Congratulations to Jesse Holley. By winning the 80th spot on the roster on the 4th and Long reality show he has at least given himself a shot at making the team. His chances of making the final roster are very slim but at least he gave himself a chance. You can say what you want about giving a roster spot to the winner of a reality show but he showed me that he really wants to make it in the NFL by battling through the tough drills on the show. It was actually nice to see someone earn a chance to make the team. I'd rather have someone like him who has earned a chance than someone who is full of potential but has no heart or desire.So what does he bring to the table as a wide receiver? The first thing you notice about him is his size. He is 6'3" and weighs 215 pounds. The next thing I noticed when I first saw him was his physique. His 215 pounds are almost all muscle. He supposedly runs a 4.5 40-yard dash so he has good speed to go with his size. And finally, with his basketball background, he knows how to use his body to make the tough catches in traffic. He'll need some injuries to some of the receivers ahead of him to get a real shot to make the roster. His ability to make the tough catch might get him some attention from the coaches during camp.
As a special teams player it looks like Holley would primarily contribute as a coverage player. He didn't show the quickness during the show that would lead me to believe he could be a good returner, but he was forced to go through a lot of coverage drills that showed he had the ability and desire to excel on special teams. He is going to have to be an unbelievable special teams player in addition to anything he does as a wide receiver to have any realistic chance to even make the practice roster.
I'll definitely be interested to see how Holley looks against NFL-caliber talent during training camp. It will be hard not to pull for him at least a little bit after seeing all he had to go through to get a chance to compete for a job.
I was kinda hoping for the other receiver Hawkins to win. He's short but really fast (listed at 4.3 40), and tough. He stood out to me in many of the special team drills in his ability to speed past blockers and make the tackle, and also looks like he did quite well on punt returns. He was winning many of the drills IMO. His speed would be valued.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that Holley isn't bad either. Seems to have good hands and is big enough to shield the defender from the ball and win jump balls.
Like you say though, there will have to be some injuries for him to make the field. His best shot is most likely practice squad at this point. Once there, you never know though. If Austin or Hurd are injured for 1-2 games, he could be a fill in.
If on the other hand if Austin or Hurd are injured for any longer length of time (Gawd forbid a season ending injury..) the Cowboys would be quick on the phone to one of those fools like Matt Jones, or Plexiglass Burress, or Joey Porter.
Jesse Holley < Martellus Bennett
ReplyDeletehawkins was fag ther was no room for him becuase he had too big of a mouth holley won fair and square
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