Leonard Hankerson, Not Smith, Is 3rd-Best WR

Many mock drafts have University of Maryland wideout Torrey Smith coming to the Ravens with their 26th-overall selection, but ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper said Smith isn’t even a first-round talent.

Behind Georgia’s A.J. Green and Julio Jones of Alabama, Smith falls behind Miami’s Leonard Hankerson, according to Kiper.

“[A]fter the first two [receivers], Green and Jones, find me the third receiver,” Kiper said Wednesday in a conference call.  “There’s no consensus there. I have Leonard Hankerson from Miami at that point right now. Torrey Smith from Maryland is in the second round. Tandon Doss from Indiana is in the second or third round.

“There are a lot of other guys in the second or third round, but the third receiver after the top two? Good luck trying to figure out who it’s going to be.” 

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Hankerson could fit what the Ravens want in a wideout. Ravens Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta said that he wants to get younger and faster at the position, and Hankerson meets that mark, having run a 4.40-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Last year, Hankerson led Miami with career-high 1,156 receiving yards on a team-high 72 receptions.  He also scored 13 touchdowns.

Kiper noted that drafting a receiver is a tough science to master, however.

The Ravens have been bitten in the past with first-round picks like Travis Taylor (2000) or Mark Clayton (2005), both players who were solid but not the game-breakers many thought coming out of college.

Kiper said the reasons receivers are difficult to judge are myriad.

“It’s a hard position because you’re dealing with guys at the quarterback spot in college where you don’t have to be precise in your routes,” said Kiper.  “The route tree is not there, so they have to adapt mentally, making those adjustments on the move. They have to be more precise with their routes. Timing is everything, and you have to get your head around.  You have the cushion in college, you can double-clutch or bobble.  It doesn’t matter.

“The NFL is a big adjustment for a receiver, a huge adjustment for a receiver.”



(baltimoreravens.com)