Dallas Cowboys Draft: NFL Prospects from the Dallas-Fort Worth Area

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Big 12 Prospects: WR Devin Duvernay, Texas

Quite often you see players come back for their senior season and absolutely ball out. Duvernay did just that! In Texas’s unique slot receiver role, the receiver from Sachse High School had a career year catching 106 passes for 1386 yards and 9 touchdowns. Duvernay also ran for a touchdown and returned 10 punts for 205 yards. (Good special teams production? Can’t remember the last time I heard about this in the Dallas?)

Duvernay is a very likeable receiver and underrated amongst some in this class. Very quickly Duvernay’s speed is noticeable. In high school, Duvernay ran a 4.38 40 yard dash in high school when he was listed as 5’11”, 193 pounds. Now at 210 pounds, Duvernay does not look like he’s lost a step. If anything the weight gain has been great for him as his body control and contact balance are outstanding.

Duvernay is not the greatest route runner for his size and his route tree is fairly limited as a product of the Texas offense. He also isn’t as agile as some other receivers his size in this class.  So how did he produce so much? His speed make it very difficult for cornerbacks to cover him 1-on-1. Even in zone coverage, when he found the hole defenders had a hard time bringing him down because of his contact balance and speed. On bubble screens if the defense was not set Duvernay was getting a first down just about every time.

If Duvernay found open space, he was definitely going to take advantage of it.

So how good are his hands? Very solid. He plucks balls out of the air in tight windows, he tracks the ball well on deep passes, and caught just about everything on target. Duvernay has tantalizing traits that will make GMs drool, leading to the question: how early does he get drafted? Currently he screams Day 2 pick.