Wide Receiver

Troy

5-9 185

Draft board overall prospect rank: #131

Draft board overall wide receiver rank: #14

Overall rating: 61 (4th round)

40 time: 4.32

4/18/11: Jerrel Jernigan is a do it all speedster who has put up nice stats on the small school level over the past two years. He has 2791 receiving yards and 842 rushing yards in the past 3 years, though it’s worth noting his receiving yards dropped significantly from his junior year total of 1101 to his senior year total of 822. He also contributes in a big way on special teams with 2 years experience as a kick returner and one year of experience as a punt returner, with a TD of both as a senior.

His timed speed matches what you see on the tape with a 4.32 40 at his Pro Day after a surprisingly slow 4.47 at the Combine. He’s closer to 4.32 on tape so I’m going with that time. It’s worth noting that of his 822 receiving yards as a senior, 209 receiving yards came in one game and since that opponent was lowly Arkansas State, that’s not a great sign. Neither are performances of 27 yards against Louisiana-Monroe, 32 yards against Florida International, 40 yards against Bowling Green and 40 yards against Middle Tennessee.

Starting receiver prospects should dominate those types of teams and 4 bad performances against 4 weaker teams is a bad sign. I think he’s a slot guy at the next level. His height is also an issue at 5-9. He’s not a vertical threat or a red zone threat. It’s also worth noting that he was barely the leading receiver on his own team. Troy had 3859 passing/receiving yards as a team and Jernigan’s percentage of them, 21%, isn’t all that impressive.

In the end, Jernigan is going to go a lot higher than he should because he’s a workout wonder. He looks great in open field drills in workouts and times really well and NFL teams love speed, especially with the way guys like DeSean Jackson and Mike Wallace have set the league on fire in recent years. Jernigan is not on their level. He’s a solid slot receiver who can occasionally carry the ball and a strong special teamer. I don’t see a starting receiver in him; of course I said the same thing about Mike Wallace.

NFL Comparison: Antonio Brown