Senior Bowl Prospect: Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami

I know the Washington Redskins have glaring holes at several other positions, so wide receiver might not be a priority.  But they do need some help there too, without a true No. 1 receiver on their roster.

After his unbelievable senior year, where he broke the Miami Hurricane's single season records for receptions (72), receiving yards (1,156) and touchdowns (13), I think they have to seriously take a hard look at this beast from "The U!"  After all, Hankerson will go down as one of the all-time great WR's at Miami, and with the likes of Michael Irvin, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson as alum, that's pretty damn good.

Positives

He's a big (6'2", 210 lbs), athletic target with pretty good hands, which he has worked on since arriving at Miami.  He's a smooth route runner with good release quickness off the line.  He understands zone coverage and where the soft spot is, and can line up on the outside, as well as the slot.  He has no fear going down the middle and catching balls in traffic. 

Hankerson knows how to use his body to his advantage and has good balance.  He's great after the catch and hard to bring down.  He will be a good red zone target and deep threat, and he played in a pro-style system. 

Negatives

His hands could still use improvement.  He lacked focus at times and would disappear in some of the games I watched.  He catches the ball to deep in his body sometimes. 

Some say he lacks great speed—he's been clocked at 4.5 in the 40—but I have seen him create separation and get down the field when needed.  He needs improvement in run blocking area, however.

After the first day of practice for the Senior Bowl, Tony Pauline of TFYDraft.com had this to say for a SI.com special: "Hankerson proved to be a handful for whomever attempted to cover him. He continually created separation and beat multiple cornerbacks deep to make the downfield catch. Hankerson did not drop a pass all day and made several difficult receptions in practice."

He has been working out with Mark Duper in the offseason, and Chris Carter was his high school receivers coach, so he's had some great teachers.  The guy in the NFL he most reminds me of right now is Marques Colston.

Here's some video of Hankerson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M9Uu9gm6Ea0

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