RJ Harris catches Sean Payton's eye at Saints minicamp

[Old Cat Fan]

http://bigeasybeliever.com/2015/05/17/the-5-most-impressive-saints-rookies-at-mini-camp/4/

Hope he can land a spot on the roster

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Betting he will. I LOVE that the Saints picked him up.

[KPSUL]

It is hard to believe how narrow minded the search criteria seems to be for selecting college talent for the NFL draft. Especially from the FCS. 1/10 of a sec in the 40 or 10 too few lbs youdon't get on the "list". And it seems like every NFL team uses close to the same list. How many FCS players drafted were really a surprise? RJ is the best FCS WR graduating this year. Why do they disregard the obvious? 4 years of performance means more than a 40 yard dash in a Tshirt and shorts.

[smallcollegefbfan]

It is hard to believe how narrow minded the search criteria seems to be for selecting college talent for the NFL draft. Especially from the FCS. 1/10 of a sec in the 40 or 10 too few lbs youdon't get on the "list". And it seems like every NFL team uses close to the same list. How many FCS players drafted were really a surprise? RJ is the best FCS WR graduating this year. Why do they disregard the obvious? 4 years of performance means more than a 40 yard dash in a Tshirt and shorts.

First let me say that I was big on Harris. I would have drafted him. He's a good player.

Second, 6th-7th round and priority free agents are considered practice squad types and borderline roster players. That's what most people had on Harris so if he makes a team it won't be a shock. There were several teams who liked Harris and were wanting him as a free agent badly because they thought he could make their team.

As for how a player like him got passed up during the draft, I can easily explain that. He ran 4.5s at his pro day, which was solid but after he ran a 4.7 at his junior pro day he was overlooked by the Senior Bowl and Shrine. I know the NFLPA was looking to bring him in but ended up going with the Georgia WR late, who ended up flying up the board to the 3rd round.

Harris had a lot of drops late in the playoffs and did not stand out in the MOH Bowl so scouts figured they could pass on him during the draft and take a shot with him as a UDFA. Most scouts have to pound the table in the 6th or 7th round to get their guy and many of them will not do that for a FCS WR who doesn't have any elite testing or dominance in an all-star game.

I'm not saying I agree with what happened on Harris but simply explaining to you what did happen.

[KPSUL]

He had uncharacteristic drops in the 1st half of the Chattanooga game, but had a great 2nd half, maybe his best 30 mins of the season. His play against Fordham was solid and he put in a stoic and memorable performance in the loss to ISUred. Explaining how in this instance the trite conventional wisdom gets created doesn't justify it. While RJ Harris was battling the top 2014 FCS teams and sustaining a knee injury and a concussion, Tre McBride was practicing his sprint and vertical at the fitnesss center.

[smallcollegefbfan]

He had uncharacteristic drops in the 1st half of the Chattanooga game, but had a great 2nd half, maybe his best 30 mins of the season. His play against Fordham was solid and he put in a stoic and memorable performance in the loss to ISUred. Explaining how in this instance the trite conventional wisdom gets created doesn't justify it. While RJ Harris was battling the top 2014 FCS teams and sustaining a knee injury and a concussion, Tre McBride was practicing his sprint and vertical at the fitnesss center.

Just the way it goes. McBride ran very well as a junior and senior, played well at the Shrine, and had some very impressive catches and returns over his last two years at W&M. Better athlete than Harris while Harris is the better receiver. Coaches look at athleticism as upside and something they can work with. They consider McBride to have a higher ceiling and for Harris to end up being what he already is.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Moved thread. Please put the draft, NFL (former FCS), and so forth on this board going forward if you would.


Good story on Harris, thanks for posting it.