Wide Receiver

Pittsburgh

6-4 228

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #18

Draft Board Overall Wide Receiver Rank: #3

Rating: 86 (mid 1^st)

40 time: 4.45

2/28/11: I think he’s shed his “possession receiver only tag.” Baldwin looked like an athletic deep threat today with a 4.45 40 at 6-4 228 and a 42 inch vertical.

2/19/11: Jonathan Baldwin was a heavily ranked prospect by ESPN, coming out of high school as an athletic 6-5/6-6 receiver. I think he lived up to that in his 3 years at Pittsburgh. He struggled statistically as a junior, but you can really blame a lot of that on the quarterback. Pittsburgh receiver only caught 230 passes for 2616 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. Baldwin had 53 catches for 822 yards and 5 touchdowns. So yes, it was a down year from 2009, when, with a legitimate quarterback in Bill Stull, he caught 57 passes for 1111 yards and 8 touchdowns, despite having Dorin Dickerson, the tight end competing with him for catches.

He’s a physically imposing receiver and his kind of soft hands and agility at his height combine to make him the type of player who doesn’t come around very often. He can be a legitimate #1 receiver in the NFL, and I think worst case scenario he ends up as a nice #2 possession receiver and end zone threat. I have him as my 3^rd rated wide receiver, after Green and Jones. Some people obviously disagree with me, rating Torrey Smith, Titus Young, and even Leonard Hankerson higher. I’ve seen Baldwin drop into the 2^nd round, which could happen, but he’s worth a first round pick.

NFL Comparison: Plaxico Burress