Cody Latimer

Posted: April 25th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 68 Comments »

Indiana WR Cody Latimer had a workout for scouts and coaches on Friday. The Eagles were one of the teams to show up. Actually, that is putting it mildly. WR coach Bob Bicknell ran the workout. Chip Kelly and Pat Shurmur watched the workout.

Here’s some evidence.

So what do we make of this? Could Latimer really be a target at pick 22?

We can’t rule out that possibility, but I would think Latimer would be more of a target if you traded back in the 1st round or up in the 2nd round.

I think Latimer is a heck of a prospect, but I don’t see him as the 22nd best player in this draft class. I do think he could end up being the #6 WR. The big 5 are Watkins, Evans, Lee, Beckham and Cooks. Things are wide open after that. Some will prefer Allen Robinson. Others will like Davante Adams. Maybe even Martavis Bryant. But Latimer could be the guy as well. And I guess that means he could sneak into the bottom of the 1st round.

Don’t think that this is some Eagles only fan club. Per Tony Pauline:

Almost two dozen teams were on hand to watch receiver Cody Latimer workout at Indiana. The group included receiver coaches from the San Francisco 49ers, St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins. 

Latimer is 6-3, 215. He ran 4.45 at IU’s first Pro Day back in March. He wasn’t able to do a full workout because of a foot injury. He did have a 39-inch vertical jump, which shows good explosion. Think of Latimer this way…he’s almost as big as Riley Cooper and just as fast as Jeremy Maclin. That’s a darn good size/speed combo.

The Eagles interest in Latimer makes a lot of sense. He would be an ideal fit. Latimer has the size Kelly wants. He is fast enough to stretch the defense and be a vertical receiver. He is strong enough and tough enough to be a physical receiver that can catch the ball in traffic. He has good hands and is a body catcher. He has good body control, which is critical for WRs. Latimer has good RAC skills. WR screens are a big part of the IU offense. Latimer is also a good blocker and will play on STs.

I wouldn’t be overly upset if the Eagles took Latimer at 22. It certainly wouldn’t be my preference, but I could live with it. This is a deep WR draft so there would be no reason to reach. I would assume that if the Eagles took him that high it would be because they have him rated that highly. We are talking about a big, fast WR with good hands who played in the Big Ten and posted big time numbers (135-2042-17 for his career).

The Eagles are being very thorough. I know they had at least a scout at his first Pro Day. They brought Latimer to Philly for a visit. Now the Eagles brass has studied him up close and personal. I’m guessing they like him. In a couple of weeks we’ll find out just how much.

Here’s Latimer in action.

_

68 Comments on “Cody Latimer”

  1. 1 Greg Richards said at 10:03 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Being a little too transparent with their “interest” IMO. I smell smokescreen.

  2. 2 Anders said at 10:06 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    problem is, Latimer just makes perfect sense consider what the Eagles have said they want.

    Size
    Hands
    Route
    YAC
    Blocking

  3. 3 SteveH said at 10:26 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    It’s the perfect decoy… or is it a decoy? It’d be very suspicious if they paid so much attention to someone that didn’t make any sense for them, but this actually puts them in a good position if they’re being duplicitous.

  4. 4 Greg Richards said at 10:34 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Maybe it’s a decoy that it’s a decoy. Show a ton of interest so all the other teams(and me) assume it’s a smokescreen when you really like him.

  5. 5 Jerry Pomroy said at 10:52 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I know that you know, that I know that you know this is just a smokescreen.

  6. 6 A_T_G said at 10:53 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I don’t think I buy the smokescreen idea. I believe that the players they take time to investigate have a sincere chance of being on their draft board. Some will ruin that chance through performance or interviews, some will get valued lower than they get drafted by another team, but I don’t buy them checking out players in whom they already know they have no interest.

  7. 7 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:10 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    My comment below had no bearing on my actual thought. I was pulling an A_T_G…lol.

  8. 8 GEAGLE said at 7:47 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I def agree….we simply aren’t going to send a cavalry of coaches, traveling somewhere just to create a smoke screen, definitely not this close to the draft…genuine interest has to be there, however, we could come away from a work out, not as interested as we were when we arrived

  9. 9 kevinlied said at 7:47 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Totally agree. Especially so far down in the first, you spend your resources on evaluating players that intrigue you.

