2018 NFL Draft prospect profile: Simmie Cobbs Jr., WR, Indiana

The New York Giants’ offense has been atrocious for two years.

Unless Odell Beckham Jr. is breaking the game open, they have had difficulty doing much of anything consistently. Even with Beckham, the Giants haven’t scored 30 points in a single game since the end of the 2015 season.

They got some relief over the course of 2017 when rookie tight end Evan Engram emerged as a legitimate Red Zone threat with his size and athleticism. However, there was nobody to share the load and defenses soon keyed on him. The Giants had hoped that Brandon Marshall would be able to capitalize on the attention paid to Beckham, but he was injured in preseason before having his season ended in the rash of injuries which also claimed Beckham, Sterling Shepard, and Dwayne Harris.

The Giants will likely look elsewhere on the first two days of the draft, but they could look to add another big weapon later in the draft. Simmie Cobbs Jr. of Indiana caught national attention by producing against high-powered defenses.

Will he catch the Giants’ eye?

Measurables

Pros

• Imposing big-bodied wide receiver.
• Natural “hands” catcher.
• Long arms and routinely extends to make catches away from his body.
• Very physical receiver. Fights through contact and uses his frame to gain separation.
• Good body control and hand-eye coordination to adjust to, and make, difficult catches
• Adept at drawing defensive pass interference penalties.
• Long strides eat up turf in the open field.

Cons

• Missed the 2016 season with an ankle injury in the season opener.
• Doesn’t have great quickness in and out of breaks.
• Occasionally suffers from concentration drops.
• Not the blocker his frame suggests.
• Held back by inconsistent accuracy and placement by college quarterbacks.

Prospect video

What they’re saying

“Bottom Line: Cobbs’ size and body control down the field will be enticing to teams, but he doesn’t separate and he lacks general quickness. Cobbs toggles between bad drops and great catches and needs to find more stability as a pass catcher since he’ll have to make a living handling contested catch situations. Cobbs may need scheme help to get off the line against big, press corners and looks unlikely to become a heavily targeted receiver as a pro. His 40-yard dash time at the Combine will be crucial for his draft stock.”

-Lance Zierlein (NFL.com)

Does He Fit The Giants?

If a team is looking for a big, physical possession receiver that can also be a fearsome red zone weapon, Simmie Cobbs will garner serious interest.

He has the size that the NFL has grown to love in its wide receivers and a rare physicality at the catch point or with the ball in his hands. Cobbs has tremendous ball skills and body control, and when combined with his massive frame give him an absolutely enormous catch radius, which makes him an absolute terror in the endzone.

Cobbs isn’t without his warts, and his need to gather himself before making a break could cause him to struggle against tighter coverage by bigger, more athletic defensive backs at the next level. Likewise, he will also need to clean up his 11.4 percent drop rate, but considering some of the catches he does make, he certainly has the ability to do so. Teams will also want to see a receiver his size be much more active as a blocker. He shows some willingness, but just isn’t good at it. He shows no hesitation to fight through multiple defenders with the ball in his hands, he needs to show that same toughness when the ball is in a teammate’s hands.

The Giants hoped to add a similar physical presence to their wide receiving corps with Brandon Marshall, but the aging receiver failed to recapture his previous form in a season that was bookened by injury. If he becomes a cap casualty this off-season, the Giants could look to a player like Cobbs in the middle of the draft.