Wide Receiver
Notre Dame
5-10 195
40 time: 4.36
Draft board overall prospect rank: #31
Draft board overall wide receiver: #3
Overall rating: 82*
2/28/10: He’s got more speed than I thought. I was expecting 4.4-4.45 and he ran 4.36 on a day where some receivers have been running slower than expected. I still have concerns about his ability to be a #1 option at 5-10, but this kind of speed helps.
2/26/10: We knew Tate was on the short side, but he barely measured at 5-10 at his weigh in. There aren’t a lot of #1 options that are that short. He’ll still be a good player and he’s the second most NFL ready player in this draft class after Damian Williams, but he has future #2 written all over him and not future #1.
1/17/10: His production 151 catches for 2576 yards and 25 scores over the last two years, in a pro style offense is amazing, but he may be maxed out athletically and he doesn’t have a great upside. His 40 time is poor for his size and he may have trouble finding a niche as a wide receiver at the next level. A lot of his statistical prowess can be attributed to having Jimmy Clausen at quarterback, but he should still be a fine #2 wide receiver at the next level because he has very reliable hands and runs good routes for someone his age.
Over the past two years, Golden Tate has quietly become one of the most dominant wide receivers in college football with 2576 yards and 25 touchdowns in the past two years for Notre Dame. However, he’s not the most dominant guy physically. He’s under 6 feet and under 200 pounds, but he is a very tough guy for his size and runs in the open field with a lot of power. His lack of great breakaway speed will hurt him and believe it or not he’s actually more of a power runner in the open field. A mid-low 4.4 at his size is not great, but he is fast. The only issue could be that there are a lot of cornerbacks in the NFL bigger, stronger, and faster than him. He may have some trouble getting out of the jam at the line of scrimmage as some other small receivers do. However, his lack of a great speed/size combination doesn’t make him a poor athlete. He is a two sport athlete and has been drafted in the MLB draft in the late rounds, but decided to pursue football. He’s already declared early for the 2010 NFL Draft, along with teammate Jimmy Clausen, so its clear that his focus is on football and why wouldn’t it be if he has a shot to go in the first round. Though he doesn’t outrun a ton of guys in the open field, he has good moves and agility and has actually seen some success in running plays, with 25 rushes for 188 yards this season which means he could be a guy used on end arounds or at wildcat in the NFL. Though production alone shouldn’t get you drafted in the first round, his production is very good in a pro style offense, though he hasn’t seen great competition. However, this season, he had 1496 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air and only 3 games in which he had less than 100 yards. Notre Dame did play some big games this season, Michigan (115 yards, 2 scores), Washington (244 yards, 1 score), USC (117 yards, 2 scores), Stanford (201 yards, 3 scores), and as you can see, Tate stepped up big time in those games. He makes a lot of nice athletic acrobatic catches and catches the ball at the right point to limit the effect of his lack of elite size, but he has dropped a few easy ones this year and had a couple of small mental lapses. His lack of size makes him a poor run blocker. His route running is still very raw, which is surprising for someone who has played in a pro style offense, but he has experience in a West Coast offense at Notre Dame and assuming he mastering the fundamentals routes of the West Coast with some time in the pros, a West Coast offense is the best fit for him. Its unclear whether he’ll fit in as a possession receiver or a deep threat in the NFL so right now he looks like a bit of a tweener and that could be bad if he struggles to find a niche in the NFL. This guy looks like the type of guy that is going to have his best season in his 3rd season, rather than in his 1st or 2nd because he’ll take some time to develop into a legitimate NFL wide receiver, but he should be a solid #2 or possibly even #1 guy in the NFL.
NFL Comparison: Laveranues Coles
*= For a breakdown of what this means, click here
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