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Redskins UDFA Spotlight: WR Simmie Cobbs has mid-round talent despite undrafted billing

By Jacob Camenker

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - NOVEMBER 25: Simmie Cobbs Jr. #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers makes a one-yard touchdown catch over Da'Wan Hunte #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first quarter of a game at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 25, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - NOVEMBER 25: Simmie Cobbs Jr. #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers makes a one-yard touchdown catch over Da'Wan Hunte #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first quarter of a game at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 25, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – NOVEMBER 25: Josh Okonye #8 of the Purdue Boilermakers defends a pass against Simmie Cobbs Jr. #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the fourth quarter of a game at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 25, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue defeated Indiana 31-24. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – NOVEMBER 25: Josh Okonye #8 of the Purdue Boilermakers defends a pass against Simmie Cobbs Jr. #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the fourth quarter of a game at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 25, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue defeated Indiana 31-24. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

So, why did Cobbs go undrafted?

This is the question that has to be asked about Cobbs. If he had talent to potential go on Day 3 and possibly as early is the fourth round, why didn’t he? Well, there are a couple of reasons for that.

The first is that Cobbs lacks the speed to help him separate from receivers at the NFL level. On tape, Cobbs’ speed is merely decent at best and it’s clear that he has trouble getting away from defensive backs. He has to make a lot of contested catches and while the big bodied, physical receiver can do that, it may be harder for him to get that done at the NFL level, as there are more physical, athletic cornerbacks to battle with.

WalterFootball.com’s Charlie Campbell corroborated the issues that were seen on tape in a recent article about Cobbs going undrafted. That, compounded with a couple of other problems, made him fall to the undrafted ranks.

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"A couple of team sources said that Cobbs had off-the-field issues that really hurt him. They also felt that his physical traits were problematic, as illustrated by Cobbs running a very slow 40-yard dash time of 4.64 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine. Another team source said they had a fourth-/fifth-round grade on Cobbs but needed more of a speedy slot receiver, so they passed on the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder. Thus, Cobbs went undrafted because of off-the-field and speed concerns."

It’s unclear exactly what the off-field issues were with Cobbs, but he was arrested at a concert in July of 2017, per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. So, perhaps that could have been a part of it. But regardless, it’s clear that those concerns coupled with concerns about his separation ability is what led him to go undrafted.

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