The "I'm-the-man" circuit on full force for receivers in 2014 NFL Draft April 5, 2014 2:04 PM By Rana L. Cash The Sporting News RSS Mike Evans, by some estimates, “made” Johnny Manziel. Sammy Watkins has self-proclaimed “freakish talent.” Kelvin Benjamin’s 6-foot-5 frame has the Jets on full alert. Brandin Cooks wants to fill some pretty big shoes in Philadelphia. It’s the week of the receivers and the best of the NFL Draft prospects are getting lots of headlines. Marqise Lee and Odell Beckham are every bit as coveted, too.
Sammy Watkins (AP Photo)Watkins will go before each of them. He’s an extraordinary talent who aggressively attacks the ball, is unafraid to reach for passes outside of his body and has the speed and craftiness to make explosive plays after the catch. Or, as he told KGMZ-FM: “I have some freakish talents and ability to make plays. I can jump, run, catch, make somebody miss. That’s my game.”Receivers are nothing if not cocky. Most of the time it’s founded in reality; sometimes it covers up for shortcomings. In this case, Watkins can back it all up. Cooks, from Oregon State and a first-round prospect, isn’t shy about touting himself, too. He told Philly.com that he’d be an ideal replacement for DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia. Did we mention that Jackson was one of the league’s leading receivers last season? Surely, Cooks is aware. And of course, it doesn’t matter.“His game is unbelievable,” Cooks said. “The man can blow the top off, catch the deep routes, catch the underneath routes, produce in the return game. He’s just special. He’s a freak. I definitely admire his game. Maybe Chip Kelly is looking to take another speedy receiver in that first round, and that could be me.“Who knows? And if that’s the case, a lot of people will wonder, ‘Can he do it like DeSean Jackson?’ In my opinion, I can do it like him and do it better.”Hello! Lost in the ridiculousness of the Roland Martin podcast in which Deion Sanders, in a strange way, tries to compliment Johnny Manziel by saying he has “ghetto tendencies,” was his description of NFL receivers in general.“Everybody knows wide receivers are divas,” he said. “I have not played with a wide receiver that was not a diva. And I played with Michael Irvin, and I played with Andre Rison, I played with Jerry Rice. Should I keep going? Because I played on several teams.”That’s another compliment, maybe. The point is, receivers have to believe they can catch any ball from any quarterback under any circumstances. Benjamin, with his long body and athleticism, may be able to do just that. He has been compared to Calvin Johnson because of his size and physicality.One Jets source told the New York Daily News: “You can’t teach 6-5.”No. No, you can’t. The Jets are said to be on high on USC product Lee, as well. Evans, 6-5 and 231 pounds, has the size the Jets want, but he’ll likely be off the board by the time New York comes up.“In my opinion, (Evans) made Johnny Manziel, not the other way around,” an unnamed source told NJ.com. “A lot of times, Manziel just ran around and threw it up for grabs, and he came down with it.”That may not be entirely true. But what is evident is that the 2014 draft is deeper at receiver than any position.
