Storm hates b/r. They suck. They are the epitome of throw a ton of shit against the wall and see what sticks.

 

/rant

 

Now, to your topic, it will be hard for Douglas to make the 53 man roster, of course it's possible.

 

You have 4 spots that are really pretty set in stone:

 

Nicks

Cruz

Randle

Jernigan

 

I think Barden will be given another year, as well.

 

And we re-signed Hixon. That's 6 spots right there. So Douglas is probably a practice squad guy, unless he beats Hixon or Barden for a job, which is possible. Plus he has to beat all the other unheralded guys, like Julian Talley, Dan Depalma, etc.

[Storm]

To call Bleacher Report the National Enquirer of sports websites would be to elevate it's status. I would much sooner just read bigblue25's posts, or team's fan sites over b/r. It's almost as if anyone can put anything on b/r. Their contributors know next to nothing about anything. There is a good reason Storm hates b/r. They suck. They are the epitome of throw a ton of shit against the wall and see what sticks.

 

/rant

 

Now, to your topic, it will be hard for Douglas to make the 53 man roster, of course it's possible.

 

You have 4 spots that are really pretty set in stone:

 

Nicks

Cruz

Randle

Jernigan

 

I think Barden will be given another year, as well.

 

And we re-signed Hixon. That's 6 spots right there. So Douglas is probably a practice squad guy, unless he beats Hixon or Barden for a job, which is possible. Plus he has to beat all the other unheralded guys, like Julian Talley, Dan Depalma, etc.

 

That's EXACTLY how I feel about it Jim.

 

Oh, and I used to be on their lame email list serv.....I used to get bullshit like, "Bradshaw RIPS Eli" and I'd check it out and it'd be about Bradshaw making a statement about how he wished he had gotten a few more touches against that particular team or something similarly innocuous. The exact type of thing those rags like National Enquirer do.

 

Or, they'll do a list about the top 100 current coaches and list guys like Herm Edwards, Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher, etc. They are complete morons over there and I'm pretty sure that any old person can write an article for them with minimal effort.

[BleedinBlue]

I read many sites and take everything with a grain of salt. Nothing I posted came from BleacherReport except the "A" grade. Everything else came from Sports Illustrated, local newspapers, etc. I wouldn't have even bothered to research this guy to the level I did had it not been for the high grade. If you went to the link I provided for the BleacherReport page, you'll see it says very little about this guy. But it did whett my appetite to find out more about him and I'm glad I did.

 

Regardless.....even a broken clock is right twice a day so I don't stop from reading sites that may not come up to the level you guys read.

 

Here's a quick list of sites I visit every day.

 

ProFootballTalk (good site and has a section just for Giants)

InsideFootball (which focuses entirely on the Giants)

Giants101

GiantsNFLGateway

Team Giants (Mikefan and Gamegirl)

Giants News Yahoo

GiantsGab

GiantsBeat

Giantsfan.net

Giantsfootballblog.com

Big Blue Interactive

Big Blue Huddle

Big Blue Tailgate

Big Blue View

New York Giants Rant

BleacherReport

ESPN

SportsIllustrated

and of course, Sportswrath

 

I don't ever go to the official Giants site.....well, maybe once every few months and never find it enlightening and wonder why I bothered.

 

Regardless....I didn't say this guy was going to make it. I said, "keep an eye on him". That said, it's almost a guarantee that at least one of our WR's will be injured during training and preseason. And if this guy shows he has a big set of balls to go across the slot and always catch the ball....Jernigan will have his hands full to beat him out. The way I see it, the slot position takes the biggest beatings and Jernigan at 5'9" and 190 lbs isn't that big....not to mention, they'd like to give Cruz a chance to start going long. It takes a special guy to love crossing the slot and maybe this guy has the heart to be that guy. I know that Wes Walker made the Patriots one awfully hard team to beat and if we get a guy like that, just think what they could do to get Cruz and Nicks open.....not to mention the RB's.

 

All I'm saying is, keep an eye on this kid and see if he's for real.