  10. 10 SteveH said at 11:17 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Well yeah that’s the idea. At this point its impossible to tell if its a decoy or not, so if you’re super interested in the prospect you get all the info you could ever want and still keep teams guessing as to whether you really like him or not.

  11. 11 xeynon said at 6:50 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    As you go further down in the draft, the variables involved in determining who will and won’t be there multiply and the benefits of deceiving other teams diminish, to the point that smokescreens become a waste of time. Latimer is projected as a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick by most draft sites I’ve seen. Trying to fool other teams about their interest in him is the kind of triple reverse bank shot that’s unlikely to work and isn’t worth wasting, energy, or resources on. Given that Latimer is precisely the kind of WR Kelly likes, I’m 99% confident their interest is genuine.

  12. 12 Scott J said at 10:08 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    This is the receiver I hope we draft. I was hoping he would stay under the radar, but he’s been moving up the draft boards.

  13. 13 Mark F said at 9:46 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I want him too, but taking him at 22 is a bit of a reach, IMO. Either trade back in the 1st or hope he’s there in the 2nd and go D with the first pick.

  14. 14 Sconces said at 10:14 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    you didn’t mention Benjamin as a top 8 WR prospect. Is that how you feel or did you forget about him?

  15. 15 Anders said at 10:22 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    According to what he has written and said on the latest podcast, Tommy really do not like Benjamin at all

  16. 16 Sconces said at 10:32 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    didn’t think he was that bad. I always thought of him as a better version of Avant (except worse hands)

  17. 17 Jerry Pomroy said at 10:50 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Avant?? Benjamin is a lesser talented Plaxico Burress 2.0. He’s a compliment receiver, not the show stopper.

  18. 18 Anders said at 10:52 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I see Benjamin as Ramses Barden v 2.0

  19. 19 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:01 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Ramses, let my people go! I’ll pass thank you very much.

  20. 20 GEAGLE said at 9:24 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Martevis could be limas sweed/Stephan hill

  21. 21 Sconces said at 10:53 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I was more of talking about how they both play the slot and aren’t small

  22. 22 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:00 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Ooooh, gotcha. I dunno, I just don’t see him as a talented player and really want no parts of him. I want a big playmaker, but not Treebeard from LOTR.

  23. 23 Sconces said at 11:01 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    oh no, I don’t want Benjamin either. I just think maybe Tommy is underrating him not having him in the top 8

  24. 24 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:03 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    He likes him about as much as I like raw onions. I think I do too.

  25. 25 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:03 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I feel the same way about Dee Ford though too.

  26. 26 GEAGLE said at 7:42 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I have a 4th round grade on Dee ford

  27. 27 Anders said at 11:03 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Evans, Watkins, ODB, Cooks, Lee, Latimer, Arod, Adams, Matthews, Bryant, Landry just to name a few I would have above him

  28. 28 Sconces said at 11:04 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I think Bryant is all size while Watkins is all skill

  29. 29 Anders said at 11:06 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Bryant atleast as athleticism, Benjamin only has size

  30. 30 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:07 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    Is that your order of importance? Davonte Adams is a guy that I thought they’d show more interest in coming from a spread/no huddle offense.

  31. 31 Insomniac said at 12:52 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Latimer played on the fastest offense in college.

  32. 32 Jerry Pomroy said at 3:55 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    In not trying to compare. I’m just saying plain and simple that I thought they’d at least take a closer look at Adams.

  33. 33 GEAGLE said at 7:42 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Same…but he didn’t test as high as I thought he would…

  34. 34 anon said at 12:09 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Landry!!

  35. 35 Insomniac said at 2:24 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Landry in the 4th. DO IT HOWIE.

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 7:41 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Crazy how much Cossel likes KB…thinks he is a better prospect than Evans…I don’t see it….if KB were 21years old,I’d love him….at 23, he shouldn’t be so unpolished…

  37. 37 Jerry Pomroy said at 11:13 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    That’s it, Treebeard is going to be my personal nickname for Kelvin Benjamin. Slow, tall and old…lol.

  38. 38 Media Mike said at 7:01 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Benjamin sucks. Florida State Sucks.

