STRENGTHS
Ladd is a specialty receiver for the NFL. His foot quickness allows him to separate quickly on short routes moving the chains, and as a weapon in the red zone. His eye/hand coordination and quick feet, are unique and allow him to catch the ball when other receivers are still running their routes and are not set to catch anything but the flu. Ladd is a 3rd and short down nightmare, for a defensive back to match up with. He has the football instincts to adjust the timing of his route running, during a game, making it easy to match up with his quarterback who can extend plays. His ability to make yardage against zone coverages or when plays have broken down shows a high football IQ to understand route running from the quarterback position. In the right situation and the right quarterback Ladd, can become as impacting a player as Julian Edelman was for the Patriots.
CONCERNS
Like Julian had Rob…Ladd had Brock, making it easier for Ladd not to be double-teamed on third downs and allowing both Julian and Ladd to impact with their quickness. Ladd, like Julian, lacks the long speed needed to run the entire route tree as an outside receiver. Ladd’s size and lack of bulk will be a concern for a lot of teams. He has to add more muscle to his frame to handle a 17-game schedule in the NFL. His medicals at the combine will be important. Ladd has lost games with injuries and with his slight build teams will be concerned and past injuries could affect his draft status also.
BOTTOM LINE: 3.39
Most of the time receivers with this type of skill set are not selected until after the third round because they are not considered potential every-down receivers, but that is changing because of the spread offenses that are coming to the NFL. Slot receivers or “move receivers”, are staying on the field more than ever but still, most of them have to be big enough to block on the move, more than ever before. Ladd will be listed on some team’s boards higher than others depending on how a team envisions using him in their offense. Nevertheless, I don’t think he is the type of player whose value demands being targeted and that means he could be selected in any round or not get selected at all. He can be an impact player but if you look at the up’s and downs of the Raiders Hunter Renfrow’s impact, you will see it all depends on the offensive system, play calling, trust of the offensive coordinator, and injury factor. FYI, Hunter was selected in the 5th round. As I stated earlier, Ladd is a specialty receiver but his production sends a signal that he can be an impact specialty receiver like Julian Edelman was for the Patriots. Remember my grades have nothing to do with where a player will most likely be selected. They are my profiling of the player’s potential impact and where I would list them on my board to select. Look at Rob’s board for what round Ladd is most likely to be selected in on draft day.
