Justin Blackmon: The 5 Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses of His Game

Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon has been one of the best players in all of college football the past two seasons, making a plethora of big plays every Saturday in the wide-open Air Raid offense. However, since the conclusion of his junior season, the draft process has not been as kind to him.

NFL personnel men and the media have played press coverage on Blackmon starting with the combine, where he suspiciously did not take part in the running of the 40-yard dash, yet ran routes and showing off his eye-hand coordination in pass-catching drills. 

This has led to some claiming his stock is on the downfall with the most recent criticism of him not being an "elite" prospect. Whether he is or isn't is subjective, but one thing's for sure: he's one of the top prospects at his position and arguably the best.

But like any other prospect, he has his strengths and weaknesses, which I've narrowed down to five specific ones. 

Strength: Plays Bigger Than He Is

One of the criticisms that's been made of the Oklahoma State product is his size, which measures in at only 6' 7/8". This is not the ideal size of a top-10 picked wide receiver, but he could be just that because his height is a mere measurement and not truly a concern.

The reason I am not concerned about his size is because he plays bigger than he actually is. He has quality arm length at 32.5" and has the lower body explosion to generate a strong vertical leap that enables him to outjump defensive backs when fighting for the ball.

Weakness: Lacks Long Speed

While there are many appealing aspects of Blackmon's game, there are a few that are also question marks, which is likely why many have questioned if he's an elite prospect. 

One of these question marks is his long speed.

Receivers with great speed are craved because of what they do to defenses. When they are assigned to run a vertical route, there are many benefits but mainly that there could be a long touchdown scored and the spacing it creates underneath for others. 

Blackmon doesn't do this because he doesn't have elite speed; instead he has quality acceleration and burst. 

Strength: Yards-After-Catch Ability

Another strong aspect of Blackmon's game is his yards-after-catch ability, which has become a very important part of the NFL today. 

Receivers have to be able to pick up yards after the catch to move the chains and create chunk yardage. This is something that Blackmon can do very well because of three characteristics: lower-body strength, balance and quick feet.

Blackmon is very strong from the hips down, particularly in the ankles, which shows up when defenders attempt to bring him down. He possesses good balance to go along with his lower-body strength, which enables him to gain the extra yardage.

Along with these two characteristics is his quick feet, which seems to be typical of an Air Raid system receiver. Other examples of this include Wes Welker and Michael Crabtree—both receivers that have good short-area quickness which Blackmon also has. 

Weakness: Lack of Willingness to Block

The lack of willingness to block seems like a minor issue of Blackmon's, but it's still an issue and something that I'd like to see him put more effort into.

He is not a poor blocker by any means, as he has the strength and arm length to move defensive backs once he engages with them, yet it's not a consistent effort. 

Strength: Good Hands

The ability to catch the ball consistently is the most important aspect of a wide receiver's game, and every year, it appears that a team gets hung up on workout numbers and ignores the tape that shows inconsistent hands from the beloved prospect. In Justin Blackmon's case, his tape illustrates consistent and quality hands.

He shows the ability to catch the ball away from his frame with his arms extended out, which is what NFL scouts look for. This shows them that he can catch the ball cleanly and not consistently in his frame like other targets may, such as Rutgers' Mohamed Sanu, who is a projected second-round pick.

Blackmon has also shown that he has a wide-catching radius and can adjust to various ball placements.