Washington Redskins Select WR Malcolm Kelly at #51

Well… who knows whats going on here? All wide receivers all the time. More to come. Is Antwaan Randle-El or Santana Moss hurting more than we know?

All this info is from the draft profile we did on Malcolm Kelly earlier this week:

DRAFT PROFILES

Scouts Inc.

Strengths: Big, strong and smooth receiver prospect. Excellent combination of size and athleticism. Plays quicker than his measurables would lead you to believe. He is a very natural pass-catcher. Has big, strong hands — strongest hands of any WR in this year’s class (in our opinion). Does an excellent job of securing the ball in traffic. Uses massive frame to shield defenders from the ball. Wins more jump balls than most receivers. Is a serious weapon inside the red zone. Displays unusually smooth hips for a bigger receiver. Gets in and out of breaks with very little wastes motion. Displays very soft hands when plucking on the run. Is smooth and fluid after the catch. Also a very strong runner. Will drag defenders and bounce off initial hits. Maintains balance after initial contact and will gain a lot of tough yards at the end of runs. Will give an adequate effort as a stalk blocker. Not overly physical but he will get in position and wall-off defender. Has the size to smother most DB’s at the point of attack.

Weaknesses: Lacks elite top-end speed. A bit of a long-strider that builds speed as he goes. Not overly explosive after the catch. He’s smooth, but not very crisp when it comes to running routes. Rounds off too many of his breaks and still has room to improve with his overall footwork. Has had some trouble recently staying healthy. Missed time in each of the last two seasons due to injuries, including a torn meniscus in his knee during 2006-’07 Fiesta Bowl that required off-season surgery.

Overall: Kelly was an instant contributor as a freshman, leading Oklahoma with 33 receptions and 471 yards in 2005. He played 11 games (six starts), scoring two touchdowns. In 2006, he again led the Sooners in catches (62) and receiving yards (993) and had 10 TDs. Paired with Juaquin Iglesias in a more balanced passing attack last season, Kelly wasn’t able to match his sophomore numbers. But his 49 receptions, 821 yards and nine scores left him ranked No. 2 in touchdown receptions (21) and receiving yards (2,285) at OU. He played in the Fiesta Bowl in each of the last two seasons, but wasn’t able to finish either game and posted no stats because of injuries. Kelly is a big and fluid wide receiver with arguably the strongest hands in the 2008 class. He would have benefited from another season in college to continue to refine his route running skills, but the risk was understandably not worth the reward. Kelly is one of the premier wide receiver prospects in the 2008 class and he should come off the board in the middle portion of the first round.

Sportsline

Positives: Has a solid build with good upper-body muscle definition, long arms and legs, big thighs and calves, good bubble, tight skin and room to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk without having the additional weight impact his foot speed … Big-time playmaker who is a threat to score every time he touches the ball and must be accounted for at all times … Tough receiver who isn’t afraid to take a hit … Has very large, natural hands with decent deep speed (more quick than fast), as his long legs and running stride let him consistently eat up the cushion and get behind the defensive back … Has the outstanding ability to change direction in an instant, doing a good job of adjusting his body to off-target tosses … Combines good strength and burst to beat the jam and elude tacklers … Displays the natural ability to catch with his hands extended outside the frame … Aggressive cut blocker who won’t back down and thrives when he gets the ball in pressure situations … Fights for the ball along the sideline, keeping his feet inbounds … Has super quickness off the snap and into his routes, showing good precision in his breaks … Might lack explosion, but he comes off the line with good power and finesse, as he stays under control through his patterns, running sharp, crisp routes and using his strength and size to bust through the jam … Can gain ground and separate in space … Shows no wasted movement, as he is effective at dropping his weight getting into his patterns, which is surprising to see as most tall receivers don’t have the fluid hips or elusiveness that Kelly displays … Does a good job of reading coverage and adjusting in his routes, especially when working underneath … Has the ability to pull away from second-level defenders after the catch, using his strength to break arm tackles … Alert to pocket pressure, showing urgency working back to the ball … Solid short-area receiver that gets his head around quickly to locate the ball, remaining focused going for the ball in a crowd, as he knows how to use his frame to shield defenders … Plucks and secures the ball with ease and can take a hit and hold on to the ball working through traffic (knows how to use his height and long arms to his advantage) … Lacks suddenness in his initial step, but he has the quickness to separate, can fade into the open area and easily track the ball in flight … Even though he is a big target, he can bend, reach and jump for the ball while staying in control and maintaining his stride (has better ability to adjust in his intermediate and deep routes than in the short area) … Finds the ball in flight quickly and has the flexibility to adjust to it in the air … With his long arms and explosive leaping, he will win most jump balls … Shows elusiveness and strength after the catch, as he can either make the first defender miss or run through arm tackles … Good position blocker to seal off and shows proper hand placement to sustain blocks.

Negatives: Lacks the short steps and quick feet, but does get good depth in his route progression with his long stride … Perhaps a product of the team’s reliance on its ground game, he will disappear for long stretches … A good blocker, he is basically a non-factor without the ball in his hands … Will usually run crisp routes but he will glide out of his breaks, possibly because of the hip pointer he suffered vs. Oklahoma State … Keeps his head on a swivel to locate the ball, but is more effective as a receiver in the open field, as he does not show the same burst as smaller receivers when catching in the short area … Not really an explosive player, but does use his body lean and initial contact strike to create separation.

Compares To: LARRY FITZGERALD-Arizona … Like Fitzgerald, Kelly takes advantage of his size and strength to break arm tackles rather than trying to get fancy with moves when trying to separate. Both have some of the best natural hands in the game, as Kelly was charted with only one dropped pass in the last two years. Perhaps due to the team’s reliance on the running game, he will disappear for stretches on the field. But when he gets into that rhythm he will catch everything in site. Some teams might prefer Indiana’s James Hardy, but Kelly is a more natural receiver and comes with no off-field baggage. Could be a perfect fit in Cincinnati with Carson Palmer if Cincinnati trades Chad Johnson.

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