FSU Football: 3 reasons Auden Tate made right decision to enter draft
By Kelvin Hunt
Speed
That brings me to the biggest variable of them all and that’s Tate’s speed. If Tate came by for his senior season he wasn’t going to get much, if any faster than the previous year.
He is what he is at this point, and that’s a big receiver with strong hands who has a great understanding of body control and high pointing jump balls.
One of the biggest weakest on his draft profile was this:
"Play speed falls well below the NFL mark"
"Slow getting off the line and into his routes"
"Likely to see a plethora of press corners try and derail his routes on a regular basis"
"High-cut, long strider"
"Can’t sink into breaks and is slow-footed getting in and out of breaks"
"Separation windows close quickly"
"Won’t be able to create vertical separation"
"Sees high percentage of contested catches"
Which was supported by this stat below:
Auden Tate tied for 6th in the nation with a 66.7% catch rate in contested situations in 2017. #Bengals pic.twitter.com/KOiMkKUW2g
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) April 28, 2018
So, I’m not arguing if Auden Tate will be successful in the NFL or not. I think he can be a viable red zone target at the very least as a rookie. However, the likelihood of him improving his draft stock by coming back for his senior year was relatively low.
Next: Top FSU Prospects For 2019 NFL Draft
He made the right decision to go get paid and also starting the clock towards his second NFL contract if it all works out for him.