Brandon McRae, 6'4" 205
WR, Mississippi State
Rankings: 98th-ranked WR by Pro Football Weekly. Rated as possibility to make an NFL training camp but likely needing time in a developmental league.
140th-ranked WR by NFLDraftScout.
103rd-ranked WR by Scouts Inc. Lacks NFL skills/measurables and is not expected to be a solid contributor as a training camp body.
Biography/Honors:
McRae played for Morehead State (I-AA) in 2005 and sat out 2006 to transfer to Mississippi State, where he finished his career.
2009: 14 catches for 114 yards (8.3 ypc). Three catches against Auburn was his high for the season.
2008: 51 catches for 518 yards (10.2 ypc) and 3 TD in 12 games, starting 10. Had 100-yard game against Georgia Tech and finished sixth in the SEC in receptions.
2007: 2 catches for 50 yards. One start in 13 games.
2005: 28 catches for 361 yards (12.9 ypc) and a TD. Led team in receptions.
Major: sociology.
Injuries: Serious leg fracture in final game of 2008. Played hurt most of his senior season.
Pro Day stats: SI.com reports McRae's 40 time as 4.61.
Positives: Nice-sized possession receiver. Good route-runner with impressive hands and good game speed for his size. Gets in and out of breaks quickly and has explosive burst running away from defenders. Comes back to the ball off of breaks and offers the QB a nice target. Catches away from his body and adjusts well to the ball in the air. Hard worker in practice and the film room. Loves the game. Familiar with Rams RB coach Sylvester Croom from Mississippi State. Played in a spread offense there and could blossom in a pro-style offense.
Negatives: Drops some very catchable throws. Doesn't make the difficult catch. Doesn't have strong enough hands to grab and bring down high, hard throws. Must check out medically and produce quickly this summer to make it out of camp. His leg fracture was exceptionally bad - his tibula and fibula broke in several places as he made a cut. (He had been playing with a stress fracture in that leg without realizing it.)
Compares to: McRae calls himself a cross between Randy Moss and Chad JOHNSON on YouTube. Well, we can hope. He's pretty similar size-, speed- and skill-wise to 2010 third-round draft pick Brandon LaFell or fifth-round pick Riley Cooper. LaFell is often compared to fellow LSU alumnus Dwayne Bowe.
Fun facts: A lifelong dog lover, former MSU Bulldog McRae currently owns... a bulldog. No word whether he plans to get a sheepdog if he makes the Rams roster. McRae wore #80 in high school in honor of Isaac Bruce and actually wore it in mini-camp here before giving it back to Isaac for his retirement.
RamView: Who knows where Brandon McRae's career was headed before his broken leg at the end of 2008? Had that not happened, he was poised to enter 2009 as one of the top wideouts in the top football conference in the country. Factor in his NFL-desirable height, and he would have had reasonably high draft prospects. If (a big if) he can come all the way back from that devastating injury and make the team, the Rams will have gotten a third- or fourth-round value player for free. Current Rams like Brandon Gibson and Brooks Foster will certainly have their say in this matter, but if McRae can shine in red zone drills in camp, he's got a shot. Nice pickup by the Rams either way.
Sources: Pro Football Weekly 2010 Draft Guide, Stlouisrams.com, Mississippi State athletics site, Scout.com, ESPN.com, YouTube.com, Alton (IL) Telegraph, Jackson (MI) Free Press, SI.com, DraftCountdown.com
Photo from scout.com
WR, Mississippi State
Rankings: 98th-ranked WR by Pro Football Weekly. Rated as possibility to make an NFL training camp but likely needing time in a developmental league.
140th-ranked WR by NFLDraftScout.
103rd-ranked WR by Scouts Inc. Lacks NFL skills/measurables and is not expected to be a solid contributor as a training camp body.
Biography/Honors:
McRae played for Morehead State (I-AA) in 2005 and sat out 2006 to transfer to Mississippi State, where he finished his career.
2009: 14 catches for 114 yards (8.3 ypc). Three catches against Auburn was his high for the season.
2008: 51 catches for 518 yards (10.2 ypc) and 3 TD in 12 games, starting 10. Had 100-yard game against Georgia Tech and finished sixth in the SEC in receptions.
2007: 2 catches for 50 yards. One start in 13 games.
2005: 28 catches for 361 yards (12.9 ypc) and a TD. Led team in receptions.
Major: sociology.
Injuries: Serious leg fracture in final game of 2008. Played hurt most of his senior season.
Pro Day stats: SI.com reports McRae's 40 time as 4.61.
Positives: Nice-sized possession receiver. Good route-runner with impressive hands and good game speed for his size. Gets in and out of breaks quickly and has explosive burst running away from defenders. Comes back to the ball off of breaks and offers the QB a nice target. Catches away from his body and adjusts well to the ball in the air. Hard worker in practice and the film room. Loves the game. Familiar with Rams RB coach Sylvester Croom from Mississippi State. Played in a spread offense there and could blossom in a pro-style offense.
Negatives: Drops some very catchable throws. Doesn't make the difficult catch. Doesn't have strong enough hands to grab and bring down high, hard throws. Must check out medically and produce quickly this summer to make it out of camp. His leg fracture was exceptionally bad - his tibula and fibula broke in several places as he made a cut. (He had been playing with a stress fracture in that leg without realizing it.)
Compares to: McRae calls himself a cross between Randy Moss and Chad JOHNSON on YouTube. Well, we can hope. He's pretty similar size-, speed- and skill-wise to 2010 third-round draft pick Brandon LaFell or fifth-round pick Riley Cooper. LaFell is often compared to fellow LSU alumnus Dwayne Bowe.
Fun facts: A lifelong dog lover, former MSU Bulldog McRae currently owns... a bulldog. No word whether he plans to get a sheepdog if he makes the Rams roster. McRae wore #80 in high school in honor of Isaac Bruce and actually wore it in mini-camp here before giving it back to Isaac for his retirement.
RamView: Who knows where Brandon McRae's career was headed before his broken leg at the end of 2008? Had that not happened, he was poised to enter 2009 as one of the top wideouts in the top football conference in the country. Factor in his NFL-desirable height, and he would have had reasonably high draft prospects. If (a big if) he can come all the way back from that devastating injury and make the team, the Rams will have gotten a third- or fourth-round value player for free. Current Rams like Brandon Gibson and Brooks Foster will certainly have their say in this matter, but if McRae can shine in red zone drills in camp, he's got a shot. Nice pickup by the Rams either way.
Sources: Pro Football Weekly 2010 Draft Guide, Stlouisrams.com, Mississippi State athletics site, Scout.com, ESPN.com, YouTube.com, Alton (IL) Telegraph, Jackson (MI) Free Press, SI.com, DraftCountdown.com
Photo from scout.com
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