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With fellow wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster garnering all the attention for the USC Trojans on Saturday, senior Darreus Rogers took to the Combine to establish himself in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Measurements: 6'1″ | 216 lbs | 32 arms | 10 1/8 hands
Bench: 8 reps
Vertical jump: 26.5″
Broad: 112″
Very underwhelming measurements and performances for Rogers—which generally goes with his career at USC.
Coming off of his best season as a Trojan, Rogers finished his final year with 56 receptions for 696 yards and four touchdowns. On occasion looking like the best wide receiver on the field, Rogers was a model of inconsistency during his four seasons at USC.
Not running the 40-yard dash wasn’t surprising, as he has proven he does not have the speed to create separation from defenders and often made the most of his opportunities on contested catches and blown coverages.
With his obvious inept NFL-level athleticism, Rogers’ strong suit are his ball skills. His ability to track the ball at its highest points and win the contested 50-50 balls he often found himself in, gave him some notoriety on the field.
He showed strong hands in his final year, but is infamously known for dropped passes both in games and in the practice field.
His overall abilities are reminiscent of former Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams who was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both Williams and Rogers are almost identical in size and measurements—as Williams was consistency known for his red zone consistency and ball skills.
Rogers will have a difficult time finding suitors in the draft based on his lack of athleticism, but a team who can afford to polish his route-running and hands can work him into their system as a seventh-round pick or priority undrafted free agent.