Wide Receiver 

Cincinnati

6-0 187

40 time: 4.56

Draft board overall prospect rank: #80

Draft board wide receiver rank: #9

Overall rating: 74*

2/28/10: I have a feeling Gilyard was just having a bad day, he looked WAY faster this season than the 4.56 he ran today. However, I’m moving him down my board a little until he runs a faster time at his Pro Day.

1/30/10: He was the North’s leading receiver with 5 catches for 102 yards and a score and made some very impressive catches against tough coverage. These catches were ones where the defender didn’t give him a ton of room, but he either was able to create just enough separation to get the ball, or able to make an acrobatic catch away from his body. He also was one of the better kick returners in this game as well. I think he dispelled the concerns about his size from earlier this week (weighing in at 8-10 lighter and 2 inches shorter than he was listed), and actually got a comparison to DeSean Jackson by the commentators. I wouldn’t quite say that, but he certainly has the look of an NFL wide receiver and also a kick returner.

1/26/10: Measuring 2 inches shorter than what you were listed at is never a good thing. 

1/17/10: Needs to bulk up, but he projects as a nice slot receiver at the next level. He has very good agility and would be a welcome addition to a team as a punt returner as well and he runs fast straight line like a gazelle, but he comes from a spread offense so he may be a system player that doesn’t translate well to the NFL. 

            9/6/09: Marshawn Gilyard is a long lanky wide receiver with excellent quickness and elusiveness. While he needs to work some on his route running, as do most wide receivers his age, and he needs to lower the amount of passes he drops and the amount of balls he fumbles, he still has an extremely bright future in NFL scouts’ eyes. He put up amazing numbers last year at Cincinnati with almost 100 yards per game played despite playing without his starting quarterback for several games. He also caught 11 touchdowns and, with his combination of long arms and height, established himself somewhat as an endzone threat. He has extremely long legs and gets faster the long he runs, which is why is 40 time is not a great indication of his speed. He’s elusive in the open field and on kick/punt returns, where he was one of the best in the country. His only issue on kick/punt returns is the same issue he has at wide receiver, his hands. He fumbled too many punt returns and kickoffs last season, but when he did maintain control of the ball, which was still a good percentage of the time, he made the most of it. He has an extremely wiry frame and is not a good blocker. He can get out muscled by a lot of cornerbacks. He’s a great jumper and wins a lot of jump balls with jumping ability, long arms, and height. He has shown amazing endurance in the past, living out of his car in 2006 because he got his scholarship taken away from cheating during his freshman year. He has built tremendous character and emerged in 2007, after getting his scholarship back as a better man and a more gracious football player. He’s not the diva wide receiver that is so common in the NFL. Unless he bulks up some he’s not going to be a star in the NFL, but he has great quickness and can be an asset to a team on special teams and as a slot receiver. His ceiling appears to be a #2 receiver and that’s enough to earn him some looks in the middle of the 2^nd round in a draft thin at wide receiver.

NFL Comparison: Steve Breaston

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here