Austin powers amaze
TAVON AUSTIN STANDS 5-8 and weighs 178 pounds, and a few years ago, that stature would have trapped him low on draft boards, leaving teams concerned that the West Virginia jitterbug lacked the size to make an impact.
Not so in 2013. Forget Tennessee’s Cordarrelle Patterson, the prototypical big wideout this NFL draft, the “height/weight/speed freak,” according to draft analyst Mike Mayock. The only wideout anyone can talk about is Austin, who could be the first receiver chosen on April 25 and the shortest receiver selected in the first round since the Rams took 5-9 Aaron Cox with the 20th pick in 1988.
“I think he’s the most exciting player in this draft,” says NFL Network draft analyst Gil Brandt, the former Cowboys VP of player personnel.
“He is a very explosive football player,” adds Vikings GM Rick Spielman. “It’s amazing . . . for his size.”
In the evolving NFL, Austin’s skills are challenging conventional draft philosophies. Scouts have spent the last two decades chasing Calvin Johnson types; since 1993, the first receiver chosen in the draft has always stood at least 5-10.
But Austin has demanded attention. He cemented his first-round status with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at February’s NFL Scouting Combine, and few expect him to slip past the Rams at No. 16. Doug Whaley, the assistant GM of the Bills, who pick eighth, recently said Austin is “high on our radar.”
His senior season put him on everyone’s radar. The Mountaineers deployed Austin all over the field in 2012, even using him at tailback, and he posted video game-like numbers (1,289 receiving yards, 643 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns). He proved durable, too, rushing (yes, rushing) for 344 yards against Oklahoma in mid-November.
“I’m strong,” Austin says. “A lot of people don’t think I’m that strong, but I am.”
LEaDING up TO NExT THuRSDaY’S DRaFT, THE
NEwS wILL TakE a pOSITION-bY-pOSITION LOOk aT THE TOp pLaYERS.
TODAY RECEIVERS
Not that his strength matters. The rise of the read-option and the proliferation of spread offenses have allowed smaller receivers to thrive. Megatron shattered receiving records in 2012, but in 2011, a trio of shifty slot types — Victor Cruz, Carolina’s Steve Smith and Austin’s No. 1 role model Wes Welker — all ranked in the top five in receiving yards.
“Because of the success of smaller guys over the past couple years, I think people now say, ‘Hey, we can take this guy (in the) middle of the first round,’ ” Brandt says.
There’s plenty of risk in the pick, of course — Cox lasted just six years in the NFL — but Brandt believes it’s a worthy gamble.
“He can do it all,” Brandt says. “He’s a matchup nightmare.”