Hankersons been at it for 2 years with Mark Duper

[NewCliche21]

The thing that scares me about him is why did he fall to the 3rd round? I want this guy to come in and start so bad.....we really need it. I just dont wanna get too high on him too quick. But i wish him the best of luck

I get like this with any player not taken in the first round or who is a free agent. If he's so good, then why is he available?!

I guess that's just how it is sometimes.

[Beans]

I just keep trying to figure out why this guy fell to the 3rd. Is he some kind of cross dresser or something?

I wouldn't be suprised if Hankerson and Torrey Smith end up being the best wideouts of the draft. Both have incredibly high character. Not gonna lie, I was pining for Smith, but I can live with Hankerson...even more so since the Skins used a 3rd...

I can see Green's little frame getting snapped in two, and Julio Jones straight bustin.

[Wildbunny]

I get like this with any player not taken in the first round or who is a free agent. If he's so good, then why is he available?!

I guess that's just how it is sometimes.

If a team wants to have a roster with only drafting 1st and 2nd round players, it would take her 27 drafts to do it.

Which is to means, that it's not because a player was taken in the 3rd or later round that he's only crap. There's a lot of things to take into account, such as depth at the position, position needed for each team, and so on.

Well, if players below the 2nd round are not worth it, then why aren't there more K/P taken in those two rounds?

And I'm not even talking about busts. There's just as much bust in the 3rd than in the 1st round.

As it was also said regarding the coach Hank did and will have, they are as important as anything else in making a prospect a reliable player or not. Would Peyton Manning have had the career he had if he was drafted by the Bucs or any other team than the Colts, probably not. Tom Brady? If he weren't with the Pats he might as well have had the same career than John Beck...

Most of players that turns out to be good, do because they are coached well, learn well and finally are given a chance to produce. Then, round does not matter much really. It's all about having a good coaching staff and players willing to learn. From what I've seen from this draft, Hankerson, like many others does have weaknesses and he's not perfect, but the common point all of our draftees seems to have is willing to learn, which is a major plus to this draft class.

Ok, Hankerson might not be Julio Jones or AJ Green in this draft, but that's no reason to rule him out already. Same, I wouldn't rule out Chris Neild against Anthony Bryant and Kemo for the NT spot.

[KarmicNoose]

So I just watched these videos and was really impressed by the intangibles. Great character. Very coachable.

One nitpick though, I don't know if anyone else noticed this. I realize they were drills, but he was running very high. He needs to get that big frame down when he's making cuts and running his routes or he's going to get jammed every time.

[Llevron]

One thing I don't think you have to worry about it that kid getting jmmed at the line. Power is not going to be the way to shut him down.

[NewCliche21]

If a team wants to have a roster with only drafting 1st and 2nd round players, it would take her 27 drafts to do it.

Which is to means, that it's not because a player was taken in the 3rd or later round that he's only crap. There's a lot of things to take into account, such as depth at the position, position needed for each team, and so on.

Well, if players below the 2nd round are not worth it, then why aren't there more K/P taken in those two rounds?

And I'm not even talking about busts. There's just as much bust in the 3rd than in the 1st round.

As it was also said regarding the coach Hank did and will have, they are as important as anything else in making a prospect a reliable player or not. Would Peyton Manning have had the career he had if he was drafted by the Bucs or any other team than the Colts, probably not. Tom Brady? If he weren't with the Pats he might as well have had the same career than John Beck...

Most of players that turns out to be good, do because they are coached well, learn well and finally are given a chance to produce. Then, round does not matter much really. It's all about having a good coaching staff and players willing to learn. From what I've seen from this draft, Hankerson, like many others does have weaknesses and he's not perfect, but the common point all of our draftees seems to have is willing to learn, which is a major plus to this draft class.

Ok, Hankerson might not be Julio Jones or AJ Green in this draft, but that's no reason to rule him out already. Same, I wouldn't rule out Chris Neild against Anthony Bryant and Kemo for the NT spot.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we pull the reigns back a bit. I was just saying that I can understand the apprehension, especially with a team that's been as shell-shocked as ours. Very few of our Pro Bowlers or Ring of Famers have been first- and second-rounders; I'm just saying that I understand where the poster is coming from.

I totally agree with you about the system/coach, by the way. Brady here? Fail. A 10-sack Andre Carter in a 3-4? Fail.

I'm excited for all of our players, always; I just have Arch Deluxe and the 2008 draft class in the back of my head at all times.

[9_to_42_td]

Great, the only thing worse than a corner that can't catch is a wr that can't catch either. Hope they don't turn into the Island of Misfit Toys.

[da#1skinsfan]

Although, we've got a new WR coach now.

Stan Hixon was long hated on these boards for the lack of progress our young WR's made. Then Keenan McCardell comes in, and in his first year inexperienced guys like Armstrong, Banks, and Austin all get on the field, with Armstrong particularly making a huge impact in the receiving game.

So maybe that's changed.

Good point. Let's hope so!!!!

[ouvan59]

The only time we actually developed a WR relative successfully and slowly was Westbrook although he never lived up to his draft status. .

Albert Connell also had some success for a short time before he decided to make the lockerroom his own personal bank.

And I think you'll find our struggles in developing WRs is closely tied to our lack of anything viable at the QB position. We've essentially had two good QB seasons since 1992, (1998 - Trent Green, 1999 - Brad Johnson). In 1998 Michael Westbrook had a breakout year and Leslie Shepard had his only really productive year. In 1999 Westbrook and Connell turned in career years.

