October 19, 20205 yr I'm not going to bury this kid this early. The good news is he has the ability to get separation and the speed to be good. When you think about many of the WRs that we have drafted in the mid to late rounds over the years, many of those guys couldn't get separation. He has to get the drops corrected. Jerry Rice had the drops early in his career, too, even to the point where some thought he was going to be a bust. And, Hightower is a 5th round pick. He's going to have to get some more strength and get confidence. The good news is he made the catch on the next one. Moorehead is going to have to coach this kid up hard.
October 19, 20205 yr No. He is a guy with speed that gets him open regularly, but lasted to where he did for a reason, otherwise he would have gone in the first few rounds. He is a project getting valuable playing time that will hopefully pay off down the line. He needs coaching and time before we know anything, like with most 5th round rookies.
October 19, 20205 yr 12 minutes ago, Diehardfan said: No. He is a guy with speed that gets him open regularly, but lasted to where he did for a reason, otherwise he would have gone in the first few rounds. He is a project getting valuable playing time that will hopefully pay off down the line. He needs coaching and time before we know anything, like with most 5th round rookies. This
October 19, 20205 yr Wasn't the knock on him coming into the NFL that he's not a natural catcher? If I recall, all three of the WRs weren't seen as having the best hands in the draft class. Hightower's draft report: "With that said, inconsistent ability to track the football and finish are concerning although he has some impressive grabs on tape." "His hands are inconsistent, and he doesn't have the frame to consistently come down with 50-50 balls. " Watkins's: "He has good length and flashes the ability to snatch the ball of the air, but his hands are inconsistent." "Ball awareness is poor within his route; often late to adjust or can't locate the pass." "Doesn't love catching in traffic and won't sell out for passes."
October 19, 20205 yr 5 minutes ago, kentwo said: Wasn't the knock on him coming into the NFL that he's not a natural catcher? If I recall, all three of the WRs weren't seen as having the best hands in the draft class. Reagor had the 3rd worst qb play in the country last year. Hightower didn't have that bad rep. I do remember Watkins had question marks about his hands. 1-3
October 19, 20205 yr 19 minutes ago, Godfather said: Reagor had the 3rd worst qb play in the country last year. Hightower didn't have that bad rep. I do remember Watkins had question marks about his hands. 1-3 Honestly, I wasn't high on him in the draft. Was hoping they'd actually surprise me and take a LB (Queen or Murray), but preferred Jefferson of the WRs available. The year before his QB play was better and he still dropped balls. "In 2018, Reagor dropped six of 137 targeted passes, according to Sports Info Solutions. In 2019, he dropped nine of 92. Of our top 32 receivers, he ranked a woeful 30th in drop rate."
October 19, 20205 yr Hold on, I want to hit Google and make sure I'm not insane here. Yep, this is absolutely f'ing insane. You're comparing a 1st round pick that started and only managed to put up 23 catches for 283 yards and a TD his entire rookie season to a 5th rounder who currently has 8 catches for 107 yards as a rotational guy in the first 6 games of the season? Yeah sure, they're exactly the same. Same situation. Same player. Agholor, Hightower, Urlackerzzzz, Reno Mahe, whatever.
October 19, 20205 yr 7 hours ago, GeorgeM37 said: Wow....never thought about that but yeah....he is making his case... A little early to be making this declaration. Nelson's problem seems to be mostly between his ears, he's doing okay with the Raiders. Hightower hasn't demonstrated mental issues yet that I know of.
October 19, 20205 yr Howie was sooooooooooooooooo focused on speed that he forgot to check to see if he could catch the ball too.
October 19, 20205 yr Having the expectation that a 5th round rookie will be a finished product, and immediately set the league on fire, is, uhh, ridiculous. He looks like he has legit NFL talent to build on. That’s all you can really expect at this point.
October 19, 20205 yr Hightower has done okay. He shouldn’t be playing as much as he has, but injuries. Hopefully we get some combination of AJ/Reagor/Jackson back soon. Fulgham needs to play a lot come what may though.
October 19, 20205 yr 8 hours ago, Diehardfan said: No. He is a guy with speed that gets him open regularly, but lasted to where he did for a reason, otherwise he would have gone in the first few rounds. He is a project getting valuable playing time that will hopefully pay off down the line. He needs coaching and time before we know anything, like with most 5th round rookies. Well sheet
October 19, 20205 yr Hightower reminds me, in a way, of Ted Ginn Jr. A little taller and a little heavier, but not quite as fast. Ginn had a lot of issues with drops early on, as well.
October 19, 20205 yr 52 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said: Hightower has done okay. He shouldn’t be playing as much as he has, but injuries. Hopefully we get some combination of AJ/Reagor/Jackson back soon. Fulgham needs to play a lot come what may though. At this point, Reagor is the only one of the three I'm eager to get back (other than Jeffery to showcase himself enough to potentially draw interest from another team to trade for him). Otherwise he and DJax can either be put on IR or ride the bench until the offseason when I expect they'll both be cut.
October 19, 20205 yr Let me know when he’s still dropping balls left and right by year 5, then maybe we can compare him to Agholor. Though even then it’s not a fair comparison for a 5th round pick to a 1st.
Create an account or sign in to comment