Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma, RS Senior
Measurables
6'0", 175 lbs
Combine / Pro Day Results
N/A
College Production
2016: 74 receptions, 1465 yards, 19.8 avg, 16 TD [Biletnikoff Award Winner]
2015: 46 receptions, 743 yards, 16.2 avg, 4 TD
Scouting Report
Agility: 10/10
Possesses incredible body control. Check out the two GIFs below and his ability to stay in bounds for the touchdown.
There aren't a lot of people in the world that can stop on the sideline like that and then skirt into the endzone while getting pulled out of bounds by the helmet. His balance in traffic is similarly impressive and allows for excellent run after catch ability. This will be touched more on later.
Blocking: 5/10
Blocking is average to slightly below average. Westbrook's game is many things, but blocking isn't necessarily in the top 10. Still, the effort is visible most of the time. That's enough for me when Westbrook does the other things that he does.
Hands: 8/10
Westbrook is a natural hands catcher, as opposed to a body catcher, which is good. He's comfortable catching lots of different types of balls. The short and intermediate routes he was asked to run oftentimes came on a rope, which wasn't an issue. The longer bombs that came his way so frequently are a ball that lots of guys like to catch with their body, but Westbrook is fine going up and reaching for them at the highest point. This is also good. In the film I watched I only saw 1 really egregious drop, shown below.
The throw wasn't perfect, but it still should've been caught. By the way, look at that route! That head fake is the thing of dreams. Overall, I am very happy with Westbrook's hands and this is coming from an Eagles fan with PTSD concerning receiver drops.
Release: 6/10
Westbrook does not explode off of the line like some receivers. He ran a lot of downfield routes for Oklahoma, and seemed to need a step or two to get up to speed. This could be an illusion that I'm falling into because he is such a long strider, but its something I noticed frequently. Moreover, in the tape I watched he didn't face press very often. This makes it hard to determine a grade for this category. His lateral agility is good enough that I think he will be sufficient at releasing from physical corners on the line, but that's just projection at this point. I am going with a conservative 6/10 rating for this category.
Route Running: 6/10
Westbrook was not asked to run a wide variety of routes at Oklahoma. In the tape I watched, the majority of the routes were slants of varying depths, curls, nines, posts, and comebacks. On some routes, he seems to really "snap" into his breaks, whereas on others they seem to be much more rounded. This is something that can be improved with coaching, but for now remains somewhat underwhelming.
Catch in Traffic: 8/10
This is where I was pleasantly surprised about his ability. Westbrook repeatedly showed toughness in traffic and an ability to snatch the ball out of the air. For a guy who is 175 lbs, this is impressive to see. His slight build would lead one to believe that he is a finesse catcher, and he definitely is, but he is equally skilled at running slants into the middle of the field and going up and around defenders. Moreover, he held onto the ball after absorbing big hits from defenders, which is a sight for sore eyes.
This GIF above is a great example of the above characteristics. For a slight guy, Westbrook catches the ball in traffic as good as anybody else.
Speed: 10/10
Until the combine we won't have a 40 time, but Westbrook is fast. Like, really fast. Here's a GIF in case you were confused.
Yards-After-Catch Ability: 9/10
Westbrook ran lots of underneath routes and slants to complement his deep game. His ability to take short throws and turn them into huge gains impressed me multiple times. It reminded me of how terrified I am everytime OBJ catches a slant or curl against us two times a year. He's a natural runner with the ball in his hands regardless of where he is on the field.
Total: 62/80 or 77.5
Bottom Line:
I love Westbrook's game. He is a purebred playmaker and created points in a variety of ways in college, which was great to see. Currently, Westbrook is being mentioned as a Round 2 or Round 3 target. I don't agree necessarily. I think some team is going to fall in love with his speed and upside (only 2 years of FBS football!) and draft him late in the 1st or early in the 2nd round. He reminds me a lot of a young DeSean Jackson, but with the advantage of being slightly taller and heavier. If he lights up the combine, which I suspect he might, I really doubt he falls below pick 45. I'm not ready yet to call him a first round talent, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he does go there.
If Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson are devoted towards improving the weapons around Carson Wentz, Dede Westbrook would be an excellent step in the right direction.
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