Preseason Profile: Thomas Mayo, WR

 Posted by at 1:29 PM  1 Response »
Jun 302012
 

Thomas Mayo #19

College: California (PA)
Height: 6’1¼”
Weight: 207 lbs
Arm Length: 32.5″
Hand Size: 9.3″

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.53
3 Cone Drill: 7.10
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.61
Bench Press: 15 reps
Vertical Jump: 39″
Broad Jump: 121″

 

Thomas Mayo is another guy who put up big numbers at a small school. He certainly has the size to be effective at 6’1″ 200 lbs, and he used that to his advantage in his collegiate career. The main concern with Mayo is that he is not a great athlete. He is stiff in the hips coming out of breaks and struggles to adjust to the ball at times.

He does have the ability to make flashy catches at times, but his hands are a bit inconsistent. Mayo has average 4.5 speed which is fast enough to be effective in the NFL, but he doesn’t seem to have the burst or quickness to his game either.

He has had some drop problems in OTA’s to this point but it’s still early. He still has a chance to rebound, but will need to improve quickly or he might not even make it to the cuts deadline.

Preseason Profile: Brandon Carswell, WR

 Posted by at 1:21 PM  No Responses »
Jun 302012
 

Brandon Carswell #13

College: USC
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 201 lbs
Arm Length: N/A
Hand Size: N/A

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.47
3 Cone Drill: 7.04
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.22
Bench Press: 18 reps
Vertical Jump: 34″
Broad Jump: 112″

 

Brandon Carswell does not fit the mold of a typical Raider receiver when you think back to years past. He doesn’t have blinding speed, he’s not known for stretching the defense, and you could probably count on one hand the number of times he has run a 9 route.

That does not mean he doesn’t have a lot of valuable assets to his game though. He has solid hands, runs pretty good routes, and has good size and strength. He stands 6’1″ 201 lbs and completed 18 reps of 225 lbs at his pro day prior to this years draft.

I look at Carswell as more of a possession type receiver which actually fits the new West Coast offensive scheme for the Raiders pretty well. He does well at finding soft spots in zone defenses and is also decent after the catch. His strength allows him to run through some tackles and he has shown a decent stiff arm as well. He is a very willing blocker in the running game and doesn’t need to be directly involved in the play to make an impact on the field.

Brandon has a team first attitude with how he approaches the game and tends to be a leader by example as well. A few different people who evaluated Brandon at USC described him as a consistently hard-worker. While he may not jump out at you right away, he has a lot of the tools it takes to be successful in the NFL. He reminds me of a Donald Driver type. Despite those things, Carswell still faces long odds to make the team.

Preseason Profile: Duke Calhoun, WR

 Posted by at 1:14 PM  No Responses »
Jun 302012
 

Duke Calhoun #14

College: Memphis
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 195 lbs
Arm Length: N/A
Hand Size: N/A

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.49
3 Cone Drill: 6.75
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.46
Bench Press: 12 reps
Vertical Jump: 35″
Broad Jump: 124″

 

Duke Calhoun was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Giants in 2010 after catching 19 touchdowns during his time at Memphis. Calhoun made the Giants final roster his rookie year drawing all kinds of praise from the coaching staff throughout camp. Most of his playing time came on special teams in his rookie year and he finished the season with just one catch.

The coaches were just as impressed with Calhoun to start 2011, but the emergence of Victor Cruz along with draft picks Ramses Barden and Jerrel Jernigan didn’t leave much room left for Calhoun. He later injured his hamstring in training camp which led to his release.

Calhoun has good height but has a very slender build. He can run pretty well as he posted a 4.44 40 yard dash coming out of college. Giants were actually considering keeping Calhoun over Cruz at one point which says quite a bit considering the talent Cruz has shown on Sundays.

Calhoun could be one that surprises people in training camp if he picks up where he left on in New York. He does have a leg up on most of his competition as this will be his 3rd training camp in the NFL.

Preseason Profile: Derrick Carrier, WR

 Posted by at 1:04 PM  2 Responses »
Jun 302012
 

Derrick Carrier #89

College: Beloit
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 238 lbs
Arm Length: N/A
Hand Size: N/A

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.50
3 Cone Drill: 6.65
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.08
Bench Press: 15 reps
Vertical Jump: 38″
Broad Jump: 122″

 

Derrick Carrier is truly playing the role of underdog this season. Coming into the league from Division III Beloit college he faces one of the biggest jumps in competition that one could imagine. As to be expected from anyone making the jump from Division III to the NFL, he dominated his opposition in college setting school records in catches, yards, and touchdowns just to name a few.

Standing at 6’3″ 238 lbs many expected Carrier to begin his career at tight end. The Raiders, who brought him in for a private workout prior the draft, had other ideas. Carrier has been working exclusively as a wide receiver through mini-camp and OTA’s making his battle for a roster spot that much tougher.

Carrier is not the type of guy who relies on talent alone to get ahead of the game though. He also prides himself on putting in the extra work off the field to make himself better. After a relentless training program throughout his time at Beloit, he was able to add nearly 70 pounds of muscle to his frame going from 170 to 238 lbs.

Derrick still faces long odds to make the final roster though, and will need to not only show a lot of potential on the offensive side of the ball but also prove his worth on special teams as well. A position switch to tight end at some point is not out of the question either, but a late change in training camp likely won’t give Carrier enough time to make an impression there before final cuts. Even if he doesn’t make the team this season, he is a great candidate for the practice squad giving him the needed time to develop his potential.

Preseason Profile: Louis Murphy, WR

 Posted by at 12:49 PM  No Responses »
Jun 302012
 

Louis Murphy #18

College: Florida
Height: 6’2⅜”
Weight: 203 lbs
Arm Length: N/A
Hand Size: N/A

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.32
3 Cone Drill: 6.95
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.45
Bench Press: 12 reps
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A

 

Louis Murphy finds himself on the roster bubble heading into this year. Early on in his career he looked like he might be the next big play maker at receiver for the Raiders, but after hauling in 75 catches and 6 TD’s in his first two years he has struggled to stay healthy and only had 15 total receptions last year.

Coming from a high-powered offense at Florida, Murphy was another one of those late round finds for the Raiders in 2009. He came into the league with a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove to the world that he was more than just another speed guy at wide receiver. He will need to recapture that determination if he plans to work his way back into the receiver rotation in Oakland. Starring him in the face are a hungry group of newcomers who believe their time is now and are looking to take his spot on the 53 man roster.

Don’t completely count Murphy out yet though. He does have the tools to be a successful NFL wide out, he just needs to get healthy and stay focused on living up to his potential on the field.

Louis has had some off the field mishaps as well. He was arrested on possession of marijuana while at Florida, and arrested in 2011 for possessing Viagra without a prescription. While both of these arrests seem irrelevant to some, it does highlight the need to stay focused on football. Look for Murphy to come on strong in training camp if he can get healthy, but securing a spot won’t be easy.

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