Turner: Is D.J. Chark the deep threat the Cowboys are looking for?

Cotton

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Is D.J. Chark the deep threat the Cowboys are looking for?





By Kevin Turner Mar 26, 2018


The Cowboys had a busy week as they inked Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson to deals, while rumors continue to spread about Dez Bryant's future. The Hurns deal is for two years, Thompson’s for one, and while I’m still not sure if the Cowboys plan to cut Bryant, it has become extremely clear that the team was not content with its 2017 personnel.
As of right now, this is how I would perceive the Cowboys' wide receiver depth chart:

Dez Bryant
Allen Hurns
Cole Beasley
Terrance Williams
Ryan Switzer
Deonte Thompson
Noah Brown
Lance Lenior

Lenoir may not make the team, but right now they are eight-deep at the position and likely will draft another receiver or two. Two or three of the players on this list won’t be here when the season starts. My guess would be that Thompson, Brown, and Lenoir are all not in the picture after the Cowboys finish drafting.

It’s already been reported that Texas A&M Wide Receiver Christian Kirk and Alabama Wide Receiver Calvin Ridley are two of the Cowboys' 30 pre-draft visits. Historically the Cowboys do like to select players from that list. It’s yet to be seen how many other wide receivers are on that list, but I would guess in this draft the Cowboys end up having quite a few come to town for a workout and a visit. As a side note, SMU WR Courtland Sutton will be a Dallas Day visit; that's a separate designation but he'll still meet with the team.

Before we get to the scouting report of LSU WR D.J. Chark, I want to show you my personal wide receiver rankings -with Chark excluded until the end of the article. That's what we call a tease!

ROUND ONE GRADE
Calvin Ridley, Alabama

ROUND TWO GRADE
Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
Michael Gallup, Colorado State
D.J. Moore, Maryland
Anthony Miller, Memphis
James Washington, Oklahoma State
Courtland Sutton, SMU

ROUND THREE GRADE
Equanimeous St. Brown, Notre Dame
Dante Pettis, Washington
Deontay Burnett, USC
Jaleel Scott, New Mexico State
Keke Coutee, Texas Tech
Javon Wims, Georgia
Simmie Cobbs, Indiana

ROUND FOUR GRADE
Tre’quan Smith, Central Florida
Antonio Callaway, Florida
J’mon Moore, Missouri
Deon Cain, Clemson
Daeshan Hamilton, Penn State
Steve Ishmael, Syracuse
Marcell Ateman, Oklahoma State
Daurice Fountain, Northern Iowa

You can also check out the complete draft grades from multiple NFL draft analysts from The Athletic on our combined draft board.

D.J. Chark, WR – LSU
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 199
40 Time: 4.34
Let’s get to the subject at hand: LSU wide receiver D.J. Chark. Besides having a cool last name, Chark collected 40 catches for 874 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2017. He had 26 catches in 2016. He only played one game in 2015, so his career production at LSU totals 66 catches. The caveat here is that the Tigers don’t throw the ball much. They also notoriously have featured relatively poor quarterback play over the last decade.

Chark also had 2 punt returns for a touchdown in 2017. He flew somewhat under the radar in draft circles until the combine, where he turned in some incredible numbers. His speed, height, wingspan, and explosiveness are all well-above average.



I studied Chark's performances against Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Texas A&M.

To me, Chark is purely a deep threat who can stretch the field, and could be used as a cool toy for an offense in search of creativity. According to NFL.com, 36% of his collegiate catches were for more than 25 yards. We should remember the small sample size there, as Chark only had 86 touches.

I spoke to a couple of people with ties to the LSU program, and they described Chark as talented but inconsistent. His deep speed stands out. He can absolutely run by opposing corners. The term “take the top off the defense” is used a lot this time of year, but it’s truly accurate in regards to D.J. Chark. In this clip, he easily glides past an Arkansas cornerback for an easy touchdown.



In this clip, he’s the wide receiver at the top of the screen. Notice the Texas A&M cornerback is playing ten yards off of him and is bailing at the snap. Chark quickly eats up all that ground and eventually passes the defender, making a sweet Willie Mays style catch, proving that he can track the deep ball down the field.



