Kelvin Benjamin
Wide Receiver
Florida State:
Benjamin has been overrated by the media. He is not the top ten, or even top 20, pick that he is made out to be. Measuring in at 6'5" and 240 pounds, he certainly looks the part, but he does not always play like it. Despite getting all the attention, he was not the best receiver that Florida State featured last year.
Benjamin was terribly inconsistent and made plenty of easy plays look difficult. To be fair, he made some stunning plays, but not nearly enough for one to invest a lot of faith in him with a first round pick.
Benjamin was Florida State’s secondary overall target and, due to his height, their primary red zone target. On only 54 receptions, Benjamin scored 15 touchdowns and totalled just over 1,100 yards receiving. Benjamin’s most impressive single game performance came against Florida when he caught nine passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
How Benjamin Fits With The Ravens
As of now, Baltimore does not have receiver with the traits of a true No.1 receiver. While he is inconsistent at using them, Benjamin does. His combination of height and high pointing ability could very well propel him into a heavily featured role as soon as he comes in.
His size allows him to be a mismatch and, if refined, could be a stud. The issue is that Baltimore has a history of failed receiver "projects" and Benjamin, while he is better than the others that Baltimore has brought in, certainly falls into that category. As if Benjamin were not already a "boom or bust" type player, he is especially so for Baltimore.
Potential Impact As A Rookie
As stated before, Benjamin's build may thrust him into a feature role right away, especially in Gary Kubiak's system. During his first year, Benjamin will be a streaky player that is hot one week and not the next week. The weeks in which he is hot, he may be a dynamic game changer, but when he struggles, he will be rendered near useless.
Luckily, Baltimore has a plethora of receiving talent, including the newly acquired Steve Smith, and could quite easily recover during weeks in which Benjamin is locked down. Although, no matter what type of week he is having, Benjamin's size will always allow him to be a red zone threat.
What He Does Well
Benjamin flashes phenomenal ability to skyrocket above his opponents and pluck the ball out of the air. His ability to high point, while inconsistent, is at an elite level and is arguably the best in this class. He is able to take full advantage of his length and extend to the where the ball is untouchable by anyone else in the vicinity.
With the ball in his hands, Benjamin is an intimidating runner. For his size, he moves rather well, both in a straight line and laterally. His ability after the catch will allow Benjamin to turn simple slants into stunning 40+ yard touchdowns if the defense makes a mistake. Benjamin’s strength against physical cornerbacks has shown to be outstanding. If he were to be show such violence and physicality more often, he would be a menace.
Where He Struggles
Despite looking like a Calvin Johnson clone, Benjamin’s hands are generally not similar. While he does show glimpses of wonderful high point ability, he has a tendency to drop plenty of simple receptions that should have been easy yards. This makes him a liability and if he does not fix the issue, Joe Flacco will likely begin favoring other targets because they will be more reliable.
He will also see fewer targets because he often fails to separate. His route running ability is average, at best, and Benjamin does not have blazing speed to simply race past defenders. Due to his inability, he is often forced to catch passes in contested situations.
On some occasions, Benjamin is able to dominate, but more often than expected, he plays reserved, gets “alligator arms,” and fails to make much of an effort on the ball. Better defensive backs will win that situation every time.