Brad Holmes: Slot Receivers
In 2013, Holmes and the Rams drafted a small, dynamic player in Tavon Austin, eighth overall. It was the highest pick used on any receiver by the team during his tenure there. At just over 5-8, 174-pounds, the diminutive former West Virginia Mountaineer was a playmaker extraordinaire.
Austin ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash, a short shuttle of 4.01, a 10-foot broad jump during the draft process. That kind of speed and agility is tough to find but it may indicate the kind of top-end ability that will garner Holmes’ attention.
In 2016, Holmes selected Pharoh Cooper in the middle of the 4th-round at pick No. 117. This seems like a pretty logical place for the Detroit Lions to address the wide receiver position, perhaps a slot player. Cooper isn’t exactly a speedster at 4.63-seconds in the forty, doesn’t have great measurables in any category at 5-11, 203-pounds but he meets the sorts of minimums that we listed.
That makes him a good case study for us and demonstrates what Holmes sees as acceptable.
His 10-yard split time was 1.66 according to the Draftscout website, which is good enough to create separation but it is still slow in terms of wide receiver performance. Targets for agility and burst are in the 6.80-second time in the 3-cone drill, 34.0-inches for vertical jump, 10-feet distance in the broad jump, and short shuttle times in the 4.30-seconds time result.
Enough with the generalizations, let’s get down to who might be around later for the Lions to select.