Pete Brown, the Bengals director of player personnel circled both the first and second round for Collinsworth. Waddle likely would have been a top-10 pick but for his injury. The official time for his 40-yard dash at Pro Day was 5.04 seconds, the kind of number that has most draft analysts projecting Polite to fall well out of the first-round projection range they had initially pegged him at. "You get an idea what those two boys are going to be doing," Paul Brown said, pointing to Gregg and Infante in the doorway of the news conference room. Live picks, grades and reaction to the 2023 NFL Draft. Collinsworth, who was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1959, has won five Emmy Awards. He shoots gaps quickly and seems to always be a step ahead on his reads. I was told that Mac Jones would be a late first-round pick early in the process. The upside with Parsons is that he may end up an even better edge player than a linebacker and he is a good linebacker. Collinsworth was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round (37th pick overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft,[19] and spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Bengals. His hand swats are a thing of beauty, as he often runs right through punches. He catches the ball so easily that converting to his great running skills happens very quickly. [24], In 2006, Collinsworth could be seen on three networks during football season. He scored 14 touchdowns receiving, two rushing, one on a kickoff return, and threw two touchdown passes. In 2001, he was inducted into the Verizon Academic All-America Hall of Fame. His hard step up the field outside the guard and then loop inside to smash an unsuspecting center makes for great theatre. Plus, his hustle sticks out, as he often chased down scrambling quarterbacks running downfield. [10][8] Though Florida's offense did not improve enough to save the jobs of Dickey or his coaching staff, Collinsworth flourished in his new role. They raved about both. The competition was first rate across the board, as records were scored in several events. He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving four times (in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986) and was named to the Pro Bowl 3 times. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2dac10f868e873 So will this one coming up when it starts with Thursday's first round, 40 years to the day the morning newspapers hit the street bannering the news that the Bengals' antiquated offense had taken two receivers in the first two rounds. Was Cris Collinsworth Any Good as an NFL Player? I would have gone either Christian Barmore from Alabama or CB Jaycee Horn from South Carolina, but Parsons will be hyped like crazy as the best player available at this point. Jerry will be tempted to go for Caleb Farley, the best athlete in this cornerback class, but the injury risk associated with the Virginia Tech corner is just too great. He has flashy speed and is almost impossible for backs and tight ends to block when he sets his sights on the quarterback. During his career at Florida, Cris caught 120 passes for 1,977 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also scoring two rushing touchdowns and one on a kickoff return. His tight spirals and ease of release really are something to watch. Cris Collinsworth. Another former Ohio State quarterback who has been compared to Burrow appreciates the comparison. February 27, 2023 endeavor air pilot contract No Comments . But dont let his thin frame fool you: He will show some pop against linemen trying to pull and kick him out. But in a nice harbinger, Collinsworth does remember that night going on the radio with Bob Trumpy on the WLW show Collinsworth would inherit before the decade was out. Three others finished with the exact same time but the 65 Collinsworth outleaned his competitors at the tape to take the title. It is also possible that Pittsburgh could draft injured Alabama center Landon Dickerson and wait for him to recover. The "XL," stamped on the shorts is a gag. While all this back and forth was going on in Cincinnati in the months leading up to the draft, Collinsworth didn't know he was a prospect until the Hula Bowl invited him in the preseason for the post-season all-star game. But the Ohio State product will have to break the habit of running as a second option in his passing reads, or he will get blitzed to death in the NFL. Later in the 2020 season, Moehrig started making more and more plays. For the latest news and events about Florida Sports Hall of Fame, please join our mailing list! In 2009, Collinsworth filled the color-commentator role vacated by John Madden on NBC's Sunday Night Football, with Al Michaels. His flaws will be as an inline blocker and any route that requires him to stop quickly and come back to the ball, but when he is moving forward, Pitts is almost unstoppable. Does that mean he knows that anybody with a build that would conjure up ungainly comparisons from Don Knotts to Ichabod Crane shouldn't even think about being selected in the first round of any NFL Draft? Brady's competitiveness during his time with the New England Patriots. Moehrig led all college safeties in pass breakups over the past two years. "You knew right away that you had a special player. And he looked as though he was toying with defenses at times this past year. Despite his flaws, he still carries a very impressive 26% pass-rush win rate. Now it wasn't my rookie year. He could play anywhere inside, including defensive end in a 3-4 defense. Mike Brown says. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark four times and ended his eight-year pro career with 417 catches for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns, adding an additional 21 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown in three postseason games. He finished his eight-season NFL career with 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns in 107 games. In his first game, Collinsworth tied a collegiate record with a 99-yard scoring pass to Derrick Gaffney. But Verser was a hell of a player. He is a hammer on the edge and can play in a 4-3 or 3-4. His RPO footwork is special, he is a dangerous runner in space and he has a great feel for back-shoulder and high-and-away throws to protect the ball and receivers. Running Infante's choice routes where the receivers reacted to the defender and could do it because of the deep trust in Anderson's precision, Collinsworth became the Bengals' first 1,000-yard receiver in the first of four such seasons. He likes to grab a little jersey at the catch point, which may catch up to him. