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DEZMON BRISCOE
6-3/200
Kansas Junior

PROS: Has good, soft hands. Works well in traffic, using his size to shield the defender and usually comes down with the jump ball. Uses his size well as a runner after the catch, lowering the shoulder and delivering the hit to the defender. He's also an effective blocker due to his size. Hard to jam and gets a good release. Works best on slants and post routes where he can use his size to get position. Shows decent straight-line speed and is an effective kickoff returner.
CONS: Lacks the second gear in terms of speed to be a factor as a return threat or vertical threat. Will drop some passes. Needs to polish up his route-running and doesn't have the ideal quickness or burst to get separation. Not as powerful a blocker as you'd like.
OVERVIEW: Briscoe is a possession wideout type that his best asset is his size. Everything that is good about him stems from him being 6-3.
NFL FORECAST: There is bust potential with Briscoe. He was a very reliable security blanket for Todd Reesing at Kansas. But the problem is that he isn't very quick and will have trouble separating from NFL corners. And he isn't that good of a route-runner and essentially just uses his size to get position. And that likely means that he isn't going to do much early on his career until he learns to be a solid route-runner. So he's a bit of a project. Three years from now Briscoe is either going to be Dwayne Jarrett or Anquan Boldin essentially. In a West Coast offense that will use a ton of slants, his transition time will be less, much like it was with Roy Williams when he was in Detroit. But you saw that the minute Steve Mariucci left Detroit, Roy Williams became a fairly average receiver. He can be a security blanket for some team, but he won't be a game-breaker. But I'd say he'll likely be a better No. 2 than a No. 1, although if he develops a strong rapport with a QB he can eventually be like Plaxico Burress was in his later years. His NFL career will boil down to how good a route-runner he becomes, so character evaluations and work ethic is going to be a huge key with him. And right now, I'm not that confident he grades highly in those areas.
ATL FORECAST: Briscoe would bring many of the same tools to the table that Jenkins does. He can be a better receiver in jump ball situations and after the catch because he uses his size better than Jenkins does. But he's not as quick as Jenkins and like him probably won't be a go-to threat. He can be a guy that if he can develop, Ryan can chuck it up to and be confident he'll come down with it. He probably won't contribute much his first two or so years. And by the end of his third, he'll either be starting or continuing to disappoint. But I wouldn't be confident he'd be an upgrade over Jenkins. Really the only difference is probably that Briscoe would be better in the redzone.
VALUE: Because of his production and size some might think that Briscoe has first round talent, but he really has had second round talent all the way. Take him in the late second or early third as a boom/bust guy that by the time his rookie contract runs out he'll either be out of the league or turning into Plaxico Burress (on the field).

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

SPEED: 2.5
HANDS: 4.0
AFTER CATCH: 3.0
BODY CONTROL: 4.0
RANGE: 3.0

Pros: Has good size and strength for the position. Has very reliable hands and does a good job of using his frame to shield the defender from the ball. Does a good job of attacking the ball in the air and winning jump balls. Shows some power as a runner after the catch and doesn’t go down easily due to his size and shows a bit of a stiff arm. Can block effectively due to his size and strength.

Cons: Doesn’t have good speed and has limited quickness which will hurt him as he attempts to create separation in the NFL. He doesn’t run very good routes and mostly shields defenders away from the ball with his frame. Needs to develop as a route runner to realize the potential he has to be a quality #2 receiver. Will have lapses in concentration at times and will drop catchable passes.

Overall: Briscoe has good potential to be a quality #2, but he won’t be a deep threat in the NFL due to his average speed and quickness. He will either become a reliable #2 receiver who improves as a route runner and limits his lapses in concentration or he will be a low priority red-zone and 4 WR set option who never put it all together and capitalized on his good size and reliable hands to be an effective possession receiver.

Projection: 2nd-3rd: Guys with his size and hands make attractive possession receivers, but the coach who inherits him will have to make sure he can motivate him to work hard. If the team that drafts him has a mentor who can help him along that would be ideal, but ultimately it comes down to whether he wants it or not. If he does, he can become an effective possession receiver. If he doesn’t… then he will be a bust of a 2nd or 3rd round pick and will struggle to stick as a #4 red zone target.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

SPEED: 2.5
HANDS: 4.0
AFTER CATCH: 3.0
BODY CONTROL: 3.5
RANGE: 3.0