Austin
Franklin 5'10.5” 189
WR,
New Mexico State
Rankings:
NFLDraftScout:
40th-ranked wide receiver, #317 player overall, 7th
round-free agent grade.
Nawrocki:
43rd-ranked WR. Grade: 5.10, late draftable or priority free agent
capable of battling for a roster spot.
Scouts
Inc: 48th-ranked WR. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.
DraftCountdown.com:
40th-ranked WR, late round-free agent grade.
Biography/Honors:
2013:
Played
in 8 games, starting 6. Still led team in receiving, with 52
receptions for 670 yards (12.9 ypc) and 7 TDs. 14 rushes for 76 yards
(5.4 ypc). Career average of 20.9 yards on 29 kickoff returns.
2012:
First team all-WAC. Biletnikoff Award (best WR) semifinalist. Started
all 12 games. 74 receptions for 1,245 yards (16.8 ypc, 103.8 ypg) and
9 TDs. Had 7 100-yard games, including a 236-yard game against
Sacramento State. 10 rushes for 32 yards (3.2 ypc).
2011:
Played in all 13 games. 34 receptions for 524 yards (15.4 ypc) and 3
TDs. 4 rushes for 22 yards (5.5 ypc). Returned 3 kickoffs for 103
yards (34.3 ypr). Had a streak of 4 games with a reception of 40+
yards.
Off-field:
Academics:
Majored in individualized studies. Left school with a year of
eligibility remaining.
Missed
2013 spring practices and first four games of the season due to
academic suspension.
Twitter
handle: @afrank4
Injuries:
None
reported
NFL
Combine Stats: (Combine
averages for WRs in parentheses)
4.56
40 (4.52)
36”
vertical jump (35.5”)
10'4”
broad jump (10'1”)
7.07
3-cone drill (6.94)
4.33
20-yard shuttle (4.18)
7
bench press (average was 13. Franklin was 2nd-worst, though tied with
first-round pick Odell Beckham. Worst performer at the Combine was
Jared Abbrederis with 4 reps. Have I ever mentioned that Rams owner
Stan Kroenke can do 12?)
Scouting
report:
Positives:
Lean,
finesse slot receiver with speed, quickness and playmaking ability.
Long strider who gets off the line smoothly. Explosive threat in the
seam with respectable deep speed. Slippery, sinks his hips well and
is sudden out of his breaks. Couples remarkable quickness with an
impressive stop-start move. Changes direction smoothly without losing
balance. Has soft, strong hands and catches well outside his frame.
Good in the air, even against bigger defenders. Dangerous after the
catch. Determined runner after the catch. Gets upfield quickly, makes
people miss in space, has a good second gear. Will surprise you with
his toughness and can break through arm tackles. Sets up his blocks
well. Used a lot on end-arounds, took some snaps out of wildcat
formation and even threw three passes. Has experience covering kicks.
Played his best games against NMSU's best competition. Had pre-draft
visit with the Giants and 14 teams came to his pro day.
Negatives:
Strictly
a slot receiver who never had to beat press coverage. Lacking in
strength and drops too many passes. Lets the ball into his body.
Built very lean and will need to bulk up. Didn't run the full route
tree and will have a lot to learn. Needs refining as a route runner,
which I'm SURE he will get from Rams WR coach Ray
Sherman. Stats inflated by a lot of bubble screens.
Lacks physicality, isn't strong in traffic. Won't break many tackles
and isn't a strong blocker. Prone to concentration drops. Accelerates
quickly but doesn't have outstanding top-line speed. NFL will be a
huge step up in competition. Needed another year in school. Not an
NFL-quality kick or punt returner. Doesn't use his field vision well
returning kicks.
Compares
to: gets
VERY generous comparisons to T.Y. Hilton, because they are
similarly-built slot receivers from lower-profile football programs.
Hilton is significantly faster. I think Jeremy Kerley's a better
comparison, though also pretty generous.
Fun
Facts: Austin's
high school, Jason F. Kimball High in Dallas, has produced several
NBA, NFL and MLB players, but its most famous alumnus is Stevie Ray
Vaughan. Its most infamous alumna: Sheryl Stamps Leach, the creator
of Barney the Dinosaur.
RamView:
It's
not like the Rams are a juggernaut of receiving talent, but I don't
see who Franklin is going to beat out. I don't see deep speed, size
or outside-the-numbers ability that improves on what the Rams have in
their motley crew now. Franklin appears to be a one-note slot
receiver who's going to be buried on the depth chart behind guys who
are faster and/or contribute on special teams. If he's to prevent
being on the outside looking in for even a practice squad spot, he
needs to pop in practice like Andrew Helmick did last year and show
up even bigger than that on special teams. He's a classic Les Snead
UDFA pickup who had a big junior year and then couldn't get on the
field for a chunk of his senior year, so I can't completely dismiss
his chances. And Stedman Bailey's 4-week suspension will hold a
roster spot open early. Franklin is going to have to make a lot
happen, though, which is going to be tough when you're fighting just
to be WR10.
Chance
of making team: 25%.
Sources: NFL Draft 2014 Preview
(Nolan Nawrocki), New Mexico State University athletics,
Draftcountdown.com, ESPN.com, NFLDraftScout.com, CBSSports.com, Las
Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News, Optimum Scouting, Wikipedia
Photo: Las Cruces Sun-News
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