We continue reviewing possible prospects for the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s NFL Draft by again looking at a WR.
As you know, we’ve been using the NFL Mocks seven round Chiefs mock draft as a starting point for our player reviews. Yesterday we took a look at one of NFL Mocks two 5th round suggestions for the Chiefs in Alabama QB Greg McElroy. Today we’ll look at their other 5th round suggestion in Hawaii WR Greg Salas.
Here is what Mocks had to say about Salas:
"Another WR? Yes. The Chiefs literally have nothing at the position. Dwayne Bowe is their only good receiving option. Dexter McCluster was hurt for a big part of the year, but he has already displayed his effectiveness from the slot position. The Chiefs just drafted Leonard Hankerson to play opposite of Bowe, but that only gives the Chiefs 3 good receivers. Salas is a well put together WR standing at 6 ft 2, 210 pounds. He is a good route runner and a guy who can be a nice backup player from either the slot or outside position."
While Salas put up eye-popping numbers at Hawaii last year (119 receptions and 1,889 yards in 2010) it is important to remember there is a big difference between playing in the WAC conference than say, the SEC. Still, the numbers are impressive and that makes Salas worth a hard look.
Scouts seem to think Salas makes sound reads but could improve in his route running. He shows above average ball skills and can make some tough catches even when covered though he doesn’t always come down with the 50/50 balls. He can get big chunks of yards if given a seam but he also shows a lack of explosiveness. He can sometimes knocked off his route by more physical defenders.
Unfortunately for Salas, he hasn’t done much to boost his stock in the months leading up to the draft. In fact, he may have hurt it. He had a rough week of practice at the Senior Bowl. He is known for his sure hands but he dropped plenty of passes in front of scouts that week. There are some speed concerns with Salas and it appears that his drops during the Senior Bowl practices were the result of the youngster trying to avoid tackles before securing the ball in an effort to prove to scouts that he had the speed and elusiveness to beat defenders at the next level.
At the NFL Scouting Combine Salas was average at best. He recorded a 4.56 in the 40 yard dash and a 37.0 vertical.
Salas stands at 6-1 and about 210 pounds so he has average size to go along with his average speed. Right now NFL Draft Scout is projecting Salas as a 5th round pick and they list him as the 23rd best receiver in the draft.
I suppose if the Chiefs didn’t have any better options available to them it might not kill them to take a chance on a guy like Salas. Combine numbers aren’t everything after all and this kid’s numbers at Hawaii were pretty crazy.
Still, I’d be much more impressed if the Chiefs managed to land a guy like Leonard Hankerson earlier in the draft.
What do you think Addicts? Do you think KC should take a chance on a guy like Salas or should they look elsewhere in the 5th round?