[sportjunkie07]

this guy reminds me of early 90's-80's players from what i have seen on film. he just lacks the explosiveness of modern nfl plays. i still think he'll be good though.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

Great, the only thing worse than a corner that can't catch is a wr that can't catch either. Hope they don't turn into the Island of Misfit Toys.

I think the important thing is that he's A) working on improving that and you can actually see the improvement. By all accounts that I've read, he got a lot better with his drops.

---------- Post added May-11th-2011 at 09:49 AM ----------

Although, we've got a new WR coach now.

Stan Hixon was long hated on these boards for the lack of progress our young WR's made. Then Keenan McCardell comes in, and in his first year inexperienced guys like Armstrong, Banks, and Austin all get on the field, with Armstrong particularly making a huge impact in the receiving game.

So maybe that's changed.

I honestly don't think Banks has a future at WR. I do however think Austin does.

One thing I like about Armstrong is that you saw him get better with more routes as the season progressed. I think that's a good indication that McCardell is doing his job. Because of that, I feel like Hankerson can contribute in his first year. Maybe not the 1000 yard WR we hope, but that's rare enough as it is.

[terpskins10]

I can see Green's little frame getting snapped in two, and Julio Jones straight bustin.

He's 6'3, 211. How is that a little frame? He might be built kind of skinny, but there are definitely skinnier receivers out there that have made an impact. Green is going to be an outstanding player in the NFL.

Definitely can see your point with Jones, though. I think the Falcons are going to be really, really sorry about what they gave up to get him. He might not be a huge bust, but I can see him not providing much more than they would have gotten out of Michael Jenkins for no draft picks. Around 50 catches, 650 yards, and 3 or 4 TDs.

[NewCliche21]

I honestly don't think Banks has a future at WR. I do however think Austin does.

One thing I like about Armstrong is that you saw him get better with more routes as the season progressed. I think that's a good indication that McCardell is doing his job. Because of that, I feel like Hankerson can contribute in his first year. Maybe not the 1000 yard WR we hope, but that's rare enough as it is.

I think that Banks may more have a future as a question mark. Wildcat, returns, gadgets, etc. Just being on the field, especially NOT lined up as a receiver, will provide another variable to account for. Never a 1,000-, or even 700-yard season, but definitely a value. Hell, can't even see the guy half of the time.

Agreed about Austin and Armstrong. What's really exciting is that we were extremely limited in the deep ball last year. I know, lots of 40+ yarders, but go back and look at how many of those were Armstrong either slowing down, stopping, or coming back to the ball. A lot of points and yards were left on the field just from the throws.

[Tweedr01]

That's all very true. But at least we know that when one of these rookie WR's works their way onto the field, it will be because they're ready, prepared, and have earned it, and not just because it looks better for the FO to play their draft picks.

cough....*VINNY*...cough

[Darth Tater]

Albert Connell also had some success for a short time before he decided to make the lockerroom his own personal bank.

And I think you'll find our struggles in developing WRs is closely tied to our lack of anything viable at the QB position. We've essentially had two good QB seasons since 1992, (1998 - Trent Green, 1999 - Brad Johnson). In 1998 Michael Westbrook had a breakout year and Leslie Shepard had his only really productive year. In 1999 Westbrook and Connell turned in career years.

Forgot about Connell but he didn't really develop slowly. Given that he was a fourth rounder and was behind a couple of guys who had higher expectations, his 28 in his second year was pretty good. Mostly I remember him for a certain locker room incident.

[mistertim]

One thing I don't think you have to worry about it that kid getting jmmed at the line. Power is not going to be the way to shut him down.

Not sure how you can say this so positively. He has a good frame but he isn't a monster. He is 6'2, 209 lbs. The clips that I've watched don't show enough of him pre-snap to really get a good feel on how he is against jams at the line. He does, however, look like a pretty fluid route runner and seems to have a pretty good release off the line. Again, thats a small sample size. Also, as someone else noted, he does tend to stay a bit high during his cuts but that is something that NFL coaches will definitely work on, and if there is one thing this kid is, its a worker.

[SkinsTribeVA]

That's awesome! Leonard was a GREAT grab where we got him and I'm definitely excited to see what our next player from the U can do.

"Beck side steps a defender, looks deep to Hankerson, throws it up, aaannd touchdown Leonard Hankerson!!"

[icbmayday]

Nice video there hope this guy can be special

[redskins55]

Hankerson reminds me of the Cooley pick, IMO he's going to be as effective as Cooley has been for us.

That's an interesting comparison. I remember instantly liking Cooley's pick, but only because I knew Gibbs knew what he wanted out of the TE/ H-Back position. He knew noone would draft Cooley from Utah State that early. But he also knew that Cooley was the perfect fit for his offense, so he reached for him in the 3rd.

Hankerson on the other hand fell to us. And not only did he fall, but we traded out of several picks in the 2nd and 3rd just to grab him later in the 3rd. I'm still wondering why we traded out of those pics if Hankerson was the guy we wanted all along, and why he was the 8th receiver off the board after achieving all the accolades in college and the senior bowl. I love the pick, but we obviously weren't targeting Hankerson as someone we desperately wanted, like Gibbs did with Cooley.

Only time will tell I guess.

[RWJ]

That's awesome! Leonard was a GREAT grab where we got him and I'm definitely excited to see what our next player from the U can do.

"Beck side steps a defender, looks deep to Hankerson, throws it up, aaannd touchdown Leonard Hankerson!!"[/QUOTE]

We may even see it in preseason, if their is one. I hope Beck gets a fair shot to win the QB position this year w/whoever we sign as a FA QB.

[addicted]

Fantastic video find. Every fan should watch this. Our guys already worked with Chris Carter and Mark Duper? That's great. Very pumped about his chances to find NFL success