  39. 39 Andy124 said at 8:58 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Yeah, but how do you really feel?

  40. 40 GEAGLE said at 7:40 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Some are starting to talk about him as a second round pick…heck, even the draft game now has him as a 2nd round pick….btw, they upgraded the draft game so it’s now a little more realistic…

  41. 41 Steag209 said at 10:27 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I’m hoping this is one of those players you draft cuz you traded back

  42. 42 GvilleEagleFan said at 11:03 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I tend to agree. Can’t decide if I’d be happier with Cooks/Lee/ODB at 22 or Latimer at say, the Jags’ 2nd round pick plus someone who’s available with their third rounder. I honestly think the Eagles are assuming Maclin will be back at 100%, and if he is I don’t think we need a huge star to complement him, Riley, Sproles, Ertz, and Celek. And that’s discounting whatever role Shady has in the screen game. If that’s the pick that lets us get a developmental CB or a decent S/NT, I’d be hard pressed to argue the stud talent at WR is worth giving that up.

  43. 43 Jerry Pomroy said at 10:28 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I like the kid. I’m more intrigued by the guys in the 6′-6’3″ range than the really big guys and the sub 6′ guys. Lattimer, Mathews, ARob, Moncrief. I personally like Mathews a tad more but it’s pretty close between Lattimer, Mathews & ARob.

  44. 44 Anders said at 10:43 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    For me it is Latimer >>> ARod >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Moncrief >>>>>> Matthews.

  45. 45 Jerry Pomroy said at 10:47 PM on April 25th, 2014:

    I think there’s a larger drop off after Latimer, Matthews & ARob to Moncrief. Moncrief, I like but he’s got some work to do for sure.

  46. 46 GEAGLE said at 7:31 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    A-Rob,Latimore,Moncreif,Mathews….
    …
    Mathews will be game ready before Moncreif, but 3 years down the line, Moncreif could be much better than Mathews

  47. 47 GermanEagle said at 10:15 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Wasn’t ARod suspended for 150+ games?

  48. 48 Lewwyn said at 12:17 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Chip’s face and his hands in that picture are just amazing. Like a little kid waiting for Christmas.

  49. 49 Media Mike said at 7:04 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    If we feel the need to take a WR at #22 because a run on that position takes place; it’ll be a lot of stress hoping some talent rushing the passer makes it to us at #54.

    I 100% wouldn’t mind Cooks or ODB or Lattimer at #22 if a decent passs rusher isn’t there (as anticipated) but I hope the Cho Cho train or Mr. Smith are there at #54.

  50. 50 Media Mike said at 7:12 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Not only do I like what I just did in this draft with one trade down; it’ll help me get Maclin off of this team after the season!

    Your score is: 4324 (GRADE: B+)

    Your Picks:
    Round 1 Pick 22: Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State (A)
    Round 3 Pick 2 (WASH): Marcus Smith, DE, Louisville (A-)
    Round 3 Pick 22: Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana (A-)
    Round 4 Pick 2 (WASH): Rashaad Reynolds, CB, Oregon State (B+)
    Round 4 Pick 22: Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech (B-)
    Round 5 Pick 22: Nat Berhe, SS, San Diego State (A)
    Round 7 Pick 22: De’Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon (B)

  51. 51 GEAGLE said at 7:29 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Trade cooks for A-Rob and you got yourself a DEAL!! Lol

  52. 52 Media Mike said at 7:36 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I’m not taking A-Rob at 22. I like him, but I think Cooks is better.

  53. 53 GEAGLE said at 7:38 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I wouldn’t take him that high either…I just am not expecting us to draft at 22….I would expect the highest we draft is #30, possibly not drafting til like #36…in the 30-36 range, A-Rob is good money…
    ..
    So I don’t really mean take Arob at 22, I mean, take A Rob as the first player we draft, just not at 22