[CrazedDogs]

Sorry Bleedin, didn't mean to crap on the guy, if thats how it came off... I'm actually pretty excited about this kid, at least as far as UDFAs go.

[BleedinBlue]

Sorry Bleedin, didn't mean to crap on the guy, if thats how it came off... I'm actually pretty excited about this kid, at least as far as UDFAs go.

 

Nothing to be sorry about. I know that most UDFAs won't make it. Last year I was hoping Herzlick and Hynoski would make it and they did. I just try to figure out which of the guys brought in will end up making the team. With the exception of TE, most positions are already overstocked so it'll be tough for any of them this year. It's always nice to find a legitimate player for free though. Well.....the free part as in not having to burn our limited draft picks.

[Allstarjim]

David Douglas.... on the second vid, it's Nick Foles (his QB) breakdown, so I noted the plays that Douglas made, so you don't have to watch the whole 10 minutes. He makes the first play of the video, then after that, fast forward to:

 

3:01 (back to back plays)

6:23

7:21

8:47 (weak block attempt in space, c'mon man!)

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxxdxyvC5ZU

 

http://www.youtube.c...n&v=PmAT4QZ8_QQ

[Allstarjim]

Sorry, it won't embed the video on the second youtube link, so you have to click it.

[Lughead]

Sorry, it won't embed the video on the second youtube link, so you have to click it.

can't find the server at www.youtube.c...n&v=pmat4qz8_qq%22]http.

[Allstarjim]

Sorry, let me try again:

 

[Allstarjim]

Here's another one, the time hacks for this one are:

 

 

:35

1:51

3:10 (5 plays in a row)

5:09 (2 plays in a row)

6:10

 

[Chuck Wagon]

Here's another one, the time hacks for this one are:

 

 

:35

1:51

3:10 (5 plays in a row)

5:09 (2 plays in a row)

6:10

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4PV1xf9lhU

 

Thanks Jim.......hes a hands catcher ....nice.

 

C.W agno

[BleedinBlue]

Since the Eagles grabbed Nick Foles with their 3rd round pick.....I wonder if we're not going to see a lot of him in the future. Vicks likes to run the ball himself too often and that's the profile of a QB who gains lots of experience on the PUP or IR list. There is chatter on the Eagles board that Foles is their next franchise QB. And Foles ran a whopping 5.14 40 at the combine so you know he's the opposite of Vicks.

 

Anyway....after watching the clips (and yes, thanks Jim), it doesn't seem to me that Foles made many picture perfect passes. I think Douglas did well to bring in some pretty bad throws. I suspect he will end up on the Giants roster at some point

[Chuck Wagon]

Since the Eagles grabbed Nick Foles with their 3rd round pick.....I wonder if we're not going to see a lot of him in the future. Vicks likes to run the ball himself too often and that's the profile of a QB who gains lots of experience on the PUP or IR list. There is chatter on the Eagles board that Foles is their next franchise QB. And Foles ran a whopping 5.14 40 at the combine so you know he's the opposite of Vicks.

 

Anyway....after watching the clips (and yes, thanks Jim), it doesn't seem to me that Foles made many picture perfect passes. I think Douglas did well to bring in some pretty bad throws. I suspect he will end up on the Giants roster at some point

 

4.4 Speed on a 6'1" 210 frame....that is a lot of force coming at you on a kick off coverage team.

 

C. Wagon

[BleedinBlue]

4.4 Speed on a 6'1" 210 frame....that is a lot of force coming at you on a kick off coverage team.

 

C. Wagon

 

I'd be more afraid of that freak Kuhn who ran a 4.89 and weighs 300 lbs with no fat. If I was one of those skinny little returners and saw him coming, I'd just flip him the ball so he wouldn't kill me.

 

Special teams is the saving grace for a lot of rookies. If you are really good on special teams, the coaches will usually find you a spot on the roster as you mature at a regular position. Martin, Hosley, Jackson, kuhn, Douglas, etc., added to the special teams could see a big jump in improvement. Plus, both Martin and Hosley have a lot of experience in kickoff returns which could push Hixon out of that job.

 

Gonna be fun to watch what happens this season.