The 6’2” Quinton Patton was the No. 1 target for the past two seasons for Louisiana Tech, a team that scored the most points in the FBS this past season, averaging well over 50 points a game. Looking solely at his stats, Patton has been extremely impressive. In two seasons starting for the Bulldogs, Patton recorded nearly 200 catches for over 2500 yards and 24 touchdowns. The coaches at LA Tech did just about everything they could think of to get the ball into Patton’s hands; bubble screens, button hooks, out routes, go routes, slant routes, fade routes, you name it Patton probably ran it for the Bulldogs. In their 59-57 loss to Johnny Football and Texas A&M, Patton had an unbelievable 21 grabs for over 200 yards and 4 touchdowns.

With all that said, it wouldn’t surprise me if Patton didn’t make an immediate impact with the team that drafts him. He has a lot of experience with route running and seems to be a very knowledgeable player, but the jump up in competition could be too much for Patton. On the other hand, it might be that Patton was given so much experience and so much attention while at LA Tech, that he might be able to make the transition smoothly.

Patton is the kind of player that really jumps out at you when you watch his film. He has very good speed, running the 40-yard dash as fast as 4.42 seconds, and he has a knack for making defenders miss. He has nothing but potential and there will most likely be more than one general manager who will fall in love with the idea of having him in their team’s uniform.

Quinton was somewhat of a deep threat for the Bulldogs. He averaged over 13 yards a catch in 2012 and his longest reception was 79 yards against UTSA. Patton had a catch of at least 20 yards in every game in 2012, and he had 7 games where he had a catch of over 50 yards. His speed and physicality make him a prime target deep down the field.

One of the most important factors that I look at when watching a receiver on film is their willingness to block. The willingness to play full speed even when you don’t have the ball in your hands can separate the good players from the great ones. Quinton Patton is not afraid to block, in fact in the run game Patton made some key blocks that got his runner some nice extra yards. Being an unselfish player like that can get you even more attention by pro scouts than scoring 20 touchdowns.

Patton has to be one of the most complete pass catchers I’ve watched on film. He does just about anything you would want or need him to do and he does it all at a very good level. I also just love how much of a threat he is no matter where you are on the field. Obviously he can beat you deep, but he was also the biggest red zone threat for the Bulldogs, running the corner fade often in the endzone with great results. The combination of his size, speed, physicality, good hands and great route running make him a player that should be high on every team’s big board in April.

It’s probably quite clear that I am very high on Quinton Patton. Patton seems like the kind of player that can make that difficult transition from college to the pros, he will be able to make some big time plays. While he is consistently regarded as a top receiver in this year’s draft, Patton hasn’t really been talked about all that much. He is currently projected to go anywhere from the bottom of the first to the middle of the second round. With a receiver class that isn’t all that strong, Patton should really make himself stand out at the combine and his pro day on March 26th.

Follow me on Twitter: @bill_slane

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