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Some stuff on UDFA Nick Easley


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David Sills is getting a lot of love on the board and rightfully so. I figure I'd start a topic on Nick Easley. The dude is a slot receiver and he is very Cole Beasley like. Here is some stuff I dug up:

 

 

The route in the second video is just sick movement, agility, and body awareness. Cover1 called him "crafty."

 

Outback Bowl MVP in a game full of stars:

 

 

 

 

I wanted to give Easley some love here, but a former walk on who also looks like he could possibly stick as a backup slot to Cole Beasley. 

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I love this pick up, I am an Iowa Hawkeye fan.  This kid isn't the fastest but he gets open.  Go back and watch highlights from this years bowl game against miss st.  8 rec 100yd and 2 tds.  Won the mvp.  He is a clean/ precise route runner.  His year stats aren't sexy b/c Iowa uses the run to set up the pass.  Could be a diamond in the rough.

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18 minutes ago, bkep32 said:

I love this pick up, I am an Iowa Hawkeye fan.  This kid isn't the fastest but he gets open.  Go back and watch highlights from this years bowl game against miss st.  8 rec 100yd and 2 tds.  Won the mvp.  He is a clean/ precise route runner.  His year stats aren't sexy b/c Iowa uses the run to set up the pass.  Could be a diamond in the rough.

 

He just seems like the kind of guy who makes it in the league because he can get open, and apparently has some elite athletic ability. 

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Led Iowa in receptions even with two 1st rd TEs on the team. I also immediately thought of Beasley. He was definitely someone they did work on, they did a private workout with him at Iowa pro day

1 minute ago, MrEpsYtown said:

 

He just seems like the kind of guy who makes it in the league because he can get open, and apparently has some elite athletic ability. 

 



The nuances of a position, especially wide receiver, often get overshadowed during the evaluation process because evaluation is tilted toward measurables such as size and speed — at least on the front end. But for a bunch of wideouts hoping to crack the NFL, likely as late-round picks or undrafted free agents, there is a North Star. Julian Edelman, a seventh-round converted quarterback, just won Super Bowl MVP honors in his ninth season with the New England Patriots.

To Blumenthal, Edelman is such an inspiration that he’s read the Patriot wideout’s book, “Relentless”, multiple times. He’s highlighted passages of it and says he keeps it in his truck. He even wore an “Always Believe” T-shirt at Oklahoma’s pro day as a nod to his idol. Blumenthal also notes many of their similarities: Both were high school dual-threat QBs overlooked in the recruiting process, so they had to go the junior college route. They both had significant shoulder injuries in college. They are of similar size and speed.

On paper, there are many parallels, which is true for a whole bunch of aspiring NFL slot guys looking to be the next Edelman.

 

Assessing the crop

Kyle Strongin aspires to be the patron saint of slot receivers. A former Division II quarterback-turned Oklahoma fullback-turned NFL scout-turned agent, Strongin reps Adam Humphries, who just signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Tennessee Titans. The next chapter of Humphries’ career is drastically different from the first, which began with him undrafted and then sticking on a three-day rookie minicamp tryout. In 2018, while playing for Tampa Bay, Humphries’ 42 first-down catches from the slot ranked first in the league, and his 59 receptions from the slot tied for second, according to colleague Sheil Kapadia.

Strongin’s other two receivers in this class, Iowa’s Nick Easley and Illinois State’s Spencer Schnell, may not get drafted at all. But Easley’s pro day numbers are right in line with the Patriot blueprint: 5-11, 203 pounds; 4.08 short shuttle; 6.72 3-cone.

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They really hit some potential homeruns on some of those late picks and UDFA guys. 

I am not looking forward to cut days they’re going to have to part with a lot of talented players. I can already see the Brandon Reily treatment on some of these receivers on the board if they’re cut or sent to the practice squad. Kind of cool to have so many options and guys to root for success now 

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I watched a few Iowa games this year to see Hockenson and Fant play.  Each game, I thought to myself “this Easley kid can play”!  

