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What do you make of this dude? We all know he's extremely talented (athletically), but we also know he was about as green as they come having come from that air raid WVU offense. 2 and 3 back pistol sets, mesh, jet sweeps, shallow crosses, etc. But not so much in the way of learning the route tree and diagnosing coverages. I was kind of surprised at how low his wonderlic score was too. An 8 or something like that? Well, it's been a couple of years now and *he* seems to think he's putting it all together.

"I think it’s real big to be honest just because of how the media say I’m a bust and all of that stuff," Austin said. "I really don’t pay too much attention to it but I know one thing about it is when I’m focused, I’m focused. It’s going to be a different story this year and we’ll see what happens when we get to the end of the year."

And Cignetti notices a difference in his route running:

"Tavon Austin’s had a great offseason," Cignetti said. "It starts in the classroom. He’s learning. He’s paying attention. He’s bringing it to the practice field. You just see it from his route running. What a difference. His effort, his attention to details. Every day out there, the guy’s made plays."

So what do you think? Is this the year he breaks out, gets closer to becoming a bust, or just simply gets a little better? Admittedly it's a hard question since nobody knows what Cignetti's offense is going to be all about, but is it possible that his scheme will lean towards showcasing Tavon more? I know Fisher said he wants to run the ball, but I don't think that's going to be the M.O. Not after drafting all of these receivers (in addition to signing Cook/Britt) and trading for a QB who likes to sling it.

[OldSchool]

I desperately wanted DeAndre Hopkins with this pick and wanted nothing to do with Austin. I really hope for the best from him on the field but he's one of those players I just can't get excited about except when he's returning punts. I don't see an NFL WR when I see him on the field. Couple that with like you said about his wonderlic score and the rumors that he can't grasp the playbook I just don't know what we can expect to see from him. I also think some people are also exaggerating the run first offensive philosophy. If you read into peoples thoughts on Fishers run first thoughts you'd think we're going back to the days of Jim Brown prior to the forward pass explosion. The last 4 NFC teams in the Super Bowl were run first offenses. New England wouldn't have made it last year if they couldn't run the ball as well as they did. I could see a 50-50 split run to pass plays even as much as 55% run. And with that much of a run focus teams cheat and it opens up passes over the middle and deep. I'm excited going into the season about this team and offense. I just don't know how much Tavon will be a part of it.

[snackdaddy]

He's the kind of guy a good team needs. He's a dangerous punt returner. He's good at jet sweeps. I actually saw a play where a LB was ready to grab him for a tackle and he literally outran the grasp. The LB just grabbed air. He can be dangerous on short crossing routes.

But the caveat is, there are plenty of guys around the league like that. Guys who are usually found in mid rounds. I honestly don't see him as a legit receiver. A guy who can line up outside, run various routes, catch passes and do enough for 60 plus catches and 700 plus yards. He's not that kind of player. The plays they can design for him are limited. He's a specialty player and he can only make plays if they fool the defense into something else using misdirection. If he were drafted in the 3rd round he woulda been an ok value pick. But trading up to number 8? That is what I would call a bust.

But they made the pick so they gotta try and make the most of it with what he's got. If they want more value from him, I think he needs to return kickoffs too, not just punts. Maybe he can win a game or two with big returns. He's not going to be a consistent receiver. He's fast, but so are the defenders. This ain't college.

[max]

You touch him, he goes down.

That makes him a returner and gimmick player at best.

Fishers teams are defense and ST centric, so Tavon fits.

He can make the Pro Bowl as a return. Not worth #8 overall, obviously.

[BuiltRamTough]

It's hard to say when you don't have a QB to throw to him. It's not like we watch the all 22 and see if he's getting open or not. I'm not making an excuse for him but you need a decent QB to make a judgment on WR's.

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I don't know what it says about the rest of the offense, but currently Tavon is leading the team in scoring (tied with Cook) over the past two years. That's total touchdowns, including punt returns. He'd be leading outright if a couple of his touchdowns weren't called back due to penalty by someone else.

[OldSchool]

Yup that's a sad statement X another sad one was the leading Rams receiver in terms of catches during Bradfords Rams years was Danny Amendola.

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Yup that's a sad statement X another sad one was the leading Rams receiver in terms of catches during Bradfords Rams years was Danny Amendola.

Well, clearly he didn't *elevate* anyone else. But then again, Brady didn't elevate Amendola any further. Or Hoomanawanui. Or Fells. I thought Eli Manning would elevate Fells when Brady couldn't, but that didn't happen either. Tannehill didn't elevate Gibson. Rivers didn't really elevate Alexander, and 4 quarterbacks have failed to elevate Salas. I think maybe the answer is, we should find some guys who can elevate their own damn game.

[OldSchool]

I agree we need to get playmakers who don't rely on a QB or anybody else to make the play for them. I really wanted Hopkins I think our offense would be 100% better with him instead of Austin. Oh well shoulda woulda coulda.

[Elvis]

I like Tavon. I think Fisher feels like he can offset his conservative approach to offense with speed, get his big plays that way.

I like Cook a lot too, though i think he's largely wasted on the Rams. Cook and Tavon came over when we were going with more of a spread but that didn't take hold and now they're both a little out of place.

Or at least they have been. We'll see what this year brings. Maybe it will be different but i'm expecting this team to be all about the defense...