  54. 54 GEAGLE said at 7:28 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I really like Latimer, but IMO he is just the flavor of the week. I like the kid, but this 22 talk to me is absurd…I could see this kid going somewhere between 30-70… This is a very deep draft, and their are tons of sexy size/speed combo guys for teams to like… Right now, I’m literally hearing like 20 other round 2-3 prospects being talked about as guys who sneak into round 1..I hear it about Attaucho,Marcus smith. But there are only 32 picks in round 1, and the guys we used to project in round 1 are pretty damn good prospects, so I have a feeling we are starting to over rate guys due to boredom…
    …
    Ideal Scenario for me, is a team like the Raiders who doesn’t draft a QB in top 5 wants to trade up from round two, jump Cleveland and move all the way up to 22 for a QB….such a high climb would cost Oakland #36 and #67
    …
    Would love to find a way to come away with:
    A-Rob #36
    Attauchu/Marcus at #54
    #67 on Latimer(if he is being over rated and falls a bit, Moncrief,Tre Mason!ASJ
    …
    We would still have our 3rd,4th,5th to boost the defense

  55. 55 Anders said at 8:00 AM on April 27th, 2014:

    The Latimer hype is more about a smaller school prospect that the NFL has known about, but media is just getting to know him now.

  56. 56 GEAGLE said at 7:35 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Christian Kirksey visited philly for those who missed it…think Chip and Billy will love him..doubt Chip can find another kid who better resembles the freakish things Dion can do in coverage as a LB….Kirksey can be a major subpackage weapon with his ability to cover Slots and TEs,.he also 240lbs, so I think he has a chance to grow into Meco’s eventual backup…even if he doesn’t, he can be such a valuable subpackage guy, think of the LB version of the honey badger….really hoping he falls to round 4, but I could see him going in the 3rd…the way the league is trending, a LB who can cover like that kid, is going to valued as a defensive matchup chess piece

  57. 57 GEAGLE said at 7:50 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Would love to see us wheel and deal, find a way to draft A-Rob,Latimore and Attaboy or Marcus……all before it’s time for us to use our 3rd round pick…the only shot of this scenario materializing is to trade out of round 1 say from 22-36…

  58. 58 Arby1 said at 8:50 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    These days with all the in-depth research teams do into everything about a prospect including their social media activities, I’m pretty sure they just went to the workout to make sure his tatts weren’t too disturbing.

  59. 59 TommyLawlor said at 11:55 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Or maybe they liked ’em and wanted to see the tats up close.

  60. 60 GEAGLE said at 9:18 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    I expect this to be the money the draft for the eagles. Is their a more valuable resource in this draft than Chip Kelly and recent college coaches like Azzinaro,Stoutlant,Minter? What other franchise has coaches who have known so many of these kids since high school? On top of that, our coach is so sick in the head(love him for it) that he was scouting draft picks on Saturdays during the NFL season…In a year or two we will no longer have such a valuable draft resource, so it’s imperative that we strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of such an invaluable resource. We simply can’t only pick 6 times. We need at the very least to come away with 8 players, but 12 would be ideal. Even if 12 kids don’t make our roster…the more competition we can create at camp, the more guys have to fight and perform to make the eagles roster, the better our team will be. I want players to look around at camp and think “holy crap, look at all this talent I have to compete with”..I want guys clawing and scratching to make this roster….also need to improve the overall size and athleticism of our roster. In BALDI’S words “we need to start to pass the airport test”…meaning your team is so big that you can’t mistake it for anything but a NFL team when you see players walking around together at the airport…
    …
    Everyone talks about what a deep draft this is, and how every team knows it’s deep and teams won’t part with picks..but that’s silly talk. There will always be dumb teams, there will always be desperate GMs who have to move up for guys trying to save their jobs, there will always be new GMs trying to make a splash and wipe the stench away of the previous regime like the Browns…there are also teams that have say 3 compensatory picks in a certain round, which makes it easier for a team to trade their normal pick in that round, because they know they will still get 3 players before the next round start.
    ..
    There is a team like the Niners that has too many picks,not enough roster spots, who will blow picks trading up and rafting Injured kids they can IR. However I’m sure a team that has to blow draft picks, will LOVE to convert that pick to a higher pick in 2015…so it shouldn’t be hard to say get #77 from the Niners for a 2015 2nd round pick…of course I hate to mortgage our future, but we need to take advantage of chips familiarity with these prospects before we no longer have that advantage. As long as we don’t trade away our first rounder next year, we can use it to trade back and recoup the pick we are trading away for #77
    …
    So whether we trade back to 30 and let San Fran go up for a WR or CB…or we let a team like the raiders move up from round two to jump the texans and Cleveland for a QB who falls to 22, I think it’s important that we find a way to not draft until #4-#7 in round two….at the very least we would get an early 3rd..possibly even a 4th or 5th depending if we traded back once or twice. So while we wouldn’t have our first round pick, and we will have to trade back again next year to recoup the pick we are trading away for 77, we would be drafting something like:
    #36
    #54
    #67 (trading back from 22)
    #77 (trading away 2015 2nd)
    #86
    All before the 4th round.
    ..
    All 5 of those draft picks is an opportunity for another trade back that gets you extra picks in rounds 5-7…..Hopefully we go into this draft having trades in place getting 6th round picks for BG and Bryce. maybe we don’t end up going thru with those trades, but having deals in place for them would allow Chip to draft a guy who is a dream fit in our offense like Tre Mason…land an Attaucho or Marcus smith and it’s easier to move BG for a 6th….if we have 5 picks in rounds 2-3, that’s 5 opportunities to do small deals, like letting a team move up two spots for an extra 6th or 7th….find a way to get 5 picks in the first 3 rounds, and you can end up with like 12 picks (trading BG and Bryce) when it’s all said and done…

