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2016 NFL Draft: WR True Heights

As we did for the cornerbacks yesterday, we’re looking at combine-invite wide receivers to determine their “true height,” adding up their height, arm length, and vertical. This is the third straight season we’ve conducted this. As we did with the corners, I made sure to look at Pro Day numbers and take the higher figure. The table is below. Feel free to sort it by any category.

Name School Height Arm Length Vertical True Height (IN) True Height (FT)
Josh Doctson TCU 6’2 31 7/8 41 146.88 12.24
Keyaris Garrett Tulsa 6’3/3 34 1/2 36.5 146.38 12.20
Devon Cajuste Stanford 6’3/6 33 36 144.75 12.06
Cody Core Ole Miss 6’2/5 32 37.5 144.13 12.01
Ricardo Louis Auburn 6’1/6 32 3/8 38 144.13 12.01
Charone Peake Clemson 6’2/3 34 35.5 143.88 11.99
Chris Moore Cincinnati 6’1 33 3/8 37 143.38 11.95
Marquez North Tennessee 6’2/4 33 3/8 35 142.88 11.91
Geronimo Allison Illinois 6’3/2 32 7/8 34.5 142.63 11.89
Trevor Davis California 6’1/1 31 38.5 142.63 11.89
Kenny Lawler California 6’2/4 33 3/8 34.5 142.38 11.87
Johnny Holton Houston 6’0/5 32 7/8 36.5 142 11.83
Michael Thomas Ohio St 6’2/6 32 1/8 35 141.88 11.82
Sterling Shepard Oklahoma 5’10/2 30 3/8 41 141.63 11.8
Corey Coleman Baylor 5’10/5 30 1/4 40.5 141.38 11.78
Mekale McKay Cincinnati 6’3/5 30 5/8 35 141.25 11.77
Cayleb Jones Arizona 6’2/5 32 3/4 33.5 140.88 11.74
DeMarcus Robinson Florida 6’1/3 33 34.5 140.88 11.75
Roger Lewis Bowling Green 6’0/3 32 36 140.38 11.7
LaQuon Treadwell Ole Miss 6’2 33 3/8 33 140.38 11.7
Malcolm Mitchell Georgia 5’11/5 32 5/8 36 140.25 11.69
Braxton Miller Ohio State 6’1/3 31 3/4 35 140.13 11.68
Jordan Payton UCLA 6’1/1 32 1/2 34.5 140.13 11.68
Alonzo Russell Toledo 6’3/5 33 7/8 30.5 140 11.67
Chris Brown Notre Dame 6’2 32 1/4 33.5 139.75 11.65
Tajae Sharpe UMass 6’2 32 1/4 33.5 139.75 11.65
Tyler Boyd Pittsburgh 6’1/4 32 34 139.5 11.63
Jalin Marshall Ohio State 5’10/4 31 1/2 37.5 139.5 11.63
Kolby Listenbee TCU 6’0 31 3/8 35.5 138.88 11.57
Leonte Carroo Rutgers 5’11/7 31 3/8 35.5 138.75 11.56
De’Runnya Wilson Mississippi St 6’4/5 33 7/8 28 138.5 11.54
Rashard Higgins Colorado St 6’1/3 32 1/4 32.5 138.13 11.51
Nelson Spruce Colorado 6’1/1 30 35 138.13 11.51
Rashawn Scott Miami (FL) 6’0/7 31 3/8 33 137.25 11.44
D’haquille Williams Auburn 6’2/2 32 1/2 30.5 137.25 11.44
DJ Foster Arizona St 5’10/2 30 1/2 36 136.75 11.4
Will Fuller Notre Dame 6’0/1 30 3/4 33.5 136.38 11.37
DeMarcus Ayers Houston 5’9/3 31 1/4 35 135.63 11.30
Hunter Sharp Utah St 5’11/4 31 5/8 32.5 135.63 11.30
Pharoh Cooper South Carolina 5’11/1 32 1/4 31 134.38 11.20
Aaron Burbridge Michigan St 6’0 31 5/8 30.5 134.13 11.18
Bralon Addison Oregon 5’9/2 29 1/2 34.5 133.25 11.10
Byron Marshall Oregon 5’9/3 30 1/4 29.5 129.13 10.76

– It will be awfully tough to beat Chris Conley’s best mark and unsurprisingly, no one does here. Josh Doctson finishes first with a true height of 12.24 feet, a far cry from Conley’s 12.72. Doctson is the lowest first place finisher of the past three years. In 2015, 12.24 would’ve placed him sixth and in 2014, he would’ve been 3rd.

– Only five receivers finished above 12 feet, also making it the lowest number since we’ve broken them down. Seven did it last year and a whopping ten in 2014. Just another example of this WR (and CB, if you peeped my other study) class being a lot less athletic than previous ones.

Sterling Shepard, who the Steelers brought in for a visit, is the first sub six-footer to make an appearance. We know the Steelers are attracted to big vertical numbers and Shepard’s 41 inches ties for the lead. Corey Coleman is right on Shepard’s heels, narrowly finishing behind him.

Aaron Burbridge is the last of the six footers, though to be fair, he is right at 72 inches. He was only able to beat out a pair of 5’9 pipsqueaks, in large part to a horrendous 30.5 inch vert. He ties Jared Abbrederis as the worst height scores for 6’0+ receivers. Their numbers are nearly identical.

– This year’s tallest receiver, De’Runnya Wilson, finished 31st in the rankings. A perfect illustration of how height doesn’t always equate to size.

– The other receiver Pittsburgh brought in, Pharoh Cooper, didn’t finish well in the rankings, coming in fourth-to-last.

– This year’s last-in-show is Byron Marshall, who has the lowest score in the three years I’ve conducted this. If there is any saving grace, Jarvis Landry finished last in 2014 and he is doing more than ok.

– If you are interested in the results over the last two years, you can find last year’s at the link here and 2014’s by clicking here. 

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