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Cody Latimer is currently going undrafted in mock drafts, so it may seem illogical to tell people to pull back on the hype train of the Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver. But there’s quite the buzz about his high stock — being one of Peyton Manning‘s new targets and all. Some analysts see him as a breakout candidate because he’s on the Broncos’ offense, but what some see as an advantage, I see as his kryptonite.
Per FantasyPros.com, four experts view Latimer as a player above his average draft position — four also view him below his draft position. Everyone else thinks he should just be a borderline undrafted player, but it’s those bottom four rankings that I find most accurate. Take a look at the Broncos passing arsenal:
Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Emmanuel Sanders, Andre Caldwell, Julius Thomas and Montee Ball. Does it look like there’s any room for a seventh target to flourish? No, and that’s exactly where Latimer is at the moment.
Now, if Latimer can leapfrog Caldwell and Sanders, I’d say there’s someone to look out for. But at over $6 million guaranteed for those two wide receivers — and their professional pedigrees — there’s really no way Latimer would climb the totem pole. However, I do see the attraction to him.
There’s a lot of physical specimens among rookie wide receivers this year, and Latimer is one of them. He doesn’t tower defenders, but his 6-foot-3 stature is certainly an advantage among some of the game’s smaller defenders. However, it’s his strength and speed that make him a threat some people are flooding over.
According to SB Nation, Latimer ran a 4.39 40-yard dash time with a broken foot. Now, that’s a telling case of a very fast man. On top of that, Latimer also was tops among wide receivers in the bench press at the NFL Combine this spring, repping 23 times.
Though he may be fast and strong, he doesn’t show very good route running due to a lack of agility. He doesn’t always use his strength to his advantage and won’t shake off too many tackles after catching the ball.
He’s a developmental player at the moment, and will be a great option later in his career, so I can see him being drafted for dynasty leagues; even then, Manning will be out of town.
Is he really worth a pick this year? No, not unless injuries to his veteran teammates arise. However, if someone were to go down, I wouldn’t have a problem picking him up off of waivers.
