FanPost

Edmund Gates, Do You Believe the Hype?

Edmund-gates_medium

via packerchatters.com

Edmund Gates gets a lot of attention because of his 40 time at the combine. I believe he will be a good WR in the NFL. However, I took a look at a local prospect’s numbers and was surprised at what I found.

Take a look at their numbers side by side. You be the judge.

Make "the jump" to read a short, in-depth case study of two similar athletes.

Edmund Gates 2010 Stats:
12 games, 66 catches 1182 yards 17.9 yds/catch 13 TDs 55 Long 98.5 rec yds/game
Joe Hastings 2010 Stats:
12 games, 87 catches 1546 yards 17.8 yds/catch 15 TDs 74 Long 128.8 rec yds/game

Johnny Knox stats from his senior year at ACU:
12 games. 56 catches 1069 yds 19.1 yds/catch 13 TDs 60 Long 89.1 yds/game


Athletic Numbers:

Gates:
Height: 5’11.6"
Weight: 192
Bench Reps: 16
Vertical: 38.5"
Broad: 11’
40 yd: 4.37
Pro Agil: 4.17

Hastings:
Height: 5’11.4"
Weight: 190
Bench Reps: 13
Vertical: 35.5"
Broad: 10’
40 yd: 4.44
Pro Agil: 4.20


Washburn played ACU in 2010, ACU won by 8.
Gates had 5 catches for 138yds and 2 TD’s.
Hastings had 7 catches for 156yds and 2 TD’s.

My conclusions:

Obviously if the players with the best stats were ALWAYS the best football players and translated the best to the NFL we wouldn’t even be discussing the draft or talent evaluation. However I think it is very important that we see through the hype produced by the sports media. The athletic tests at the combine and at pro days are simply "tests" for athletes. They are tested to make sure they took this step in the process seriously and prepared for the combine. There are ranges for these athletes in these tests. Most scouts and GMs (besides the Raiders) are simply putting a "check" mark by each test when they evaluate a player. If he runs within their range he gets a check if he runs slower than their range he gets a minus, faster than the range is a check plus. Obviously if a receiver runs a 4.9 forty there will be red flags but most of the evaluation is in film study.

Lets look at my mini case study of Edmund Gates and Joe Hastings. Both are from DII schools, both are about the same size and weight, both ran fast 40 times, both had outstanding production at their level of competition. So why aren’t we hearing about Joe Hastings on ESPN? Its pretty obvious why, he wasn’t at the combine, and he didn’t scrape that 4.3-something forty yard dash time in front of millions of viewers. Running a 4.4 and a 4.37 is literally indistinguishable...especially when those two athletes are on the game field in pads and not in shorts.

I’ve seen many mock drafts on Arrowheadpride show Edmund Gates to the Chiefs in the 3rd. In light of the fact that this is a discussion based website and I want to see some heated debate I have to ask WHY would we take Gates in the 3rd if we can snag Hastings in the 6th or 7th?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.