Nelson Spruce pre-draft article (good one)

[Buffnik]

Covers everything from the white WR stereotype, his productivity at CU, pro day performance, likely NFL role, the CU offense, the future of CU football, and the best corners he faced in the Pac-12.

Really good stuff.

http://draftbreakdown.com/memberarticles/prospect-interview-nelson-spruce-wr-colorado/

 

[JesusGordo]

Thanks for posting. Good read.

I think Nelson has a chance to succeed. His success at CU was not based on speed, so I don't see why that should hold him back at the next level. He got separation through strength and an innate ability for getting the DB off balance. And then as he says in the article, he may not take it to the house after the catch but he consistently made the first guy or two miss for solid yardage gains. Reliability is valuable at any level. It would be fun to follow Nelson in the pros.

Has anyone heard anything about Paul Richardson's progress?

 

[FLounder]

Spruce should never be going against an NFL teams 1 or 2 DB, He should eat Linebackers alive in the slot.

 

[MtnBuff]

Spruce should never be going against an NFL teams 1 or 2 DB, He should eat Linebackers alive in the slot.

Wrong, no reason why Nelson shouldn't be able to play inside or out. The same things that got him open against the best college CBs will get him open against pro corners. NFL puts such a premium on speed that sometimes they sacrifice ability to cover the precise routes and hard cuts for deep coverage ability.

Steve Smith, who is smaller than Nelson is a good example. He was not slow, probably a step faster than Spruce, but he made a career out of turning guys around on short to medium routes and catching tough balls in tight spaces. He was so effective that he forced guys up making him more effective on deep routes.

I'm not in any way predicting that kind of success for Nelson but Smith is a model of how the things Nelson does well can be effective as an outside reciever.

He could also be effective in the slot but this idea that because he's white and not a sprinter that he can't play outside is part of what the article addressed.