WR, Isaiah Hodgins - Where does he fit?

[wppete]

Interesting to see if Isaiah Hodgins Makes the team next year and at what position does he fit, Cole Beasleys backup at slot? or Gabe Davis backup on the outside? 
 

I think he is an exciting player, hope he makes the team. 
 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by wppete

[Mountain Man]

Assuming Brown is cut there is at least 1 spot open at WR, possibly more if Mackenzie stays but I think that is more likely than Brown. Potentially Roberts spot is free. He needs to compete and show something different, but Daboll goes WR heavy often enough to need options. I think his route to the roster is a lot harder if they invest in a top TE in free agency. 

[First Round Bust]

7th rounder; had a camp and partial year to develop; likely PS member unless he beats the odds to make the roster which involve an injury more than beating someone out

[Rc2catch]

He’s one of those guys that will be difficult to judge if there’s no preseason again. 

[glazeduck]

Hodgins really ONLY fits in the slot, against zone-heavy defenses. He's not going to be shaking decent man coverage anytime soon. He is, actually, an interesting name to throw into the TE discussion. Not to say that he moves to TE, but he operates in similar space and similar functions as an outlet TE. 

 

He's probably a WR5 or WR6 who chips in in the RZ at best. Also won't be surprised if he fails to make the roster. 

[Gregthekeg]

4 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

Hodgins really ONLY fits in the slot, against zone-heavy defenses. He's not going to be shaking decent man coverage anytime soon. He is, actually, an interesting name to throw into the TE discussion. Not to say that he moves to TE, but he operates in similar space and similar functions as an outlet TE. 

 

He's probably a WR5 or WR6 who chips in in the RZ at best. Also won't be surprised if he fails to make the roster. 

I could see him being a redzone specialist, instead of a TE2 throw him in there.  If they don't have Roberts there as the "Return Specialist" eating up a roster spot they will have a roster spot for him with that role. 

 

I thought I remember reading that Diggs and the DBs were all just as impressed with his maturity and skill as they were with G. Davis.  Imagine if they got three starting caliber WR from one draft (Diggs, Davis, and him)

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Gregthekeg

[Don Otreply]

It hard to know, he supposedly has very good hands, so a # 4 thru 6 type of guy at the moment, but that can  change depending on happenstance.

[glazeduck]

14 minutes ago, Gregthekeg said:

I could see him being a redzone specialist, instead of a TE2 throw him in there.  If they don't have Roberts there as the "Return Specialist" eating up a roster spot they will have a roster spot for him with that role. 

 

I thought I remember reading that Diggs and the DBs were all just as impressed with his maturity and skill as they were with G. Davis.  Imagine if they got three starting caliber WR from one draft (Diggs, Davis, and him)

 

Kind of my thinking too, a short yardage/RZ specialist of sorts. As the husband of an OSU Beaver, I saw a TON of Hodgins, and what he does, he does REALLY REALLY well. Unfortunately, he lacks the functional athleticism to do those things all over the field, so he's limited in the ways he can be used effectively. 

[Gregthekeg]

8 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

Kind of my thinking too, a short yardage/RZ specialist of sorts. As the husband of an OSU Beaver, I saw a TON of Hodgins, and what he does, he does REALLY REALLY well. Unfortunately, he lacks the functional athleticism to do those things all over the field, so he's limited in the ways he can be used effectively. 

Is he more athletic than Lee Smith/Tyler Kroft?  If I never see him run a route in the red zone or 3rd and long again it will be too soon.  

[TheyCallMeAndy]

Reminds me of David Nelson

[glazeduck]

1 minute ago, Gregthekeg said:

Is he more athletic than Lee Smith/Tyler Kroft?  If I never see him run a route in the red zone or 3rd and long again it will be too soon.  

I've had things fall out of my body that are more athletic than Lee Smith, you have things in your trash can that are more athletic than Lee Smith, babies in utero are more athletic than Lee Smith -- you get the picture, so yes, I'd say so on that one. Kroft used to be a pretty decent athlete, but tough to say with the injuries that he's sustained over the last few years. I'd say he and Hodgins are comparable.

Hodgins IS a good vertical athlete. Not a great jumper, but very good body control, knows how to use his size and length to gain position/box out, has great hands, good timing on jump balls, etc., so that's what I'm referring to as a "replacement" of sorts for a TE. What he's not is a good lateral/agile athlete. He doesn't make guys miss, he's not going to gain separation from route running, etc.

[Gregthekeg]

4 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

I've had things fall out of my body that are more athletic than Lee Smith, you have things in your trash can that are more athletic than Lee Smith, babies in utero are more athletic than Lee Smith -- you get the picture, so yes, I'd say so on that one. Kroft used to be a pretty decent athlete, but tough to say with the injuries that he's sustained over the last few years. I'd say he and Hodgins are comparable.

Hodgins IS a good vertical athlete. Not a great jumper, but very good body control, knows how to use his size and length to gain position/box out, has great hands, good timing on jump balls, etc., so that's what I'm referring to as a "replacement" of sorts for a TE. What he's not is a good lateral/agile athlete. He doesn't make guys miss, he's not going to gain separation from route running, etc.

So Joe Jurevicius from the Bucs?  Just a good/solid possession WR? Id take that as my 4-6 wr any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. 