 

He could be just a product of being the 3rd best option and team allowing him to beat them, but I think he’s got a better chance than Austin Proehl ever did.  Maybe the same shot as Ray Ray.  We should just cut Ray Ray now btw, so he has a chance to make a team. I’ll give him a 1% chance to make the bills and it’s based on several players getting injured.

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I don't disagree with the love for Nick Easley, but despite the doubt that exists about whether the Bills have a "true #1 receiver" it is a fairly crowded room.  Obviously, John Brown and Cole Beasley have spots locked up.  I can't believe that Robert Foster won't make the team.  Buffalo also signed a pro bowl return guy in Andre Roberts.  Granted, he probably won't get a lot of touches in the receiving game, but he is listed as a WR, and would if he makes the team require a roster spot.  Will the Bills give up on Zay Jones?  I'm not convinced of that.  That's five guys already, and there's not much size yet in that group.  The only big receivers on the roster are Duke Williams,  the CFL signee, and David Sills.  I could see Buffalo wanting to keep one of those guys for the size factor.  The bottom line is, it's going to be a tall order for him to make the 53 man roster.  It may be the best he can hope for is a spot on the PS.

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38 minutes ago, Guffalo said:

He kinda reminds me of Edeleman/Amendola,  kind of slippery, goes unnoticed. Seems exactly what the Pat*s like to have in the slot. Good grab.

It seems to me they have  trying to find their version of Edelman for Daboll's offense for awhile now. Here's to hoping this kid  or better yet Beasley and this kid are the answer.

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5 minutes ago, TigerJ said:

I don't disagree with the love for Nick Easley, but despite the doubt that exists about whether the Bills have a "true #1 receiver" it is a fairly crowded room.  Obviously, John Brown and Cole Beasley have spots locked up.  I can't believe that Robert Foster won't make the team.  Buffalo also signed a pro bowl return guy in Andre Roberts.  Granted, he probably won't get a lot of touches in the receiving game, but he is listed as a WR, and would if he makes the team require a roster spot.  Will the Bills give up on Zay Jones?  I'm not convinced of that.  That's five guys already, and there's not much size yet in that group.  The only big receivers on the roster are Duke Williams,  the CFL signee, and David Sills.  I could see Buffalo wanting to keep one of those guys for the size factor.  The bottom line is, it's going to be a tall order for him to make the 53 man roster.  It may be the best he can hope for is a spot on the PS.

 

The Zay thing I just don't understand. When you watch his college highlights and the Senior Bowl stuff, the way he ran routes and caught that ball is just so different than what he looks like now. He was crafty in his route running, he looked long and lean and made some spectacular catches. I just don't understand what happened to the guy, but I think he looks terrible in the NFL. Slow, can't catch, no RAC. Just looks like a completely different guy. I would trade him for a 4th because he seems like a guy who could use a change of scenery. That said, I'm not sure if they cut him. But this guys Easley is going to shine in practice and the preseason. They seem to like to have roles for their receivers. Beasley will be the slot. So Easley needs to beat out Ray Ray and McKenzie, as a backup slot, which I think is a realistic possibility. On the outside you have Brown and Foster with Zay and someone else. Duke, Sills etc. I think Andre Roberts has to be a seperate roster spot. I think you have to keep 6 and Roberts. Not sure if it is doable, but it will be an interesting cut down day for sure. 

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1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

The time of year when UDFA's who have a 1% chance of making the roster get talked up like they should have been 1st rounders...

 

I don't think anyone is saying that. But Sills, Easley, and Jackson are guys who should have been drafted. And in Sills and Easley's case, they have as good a shot to make this team as all of the other guys competing for roles as wide receivers. Beasley, Brown, Foster, and probably Jones are locks. That leave possibly two spots. They have a shot. 

 

I think it's funny...all weekend we need to draft receivers because our receivers suck. Then we sign two receivers who should have been drafted, and they have no chance to make the team. So first our receivers suck, and now they are so good none of these guys has a chance to make the team. That seems to be the reaction on here. I'm not saying from you specifically, I'm just saying in general.  

 

Jackson has a shot to make it as a third quarterback as well. 

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