  61. 61 GEAGLE said at 9:20 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    Don’t take this post as me suggesting we should be dumping Bryce Brown…I would like to see what we can do with his talent, given another year…but if a guy like Tre Mason who is the perfect back for our offense were to fall! I would understand if Chip were to draft him! and decide to trade Bryce…

  62. 62 Magic Thomas said at 10:50 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    That tape doesn’t impress me one bit.

  63. 63 Brendan Ekstrom said at 11:56 AM on April 26th, 2014:

    There’s a lot to like about this guy from just watching that reel. Attacks the ball in the air. Good effort blocking. Plays well in traffic. Fights hard for yac. I think the real question is will he be able to wear that pink arm sleeve with the Eagles and if not will he be as productive?

    Does anyone know any of his negatives. Has he struggled with drops or anything?

  64. 64 Maggie said at 3:53 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    Pink sleeve and pink small towel. Probably during breast Cancer Awareness week?

  65. 65 Jerry Pomroy said at 4:04 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    He doesn’t really have any negatives. He’s probably one of, if not the most well rounded receiver in this class to be honest when you compare everything from physical size to skill set. Can stretch the field deep, catch the intermediate pass in traffic, take a screen 10-15yds or to the house or completely seal off a defender allowing a teammate to spring free for a score. He’s a guy that because he’s so well rounded, could contribute quickly and start improving on what is already a good base to work with because he’s got the little things down.

  66. 66 ACViking said at 1:08 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    Re: Rivals 2011 WR Rankings

    Among the WRs whom Rivals ranked in their Top 27 for the 2011 recruiting class, there are at least 6 guys projected to be 1st or 2nd Rd picks and another (Landry) who’ll could be a 3rd Rd pick.

    Latimer is rated the 49th best WR in Rival’s 2011 WR recruiting class.

    Here’s the link for Rivals, which lets you look at prior years.
    https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/

    No other recruiting class, at any position, is close to the 2011 WRs in terms of projected 1st and 2nd Rd talent.

    It’s like the 1964 NFL draft . . . with 8 HOFers in the first 29 picks.

  67. 67 Joe Minx said at 1:58 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    Goodell may make the draft 4 days now. Somebody needs to stop this guy before he makes draft weekend worse than he already has.

    http://tracking.si.com/2014/04/25/roger-goodell-nfl-draft-fourth-day/

  68. 68 Maggie said at 4:07 PM on April 26th, 2014:

    Latimer attended Jefferson Township High Scool in Dayton, Ohio. He was a first team all-conference selection after hauling in 42 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns in addition to 372 rushing yards, six TDs and 27 carries in just eight games as a senior.
    **He also made 89 tackles, four interceptions (one score) and forced two fumbles.** He also played basketball and baseball.

    Ht:6’3″ Wt:210 lbs
    40:4.48 secs Bench Max:325
    Squat Max:345 Shuttle:4.28
    Vertical:37 inches

    These were his stats coming out of high school. Notice on defense? Maybe the Eagles convert him to safety! ;~)