Chark isn't a great route-runner. He’s got a lot of work to do in that area. Watch here against Notre Dame, how he lazily rounds his out route.



Chark is not scared to block in the running game. Whether he is stalk-blocking the cornerback or coming down and crack-blocking inside, Chark showed that he’s a willing blocker and is able to use his length to be effective.

Chark did have a couple of drops in the games I studied, but it’s not something I’m overly worried about. You would sometime see him body catch as well, but again we’re talking about a player who saw a ton of targets. He’s not the most technically-sound wide receiver, but if he was he’d be in the first-round discussion because of his size and speed traits.

STRENGTHS


  • [*=left]SPEED: One of the fastest players in the class, Chark will have defenses on their toes.

    [*=left]BALL TRACKING: Chark is able to utilize his deep speed and easily follows the ball in the air.

    [*=left]BLOCKING: Chark is able to help out the running game with his blocking skills.

WEAKNESSES

  • PRODUCTION: He's only caught 66 college passes, which makes it really difficult to fully trust the evaluation due to the small sample.
  • ROUTE RUNNING: He has a lot of work to do in this area as he thrived in straight-area routes but didn’t show consistency in sharp breaks on angular routes.
  • TECHNIQUE: Sometimes a little high in his stance before the snap. He also struggled a little bit against press coverage.

OVERALL
I have a third-round grade on D.J. Chark, between Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis. If the Cowboys end up with him, the landing zone would be at pick #81. I’m not comfortable enough with him to consider popping him at #50, but there very well could be a team intrigued enough by his traits to consider selecting him in the second round.
He sort of reminds me of a more thinly-built Breshad Perriman, the Ravens first-round selection out of Central Florida in 2015.

Given the recent additions to the Cowboys' WR group, Chark probably doesn’t make a lot of sense unless he fell into their lap a little later in the draft than expected. Chark will take part in a significant draft question —when will the run on wide receivers start and how long will it last? I would guess that 10-15 wide receivers will be drafted in the top 100, and he will absolutely be one of them.
 

lostxn

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I would certainly take him in the third but I can't imagine him still being on the board.
 

BipolarFuk

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OVERVIEW
LSU produces as many pro receiver prospects as any school in the nation; their 15 draft picks at the position over the past 15 years is tied with Ohio State for the most in the country. Darrell Chark, Junior (goes by D.J.), another tall and wiry receiver but with better speed than many of his Tigers ancestors, should add to that list in 2017. He had no receptions in his first two years with the Tigers, but he did have a 79-yard touchdown on an end-around in the 2015 Texas Bowl against Texas Tech. Chark played a more active role on offense in 2016, however, finishing behind only senior Malachi Dupre in receiving yards (466) and tying Dupre with three touchdowns despite making just 26 catches (17.9 per). As if he needed another challenge with Dupre and Travin Dural no longer on the team in 2017, Chark decided to take the challenge of wearing the number seven jersey worn by Leonard Fournette.

ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS Has desired combination of size and speed. Acceleration is smooth and sudden. Can run away from people without even trying. Convincing salesman on first leg of his double moves. Flashed explosive potential with ten touchdowns on just 86 career touches while seeing 36 percent of his catches go for 25-plus yards. Build-up speed and long strides create winning separation on West Coast routes. Double moves leave defenders off-balance and stumbling. Can gather, sink and open to quarterback quickly on comebacks. Quality punt returner. Works in the middle and is unintimidated by hitters. Body control for late adjustments is adequate. Willing to work as a blocker.

