The NFLDraftguys staff is going to duke it out over the question of whether the most enigmatic players in the 2007 draft class will become their best or worse case scenario right up until the 32 NFL franchises show us their take on those players in Radio City Music Hall on April 28 and 29.
High Side by Sigmund Bloom
It's the time of year when everyone is focused on measureables, and that's not good for Dwayne Jarrett. People are buzzing about his 40 time being in the 4.7s, endangering the value of his now lofty draft stock. Don't let that number cause you to overlook the reasons Jarrett was a presumptive first round pick. Jarrett has unquestioned courage going over the middle of the field, and he has exceptional body control and natural hands, and he just has a "my ball" mentality when the ball is in the air. None of these things can be taught. Dwayne's weaknesses, beating the jam at the line and tightening up routes, can be. He's not the explosive WR physically, but he's deceptively fast once he gets up to speed with his long stride, and he's shown the ability to leave DBs in the dust when he crisply plants and cuts in a route. Jarrett was nearly unstoppable when healthy this year, especially in the Notre Dame (7/123/3) and Michigan (11/205/2) games. Jarrett summons up his best on the biggest stages, and that's a great sign for the team that decides to call his name on April 28.
Low Side by Cecil Lammey
Dwayne Jarrett is not Mike Williams. There, now that's out of the way and I can give you plenty of other reasons why Jarrett will fail to impress at the next level. The first and most important answer is speed. The NFL is all about the speed of the game and exploiting mismatches. Without the speed to gain separation Jarrett will have only a few passes come his way. Not only is Jarrett a step slow, he also isn't that quick. Dwayne doesn't do a good job selling his routes and thus will get passes that come his way broken up, or worse, intercepted. The final reason that Jarrett is too risky of a pick to take early in this draft is his lack of physicality. With a player that measures in at 6'4" and almost 220 pounds one would expect him to go out and dominate smaller corners. On the contrary, he can outjump defenders in the end zone, but a physical corner can jam him at the line of scrimmage. There is no way that a team should risk a first round pick on this kid, especially when this draft is teaming with depth at the WR position.
