Indy Star Ayello on Patmon

[EastStreet]

Pretty decent read from Indy Star writer Jim Ayello that I thought was worth a thread of it's own. Not a big fan in general of Ayello, but he sticks to facts on this one and does a good job of painting the entire picture. Great job Jim. 

 

We all have heard of his emergence this summer, so most of this is "known". What I like about this particular article is that it's honest about the draft evals not only from the talking heads, but also his coach. I think we can all agree that when a player's coach provides critical feedback, it's something of far more substance than talking head chatter, or when a player's coach provides positive feedback. It's actually pretty rare that coaches provide constructive criticism of their kids going into the draft. But we all know Leach is not a normal coach lol. 

 

That said, it's all the more impressive to me that Patmon has seemed to flip a switch between his last college season, and now. More physical, improved route running, etc. And most of us that know college football well, know Leach's scheme can make it hard to peg certain skill players. Not sure if he worked with someone in the off season, but I'd wager he has. And whatever he's done, has paid off big time.

 

The second thing I really liked about the article is that a guy of his size and speed (measurables) who can run good routes and catch, is a bit rare, and will always be coveted by teams (probably more so than others). Given the reports, which we all know other teams are reading too, it's really going to be a tough decision come next week.

 

I'll add my thoughts on the competition at WR in a bit, but thought I'd draw specific attention to this article. 

 

Quote

 

IndyStar Colts Insider Jim Ayello

 

INDIANAPOLIS — Dezmon Patmon was supposed to be a project, a mass of raw tools for Indianapolis Colts wide receivers coach Mike Groh to mold -- someday -- into an NFL playmaker. 

 

Here’s the thing, though. Over the past few days, the sixth-round pick is looking more like a player than a project. 

 

It’s early, of course, and a few standout practices in training camp does not mean he’s ready to stand side by side with T.Y. Hilton. Frankly, he's still not a lock to make the Week 1 roster, but give Patmon this: He sure looks more polished than what draftniks forecasted a few months ago. 

 

Coming out of Washington State, prospect gurus warned that while Patmon was a size-speed freak (6-4, 228 pounds with 4.48 speed), he was unrefined. His ran a limited route tree, and those routes he did run needed development. Worse yet, he hadn’t learned to consistently capitalize on his tremendous physical gifts.

 

Actually, it wasn’t just draftniks who cultivated that fear. His own college coach, Mike Leach, said Patmon only sometimes remembered that he could bully smaller defensive backs. 

 

“I think that sometimes what he does physically — because he does have a unique strength to him — I don’t think it surprises anyone but him," Leach told the Spokesman-Review. “I think everybody looks and says, ‘Yeah, well of course,’ and then the only guy surprised is Dez.”

 

Ahead of the draft. NFL.com draft guru Lance Zierlein criticized Patmon’s game as “lacking the assertiveness to impose his will. … He has decent buildup speed, body control and ball skills to compete for 50/50 balls, but he doesn't always play with 'my-ball' attitude."

 

In other words, there’s a reason this collegiate standout, this man among boys, was projected to be a late-round draft pick. 

 

And so he was. The Colts selected Patmon with their second-to-last pick -- giving him maybe the lowest odds to make the Week 1 roster given the stiff competition he faced at the position. 

 

That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. 

 

Patmon’s emergence began late last week when he snagged a deep ball down the left sideline for a touchdown from Jacoby Brissett during a two-minute drill. Then, at Monday’s dress rehearsal at Lucas Oil Stadium, Patmon delivered again. And again. And again. And again. He hauled in four passes Monday, second only to T.Y. Hilton among wide receivers. Patmon’s most impressive catch of day even showcased the ability scouts worried about. He big-bodied a smaller Colts defensive back and plucked a 50-50 ball out of the air.

 

After a day off Tuesday, Patmon was back at it again Wednesday, hauling in a couple more passes, including one late in the day from starting quarterback Philip Rivers. 

 

On both receptions, Patmon flashed sure hands and decisive route-running ability. 

 

It bears repeating, Patmon’s no lock to make the roster. Beyond the Colts' top four of T.Y. Hilton, Parris Campbell (in concussion protocol after being involved in a minor car accident), Michael Pittman Jr. and Zach Pascal, he has to beat out some quality players. In Marcus Johnson, the Colts have a known commodity -- a veteran they can trust due his time spent in Frank Reich’s offenses in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Ashton Dulin, meanwhile, is one of the fastest players on the team and a special teams standout. Then there’s Daurice Fountain, a 2018 fifth-round pick who looked poised to break out for Colts last year before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in a joint practice session with the Cleveland Browns. 

 

All three can make legitimate cases for why they should be the fifth wide receiver on the Colts depth chart, though all three will likely hope the team decides to keep one more than that on the active roster. 

 

Patmon, however, looks to be giving himself an edge these past couple of days. The Colts have not only been pleased with his production and speedy development but with his fitness level. Patmon's been getting plenty of practice reps, as both Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni complimented the young receiver on being able to "run all day."

 

“Dez has done a nice job," offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. "He definitely has the body to be a big-time wide receiver, so it’s been nice to get him some of the catches on these in-cuts. I know we had a big in to him (Wednesday). He definitely has the body to do that, the type of body we look for on that. Then he’s made some plays outside the numbers that have been really nice to see. He caught that one on the curl in the game and showed some yards-after-catch ability because he is so big and powerful to take down. Very pleased with him."

 

Patmon, of course, will need to continue to impress during Saturday’s second and final dress rehearsal and up through cut day. If he does, general manager Chris Ballard and Co. are going to have a tough decision to make.

 

If they opt to keep receivers other than Patmon, they’ll risk exposing him to waivers as they try and sneak him onto the practice squad. And they'll do so knowing full well receivers with his size, speed and upside, aren’t easy to find. No one else on the Colts outside of fellow rookie Michael Pittman Jr. can come close to matching Patmon's size-speed profile. 

 

If they do try to sneak him through waivers, they'll know that a rival team -- perhaps one who had hoped he’d fall a little further in the draft -- could have their sights set on stealing him away from the Colts. 

 

Given the progress Patmon's already made during camp so far, the Colts may be better served not giving any team that opportunity.

 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2020/08/26/colts-rookie-wr-dezmon-patmon-looking-more-like-player-than-project/3412859001/

[ColtsLegacy]

Thanks.

 

Fyi, you're not supposed to quote whole articles. That takes clicks away from these sites. Leave a link and maybe a short summary/quote.

[Yoshinator]

Thank you @EastStreet for the article on Patmon! Jim Ayello is actually my favorite Colts writer. The guy is like a machine. I heard him do an interview with the bring the juice pocast, and his knowledge is unparalled. I'm loving Patmon right now and absolutely hoping he makes the 55. IMO, he's already good enough to start in some role on the team and get a set amount of snaps per game. The guy looks ready to take off in year 1 and it would be an absolute shame if Ballard put him on the practice squad and he got claimed.

[Jackie Daytona]

35 minutes ago, ColtsLegacy said:

Thanks.

 

Fyi, you're not supposed to quote whole articles. That takes clicks away from these sites. Leave a link and maybe a short summary/quote.

5,600+ posts in, I hope he just forgot....lol I'll give em the benefit of the doubt.

[EastStreet]

32 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Thank you @EastStreet for the article on Patmon! Jim Ayello is actually my favorite Colts writer. The guy is like a machine. I heard him do an interview with the bring the juice pocast, and his knowledge is unparalled. I'm loving Patmon right now and absolutely hoping he makes the 55. IMO, he's already good enough to start in some role on the team and get a set amount of snaps per game. The guy looks ready to take off in year 1 and it would be an absolute shame if Ballard put him on the practice squad and he got claimed.

You're welcome JC. Ayello is hit or miss to me. Sometimes good, sometimes shallow and regurgitating. He did a good job on this one though. 

 

At this point, I'm more excited about Patmon that Pittman, but I think that gap will certainly close. It certainly creates some competition at X (assuming that's where he's running out of). If he is indeed running out of X, the decision around Pittman/Patmon/Pascal will be interesting. Pascal played a decent amount running out of slot, so has flexibility. Regardless, it's awesome to have two 6-4 guys that are capable of high 4.4s or low 4.5s 40s. Long term, probably not good for Pascal. 

1 hour ago, ColtsLegacy said:

Thanks.

 

Fyi, you're not supposed to quote whole articles. That takes clicks away from these sites. Leave a link and maybe a short summary/quote.

 

30 minutes ago, Shafty138 said:

5,600+ posts in, I hope he just forgot....lol I'll give em the benefit of the doubt.

 

Not sure about the rules of this site, but most boards are fine with entire articles so long as 1) it's quoted, 2) the link is provided, and 3) it's free and not paid content. If that's not the case here, I can certainly do different.

[zibby43]

Not to take the topic too far afield, but I have been kind of disappointed in Pittman's camp.  (Not even remotely suggesting I'm giving up - just concerned.)

 

No catches in the scrimmage (that I'm aware of), and several dropped passes this week.  Several (4 or 5) in one practice. 

 

Meanwhile, Chase Claypool, another 2nd round pick, is balling out for the Steelers, and a much lower pick in Patmon is clearly out-performing Pittman at this stage. 

 

Pittman had great tape, but it was against some of the worst defenses in all of college football out in the Pac 12.

