With Tyler Bray throwing to Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson this fall, it's a wonder that Tennessee failed to qualify for a bowl game.
2013 NFL Draft: Justin Hunter or Cordarrelle Patterson?
ESPN’s Todd McShay said in a conference call on Friday that Hunter is the better of the two Tennessee wideouts.
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Despite an underwhelming season, though, Bray, Hunter and Patterson all forfeited their final season of eligibility to enter the 2013 NFL Draft.
Also read: Scouting reports on Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson.
While Patterson has been a hot topic in draft circles due to his size and big play ability, Hunter is somewhat of a forgotten man after failing to meet the lofty expectations bestowed on him in the preseason.
In a conference call on Friday, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said Hunter’s physicality is the biggest question mark surrounding Hunter’s game.
“Justin Hunter is not the toughest guy,” McShay said. “There are some times where I question him going over the middle. Is he more concerned about taking the hit than he is catching the football?”
McShay also pointed to Hunter’s lapses in focus during his junior season as a bit of a red flag.
“90-percent of the time he has excepetional ball skills. It’s the other 10-percent of the time that he’s not focused he has lousy ball skills. So how you grade it out overall, I mean I guess it’s slightly above average.”
Despite the concerns, McShay believes Hunter should be in consideration for teams drafting in the late first round.
“He didn’t have the best year this year, but he was coming off a torn ACL,” McShay said. “He’s just so athletic and smooth and goes up and can get the ball in the air, adjusts well to the ball.”
While most mock drafts around the web have Patterson coming off the board early in the first round, few have Hunter as a first round pick. But McShay has an uncommon opinion about who the better wide receiver is between the two.
“When I watch the tape of Tennessee, he’s the much better wide receiver right now than Cordarrelle Patterson,” McShay said. “Patterson’s going to get drafted higher because he’s such a freak in terms of his natural ability and run after the catch and versatility. But Hunter can get down the field and make plays.”
Patterson’s raw upside is huge, but the same could be said for Hunter. At this point, Patterson seems to have fewer red flags, but the two are closer than most think.
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