Riley Cooper, who has a size and skill set comparable to Jordy Nelson and Eric Decker, will now reportedly have to battle just to make the roster after the Eagles drafted the immortal Marvin McNutt, like Cooper 6' 3", in the sixth round. Riley's a great example of how important it is for a White receiver to land with a team that might eventually give him an opportunity. All it took was for Cooper to have a couple of drops while otherwise shining in the limited action he's seen for him to be all but written off by the media and DWFs.
Weenieworld ran something similar based on the article excerpted below (which also all but writes off Chad Hall):
-- Wide receiver: For the first time in several years, there is little drama surrounding this position. DeSean Jackson is re-signed and says he’s focused. Jeremy Maclin will team with him in the starting lineup and Jason Avant will be back in the slot and doing a whole host of other jobs, including punt rushing, serving as a backup holder and even a fourth-string emergency QB.
The fourth and maybe fifth receiver spots (if they keep that many) are where the battle begins. Riley Cooper has been OK as an occasional fill-in in his first two years but the Eagles have rarely used his 6-3 frame to great advantage. In comes Marvin McNutt, also 6-3, and if he proves to be a reliable big target he might make Cooper expendable. Chad Hall has been a nice story, but a marginal contributor. He’ll have a fight on his hands to make the team.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/150170345.html#ixzz1tybuZV9B
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sickening. Chad Hall could do everything Avant could do except he would actually get yards after the catch and he could play runningback if needed. He was recruited to play qb in college but transitioned, he is small but it wouldn't be any more desperate than putting Avant in, Lance Moore is the Saints emergency qb. I mean seriously, Avant is the prototypical slot receiver from the 90's. The league has changed. Someone like Hall could be a dangerous threat in there. In fact, he is so fast and versatile he could take over DeSean Jackon's role. Just use his speed and run post routes, run a few end arounds, but the fans can't acccept a number 1 or 2 White receiver under 6 ft, even though Maclin and Jackson are both barely 6 foot.
Speaking of height, they don't have any, Avant is the tallest at 6 foot. Cooper would be very a valuable on the outside with his height and leaping ability. Maclin and Jackson are like twigs, they make fun of the Patriots for having small guys but Vick, Jackson, Maclin, Avant are all 6 foot or under, only Avant weighs more 200 pounds, Jackson is 178, Hall is shorter but is closer to 190 pounds. Btw Cooper is actuallly just a shade under 6'4 while McNutt is a shade under 6'3. If Cooper were black it would be listed as 6'4. They have similar 40 yard times, although Cooper looks much faster on the field, McNutt's 3 cone drill was 7.15, there are linemen that do better than that, usually in the dline/olb range.
Every time Ive watched Marvin McNutt he hasn't stood out as being elite, and its not because I wasn't paying attention, the announcers made sure to mention his name about 50 times per game. Nothing spectacular, he can make some great catches but his route running is raw and he drops easy passes. If they think Cooper had a problem with drops just wait til they see him, but I guess his will be excused. There is a reason why a 6'3 215 black receiver with good 40 yard dash and college production fell to to the 6th round.
Hopefully his time will come, similar to Jordy Nelson. Maclin and DeSean Jackson seem to be injury prone, being well under 200 at 6 foot will do that, they don't seem to be very musclar or solidly built, Jackson more than Maclin, but both have had injuries. Jackson has gotten to the point where he doesn't want to go across the middle.
as for Chad Hall, maybe wind up like Amendola at least? He spent time with the Eagles.