[glazeduck]

23 minutes ago, Gregthekeg said:

So Joe Jurevicius from the Bucs?  Just a good/solid possession WR? Id take that as my 4-6 wr any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. 

It's been a few years but I seem to remember JoeJ being a better athlete. Honestly, I can't think of a decent comp that's actually worked out in the league.

 

My hesitation in calling him a good/solid possession WR is that typically those guys have a knack for getting open at least to a reasonable degree -- Hodgins, barring unforeseen development over the last year, doesn't possess that. I think the best comps I can come up with are your mid/lower-end pass-catching TEs. Someone like Tayo Johnson or Levine Toilolo come to mind. If you're expecting anything more than maybe 2.5 catches and the occasional RZ TD a game, you're probably shooting too high. His biggest challenge is that he's a one-trick pony. If we can find the roster spot for that trick, he can be effective in it, but it's a fairly niche trick. 

 

My preference would be to go out and get somebody who has that similar skillset but can also add other elements (I've not shared my love for Jonathan Adams Jr. on this board multiple times)

[Matt_In_NH]

He will need to fill a specific role, back to Beasley or Davis would be secondary.   Somone needs to fill the McKenzie role, someone needs to return kick/punts if Roberts is not back.   I don't think he is a fit for jet motion and whatnot, no idea about returner but I think he will need to be a special teams contributor somewhere as his main role if he is to make it.

[glazeduck]

3 minutes ago, mattynh said:

He will need to fill a specific role, back to Beasley or Davis would be secondary.   Somone needs to fill the McKenzie role, someone needs to return kick/punts if Roberts is not back.   I don't think he is a fit for jet motion and whatnot, no idea about returner but I think he will need to be a special teams contributor somewhere as his main role if he is to make it.

Can't say for sure as a STs contributor in general, but he absolutely will not be in consideration for returning kicks, nor will he be involved in any sort of handoff activity of any kind. You're pointing out his main challenge here -- its going to be tough to carve out enough of a role to fill to give him a roster spot, which is why you effectively have to consider him more in the TE bucket than WR. 

 

Unless he's drastically improved his footwork, flexibility, agility and hand usage, I'm not sure he ever carves out much of a meaningful role in the NFL.

[Logic]

Remember David Nelson? 
 

Thats what I see for Hodgins: a Big Slot/move tight end hybrid. A 3rd down possession receiver and red zone weapon. 
 

With how creative Daboll is, I could see Hodgins being a movable chess piece to exploit certain coverage mismatches and give Josh some more size inside the 10. 
 

Hodgins even making the team will be contingent on what other moves the team makes at WR.

 

As always, the very best chance Hodgins has to make the 53-man roster is to carve out a role on special teams. Without that, it’s hard to see him not spending another year on the practice squad. You simply can’t make the roster as a WR5 or WR6 without also contributing on special teams.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Logic

[billsfan89]

I think they Hodgins fate will come down to John Brown, Mac and Roberts. If Brown is retained (which I hope he is just at a reduced rate) and they resign Mac as the gadget WR5 and Roberts as the return man it is hard to see where Hodgins fits. 

 

But if one of those three WR’s is not brought back it opens things up for Hodgins to take a back and WR spot.

[Logic]

3 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

I think they Hodgins fate will come down to John Brown, Mac and Roberts. If Brown is retained (which I hope he is just at a reduced rate) and they resign Mac as the gadget WR5 and Roberts as the return man it is hard to see where Hodgins fits. 

 

But if one of those three WR’s is not brought back it opens things up for Hodgins to take a back and WR spot.

I get the feeling they want to find a rookie who can both replace McKenzie in the offense and replace Roberts in the return game. Basically, I think they would rather find cheap labor in the form of one guy that can do the McKenzie jet sweeps AND return kicks, which would open up a roster spot at WR and save them money in a cap-strapped year.

 

I hope they find a guy like that. It might be the best path to diversifying/improving the WR corps and opening a pathway for Isaiah Hodgins.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Logic

[billsfan89]

1 minute ago, Logic said:

I get the feeling they want to find a rookie who can both replace McKenzie in the offense and replace Roberts in the return game. Basically, I think they would rather find cheap labor that can do both, which would open up a roster spit at WR and save them money in a cap-strapped year.

 

I hope they find a guy like that. It might be the best path to diversifying/improving the WR corps and opening a pathway for Isaiah Hodgins.

If they keep John Brown, I feel they are comfortable with Hodgins taking over the WR5 gadget role Mac did. You then can bring back Roberts one more year to anchor the return game and draft a WR in round 6 or 7 to wait in the wings on the PS and add some depth. Or they let Roberts walk and resign Mac to take the return duties and have Hodgins take the WR6 spot .

[LABILLBACKER]

14 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

If they keep John Brown, I feel they are comfortable with Hodgins taking over the WR5 gadget role Mac did. You then can bring back Roberts one more year to anchor the return game and draft a WR in round 6 or 7 to wait in the wings on the PS and add some depth. Or they let Roberts walk and resign Mac to take the return duties and have Hodgins take the WR6 spot .

I think the latter will happen. I see Brown and Roberts gone. They'll keep McKittrick as your return guy with the occasional gadget play.  I think Hodgins will have a shot as the last wr.