20/20: Josh Doctson

Austan Kas Posted On February 19, 2016

Welcome to 20/20. As part of our continued Dynasty Scouts coverage and in preparation for the NFL Combine later this month, we’ll be profiling 20 of the top incoming rookies of the class of 2016 by giving you 20 facts you must know.

1.) Player Name — Josh Doctson.

2.) College — TCU.

3.) Height/Weight — 6-foot-3, 195 pounds

4.) Birth date — 1993, age 23. Through my research, I couldn’t find an exact birth date for Doctson. I must be doing this Internet fad wrong. Regardless, he’s very old for this class.

5.) Class — Fifth-year Senior.

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6.) Basic college stats — Counting his one season with Wyoming, he totaled 214 receptions, 3,177 yards and 34 touchdowns in 45 college games.

7.) NFL Draft round projection — With a great combine, he could push to be a first-round pick, but I think he’ll likely fall somewhere in the second round.

8.) Current NFL comp — This is going to seem like too high of praise (and it is), but I keep seeing a college version of DeAndre Hopkins when I watch Doctson. I’m not saying he’ll do what Hopkins has done, but I think they have some similarities. To quickly throw some water on the situation, I also think he resembles Justin Hunter.

9.) Best possible destination — Dallas Cowboys, assuming they don’t take a receiver at fourth overall. Getting to start opposite Dez Bryant and play with Tony Romo would be a great situation for any wideout in this class. I also considered the New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins — all of whom boast pretty good quarterbacks and have a need at receiver.

10.) Worst possible destination — Indianapolis Colts. With T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett (assuming Andre Johnson is cut), the Colts’ receiver depth chart is as crowded as any in football. Doctson would have a tough time getting on the field, barring an injury to one of the Indianapolis’ top three receivers. The Colts aren’t likely to spend a high pick on a wideout (although you probably could’ve said the same last season), so out of realistic options, it’d be hard to get too excited about Doctson landing with the Cleveland Browns.

11.) Best current skill — Doctson has two elite skills, but they go hand-in-hand: leaping ability and body control. He possesses an uncanny knack for perfectly timing his jump and contorting his body in pretzel-like ways to come down with jump balls (Exhibit A). I can’t wait to see his vertical at the combine, because it’s going to be silly. Doctson glides through the air like Zach LaVine (NBA reference, for you football-only dudes). Along with the body control comes an advanced feel for getting his feet in-bounds along the sideline or in the back of the end zone. All of this points to him being a nice red-zone weapon.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved — Doctson has to be great at contested catches, because his lack of speed is going to make it tough for him to separate. For an elite college wideout, he generates very little separation downfield. That comes down to one of two things — a lack of speed or failing to set up defensive backs up with route running. Doctson is guilty of both. Over the past few seasons, it’s been rare to see Doctson flat-out beat a cornerback with speed on a deep ball. If he runs a faster-than-anticipated 40-yard dash at the combine, it’ll big a big plus for his draft stock and NFL outlook.

13.) Past/current rookie ADP — 4.88. He’s currently right in the mix with Michael Thomas and Tyler Boyd as the top options at 1.03.

14.) Projected dynasty value — I’m probably a little more bullish on Doctson than some, but despite his lack of big-time speed, I think he has the ceiling of a WR1 with his floor as a WR2. His jump-ball skills and size should allow him to succeed outside the numbers and make him a true red-zone force.

15.) Winding road — Doctson started his career at Wyoming, which was one of just two Division I schools to offer him out of high school. After his freshman season, he transferred back to his home state of Texas to be a walk-on at TCU. Sidenote: It’s amazing how many good players in this class were massively under-recruited out of high school.

16.) Record breaker — His 29 career touchdowns at TCU shattered the old school record of 22, which was held by Josh Boyce. Doctson’s 180 career catches were one away from a school record (Kelly Blackwell).

17.) You gotta be joshin’ me — In a 2015 game against Texas Tech, Doctson blew up, totaling 18 catches for 267 yards and three scores. Just for reference, Braxton Miller made 25 receptions for 340 yards and three scores for the season. Not intended to be a slight on Miller, just stats being cool. In the interest of full disclosure, the score of the Texas Tech-TCU game was 55-52, and I’m 99 percent sure it wasn’t a video game.

18.) Consistency counts — Doctson had at least five catches in eight of his nine games this year, not counting an injury-shortened outing at Kansas.

19.) Cut short — He missed the Horned Frogs’ final three contests this past season with a wrist injury.

20.) Senior star — Despite playing in just nine full games, Doctson put up some gaudy numbers in his final campaign. As the top wideout on a high-flying TCU offense, he finished with 79 grabs for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns.

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