Tony Lippett

Michigan State's Tony Lippett (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

(Michigan State wide receiver Tony Lippett is today's prospect to be featured in our NFL Draft profiles series. Heading into the 2015 NFL Draft on April 30, we'll be profiling some of the top players that project to be a good fit with for the New England Patriots. Click here to check out the rest of the series.)

TONY LIPPETT

School: Michigan State

Position: Wide Receiver

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 192 pounds

Lippett's skillset is atypical for a 6-foot-2 guy. Sure, he's tall and can go up to get passes, but that's hardly his strong suit. In reality, Lippett plays a lot more like a taller Julian Edelman (5-foot-10) than a Dez Bryant or a Brandon LaFell, who are both powerful 6-foot-2 outside receivers.

In contrast to other receivers at his height, Lippett is best described as slippery inside-out receiver. With the Spartans, he lined up everywhere from outside the numbers to in the slot, looking comfortable working in each spot.

Probably the biggest dig on Lippett will be his straight-line speed, on account of the 4.62 40-yard dash he ran. On the other hand, he displayed uncommon agility for a 6-foot-2 receiver when he posted a 6.92-second three-cone drill, a metric the Patriots are known to put much more value in.

There's also the fact that Lippett played some cornerback for Michigan State, starting two games on both sides of the ball in the middle of conference play. And Lippett didn't start for a scrub defense, either. The Spartans were 26th in the country in passing yards allowed per game with an average of 196.

Lippett's versatility has some people asking if he's the next Richard Sherman (note: probably not). At the very least, there are some legitimate questions over which side of the ball he'll play on at the next level. For now, we're focusing mainly on receiver.

Prospect Breakdown

Lippett looks like a lanky deep threat, but has a complete skillset to run vertical and quick-cutting routes. He'll take screen and outs like a slot receiver, and is particularly good at running that quick slip out that Julian Edelman and Wes Welker excelled at so much, taking free yardage when it's available in the flat.

When he does go downfield, he works well in traffic and running routes over the middle. He's got a decent pair of hands, can go up to grab the ball with a defender in his face and is good at finding the soft spot in the zone and making guys miss.

While he doesn't have prototypical speed, Lippett can still do damage down the sideline as an outside receiver.

In his game vs. Penn State (when he was starting on both sides of the ball) Lippett still looked in tune with Conner Cook, a conventional pocket passer. Lippett finished that game with four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

he's not powerful but is still effective in the red zone. For example, on this other play vs. Penn State, Lippett faces physcial coverage in the red zone, but creates seperation through good (clean) use of his hands to get open for the touchdown on 3rd-and-goal from the 10.

Cornerback

That Penn State game is particularly telling because, while Lippett had a solid game as a receiver. Penn State, who has a very good quarterback in Christan Hackenberg, tested him on the other side of the ball.

Early on, Penn State targets Lippett on a go route, and the WR/CB sticks stride-for-stride to his man. He just looks natural at cornerback. Later on, Hackenberg tries Lippett deep again, except this time he's in even better position, gets his head around and almost comes down with the interception.

Lippett's NFL future likely isn't at cornerback, he's still open to the option, according to MLive.

Where would he fit in New England

The Patriots are probably not going to go after a pure deep threat, if past history is any indication. Instead, they could target another multidimensional receiver that has a history of being in tune with a pocket passer in a pro-style offense.

Lippett projects to be a good fit in the Patriots offense that, while he won't be a burner, can do all the things the Patriots need him to do, and could contribute early on in multiple-receiver sets.

Plus, his ability to play both sides of the ball is definitely a plus for Bill Belichick, who adores players with varied skill sets. Having Lippett switch to defensive back isn't out of the question. Weirder things have happened. (Remember that time Matthew Slater played safety?)

Where could the Patriots draft him?

The 2015 draft class is deep at wide receiver, meaning guys like Lippett, who have flaws but are otherwise solid players, are going to get pushed down the board. The Patriots have back-to-back selections at the end of the third round, and Lippett would be a solid value there if they're particularly high on him.

Depending on how the receiver class shapes out, Lippett could certainly still be an option on Day 3, late in Round 4.

Mock Draft Projections

Lippett's name isn't on any major Round 1 mock draft. However, some of the deeper projections have him in the Round 3-4 range.

Game Film

If you want to see Lippett play both sides of the ball, you can watch the full unedited game vs. Penn State here -- if you have two hours to kill.

In the mean time, here's Lippett's performance vs. Oregon: