Allen Lazard, WR, Iowa St

[diamondbull424]

I’ll probably add some of his stats and athletic testing here later. But who else likes what they see from this guy? I think he could be a day three sleeper pick in this draft, for sure.

Edit:

6’5” 227 lbs, 32 1/4” arms, 9 3/4” hands

4.55 forty, 1.59 10 yd split, 10’2” ft Broad, 38” vertical, 17 bench reps.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2018/profiles/allen-lazard?id=2559854

Junior and senior season avgs

70 recs, 980 yds, 14.0 ypc, 8.5 TDs

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

Allen Lazard? 

checks notes

[diamondbull424]

Big body receiver that makes plays in contested coverage with nice natural hands and a great catch radius.

He doesn’t separate much, but has an obvious skill set that could make him thrive in the league.

He’s also strong and physical, which isn’t the case for many of the tall wideouts in this class.

[DreamKid]

I'm quite low on him, and I last I heard most interested teams were discussing a potential switch to TE for him. It sounded like he was receptive to the potential position switch as well.

I'm not a fan of big body receivers. Their bust rate is extremely high and if you look around the league you'll find very few of them, and it's usually the ones who are legit #1s or #2s that do find success. 

 

[diamondbull424]

Double post

[diamondbull424]

5 hours ago, DreamKid said:

I'm quite low on him, and I last I heard most interested teams were discussing a potential switch to TE for him. It sounded like he was receptive to the potential position switch as well.

I'm not a fan of big body receivers. Their bust rate is extremely high and if you look around the league you'll find very few of them, and it's usually the ones who are legit #1s or #2s that do find success. 

 

From what I had read, the position switch was largely based off of what speed he would come in at in the combine. Teams wanted a good time from him. He provided a good time at 4.55 in his forty.

He could convert to TE. But he looks like he has the requisite speed and athleticism to be a big slot receiver. Regardless he would fill more of that z role in the formation.

Unlike a lot of big bodied receivers he is a great route runner, has good speed, and great hands. Most just bully below average college corners into big plays. That’s not Lazard. He wins with route running just as much as physicality.

Whether he converts to TE or stays at WR, I don’t think matters to me. I see a frame that could easily add another 20 lbs to it while maintaining quality athleticism. But how many big guys have his level of route precision, look at those routes he runs.

[Danand]

The catch at 2.24 is what I would love to get from him. My issue is, that he doesn't look very natural and his hands are inconcistent. I don't know where the "great hands" label comes from.

I watched him early as a possible TE convert, which might be his best option. 

[diamondbull424]

1 hour ago, Danand said:

The catch at 2.24 is what I would love to get from him. My issue is, that he doesn't look very natural and his hands are inconcistent. I don't know where the "great hands" label comes from.

I watched him early as a possible TE convert, which might be his best option. 

He had 13 targets in that game and caught 9 passes. That’s a 69% catch rate. What’s more of those targets, the ones he didn’t catch were thrown well behind him, too tall, or very short. Many of the balls he caught were inaccurate passes that he made adjustments to and bailed out his QB. I would classify that as great hands.

Unless you are referring to a particular game tape separate of this one?

[paraven]

3 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

He had 13 targets in that game and caught 9 passes. That’s a 69% catch rate. What’s more of those targets, the ones he didn’t catch were thrown well behind him, too tall, or very short. Many of the balls he caught were inaccurate passes that he made adjustments to and bailed out his QB. I would classify that as great hands.

Unless you are referring to a particular game tape separate of this one?

he reminds me of waller

[diamondbull424]

38 minutes ago, paraven said:

he reminds me of waller

Waller was definitely the better athlete and blocker (GaTech so that makes sense), by far. But Lazard is definitely much more technically developed.

I think it made more sense to convert Waller to TE because of how raw he was from a receiver standpoint. They probably just hoped he could add 10-15 lbs and just run seen routes all day as he develops his route running.?

Whereas as a receiver he would have a long ways to go to get on the field and be trusted.

