Danario Alexander NFL Draft scouting report

Danario Alexander

6'4 5/8, 215 pounds | Wide receiver | Missouri

Acceleration/Burst/Quickness: Does not short step well, long strider from the get-go. Struggles to burst through the small windows with the ball in his hands.

Agility/Leaping Ability: Has tremendous length and understands body positioning when in a jump ball situation. Lacks power coming from his base, thus his leaping ability is sub-par. Possesses a surprising amount of agility for such a long athlete, can miss tacklers in a tight space. Has enough wiggle in his hips to shake his way out of arm tackles.

Blocking: Comes from an offensive scheme that demands a lot of blocking from the receivers. Gives a lot of effort and can overpower a defensive backs with his strong hands and long arms.

Body Control/Body Adjustment: Does not track the ball well when running downfield. Loses his sense of balance and speed when looking up. Has enough flexibility to adjust to a poorly thrown ball. Can turn his body well and get his hands out in front.

Concentration/Hands: Does an excellent job of getting his head around and looking the ball in. Will let the ball in to his body at times where doesn’t need to, but for the most part he absorbs the pass and controls the ball right away. Does not get distracted over the middle, remains focused on the ball. Has had a case of the drops at certain points of his career.

Release: Starts way too high off the line, giving the defender a huge target to jam. Has enough strength to toss away a cornerback, but gets tied up against the more physical defenders. Lack of short-step ability makes it hard for him to miss contact at the line.

Route Running: Ran a very limited route tree at Missouri, and it was clearly evident during the Senior Bowl practices. Shows too much of a decline in speed when getting in and out of breaks. Does not run the deep double routes well. Does not use head fakes, tends to telegraph his routes.

Separation: Does not have the deep speed to outrun most defensive backs, and does not have the short area quickness to get himself open underneath against man coverage. Is rarely found alone in space against man coverage.

Size/Length/Hand Size: Very strong hands that create a different sound than most receivers when he makes the catch. Long, lanky frame that needs more bulk to the lower half. Strong upper body.

Speed: May not time well once he can run for scouts, but he has big time game speed. Once he has a couple yards of separation downfield, he is incredibly difficult to catch from behind. He covers so much ground with each one of his long strides. Does not look as fast as he is because of the length in his strides. Has outrun plenty of speedy defensive backs.

Vision/Run After the Catch: Very tough and aggressive, always fighting until he hits the ground. Was used on several screen passes throughout his career and he has enormous success in that package. Can read blocks and find seams in a defense. Has more wiggle to him than one would think given his size.

Final Word: There are one of two ways to go when trying to diagnose the NFL potential of Donario Alexander. You can pop in one of the several big performances on tape he had in 2009 and easily fall in love with the 6’5 speedster. He showed flashes of top notch ability with the ball in his hands and he was once ahead of former Tiger and 2009 Eagles’ first round pick Jeremy Maclin on the depth chart. However Alexander has already been bit hard by the injury bug and he will enter the league with four knee surgeries on his record sheet. His slight frame cannot go unnoticed considering how physical receivers have to be at the next level, and the latest injury suffered in Mobile at the Senior Bowl is yet another red flag. We have seen injuries absolutely kill the stock of prospects in the past and despite the ability shown by Alexander in 2009, he could fall into the mid-to-late rounds. He played in an friendly system at Missouri and he will enter the league fighting numerous uphill battles. If he can stay on the field, Alexander has the potential to be a gamebreaker but the lack of short area quickness and of course the injury concerns, he will be crossed off several draft boards.