[Smonroe]

5 hours ago, zibby43 said:

Not to take the topic too far afield, but I have been kind of disappointed in Pittman's camp.  (Not even remotely suggesting I'm giving up - just concerned.)

 

No catches in the scrimmage (that I'm aware of), and several dropped passes this week.  Several (4 or 5) in one practice. 

 

Meanwhile, Chase Claypool, another 2nd round pick, is balling out for the Steelers, and a much lower pick in Patmon is clearly out-performing Pittman at this stage. 

 

Pittman had great tape, but it was against some of the worst defenses in all of college football out in the Pac 12.

It is a process, but he’s a smart kid with skills.  He’ll be okay.  
 

From Andrew Walker on Friday:  “On the next play, Rivers found wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. — who had a nifty double move to evade cornerback Rock Ya-Sin — over the middle.“

[PrideOfAthens17]

According to reports, the only thing Pitt has had what could be called a "struggle" with is completing the catch when having the ball ripped at after he's initially grabbed the pass, while trying to pull it in. Apparently he's had a number of these such plays where the ball has been stripped away so far.

 

But when it comes to running the routes, and positioning his body to make himself a good target for the catch (a trait not easy to learn how to do consistently early on for most new NFL receivers), the team is very pleased with what he's showed so far. So it sounds like if he can get that in close, physical fighting for the ball working consistently, he'll be ready to produce.

[EastStreet]

21 hours ago, zibby43 said:

Not to take the topic too far afield, but I have been kind of disappointed in Pittman's camp.  (Not even remotely suggesting I'm giving up - just concerned.)

 

No catches in the scrimmage (that I'm aware of), and several dropped passes this week.  Several (4 or 5) in one practice. 

 

Meanwhile, Chase Claypool, another 2nd round pick, is balling out for the Steelers, and a much lower pick in Patmon is clearly out-performing Pittman at this stage. 

 

Pittman had great tape, but it was against some of the worst defenses in all of college football out in the Pac 12.

As a ND fan, I was hoping for Claypool a bit, but more than fine with Pittman. Claypool is a beast, and while his drop % was higher than Pittman's, they were used in very different ways, not to mention the QB talent at both schools. I love Book, but Slovis was impressive as hell. Pittman was also on a team with crazy WR talent, while Claypool was in a much more conservative O scheme, and keyed on by every opposing D. 

 

Back to Patmon. I was very happy with the late round pick up, as I loved the size and speed. I think CB made a decision that he wanted multiple big-X options going into the year, and especially after the early loss of Funch last year, and the loss of a pass catching TE (Ebron) as well. I'm even happier now as it sounds like he's coming on strong and has already made significant improvements over last year by all reports.

 

16 hours ago, Smonroe said:

It is a process, but he’s a smart kid with skills.  He’ll be okay.  
 

From Andrew Walker on Friday:  “On the next play, Rivers found wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. — who had a nifty double move to evade cornerback Rock Ya-Sin — over the middle.“

Folks need to take a breath and give it time. Some of the reports are concerning, but he's adjusting to a lot. Some rooks just need a bit more time than others. May be he's thinking to much right now, and will settle in once the routes become second nature.

15 hours ago, PrideOfAthens17 said:

According to reports, the only thing Pitt has had what could be called a "struggle" with is completing the catch when having the ball ripped at after he's initially grabbed the pass, while trying to pull it in. Apparently he's had a number of these such plays where the ball has been stripped away so far.

 

But when it comes to running the routes, and positioning his body to make himself a good target for the catch (a trait not easy to learn how to do consistently early on for most new NFL receivers), the team is very pleased with what he's showed so far. So it sounds like if he can get that in close, physical fighting for the ball working consistently, he'll be ready to produce.

Actually, there has been reports that he's not getting a lot of separation, and not using his big body to wall off DBs. IIRC, there was a tweet or mention calling out his need to position better (wall off) again today either in the thread from @stitches or the article from Walker. Like I said above, might be him thinking to much at this point. I'd bet he becomes smoother in routes, which will lead to more separation, and less thinking (which translates into more doing).

[CoachLite]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:33 PM, ColtsLegacy said:

Thanks.

 

Fyi, you're not supposed to quote whole articles. That takes clicks away from these sites. Leave a link and maybe a short summary/quote.

https://www.usg.edu/copyright/the_fair_use_exception

 

Colts fans may not be legal experts or educated in the Fair Use Exceptions of Copyright Law.

[CoachLite]

Just now, CoachLite said:

https://www.usg.edu/copyright/the_fair_use_exception

 

Colts fans may not be legal experts or educated in the Fair Use Exceptions of Copyright Law.

BTW, copyright should be assumed even if not specified in public text.