Lazard can run NFL level routes, he just needs to continue improving the small nuances of the game. But he definitely has the requisite athleticism to play the position.

That said, whether he plays wide receiver or tight end, he’s going to be my sleeper pick. I think he’s going to surprise some people. If he converts to tight end though, he’s definitely going to need to redshirt a season.

[Danand]

1 hour ago, diamondbull424 said:

He had 13 targets in that game and caught 9 passes. That’s a 69% catch rate. What’s more of those targets, the ones he didn’t catch were thrown well behind him, too tall, or very short. Many of the balls he caught were inaccurate passes that he made adjustments to and bailed out his QB. I would classify that as great hands.

Unless you are referring to a particular game tape separate of this one?

The QB didn't do him any favors in the clip from this game. Some of the catches he made where he came back and dove for the football where great. If you watch more games, he also has the common drops where the ball is within his reach and he just seem to not adjust well.

To me, he could work just based of a very limited route tree as a great tall option/possession receiver. In the regard he is more polished than what we would get from Waller. He should not be a priority to draft imo as I think there are much better talent at the position than him. Except if we bring him in as a convertion to tight end. Then I wouldn't mind. If he can run around like that at 245-> he could be a great late round addition.

[diamondbull424]

48 minutes ago, Danand said:

The QB didn't do him any favors in the clip from this game. Some of the catches he made where he came back and dove for the football where great. If you watch more games, he also has the common drops where the ball is within his reach and he just seem to not adjust well.

To me, he could work just based of a very limited route tree as a great tall option/possession receiver. In the regard he is more polished than what we would get from Waller. He should not be a priority to draft imo as I think there are much better talent at the position than him. Except if we bring him in as a convertion to tight end. Then I wouldn't mind. If he can run around like that at 245-> he could be a great late round addition.

Fair. I will have to watch more games, though if his quarterback throws as many lame duck passes as in this video I don’t know if I can blame him. Too many of his passes lack a solid spiral on them. ?‍♀️ 

[Danand]

30 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Fair. I will have to watch more games, though if his quarterback throws as many lame duck passes as in this video I don’t know if I can blame him. Too many of his passes lack a solid spiral on them. ?‍♀️ 

He indeed suffers from the same issue as DJ Moore. If you want the game which sells Lazard the best, try to find the Oklahoma game.

[diamondbull424]

6 hours ago, Danand said:

He indeed suffers from the same issue as DJ Moore. If you want the game which sells Lazard the best, try to find the Oklahoma game.

To be honest, I want his worst tape.? 

[sp6488]

On 3/20/2018 at 10:02 AM, paraven said:

he reminds me of waller

 

On 3/20/2018 at 11:01 AM, diamondbull424 said:

Waller was definitely the better athlete and blocker (GaTech so that makes sense), by far. But Lazard is definitely much more technically developed.

I think it made more sense to convert Waller to TE because of how raw he was from a receiver standpoint. They probably just hoped he could add 10-15 lbs and just run seen routes all day as he develops his route running.?

Whereas as a receiver he would have a long ways to go to get on the field and be trusted.

Lazard can run NFL level routes, he just needs to continue improving the small nuances of the game. But he definitely has the requisite athleticism to play the position.

That said, whether he plays wide receiver or tight end, he’s going to be my sleeper pick. I think he’s going to surprise some people. If he converts to tight end though, he’s definitely going to need to redshirt a season.

Waller is also thicker, listed at 256 pounds (6'6" 238 at the combine).  Looking at his profile now, I didn't realize Waller ran a 4.46 at the combine and was the top performer in the 60-yard shuttle.  That all said, I'm actually still bullish on Waller as a TE if he can clean up the issues that landed him a 2017 suspension.  

There are certainly worse physcial comparisons to have than Waller.  Whether Waller makes a meaningful contribution at the NFL level, he's certainly a worthwhile lottery ticket for a 6th round pick (as are any meaningful comps).