Former University of Louisville wide receiver Harry Douglas gets the star treatment from his National Football League team at the Atlanta Falcons web site. Lots of photos available, as well as a couple videos and a nice compilation of his career stats at UofL.Â
Meanwhile over on the Falcoholic blog, there’s an interesting assessment of his potential and where he seems to fit within the Falcons’ current structure:
“Pros: Saying Douglas is fast is like saying that Dave the Falconer is a tiny bit verbose. He’s got very good speed and agility, and as a result could demand more coverage as he slides past whatever helpless nickel back is trying to stop him. His production at college basically speaks for itself, as he’s perfectly capable of catching the ball in traffic, alone, or in the Siberian tundra. Terrific athlete who, again, has only slight injury concerns. Aside from size, is pretty much the prototype slot receiver.
“Cons: Small, and as a result can be stopped cold at the line of scrimmage. Scouts are concerned over his small hands, but scouts have an odd obsession with the size of body parts (insert your own joke here.) Douglas needs to work on his route running, which is the only thing keeping him from really kicking butt out there.
“Role: Douglas is likely to fit right in to the slot or as a fourth receiver this year, even though Mike Smith isn’t a huge fan of three receiver sets. He’ll surely contribute on special teams (a pattern with this year’s draft class) right away, and by the end of the year you might see him on the field more often that you’d expect.
“Final Thoughts: In this system, Douglas is likely to have a limited role at first. Out of all the picks from Day Two, however, he seems the likeliest to have long term success. We haven’t had a fast, capable slot receiver in what seems like a decade, so I welcome Harry Douglas to the team with open arms.â€Â
Douglas does indeed have the skills, plus an insatiable urge to succeed. He should be around for a while, quite a while if he is fully recovered from the injuries that plagued him at UofL last season. While not at full speed, he still started in 10 games and led the Big East with 1,159 receiving yards on 71 receptions while adding seven touchdowns.