Draft analyst: Adams has 'highest ceiling' among tight ends
Former Gamecock tight end Jerell Adams outperformed most of the players in his position group at the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis, finishing first in the 40-yard dash and among the top five performers in the 20-yard and 60-yard shuttles.
Any NFL scouts unaware of Adams prior to the Combine are diligently doing their homework now.
Count ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay among those whose eyes Adams opened with his performance at Lucas Oil Field about 10 days ago.
How much did Adams boost his NFL Draft stock at the Combine?
“I think he helped himself a lot,” McShay said recently on a conference call. “I was watching his tape the night before the tight ends worked out. I didn’t even study Jerrell Adams in the preseason on tape and then do a full evaluation. This is my first exposure to Adams.”
McShay loved what he saw.
“I watched a little bit of his older tape versus this past year and he’s really grown as a player,” said McShay. “Of all the tight ends in this class, he is the best at separating from man-to-man coverage. The reason he’s able to do it, first of all, is speed, which he confirmed at 4.64 at 6-5 and 247 pounds.
“He ran the fastest time of all the tight ends. And then also the subtle head fakes and the crispness of his routes and how sharp he is at getting in and out of his breaks. None of these other guys are as good.”
Hunter Henry (the No. 1 TE, per McShay) from Arkansas comes closest to Adams, said McShay, who said he elevated Adams to the No. 2 tight end prospect for the 2016 NFL Draft.
“Jerell Adams may have the highest ceiling of all the tight ends in this class,” McShay said. “Combined with watching tape and then getting the confirmed workout numbers, I moved him up to No. 2 on our tight end board. That’s how impressed I’ve been studying his tape and matching up with the workouts.”
Adams caught 28 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns in 2015, and packs exceptional athleticism inside his 6-foot-6, 242-pound frame. His 15.0 yards per catch average (proving he can stretch defenses vertically) assured he would get plenty of attention from NFL scouts.
Former South Carolina wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, foregoing his final season of collegiate eligibility after making 135 receptions in his final 25 games for the Gamecocks, is rated by NFLDraftScout.com and CBSSports.com as the No. 37 overall prospect available for the 2016 NFL Draft.
“A playmaker with the ball in his hands, Cooper displays the play speed, elusive cuts and start/stop movements to create on his own, before and after the catch,” NFLDraftScout.com analysts Dane Bugler wrote March 4. Similar to Randall Cobb when he came out of Kentucky, Cooper is a jack-of-all-trades weapon on offense.”
That lofty ranking puts Cooper in the early to mid-second round zone. McShay is a big fan of the 5-foot-11, 207-pound Cooper and maintains he should hear his name called by the end of the second day of the draft (second and third rounds).
“You can’t go wrong with Cooper,” McShay said. “He comes from a disciplined household and he is an ultra-competitive player. Great ball skills. He tracks the deep ball well. He is really quick in catching the ball and transitioning up the field. He has a chance to be a very good slot receiver or a secondary receiver.”
Cooper did not run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine due to a quadriceps injury, but performed other drills (bench press, vertical jump and broad jump).
He should run the 40 at USC’s Pro Day on March 30.
“I think he will run well,” McShay said. “I don’t know if he will have an elite time. But if he runs in the low 4.5s or somewhere in that range, that will be fine. You check off the box. To me, Cooper belongs somewhere on Day 2 of this draft.”
Cooper averaged 14.7 yards per catch in 2015 (66 receptions for 973 yards and eight TD) after averaging 16.5 yards per catch in 2014. He also ran the Wildcat and returned punts for the Gamecocks.
Cooper averaged 7.23 yards per rushing attempt in his 36-game college career, finishing with 513 rushing yards on 71 carries.
