Golden Tate: NFL Draft Profile
Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Brandon LaClair in NFL Draft Player Profiles, Wide Receiver
We will take a look at Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate as he has decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. We’ll examine his strengths/weaknesses, his college career and our expectations for his upcoming NFL career.
(Retrieval of all statistical information obtained from Wikipedia and NFLdraftscout.com)
Strengths
- Versatility: Being a threat in the return game along with his exceptional skills as a receiver creates a monster for defense and special teams’ coaches.
- Great hands: Despite his size, displays the ability to win a lot of jump balls because of the capability to catch the football in traffic.
- Quickness: Possesses the aptitude to cut through a defense without being particularly fast.
Weaknesses
- Struggles against larger DB: Most defensive backs are larger than Tate so at times, a struggle ensues for Tate throughout the course of the game.
- Footwork: doesn’t fool defensive backs, relies on beating them off the line with his quickness.
- Physicality: Lacks upper body strength, which will get him in trouble with defensive backs being much stronger at the next level.
As a freshman in 2007, Tate didn’t have the opportunity to show his emerging talents on the football field because he was only permitted to start two games that season against California’s top division one programs; USC and UCLA. In the two games, he gained 131 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. He also displayed his versatility as a freshman returning 15 kicks for the Irish averaging 21.7 yards per return.
Tate’s sophomore season was a breakout year as he caught 58 balls for 1,080 yards and ten touchdowns in seven starts for Notre Dame. During the regular season, he registered four 100- yard games officially cementing himself as the Irish’s #1 receiver and a potential NFL draftee in the future. The Hawaii bowl is truly the game where Tate left an indelible mark in the minds of NFL scouts hauling in six balls for 177 yards and three touchdowns leading Notre Dame to a 49-21 victory over the Hawaii Warriors.
With respect to Tate’s sophomore season posting very reputable numbers; his junior year made him an instant legend at Notre Dame and a 1st round lock in the NFL draft. Tate caught 93 balls for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns. This included nine games where Tate eclipsed seven catches and nine games in which Tate passed 100 yards receiving (two games with 200+ yards). In addition to his outstanding year receiving, he also rushed for 186 yards and two scores and returned 12 punts for 171 yards and a score. After his junior year ended, he was the best receiver in the nation, and at that point, Tate declared for the 2010 NFL draft as he felt his stock was as high as it could go; “With the year I had this year, it was kind of hard to stay,” Tate told reporters at a news conference today. “To be honest, I don’t think I can do much better next year or any year in college. The time was right.”
At 5 foot 11 inches, 195 pounds, Tate faces a distinct disadvantage entering the NFL, but the transition can be made. Regardless of their size, other receivers have been successful at the next level; a couple a great examples include; Steve Smith, 5 feet 11 inches, 195 lbs; DeSean Jackson, 5 feet 10 inches, 175 lbs. He most emulates Jackson with his electrifying ability when the ball is in his hands; the capability to score from anywhere on the field. Tate is a complete player in all facets of the game with the ability to immediately change the momentum while taking it the distance on a punt/kick return. It’s a huge risk using a first round pick on a small wide receiver, but Tate has so many different characteristics in his game to offer. As far as receivers go, Tate is the “gold” standard in this draft and would be nearly impossible to pass up in the middle/late first round.
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