NFL Prospect Focus: Donte Moncrief and Cody Latimer

Donte Moncrief – Wide Receiver – Mississippi
Size – 6023 – 219 – 4.40
Strong Points – Excellent size, good athlete, consistent blocker, run after catch, hands
Weak Points – Limited route tree, often body catches, doesn’t have a big receiving radius,
2013 Stats – 59 receptions, 938 yards, six touchdowns, 156 career receptions, 2527 yards, 20 touchdowns
Summation – Donte is a third-year junior entering the draft as an underclassman. He has been a three-year starter at Ole Miss and been very productive for them.
He has excellent size and overall athleticism. At 6023-219 with 4.40 speed, he fits the mold of the big receivers that have come in vogue in the NFL. At the combine, he had a vertical jump of 39.5" and a standing long jump of 11’, showing his excellent explosiveness.
Ole Miss plays from a spread offense and they don’t have Moncrief run a very sophisticated route tree. His main route is the bubble screen, but he will run some hitches and comebacks as well as some go routes. You don’t see a lot of slants and crossing routes.
Moncrief shows he can catch the ball in his hands, but he will body catch some and doesn’t have a really big receiving radius. His ability to adjust to the ball is good but not great. He will have some concentration drops.
What Moncrief does well is run after the catch. He is fast with a quick burst and runs with power. He shows good run instincts and is a consistent threat to turn a short pass into a long gain. Moncrief is very willing and effective as a blocker.
Moncrief is still raw, but he has a tremendous amount of upside. You are drafting him based on what he can become, not what he is. He is not ready to step in and be more than a rotational contributor at this time. He is going to need to learn how to read coverages to make sight adjustments and will also need to develop his overall route running skills. He should be ready to be an every down player sometime in his second year. I think he is a solid third round pick but his natural physical traits may get him drafted higher.
Grade B 6.6

Cody Latimer – Wide Receiver – Indiana
Size – 6025 – 215 – 4.46
Strong Points – Size, speed, top production, hands, ability to adjust to the ball
Weak Points – Coming off a broken bone in his foot, limited route tree, average blocker, has some tightness in his hips, not used inside that much
2013 Stats – 72 receptions, 1096 yards, 9 touchdowns, 135 career receptions, 2012 yards, 17 touchdowns
Summation – Cody is a third-year junior entering the draft as an underclassman. He played as a reserve his first year at Indiana and has been a starter the last two season.
He has excellent size at 6025 – 215. Though still recovering from a broken bone in his foot, he still ran 4.47 in the 40 and had a 39” vertical jump at a limited pro day a few weeks ago.
On tape, he has some athletic limitations. He does not play to that timed speed and also has some tightness in his hips that hurts his ability to get in and out of cuts really quickly. He does not show a quick burst, but he has long speed once under way. He can be effective as a deep receiver.
Indiana plays from a spread offense, and like many spread offenses, Latimer has a limited route tree. He usually lines up outside and runs hitches, comebacks, some bubble screens, and go routes. I have seen him run some inside routes, but the majority are outside the numbers.
Latimer has very good hands and a large receiving radius. He can adjust to the ball, almost always catches the ball in his hands, and can high-point it. After the catch, he tucks the ball away quickly. As a runner, he gets what is there and has strength to get extra yards, but he is not a really elusive runner. As a blocker, Latimer is willing but not consistently effective. He isn’t a really physical player.
With Latimer running and jumping as good as he did, teams are going back for another look. The Indiana scheme does limit him some. An NFL offense will be more suitable to his traits. He will need to improve his route running. Part of that will be learning to sink his hips and get in and out of cuts more quickly. There is no question that he has upside.
Latimer has talent, and while he will need time to develop, I see him as an eventual starter in the league. I have not seen anything on tape that shows me that he would be a good special teams' player while he is developing. With his size and leaping ability, he may be used right away as a red zone receiver.
I see Cody as a good fourth-to-fifth round receiver, but the speed he showed in a limited workout may get him drafted higher (third round).
Grade – B 6.5

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