WEAKNESSES Frame is too easy to find for press corners. Can be leggy and sluggish in releasing upfield when crowded. Upright into his routes. Gets by with speed and talent rather than route focus and urgency. May be limited to linear and rounded routes on second and third levels only. Needs to improve set-up and finesse when looking to uncover. Not effective as hand fighter. Needs to improve upper body strength. Ball tracking is uneven. Has tendency to slow feet when tracking deep balls and will make adjustments too late at times.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 1-2

SOURCES TELL US "He has his moments where you see it, but he just hasn't been consistent and he hasn't really gotten a lot better. He's tall and can run but I'm still torn on whether he is going to make the improvements he needs to bo be an NFL factor." -- NFC team personnel director

NFL COMPARISON Chris Conley

BOTTOM LINE Tall and fast, Chark is a linear route-runner who may need a limited route tree, but who has the potential to back safeties off the line of scrimmage. Chark will be coveted by play-action passing attacks looking to win with chunk plays down the field, but he'll need to improve his ball skills to take advantage of all that speed. Chark could struggle early on against press coverage, but he has the ability to become a solid WR2.
 

ravidubey

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If we keep both Switzer and Beasley and cut Noah Brown we deserve to lose.
 

Cowboysrock55

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If we keep both Switzer and Beasley and cut Noah Brown we deserve to lose.
Noah Brown should go. He is nothing but a blocker. Big slow and unproductive is no way to go through life and yet he has up to this point.

But I'd move on from Beasley too. Switzer should be more than ready for that role and Beasley is on the last year of a deal anyway. I doubt we are signing him up for another season after this one.
 

lostxn

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Noah Brown should go. He is nothing but a blocker. Big slow and unproductive is no way to go through life and yet he has up to this point.

But I'd move on from Beasley too. Switzer should be more than ready for that role and Beasley is on the last year of a deal anyway. I doubt we are signing him up for another season after this one.
Completely agree. He had some chances to catch some balls and can't catch contested balls. For a slow guy, that's just not going to work.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Completely agree. He had some chances to catch some balls and can't catch contested balls. For a slow guy, that's just not going to work.
Honestly he wasn't even the best rookie WR in preseason. I wouldn't waste any more time on him. We took the shot and missed. Reload and try again.
 

ravidubey

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Honestly he wasn't even the best rookie WR in preseason. I wouldn't waste any more time on him. We took the shot and missed. Reload and try again.
He was fine in preseason and shows a lot of potential for a 6’2” 220 pound 4.55/4.57 40 guy.

Now explain why we need both Beasley and Switzer.
 

Cowboysrock55

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He was fine in preseason and shows a lot of potential for a 6’2” 220 pound 4.55/4.57 40 guy.

Now explain why we need both Beasley and Switzer.
How did he show potential exactly? Give me some plays that impressed you?
 

Cotton

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Honestly he wasn't even the best rookie WR in preseason. I wouldn't waste any more time on him. We took the shot and missed. Reload and try again.
You must hate children.

:tippytoe
 

p1_

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First thing my eyes go to in the Chark profile: weaknesses. Poor route runner. I’m not interested in a guy who is limited in his routes. Next!
 

Cowboysrock55

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First thing my eyes go to in the Chark profile: weaknesses. Poor route runner. I’m not interested in a guy who is limited in his routes. Next!
His hands are sort of inconsistent too.

I'm not so quick to write a guy off because of routes though. I think it's something that can be taught if the receiver has the right attitude. So it just sort of depends on what type of a work ethic Chark has.
 

p1_

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His hands are sort of inconsistent too.

I'm not so quick to write a guy off because of routes though. I think it's something that can be taught if the receiver has the right attitude. So it just sort of depends on what type of a work ethic Chark has.
well, if the receiver works on his deficiencies during the first 8 years of his career, then theres room for optimism I suppose.
 

Cowboysrock55

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well, if the receiver works on his deficiencies during the first 8 years of his career, then theres room for optimism I suppose.
Yeah, once you have the money to actually hire someone to help you work on things like that I'll hold you accountable. In college you really don't have much besides your position coach. And at LSU they weren't exactly running a finely tuned offense.
 

fortsbest

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I still prefer Moore or Kirk. I don't understand why Kirk couldn't be a Steve Smith type. has the build, quicks and speed.
 

Plan9Misfit

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I prefer DJ Moore in the 2nd.
 

Rev

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I prefer all the top players in the 7th round. So there.
 
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