Juniors going pro

[57stratdawg]

Sounds like Bear and Chris Jones are likely headed out.

We really need to keep our fingers crossed those are our only underclassmen to declare. Ross, Nick James, and AJ Jefferson could be tempted to jump. Let's hope they don't get some bad advice.

 

[ronpolk]

Bear probably should go... Hard to imagine him upping his stock next year. He's got every tool that an NFL WR needs. Jones needs to come back.

 

[BhamDawg91]

from what I have heard from someone close to the situation, Bear is gone. I hope he has a great game against Mississippi and the bowl game. Good luck in the NFL. Can't blame him for taking his talents to the next level.

 

[57stratdawg]

That is my understanding as well.

 

[Avelso]

i follow cbs sports draft predictions. They have been fairly close in the past. They have Redmond as a 2nd rounder. Bear as a 3rd rounder dak as a 3rd rounder and cj as a 5th rounder. Cj was rated as late 1st early 2nd coming into the year. For basketball follow nbadraft.net. They are scary close every year

If cj is projected that late by the draft guys he will be back.

Forgive grammar. Small phone.

 

[TwelvePackSmack]

Bear probably should go... Hard to imagine him upping his stock next year. He's got every tool that an NFL WR needs. Jones needs to come back.

I hope I'm wrong, but i just don't see Bear having much success in the NFL. Yes he has the size, but i don't think he runs the best routes and can separate at the next level. His hands are not the best either. Again, i hope I'm wrong.

 

[GloryDawg]

Forgive grammar. Small phone.

"no pun intended"?

 

[57stratdawg]

I think CJ is trending up. He's put some stuff on film over the 2nd half of the season to show he's worth a high draft pick. Also, he's going to kill the combine.

I see him being a 1st or 2nd round pick.

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

Bear probably should go... Hard to imagine him upping his stock next year. He's got every tool that an NFL WR needs. Jones needs to come back.

Bear needs to come back and learn to catch the ball with his hands rather than his body.

 

[johnson86-1]

I hope I'm wrong, but i just don't see Bear having much success in the NFL. Yes he has the size, but i don't think he runs the best routes and can separate at the next level. His hands are not the best either. Again, i hope I'm wrong.

I feel like he will be a journeyman possession receiver in the NFL with pretty marginal improvement. Taking into account how little he has played and assuming his heart is in it, I would think he will make much more than marginal improvement as he moves to the next level and really gets to devote 100% of his time to football.

 

[DeMaroon]

I think you're looking at it wrong ...

Not all NFL receivers are burners who get separation. Some are just physical mismatches. Keyshawn Johnson made a career of it, so has Brandon Marshall. There are many others. He's a big red-zone mismatch. He'll do fine at the next level.

 

[philduckworth]

I think Bear should come back b/c he is a true junior, not a redshirt junior and he didn't really pick up football until his senior year of high school. He could work on refining his skills a little more and really get himself ready for the NFL. Having said that, all indications are that he is set on leaving after this season.

I think Chris Jones will go through the draft entry process and see where he is rated. If he gets a 1st or 2nd round grade, he is gone. If not, I think he will come back. I don't see any other juniors leaving.

 

[Xenomorph]

When you routinely get open against SEC db's who are keying on you in the red zone... you have a bright NFL career ahead of you.

 

[hullabaloodog]

Bear should probably go

I'd love to see Chris Jones come back, but I think he's gone too. Ross doesn't appear on any draft projections at this point, so it's tough to gauge how NFL folks see him. He's definitely putting together some crazy good tape the past few weeks and is likely on their radar now. I think we're safe with AJ and Nick James. They should be back.

 

[bear#1uncle]

Very interesting!!!

 

[J-Dawg]

Not all NFL receivers are burners who get separation. Some are just physical mismatches. Keyshawn Johnson made a career of it, so has Brandon Marshall. There are many others. He's a big red-zone mismatch. He'll do fine at the next level.

He is also an extremely good blocker on the edge. NFL teams will notice that.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

That was my exact thought when I first read the post. To be that mismatch in the NFL he needs to increase his catch radius. He has to be able to catch the high ball. He has to catch the fade. He has to catch with his hands to do that.

Unfortunately that is still the one NFL throw Dak can't seem to make so he doesn't have any practice in using those skills. I think with the limited view I have seen of Staley and Fitzgerald they might throw that pass better.

 

[codeDawg]

Not all NFL receivers are burners who get separation. Some are just physical mismatches. Keyshawn Johnson made a career of it, so has Brandon Marshall. There are many others. He's a big red-zone mismatch. He'll do fine at the next level.

Exactly this. Bear hasn't been on the highlight real as much this year because he's doubled every play. He is not going to burn anybody, but he does an outstanding job of using his body to shield the defender and make the catch. If you put a CB and Bear right next to one another and threw the ball at him, he would get the ball a large majority of the time. That's what makes him an end zone threat.

Also, the NFL isn't waiting around for players to develop. They have a 3 year rule b/c they don't want children as employees, but they draft on measurables. Guys in the top 3 rounds are who they are. The NFL has limitless resources to coach and train. They want capable bodies. The guys that need highlight reels are 5'10" receivers and 180 lb running backs who need to prove they have "it".

 

[KurtRambis4]

I think people

are not giving enough thought on how much the combine plays into the draft. Having said that, I think CJ will tear it up at the combine.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Come on bear#1uncle

Very interesting!!!

Give us more info than that. Please tell him to stay, not because he needs to, but because we need him. He and Fitzgerald have looked in sync when they've been on the field together. He would have lots of preseason buzz, and one more shot at beating Bama. I know he wants to do that.

 

[aTotal360]

I agree with this. Seems like his effort level has increased. He's lookin'...

 

[hullabaloodog]

No disrespect to Bear.

Very interesting!!!

I would LOVE for him to come back for his senior year, but I just feel like he can be a 3rd round draft pick or even earlier.

 

[Go Budaw]

I actually think Ross has more reason to go than Bear. He is a more polished receiver and pretty much is at his ceiling right now. He's not going to come back next year and be any faster or be able to run any better routes. In terms of his overall draft stock, I don't know if this years WR class is supposed to be weaker or stronger than next year's. But if it is weaker, I could definitely see him leaving.

Wilson on the other hand could come back and improve some technique things like running crisper routes and learning to catch the ball away from his body. He has not yet hit his ceiling and could gain a round or 2 in his draft grade with another year of work. This is only his 4th year of ever playing football.