College: Baylor

Ht: 5'11"

Wt: 165

Video, per YouTube

*=Played in only seven games

Positives

Speed: Just watch Reese once and immediately his speed will have your jaw hitting the floor. There are few players in the country who bring the same level of speed that he offers, and you won’t find a defensive back who can catch up to him if Reese creates separation. He excels when matched up in single coverage and is given a cushion, once he has that little crease he is gone. He can also take a screen pass to the house, just sitting back behind his blockers until the ball is in his hands then his vision and quick can do the rest.

Toughness: For a player who is certainly lacking in size and strength, Reese deserves a lot of credit for his fearless style of play. Even wide receivers with great size can be afraid to go across the middle and get hit, but Reese is fearless. He isn’t afraid to run across the middle, risking a big hit if it means putting his team in position to win. You can bet coaches and teammates will love that fearlessness at the next level and it will earn plenty of respect in the locker room.

Negatives

Hands: Speed is always nice to have, it is one thing you just can’t teach and every team would love to have more speed in the new-era the NFL has become.

But for all of the speed Reese has, he has missed out on so many more opportunities throughout his career because of drops. While you have seen some adjustments from his freshman year to now, drops are still a huge concern for me. It’s a combination of things for Reese. He still lets the ball come into his chest far too often and then tries to tuck it in, still not learning to catch the ball with his hands.

Even when he does use his hands to catch the football, he at times becomes so concentrated on what he is going to do next, he loses focus and drops the football. He will have the chance to work with coaches to improve his technique and concentration but hands are one of the more difficult traits to fix and it’s going to take a lot of time.

Size: While I agree in many cases that size is just something you see on the back of a sports card, it’s a legitimate concern with Reese. While being 5’10” is fine, my concern comes with him being at 165 lbs. and how much weight he can put on without losing his same explosiveness. Many will look at Wes Welker and mention how size hasn’t hurt him, but Welker is also 190 lbs. Reese’s size also plays a role because when faced with a stronger cornerback or just being against press coverage, he is going to get jammed at the line and won’t create any separation. The opponent will neutralize his speed with strength and physical play, slowly wearing Reese down until he becomes an after thought in the passing game. Reese could bulk up and add another 10 lbs of muscle, but even then his size will remain a concern. I love his willingness to go across the middle, but that fearlessness may hurt him in the long run.

NFL Player Comparison

Darrius Heyward-Bey, Indianapolis Colts

When anyone wide receiver is compared to Heyward-Bey, people see it as a negative and predicting that the player won’t find much success in the NFL. But Heyward-Bey being labeled a “bust” has a lot to do with being drafted seventh overall in 2009 by the Oakland Raiders, ahead of Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin. But Heyward-Bey is still in the NFL serving in a prominent role for a playoff-contender.

Reese is obviously a shorter version of Heyward-Bey but both players draw a lot of similarities. Track-like speed guys who can absolutely torch single coverage deep with their straight-line speed but their route running and hands need a lot of work. Fortunately for Reese, he will be drafted much later than Heyward-Bey and won’t have the added pressure of being a first-round pick with unachievable expectations.

Draft Outlook

Players with Reese’s athleticism are always coveted by NFL teams, seen as project players who coaches hope they can mold into a high-caliber wide receiver. His dislocated wrist should be ready to go by the time the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine in the offseason. The Combine is made for players like Reese, a chance to show off his speed to every scout and executive in attendance. I saw enough improvement from Reese from 2011 to now to believe with plenty of work, he can improve his hands and route running. But because he needs work and is primarily a deep-threat wide receiver with his size against him, I view him as a fifth-round talent.

Best Fits

There are plenty of teams who would be willing to take a chance on Reese with the hope that they can refine his game and make him a weapon in the passing game. But his ability to stretch the field will appear more to teams who love to use the vertical attack.

One fit I would love to see is to have the Arizona Cardinals draft Reese. The team is deep at wide receiver with Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, but that will only benefit Reese. He can sit behind the two and learn from them, especially from Fitzgerald who has some of the best hands in the game. Bruce Arians’ loves to throw it deep and having someone who can torch single-coverage like Reese is just another weapon he could add to his offense.