How He Would Fit On The Redskins
Word is that Doss caught Jon Gruden’s eye at the Senior Bowl, and that Doss was a Raiders’ fan growing up. What are the chances Jon might be willing to share some intel with little brother Jay? While Doss played against lesser competition at UC Davis, he was more than able to hold his own against top FBS corners like Penn State’s Amani Oruwariye and Texas’ Kris Boyd during the Senior Bowl. Doss is a big receiver who can work both outside and in the slot, who has a reputation for leadership - he was team captain at UC Davis - and brains and who has demonstrated more than adequate speed for the position. The Redskins are in desperate need of help at the WR position, and with the early picks seemingly spoken for to meet more pressing team needs, such as EDGE, QB, IOL, and FS, this year’s unusually deep WR pool provides a great opportunity to pick up mid to late rounders like Doss to bolster the teams’ catching corps. I’d love to see the Redskins grab Doss in the 5th as part of a multi-year effort to transform our WR group with underestimated sleeper picks over the next two drafts.
The Arizona Cardinals can be connected to another wide receiver prospect. This one is from a small school, continuing a yearly tradition of looking far and wide for NFL talent.
The latest is receiver Keelan Doss from UC Davis.
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, Cardinals assistant wide receiver coach Peter Badinovac was in attendance at Doss’ pro day.
I'm sure many readers are apoplectic over the fact that what many perceive as the team's greatest need, wide receiver, remains untouched with only the team's two sixth-round picks remaining. To those people, I offer Keelan Doss from UC Davis and Jalen Hurd out of Baylor. Two big targets who produced in college to add to the mix at wide receiver. Doss is my draft crush, admittedly, but having watched a fair amount of his film, while he is not blazingly fast, he has everything else you want in a player, and was a team leader in college as well.
Thursday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders hosted a local pro day at the team’s facility in Alameda, Calif., for prospects that either grew up or attended college within a 50-mile radius. The main draws were players from Stanford, California Berkeley, UC Davis, and San Jose State. While the group of almost 40 players probably won’t be drafted on Day One, it’s important to get extra face time with the coaching staff in case they’re selected at a later point of the Draft.
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“Honestly I knew the process was going to be long, but it’s a fun one and you only get to do it once,” Doss said when asked about the evaluation process. “It’s long, and it might be tiring at points, but next year you’re not going to be doing this, you’re either going to be working out or just chilling for the most part. Being able to go to Mobile and experiencing the [Senior Bowl] and going to the Combine — even though I wasn’t able to participate — but still being down there and witnessing that whole thing. It’s been a grind, but it’s been a fun one.”
Doss is unlikely to hear his name called until later on day three of the draft. However, playing for a smaller school with an undistinguished NFL pipeline isn’t necessarily an impediment to NFL success. Just ask burgeoning Lions receiver Kenny Golladay, an alumnus of small Northern Illinois University.
Despite the shroud of relative anonymity that can befall even the very best players from smaller programs, Doss manages to stand out. His six foot two frame helps him be one of the more accomplished receivers in the draft at adjusting to balls in the air and making contested catches. He has the versatility to be a rangy outside target, or function as a “large slot”, adaptability that helped him be highly productive for the Aggies.
Aside from his ball skills, he has dependable hands, passable speed and is generally lauded for his character. Although he possesses no discernible traits that would project him to be a star at the next level, he shows few glaring weaknesses and would provide the Lions with solid depth for their receiving corps.
As with so many talented prospects from lesser known schools, the concern about how Doss will perform against higher level competition is often raised. As such, some of his best performances in 2018 came against teams like Sacramento State, Northern Colorado and Idaho State. How many NFL players can you name from those schools?
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