With Derek Dooley out at Tennessee, the team's recent struggles, new coach Butch Jones in place, and the receiver position lacking elite top end talent, it seemed a matter of when, not if, Justin Hunter would declare for the 2013 NFL Draft.
And today, at 3:54 PM, Hunter took to twitter to make his intentions known:
"*Declared*".
With Hunter in the receiver class now, where does he fit in the position rankings at receiver? Despite his flashes of brilliance and dominating size/ability, he's no lock to be a Top 32 pick as of now.
This receiver class doesn't have an AJ Green or Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson type of elite, complete, and "safe" receiver talent. And after the fact that the first round rookies a season ago didn't help the argument to take a receiver high, I'd expect most teams to be wary of taking a receiver in the Top 15-20 picks.
Along with team's potentially shying away from receivers early, Hunter doesn't have a "safe" quality to him as a prospect. He missed most of his sophomore season with a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that didn't seem to have lingering effects but is still concerning enough.
RELATED: 2013 NFL Draft Underclassmen Tracker
Combine that with being used mostly as deep play, jump ball receiver primarily at Tennessee, and it's easy to see just how raw, undeveloped, and risky a player like Hunter is at this point. Part of it is Hunter's lack of developed route running, but also in part thanks to the poor play of Tyler Bray at quarterback, who often force-fed Hunter the ball deep, making it tough for Hunter to have any sort of consistency. Still, his elite athletic upside, size, jump ball ability, and ceiling as a receiver prospect should mean he'll wow in workouts, at the NFL Combine, and on film when GMs are considering selecting him on draft day.
Here's what Optimum Scouting's SEC evaluator Alex Brown had to say:
"Extremely long and extremely lean, Justin Hunter makes leaping circus grabs high and away from his frame look routine. Regardless of how much separation is created in route, Justin Hunter’s plus catching radius and body control enable him to separate vertically at the catch point. Capable of adjusting to off target throws and win in traffic, Hunter regularly bailed out Tyler Bray on inaccurate passes.
Off the line, Hunter is remarkably slippery to get a jam on, as he will adjust his pad level and dip his shoulders to present a smaller target. Though receivers with long strides are often said to have buildup speed, Justin Hunter eats up cushion right away with deceptive, gliding speed. More impressively, Hunter has the fluid hips and smooth change of direction to get in and out of his breaks under control.
Recovering from an ACL injury that caused him to miss all but three games in 2011, Hunter still changes direction at a high level but seems to have lost a step in the vertical game. Unable to separate on 9-patterns, Hunter is now more of a 50-50 jump ball receiver on deeper pass patterns. That in and of itself is fine, but Hunter formerly was able to separate vertically in a manner similar to a young Randy Moss.
Ability is not a question with this prospect; the issue that ultimately will keep Hunter out of the first round is competitiveness. Often giving up on the route or giving less than adequate effort on the backside, Hunter shows visible signs of frustration on the field when the ball is not coming his direction. Lapses in concentration have also resulted in a number of dropped passes this season for the junior. The traits are undoubtedly there for Hunter to develop into an elite route runner and pass catcher; however, consistency was a major weakness for the former Volunteer."
It's likely that Hunter won't be the lone Tennessee junior to declare for the NFL Draft, as Tyler Bray and Cordarrelle Patterson could also strongly consider the 2013 jump. While it may be seen as a "risky" decision by Hunter, it's unclear if playing in Butch Jones's system would help his stock at all, as well as if playing with Tyler Bray or a first time starter would allow him the development he'll receive in the NFL.
Hunter will be battling with Keenan Allen, Quinton Patton, Terrence Williams, and likely fellow juniors like Robert Woods for the top receiver spot (or even Top 5 spot). But it's a battle that, for a natural talent like Hunter, he could easily win if he impresses in workouts.
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