I don't understand why there is this feeling that Clayton does not have great speed. Does anyone remember his freshman year? It seems to me that he only caught deep balls. He was open down the field all the time. He doesn't have 4.2 speed but I bet he is a legit 4.4-4.5 guy. Now, I agree the last two years he hasn't gone deep as much, but I believe that is Jimbo utilizing his players the best he can. Devery is not an over the middle receiver, but he can fly. So Jimbo took advantage of his abilities, and he was the receiver of most of the deep balls. Clayton, however, can do everything, he is huge, strong and nasty, so Jimbo put him over the middle more. He was the lead blocker on all the bubble screen so Dev and Skyler could make all those big plays. Most players (non-LSU I mean) who are the star of the team would want the ball in their hands on every play. Clayton understood the play had more chance for success if he was de-cleating corners and Greens 175 lb butt had the ball. The fact is Clayton did the things that our other receivers couldn't, sacrifice personal numbers and glory, and we won a championship because of it. He's the frickin man. nuff said.
How about him laying out for that nifty little one-handed number while falling out of bounds on a third-and-6 play in the SECCG, that kept a TD drive alive? The CBS announcers themselves said it was the most spectacular grab they'd seen all season. The rest of your post was pure bunk. MC was a man playing with boys, pure and simple.
Re: Re: Devery in Mobile very good example! He had a short touchdown catch and run against Ole Miss as well. Typical Clayton where he caught a short pass and did the rest himself. Then there are all the intangibles of Clayton. Almost every game he'd be praised for his blocking. It was common to see replays of him blocking, even pancake blocking, two or more defensive backs on a play. Clayton is the complete package. As for Henderson, he is indeed a quality player and at times was over-shadowed. I wish him well and it is nice to see him taking advantage of his opportunity to impress scouts at the senior bowl.
the nfl values speed more than yall seem to think. some team will end up very happy with clayton b/c he has all the intangibles, but i think the number one thing they look for is separation (which also includes route running). many teams will take a faster guy and hope to improve his route running. i would guess clayton is around the 10th wr taken, so thats probably not first round. i also think that because green and henderson have more speed they have more potential in the nfl, but i certainly would rather have clayton over henderson (i'll wait another year before deciding on green)
There is only one wideout (if Fitzgerald goes maybe two then) in the draft better than Clayton, Roy Williams. I cannot understand why people think Clayton cannot run. True he doesn’t have D. Henderson or S. Green speed, but Henderson was a track and field ALL-AMERICAN, and Green was one of the 10 fastest high school sprinter in the country. Mike runs in the 4.4 – 4.5 range. If you look at all the wideouts in the conference semi-finals and conference finals of the NFL playoffs, of those 8 teams you could probably find only 4 wideouts significantly faster than Clayton. People who say Clayton doesn’t have NFL speed must not watch a lot of football. True, he doesn’t have world-class track speed, but he gets great separation, runs great routes, and has tremendous hands.
hey freddy, no one is saying clayton wont be a great nfl receiver (i just said some team will be happy with him). who the hell said he doesnt have nfl speed? its just that MANY receivers will go ahead of him in the draft. green may go higher when hes done and, with all the attention henderson is getting, i would not be surprised if some team makes the mistake of taking henderson over clayton in the draft. how many wrs in the 4 nfl teams you referred to were 1st round picks. 3 of the teams dont have good offenses (maybe ball control, but not vertical games) and i bet the top two colts receivers were not 1st rounders
That's called a "stopwatch pick". The Saints tried it with Dante Stallworth and ignored the fact that he was always injured while at Tennessee. Speed is one factor but the smart NFL GM will look at all of the factors when deciding to use a draft pick. If Clayton isn't gone before the mid 2nd round he will be the steal of the draft IMHO.
