Seattle Seahawks Draft Target Profile: WR Robert Woods
By Keith Myers
October 20, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Robert Woods (2) catches a touchdown in the first half of the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
With the QBs done, I want to now turn my attention to the wide receivers. I’m of the belief that the Seahawks are likely to address the position on day 2 of the draft (rounds 2-3), so I’m going to concentrate my efforts for these profiles in that range. Lets kick this off with USC WR Robert Woods.
Woods is the type of player who, in most years, usually find himself being pushed into the bottom of the 1st round as the draft’s 3rd best WR. Not this year. A very deep WR class will likely push Woods down in to the range where he’s going to be available at the end of round 2.
I think perhaps that’s Woods keeps popping out to me as being such a good fit for the Seahawks. Seattle would be getting a player a round later than he would go in any other draft. That type of value is appealing, and it allows the team to fill more than 1 need with a top level talent.
At 6-1, 190. Woods has good, but not great, size. He could use some bulk in his shoulders to help him challenge for balls, and his frame has the room for that to be added without it being a determent. He’s also got long arms and soft hands helping him establish a large catch radius.
Woods is an extremely polished route runner. He’s very quick in and out of his breaks. Watching his speed within his routes, you’d think he was a smaller 5 ft 9 inch west coast offense style receiver, and not a taller player who can fit into almost any offense.
Woods isn’t a perfect prospect though. He isn’t strong in the air when challenged by a DB. He’s never going to be a guy who can go up an “win” every jump ball situation.
One of the problems with scouting Woods comes from an ankle injury that required surgery in December of 2011. He didn’t appear as explosive for in 2012 as he did in 2011, and there were reports out of USC that the ankle was still bothering him.
If the ankle was a problem, but is now healthy (or can be made “right” by another surgery) the Woods will offer a much greater return on his draft investment than his 2012 tape would indicate, which would make him a major steal in round 2. If his ankle is going to be a constant problem throughout his career, it could be a major red flag.
Draft Projection: 2nd Round
Pros
- Polished route runner
- Great hands
- Good open field runner
- Good unselfish blocker downfield
Cons
- Not a “burner” of a deep threat.
- Possible lingering problems with his Ankle
- Not strong in the air on “jump ball” situations
2012 game film from 5 games:
Game film provided by