When the NFL Draft rolls in next week, Baylor has a lot to be proud of. Not only is Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III likely to be the second player off the board, but his favorite target is hoping to be selected in the first round as well.
Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright broke or tied 10 different Baylor receiving records. In fact, he outperformed the top wide receiver prospect in this year’s draft – Justin Blackmon. Blackmon gained 1,522 yards for Oklahoma State, averaging 12.6 yards per reception; while Wright picked up 1,663 yards and averaged 15.4. Blackmon looks like a solid top five pick, while Wright is expected to be selected in the bottom third of the first round.
Wright almost slipped further due to something that has nothing to do with football skills. He ran a poor 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine (4.61 seconds) due to some difficulty getting out of the blocks in the sprint, something that matters if you are an Olympic sprinter but which is totally irrelevant on a football field.
At the Baylor pro day, he ran mid-4.4’s, good enough to keep him in the first round. “I popped up on my first two starts [at the Combine], and that’s all I worked on when I got back,” Wright said.
Anyone who saw his playmaking ability on tape had no concerns about his speed. At 5-foot-10, 196 pounds, Wright is a small receiver, but he put up big time numbers. Just check out the highlight reel below which sows not only speed, but some spectacular catches.
His quarterback certainly didn’t have any doubts about his speed. “I knew Kendall could run a 4.4, 4.3,” Griffin said. “He just had a bad day at the Combine as far as running. He caught the ball well, and caught the ball well (again) today.”
His size may hold some teams back, as he’s closer to a Wes Welker-sized receiver than a Calvin Johnson, but Welker has proven that a sub-6-foot tall receiver can be wildly successful in the NFL.
Falling to the bottom half of the first round could end up working to his advantage, as he stands a chance of going to a contender right away. Bears coach Lovie Smith attended Wright’s Pro Day at Baylor, and he has visited with Chicago. He has also been to San Francisco to meet with Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers. Both Chicago and San Francisco are looking to continue to add offense weapons after picking up some key players (Brandon Marshall in Chicago and Mario Manningham and Randy Moss in SF).
He has also met with the Carolina Panthers, who will hope that he slips to the top of the second round, and the Cleveland Browns who have two first round picks and an early second rounder. They are best positioned of these teams, holding the 22nd pick in the first round, if they chose to pursue Wright.
