Such an intriguing prospect with his straight line speed and impressive receiving ability. Hard to believe he is getting a 5th round type grade. The fumble concerns are real though, his hands are tiny by NFL RB standards. I do think the pass pro inconsistencies are more mental than effort/size related.
As a UT alum and fan, there's a lot of Longhorns in this draft class I'm a fan of and would love to see become a Texan. But Bond isn't one of them. For as big of a deal as everyone made him out to be when he transferred, I was underwhelmed by the production, the drops and (maybe I'm reading too much into what I saw on the field) the apparent ego/attitude. Love Banks, Williams, Collins and Broughton. I personally love Golden, but I worry the hype is outpacing the talent and production a bit in part due to a weak WR class. Blue's fumble problems are even worse than Bond's drop issues, but the talent is there with him for sure. One dark horse I really like, though, is Gunnar Helm. Not an explosive athlete, but super reliable hands and was a major comfort blanket for Ewers. Would be a decent Day 3 target if they don't address TE earlier.
One thing in previous seasons when they would bring the positions they want to target, quite another when they all go to same Uni. : points up : ( insert why would they do that meme) Interviews with Gunnar, Mukuba, Golden, Blue..tbc
Did this guy watch any of his tape? He seemed to have power and anchor IMHO. Dont know about the mental, but the fundamentals seem to be good. There's a reason he would be a top 10 pick without the injury. Somebody is putting this stuff out there hoping he will fall to the bottom half of the 1st rd. Could that team be the Texans?
Good synopsis, another guy I like in rd 2 is Mukuba. I'll give Bond a bit of a pass because he was playing injured most of the year. With that said, although Bond is fast and has good hands, he needs to learn to vary he speeds in various routes. In other words slow down against cover 2-3 and sit in the voided areas. This can be taught with good coaching and McDaniels is a very good WR coach. If Kyle Williams is gone at say 3-79 then I would consider picking Bond there. He's got game changing speed/quickness.
Agreed on Bond. His drops were a HUGE liability when he came back from injury. And he apparently didn't take losing his seat to Golden apparently. Helm would be a nice weapon but I'd opt for a blocking TE with Schultz/Stover already on the roster.
Feels like the secondary is stacked, but I'm a big Mukuba guy as well. If he was sitting there in the second, and they just want to go BPA, I'm not mad at that pick. Similarly with Bond, I don't like him a ton in the 2nd and definitely not in the first. But in the 3rd? He becomes a value at that point. To your notes above on him, I think there might just be some maturity issues there, both with his game (route running and hands), but also a bit on the character/leadership side. A lot of guys grow out of that with time and good coaching, and in the 3rd round, you can afford to take chances on guys like that. In the first two rounds, though, I'd just feel more comfortable with guys I have fewer questions about.
