Indiana wide receiver Cody Latimer has created quite a buzz over the course of the last few weeks and Friday evening I had a request from a reader that wanted to know if I could find all nine of his touchdowns from last seasons along with his completion percentage.
Luckily, I was able to track down all of his touchdowns from 2013, but first, here are some interesting stats for you.
According to my research, Latimer was targeted 110 times in 2013 and his 72 catches resulted in a 65.5% completion ratio. That’s pretty damn good when you consider that I saw him overthrown a lot and that he was predominantly targeted 8 or more yards down the field.
Only 16 of Latimer’s 72 catches last season went for 20 yards or more last season and that’s a bit concerning. I was expecting that number to be a little bit higher being as he had a 15.2 yards per catch average. Latimer was targeted 15 times inside the red zone in 2013 and only came away with six catches and three touchdowns. Without looking at every one of those plays, it’s hard to know whether or not that was a result of bad quarterback play.
49 of Latimer’s 72 catches resulted in either a first down or a touchdown and of the 24 times he was targeted on third downs, he caught 14 of those passes with 12 resulting in a first down or touchdown.
I do not have Latimer’s drop rate, but I am willing to bet is below average. He has really good hands.
Now that we have the stats out of the way, let’s take a look at his touchdowns.
Latimer gets an easy outside release off of the line here and with there being no help for the cornerback over the top, this is an easy catch for a touchdown against Bowling Green.
Here is an easy catch by Latimer on a nice back shoulder throw with the Missouri cornerback playing off. The big receiver secures and turns up field for the win to the pylon.
You might recognize the cornerback on this touchdown catch against Michigan State. The throw is not great, but Latimer uses his body and shows great control in making the catch against Darqueze Dennard.
Against Michigan, it looks like Latimer gives a quick fake inside before blowing past the cornerback to the outside. This was very poor coverage nonetheless and the big receiver makes him pay.
You can’t see how Latimer gets separation on this post route, but it’s an easy catch and score for him.
Latimer scored three times in the game against Illinois and the first of three touchdowns was perhaps his most impressive one of the season. Latimer easily gets off the jam and high points the football.
A great release here to the outside by Latimer and a few yards of separation makes this an easy score. Notice how he catches with his hands and not his body.
On this play, Latimer runs a deep post after an inside release. Both of the safeties biting on the run fake allows Latimer a lot of green grass to work with. It even looks like he has to wait just a little on the ball.
This is probably a throw that the quarterback shouldn’t have made, but Latimer bails him out with good body control and hands for the score.
It is really hard to gauge Latimer’s draft stock right now. There are several draftniks that think the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints or Carolina Panthers might be interested in taking him in the first round next month. Regardless, he is a top 64 prospect in my book and it will be tough for the Pittsburgh Steelers to pass on him if he’s still on the board when it’s their turn to pick in round two.
Latimer, in my opinion, doesn’t play as fast as his 40-yard dash time, but he still manages to get some separation. He needs to really improve his route running, but he could very easily be this year’s version of Keenan Allen. Latimer has good character, two years of solid production and is a good blocker. He even plays on special teams. In short, there’s not much not to like about this big wide receiver.
