I thought it was a typo when I logged the official weigh-in of Jamarcus (J.J.) Nelson at the combine. 156 pounds. That was breaking the projection model in a bad way. More than height for a wide receiver, weight matters. Here are some metric nuggets about the Alabama-Birmingham pass-catcher:
Rare Weight
The first qualifier is Nelson’s weight. Prospects of even 170 pounds are few and far between, let alone sub-160 pounds. Here is the full list of 170 pounds and below:
- Craig Yeast
- Roscoe Parrish
- DeSean Jackson
- Tevin Reese
- Jalen Sauders
J.J. Nelson and Damiere Byrd (South Carolina) join the group this year.
When dealing with lightweight receivers, I ask myself ‘are you DeSean Jackson or not?’ as a quick line in the sand method. Jackson is the only receiver of the true lightweights to emerge as a fantasy force. When factoring weight into the equation, DeSean Jackson still had a -14% athleticism mark at 169 pounds. That gives an indication of how much at least baseline weight impacts the model.
The Good News
