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Scouting notes: Josh Doctson, TCU WR


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http://draftbreakdown.com/players/josh-doctson/

 

There are seven games of him on DB, three from last season, which are just as impressive. He's done for the regular season, and I supposed there's a chance he'll play in the bowl game, but as it stands, he's a record holder for TCU in TDs and yards, and is one short of the record for catches. Playmaker, matchup problem, and I think he'll be a good pro. Using Dustin's format.

 

Size: Listed at either 6'3" or 6'4", and about 195 pounds. Long frame, lean body, long arms, built for snatching balls out of the air. I'd like him to be slightly thicker, but he uses what he has well. 4.5/5

 

Athleticism: I'm not sure about his long speed. It's there, don't sleep on him at the line because he'll get behind you, but I think he's more like a < 4.6 kind of guy. His game isn't really about speed, but he can run. His mom ran track, so it's probably in the genes, and with coaching I bet he'll run great the Combine, but he doesn't have electric play speed. He is a great jumper, and combined with his size and length, that's a recipe for disaster. I'll talk more about his route running later, but he's not consistently explosive out of his breaks and sometimes takes too many steps. He can be fluid and show quick feet, but more often is sloppy and sort of giraffe-like, probably a byproduct of his height. 7/10

 

Hands: Great hands. Knows how to pluck the ball out of the air. I haven't watched every single one of his games, but I only remember one drop. He'll cradle it into his body in traffic, he'll high point it, he'll one hand it OBJ style, etc. I want to pull out some gifs because he has some exciting catches, but I'll have to do that at some point in the future. No issues with catching the ball, though. 9/10

 

Routes: Only ran three basic routes that I saw -- in route, comeback/stop route, go route. Different variations of these routes, some with some wiggle, and none with remarkable precision. Exclusively lined up on the right side, so his in route is always to his left, and only a few times did I see an out route. There's always a totally undeceptive fake to the outside before the in cut, which only works because DBs can't let him have an angle due to his size and they have help to the inside. I don't think I ever even saw a slant. Sometimes graceful, other times gangly. Has some wiggle on his in routes, especially when working against zone, but as I mentioned, he's not going to blow out of his breaks, and most of his routes are rounded at the top and don't create great separation. The stop route is a weapon because he's a deep threat, not because he runs it well. What he's great at is running his routes with awareness, staying away from the boundary, setting defenders up to work open areas against zone, etc. Seems like a very heady player and route runner, but not technically proficient in this area. 5/10

 

Physicality: Got it. He uses his hands well getting off the line, though he can be bothered by more physical press corners. Isn't bothered by hand fighting down the field and can run right through a would-be arm bar. Holds on to the ball through contact with defenders and the ground. 8/10

 

Body control / adjustment ability: Boy oh boy. He can get his body turned around however you want when the ball is in the air, and he uses his body to stack DBs and shield them from the ball, while using his long arms or height or leaping ability to catch the ball. Has an insane catch radius, which he needs because his QB isn't very accurate. Lots of his catches come somewhat contested in that there's a defender right there, but the defender had no chance at the ball. Understands how to give the QB room to throw the ball to the boundary, and then can drop in right under the ball. I saw him juke out a DB while the ball was in the air, then cruise to the ball and catch it uncontested. Stop fades and outside fades are his specialty. He'll dive for a short comeback and get under it. Knows how to get his feet down, though can use some practice with the toe-tap for the second foot. As unrefined as his route running is, he's a savant when the ball is in the air. 9.5/10

 

Elusiveness: Very little of this. Can use some blocks in the screen game to get a few extra yards, but that's about it. He'll do a little juke and then go to the stiff arm, which is good for about seven yards because of how long he is. Saw him run right into tackles when he had a clear path to the end zone. Not a quick twitch player, which you wouldn't expect with his size. 4/10

 

Run blocking: Very good blocker, can lock on to DBs and even LBs and shut them out, set up some nice runs for his QB and other skill guys. Let up early a few times, but also came back to mix it up on other occasions. I would call him a willing and able blocker who will be great as long as he's focused. 4/5

 

Overall: 51/70, strong first rounder

 

Scheme fit: 5/5, not a question. If he doesn't fit your scheme, you're playing soccer.

 

I'd compare him to a leaner Demaryius Thomas. Raw route runner, not exactly a burner, but good physicality and use of his big body to make big catches. He can produce right away, but needs refinement to really take advantage of his natural ability. After a couple seasons, he'll be a nightmare matchup for any DB, especially in the end zone. 

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Point of interest on the size column: CBS has him at 6' 2". He's been super productive this season, look forward to watching his draft breakdown tapes. 

 

We'll see how he checks in at the Combine. He may have grown and had his listings updated. Either way, he's definitely long. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Dustin said:

 

FWIW, PFF has him going 5th in their mock draft. 

 

He's their kind of player, for sure.

 

But that brings up a flaw in their grading, especially when projecting college players to the NFL. Doctson doesn't really run routes, so PFF basically can't grade his route running; if they did, it would be a negative. An NFL evaluator is going to take his limited route running into consideration, and it's going to drop him in the draft. 

 

On the other hand, because of his awareness and savvy, he'll be able to play on Day 1. He's a mismatch on the outside automatically. And I think he's going to run well at the Combine. He could sneak into the first round.

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