Justin Blackmon: Michael Floyd Projects to Be Better NFL WR Than OSU Star

Almost every draft guru projects Justin Blackmon to get selected before Michael Floyd, but that doesn’t mean they all believe the Oklahoma State star is the better prospect.

Floyd comes from a Notre Dame program that allowed him to start all four years, improving in every single one of them, culminating in 100 receptions for 1,147 yards and nine TDs his senior season. He will forever be remembered as one, if not the best receiver in the history of the school.

He was able to do as much because of his impeccable route-running skills among other fantastic attributes. He’s incredibly disciplined and has extremely reliable hands to go along with blazing fast speed in short bursts and long routes down the field. His physicality allows him to be a superb blocker as well, driving the opposition back on their heels.

Last but not least, his size and speed allow him to be an incredibly dangerous red zone threat that can catch double-digit touchdowns in his rookie season.

Floyd is bigger than Blackmon (6’3’’, 225 pounds vs. 6’1’’, 215 pounds) and is much faster on short routes. Blackmon has terrific top-end speed, but struggles to create separation out of breaks. That’s an issue on a critical third-and-four.

A point worth noting is his elongated strides make it hard for him to run a sharp pattern, or one that requires lots of movement with his feet before breaking out of a route. He isn’t nearly the blocker of Floyd, as he tends to go for an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to blocking, meaning he can’t recover after whiffing on his initial attempt.

Both players are going to be outstanding pros, but Floyd enters the league more polished, more versatile and more ready to be a star from Day 1.

If Floyd isn’t a top-10 pick, whoever lands him is going to end up with the biggest steal of the entire draft. 

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