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Washington Redskins 2016 Draft Profiles: Ricardo Louis, WR

Hogs Haven takes a look at 2016 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Redskins.

By Aaron Lesher

Ricardo Louis, WR
School: Auburn | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22
Height / Weight: 6-2 / 215 lbs
pSPARQ: 129.0 / NFL Percentile: 87.8%
Projected Draft Status: 6th Round - UDFA
NFL Comparison: Donte Moncrief

College Statistics

Measurables



Player Overview

Ricardo Louis is a Combine all-star who is best known for getting Auburn into the 2013 BCS Championship game with an amazing Hail Mary catch with seconds left to beat Georgia. He's a tall, muscular, well-proportioned athlete who looks like a #1 wide receiver on the hoof. In Auburn's pistol option offensive system, Louis saw limited snaps as a receiver and was asked to run an abbreviated route tree. He was also heavily used as a runner on jet sweeps where he accumulated 578 yards rushing for an 8.5 YPC average across his college career. With receivers Sammie Coates and Duke Williams off the team this year (drafted by the Steelers and dismissed, respectively), Louis more than doubled his previous career highs in catches and yards.

Louis is an explosive athlete who has a second gear to get deep; he is also able to elevate over smaller defensive backs and high point the ball. He has a fiery, competitive streak and gets pumped up after making big catches or absorbing blows over the middle. The main issue limiting his draft stock is his dearth of experience -- both in terms of playing time and in a pro system -- and inconsistency on tape in putting together all of his physical gifts. He's a developmental prospect that should go to an environment where he can sit and learn behind veterans for at least a year before getting meaningful snaps.

Strengths

  • Checks all the boxes in terms of height/weight/speed: size, explosiveness, agility, and strength compare most favorably to future Hall-of-Famer Andre Johnson
  • Experience as a runner out of the backfield on sweeps/reverses
  • Vertical threat with a bit of subtleness to his game to sell DBs on shorter routes; can elevate over defenders
  • Shows flashes of passion and toughness to game; is part of Auburn legend with miracle Hail Mary catch

Weaknesses

  • Hands inconsistent, has shown issues with focus drops (5 drops on 83 targets in '15)
  • Needs to get far more nuanced in route running and working with his quarterback to come back to throws
  • Experience needed in a more pro-style system with larger route tree rather than option/misdirection as main method of getting open

Media Buzz


How He Fits on the Redskins

Louis is an intriguing developmental guy because he has loads of raw talent and no obvious red flags about why he didn't really break out in college. He has no off-the-field baggage or incidents and was behind two talented receivers up until this year in Sammie Coates and Duke Williams. Auburn's scheme is a ground-based attack that asked its receivers to be either blockers or limited route runners to get open deep off of play action, so there wasn't much opportunity for Louis to put up lots of tape on the field. I would take Ricardo Louis in the 6th round or later pending interviews and other off-the-field research to determine his drive and willpower to grow himself. He fits the bill of a big, physical receiver the Redskins currently lack and with a good support structure, could emerge as a threat in 2017 or 2018.

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