Marqise Lee may have had a somewhat disappointing finish to his collegiate career at USC, but that's not going to keep an NFL team from grabbing one of the most talented wide receivers in the draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars have plucked the former Trojan up with the No. 39 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
NFL Draft results 2014: Marqise Lee goes No. 39 to Jaguars
A pedestrian junior year may have kept him from going as high as he could have, but Marqise Lee has still managed to become a second rounder, going to the Jaguars at No. 39 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE
Lee, who is rated by SB Nation as the No. 29 overall prospect and the fourth-best wideout prospect, was considered the best receiver in college football during his sophomore season in 2012. He caught 118 passes for more than 1,700 yards and 14 touchdowns. Injury issues and losing his quarterback hurt his production as a junior, however. After consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years at USC, Lee had only 791 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2013. Despite that falloff, he elected to forgo his senior year in SoCal and declare for the NFL.
A burner who excels in space, Lee has been knocked for his durability and inconsistent hands. Here’s SB Nation’s Matthew Fairburn scouting his NFL potential:
Lee has a lot of skills that translate to the next level, but his lack of physicality is what bumped him down a bit in our rankings. He also needs to clean up the drops and stay healthy in order to have an impact early in his NFL career. The comparison that jumps off the page is Jeremy Maclin of the Philadelphia Eagles. Lee can win in similar ways to Maclin if put in the right situations to do so.
Combine results
Height: 6’0
Weight: 192 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds
Vertical jump: 38.0”
20-yard shuffle: 4.01 seconds
Lee does most of his damage with his speed. He’s not a particularly big or strong wide receiver, but once he has the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to make a big play. Lee has the straight-line speed to be a productive deep threat in the NFL, but he needs to get a bit better at beating press coverage at the line of scrimmage. He also could use some work at making plays in traffic.
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