Will Blackmon

[mattresell]

Official Bio

Strengths:
Very smooth and an outstanding natural athlete...Good speed and quickness with a burst...Has fluid hips and good feet...Aggressive and a solid tackler who isn't afraid to come up and support the run...Has excellent ball skills and is a major threat when he does get his hands on the rock...Versatile and can help a team in many ways...Is also a premier return man...Hard worker and team player.

Weaknesses:
Lost a year of development at corner as a senior and might need to prove himself to scouts again...Needs to get stronger...Is much better in man coverage than he is in zone...Needs to focus on one position and refine his overall technique...Will take too many risks and give up some big plays...Needs to be more physical.

Notes:
Moved to the offensive side of the ball in 2005 and was the teams leading receiver...His future at the pro level will likely be at cornerback...Interesting prospect who at the absolute least will be a big contributer on special teams.

 

[mattresell]

the guy is listed as a wr/cb. Not sure how we intend to use him.

 

[fondypackfan]

Either way its another player to help our poor return teams.

 

[tromadz]

exactly, another player in the KR\PR battle.

his athleticism and work ethic sound awesome though.

Only question is...where is he playing?

Id say CB.

 

[The_Gray_Ghost_of_Gonzaga]

WR me thinks

 

[mattresell]

I've read a bit more about him now. He is projected as a cb. One list saw him ranked at 18 for corners - ahead of Devin Hester.

 

[The_Gray_Ghost_of_Gonzaga]

from nfl.com




Blackmon made the switch from cornerback to wide receiver in 2005, and he is best suited to play receiver in the NFL. He has the size and strength you like in a receiver and plays surprisingly stronger than even his good size says he should. He is a very quick-footed receiver who accelerates to full speed very fast and has the shake/make-you-miss ability that makes him a very dangerous runner in the open field. He no doubt has to work on some of the fundamentals of playing receiver like routes and get-off, but he already does a good job defeating the jam and keeping the defender on his back when he runs quick hitting routes. An added bonus is that he is a very dangerous return man who will be able to make an impact returning punts and kickoffs early in his career. He is going to need some time to develop his skills to become the receiver he is capable of, and it is going to take at least a season as a backup to develop and learn the postion. In time, he will become a good starting receiver who is a dangerous big-play threat every time he touches the ball.

 

[mattresell]

Kiper just got finished talking about him. If you ask me, he sounds alot like Carroll.

 

[tromadz]

lets not give him the kiss of death just yet, mattresell.

this guy is described as a "Team player" not a "team puncher"

 

[mattresell]

who is often "out of position". Still no definite word though on how he will be used in the pros.

Gray Ghost and I have read conflicting scouting reports.

 

[packedhouse01]

Look at where Carrol was drafted and now look where this guy was taken. It sounds to me that he may be a Hawkins type player. Good athelte but every part of his game needs to be refined, but if he has good instincts and can learn, a good coaching staff can develop him and maybe turn him into a player. Remember Mike McKenzie was taken in the third round and in our system became a heck of a player before he develped a bad attitude. Again, I like the possibiity of the pick.

 

[porky88]

He's a project... Probably return kicks for us his rookie year and try to find a position. I think he's at least a 2 year project at either CB or WR. I also heard he could play FS in the NFL if he works on his coverage skills.

 

[The_Gray_Ghost_of_Gonzaga]

good for special teams now and maybe multi positional chances in the future

I think the cups half full here

 

[C-Mize]

I found this on Si.com. It's talking about Overrated/Underrated on upcoming draft players (upcoming b/c it was written on April 26th).

Defensive back
Overrated: Jimmy Williams, Virginia Tech
This one isn't so much for his play on the field (though I do think the perception of Williams as an Antrel Rolle-type lockdown guy was a bit skewed; he does blow coverage from time to time). Multiple sources familiar with Williams have told me he has some major character issues. His brash cockiness was no secret in Blacksburg, where head coach Frank Beamer barred him from speaking to the media during the 2004 season. Whichever team drafts him will be investing several million dollars in a potential powder keg.

**Underrated: Will Blackmon, Boston College
Geez, you move to receiver for a year and they forget all about you. Blackmon is buried far down most cornerbacks lists, which is puzzling, considering a year ago this time he was widely regarded as one of the top college corners in the country. He's a smooth, fast (4.47 in the 40) playmaker who had three interceptions in both his sophomore and junior seasons before moving to receiver last year and catching 51 passes for 763 yards. If nothing else, Blackmon would make a great return specialist for someone, but based on current projections he might not even get drafted.

 

[tromadz]

good find!

 

[paxvogel]

Announced as CB which is what must have been put on card from Packers.

 

[HatestheEagles084]

This might have been my favorite pick of the draft. We stocked ourselves at every position, depth chart wise, addressed our needs...and we have a few guys like this who we can let develop...I think Blackmon will play corner, but what do I know

 

[DePack]

This might have been my favorite pick of the draft. We stocked ourselves at every position, depth chart wise, addressed our needs...and we have a few guys like this who we can let develop...I think Blackmon will play corner, but what do I know

I think they brought him in to compete immediately as a returner, but I think he may be our #4 or #5 receiver also.

 

[porky88]

This might have been my favorite pick of the draft. We stocked ourselves at every position, depth chart wise, addressed our needs...and we have a few guys like this who we can let develop...I think Blackmon will play corner, but what do I know

I think they brought him in to compete immediately as a returner, but I think he may be our #4 or #5 receiver also.

That's what he'll be for us. Probably depth at CB but compete for the starting punt returner.

 

[packers34]

looks like we drafted woodson' s twin, w/o, cb, kickoff, i bet we won't give this one 10.5 this year though. he is a steal at that pick

 

[C-Mize]

I dont see why we cant use him in all areas (didnt Deion play a little WR sometimes??). His biggest attribute is that he is a "Jack of all trades" so why dont we use that to our advantage, at least this year. I could see us developing him as a CB though, but we shall see.

 

[mkapp]

I live in Boise and was pleased to see Colledge end up in green/gold. Boise State played BC in the MPC Bowl here, and Blackmon was a stud. The announcers never shut up about how much talent this guy had. His BIO is impressive for KRs and gives some stats for his career.

LINKY-POO: http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-footb ... ill00.html

I was excited to hear that we got him, as I figured he would be gone. This guy was a stud in that game, both as a WR and as a KR/PR. I would agree that based on his scouting reports- he is underrated, but like all rookies needs some work. He could easily become our KR guy and maybe a #2 or #3 receiver.

 

[tromadz]

He wasn't even aware how close he was to breaking the NCAA kickoff return-yard record.

"Not until we played Boise in the (MPC Computers Bowl) game; they kept kicking away from me," Blackmon said. "I went to the coach and said, 'Why are they kicking it away?' He said you were about 40 yards from the record, but I didn't care. I just wanted to win the football game."


from jsonline

 

[figtab]

lets not give him the kiss of death just yet, mattresell.

this guy is described as a "Team player" not a "team puncher"

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!