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History. The second-round draft choice. Like his father, Joe Horn, he will battle all day. When the call didn't come at No. His flexibility and ability to contort his body to make plays is just fun to watch; he also has genuine breakaway speed and will be a nightmare as the single receiver in 31 sets. "I'm going to guess that Lindy Infante made it up," Collinsworth says of the tale. Welcome to PFF draft week! He's 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds and ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. Mar 21, 2022. Check Out Some Great Areas to Explore On and Off Road on a Can-Am Maverick from Route 1 Motorsports, HOT OFF THE PRESS! One of his runs helped us get into the Super Bowl.". As much as I would love to see the Bengals trade back, it just never seems to happen in Cincinnati. He has a great feel for loops and stunts and is the best player available at a position of desperate need for Pittsburgh. Graduate of the University of Florida, chosen in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he had a eight-year NFL career that included three Pro Bowl appearances (1981-'83) and a pair of Super Bowls. [25] and as of 2022 is in his fourteenth season of the high-profile telecast, and is now paired with Mike Tirico, after Michaels was named the new play-by-play announcer for Prime Videos coverage of Thursday Night Football. National Football League, Historical Players. That is my only doubt. Against Tennessee, he was down to a foot off the ground, regained his balance and completed the sack. Again, I would have taken Dyami Brown here, but Brown ran only a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at just 185 pounds, so he will give way to Bateman despite looking much faster on the field. He then became a reporter for HBO's (now Showtime's) Inside the NFL in 1989. Before NBC, he co-hosted as a studio analyst Inside the NFL on HBO for that network's Sunday night NFL coverage and did color commentary on the NFL Network. I could see Cullen drawing up crazy blitz schemes to take advantage of his skill set. Matt Ryan may be my closest comparison, but that works for me. Enjoy Space Coast Daily, Brevard Countys Best and Most Read Magazine, HOT OFF THE PRESS! He knew all about Collinsworth," Wood says. During the NBC broadcasts of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Collinsworth appeared alongside Bob Costas as a commentator on numerous occasions. The official time for his 40-yard dash at Pro Day was 5.04 seconds, the kind of number that has most draft analysts projecting Polite to fall well out of the first-round projection range they had . 40 Times for Tall Receivers are a Poor Indicator of Speed, Welcome to FootballProsLive.com. He is currently a television sportscaster for NBC, Showtime, and the NFL Network, and winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards. I have never seen a player quite like Rousseau, who is 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds with an 83-inch wingspan. Write by: . Sometimes the team is at fault. When the hands hit 12, Verser caught 23 balls in his career and by the time Collinsworth played in his second Super Bowl, he was out of the league. 3 that no trade seemed fair. January 30, 2023 Space Coast Daily News Brevard Countys Best Newspaper, College Cant Wait! In track, Collinsworth, who graduated from Astronaut in 1977, posted a state championship winning time of 10.0 seconds in the 100 as the 6-foot-5 Collinsworth out-leaned the competition at the tape. How much he can get away with is always a factor in his success. The 40 is a very over rated stat when looking at WR's. His straight line speed was average at best, but he could separate and get open. He is Brady-like with his in-pocket movements but still has enough speed to be a factor in the running game. He received a Sports Emmy Award in April 1998 as Outstanding Studio Analyst and his second in 1999. One of my favorite traits of Bolton's is his ability as a read blitzer. The Life And Career Of David Klingler (Story), The Life And Career Of Carl Pickens (Story), The Life And Career Of Archie Griffin (Story), The Life And Career Of Anthony Muoz (Story), The Life And Career Of Jack "Throwin' Samoan" Thompson (Story), What Happened To Chris Henry? The reports that Fields has been managing epilepsy may have caused him to drop, but he is an accurate passer, will learn to work through progressions better and is an absolute bear as a runner. He played college football at the University of Florida, where he was recognized as an All-American. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. He also has a 39.5-inch vertical and an 85.0 PFF grade in 2020 to his name but no sacks this past year. He is fast enough for any stunt or loop and wins quickly in one-on-one situations. Collinsworth was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981-1988), all with the Cincinnati Bengals. Plus, he has shown that he can displace people as a run-blocker including Alabama's defensive line. It has taken me 52 years to say what I really have wanted to say about this, so I will let the venom slowly seep out. When Chase ran under 4.4 at his pro day, I knew he would be the first receiver off the board. Still, Lawrences running skills will make the RPO game very difficult to stop. Andrew Livingston Polite pulled up hurt after running a 4.84-second 40-yard dash, a slow time given his penchant for harassing opposing quarterbacks in college as an electric pass-rusher. Here we go! "When I got the call, I didn't really trust it when I got it. Not the scouts. I hope he is there Only (Isaac) Curtis has better catching abilities (on the Bengals). Salary: $12.5 Million Per Year. But make no mistake, he is a bad man. 42.2K. Wilson misses throws rolling right more than he should, but his skills are special and he could be great. Collinsworth is also the color commentator on Madden NFL 09 and Madden NFL 10 with Tom Hammond, as well as in Madden NFL 11 and Madden NFL 12 with Gus Johnson. There is the 6-4 Collinsworth, stripped to gray shorts and gangling at maybe 180 pounds, Mike Brown recalls. Collinsworth played four years of basketball for his dad and also played some baseball for the War Eagles. Meanwhile, earlier in the game when Mahomes threw a pass straight to the ground for an incompletion, Collinsworth said . By the time he was 8, Chris became a regular at the Gators' annual summer football camps. Gender: Paye's get-off is unimpressive for his athleticism. (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Corey Dillon (Complete Story), What Happened To Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson? Next to strong points von Mann jotted, "Great athletic skill. [20] In his first season, Collinsworth was the team's leading receiver and set the Bengals franchise record for receptions by a rookie with 67, the most by an NFL rookie wide receiver in 21 years. Award is part of $3 million in new grants to athletic fields nationwide, 2023 The Cincinnati Bengals. [5][6] Cris was successful in multiple sports for the Astronaut War Eagles, and during his senior year in 1976, he won the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A 100-yard-dash state championship and was named a high-school All-American quarterback.