#185 - 6th Round - Jacksonville from Oakland, Chad Owens, WR HAWAII

[Hostile]

Jaguars select....
Chad Owens
WR | (5'7", 183, 4.63) | HAWAII

[Juke99]

Strengths: Is a versatile slot-receiver and punt return specialist prospect. Is quicker than fast. Has excellent initial burst and COD skills. His hips are fluid and he is extremely tough to get a body on in space. He has very good hands. If he gets a clean release he can be very dangerous as a run-after-catch receiver. He gets into his breaks quickly, does a very good job of plucking on the run, and shows great initial burst upfield. He is elusive and makes a lot of defenders miss in space. He also has very good vision as an open field runner.

Weaknesses: Size and durability are two major worries. He is one of the shortest and smallest receiver prospects in the 2005 draft class. He also has had trouble holding up physically at the college level. Even when he doesn't miss games he always seems to be nicked. He gets pushed around too easily as a receiver and he will be very easy to press and smother at the LOS in the NFL. His upside as a receiver will always be limited by his size. He is quick, but he lacks great top-end speed. He is explosive at the college level after the catch and in the return game, but he won't be able to run away from defenders as easily in the NFL.

Overall: Owens redshirted in 2000, played in 10 of 12 games and started five as a return specialist in 2001, and then suffered a knee injury early in the 2002 season (10-12) that cost him four games and limited him primarily to the return game after he returned. Owens was the Warrior's leading receiver the past two seasons (2003-'04) and he also has been extremely productive as a return specialist. As a senior in 2004, he finished fourth in the nation in catches-per-game with 102 for 1,290 yards and 17 TD's. He also finished in the top-15 in punt return average nationally (14.8) with five TD's. Owens continued to improve as a receiver and return specialist during his senior season and he stood out as the quickest and most sure-handed skill position players at the East-West Shrine game. While he has the potential to develop into a sub-package slot-receiver at the next level, it might be his punt return skills that get him on an NFL roster. He is very quick and elusive, but his marginal size and below average top-end speed will always limit his potential and his durability will always be a concern. Owens has too many question marks to gamble on in the first day but he is an elusive and versatile enough athlete to consider a good value in the fourth-or-fifth round range.

* Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc.