Combine & Wes Welker

I think I remember Welker also having some very fast times in quickness drills.

welker!

Then he goes undrafted.... then the Dolphins are more than OK with him going to the Patriots, where he becomes a probowl wide receiver, maybe the best pure slot receiver in the game. I looked at his numbers at Texas Tech, and especially at what he did in high school, and it's almost impossible to believe that he went undrafted. He played every position in high school (including QB and kicker), and there were times when he worked himself so hard that he would either throw for a touchdown or score one himself, run to the sideline to throw up, and then go right back out to kick the extra point. Does anyone remember what it was that caused the 32 teams to not only skip him in the draft, but to not even invite him to the combine? Mike, maybe you know if there was a known reason that all the NFL scouts were so down on him. As a side point, does anyone know if Matt Cassel was invited to the combine? Would they even consider inviting a QB who never started a gamae in college to the combine? I don't know if the NFL needs better scouting or they just look for the wrong things when they scout out the college prospects, but I think that any team takes a good look at their method of scouting and decides to start factoring in qualities that they weren't thinking about until now should have a distinct advantage over teams that keep on doing things as they were until now.

He has quickly become my favorite Patriots player. He's still humble even though he is putting up incredible numbers. It's the classic, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Belichick realized they couldn't cover the guy, so let's get him on out team. The only time he has been stopped was that ugly hit by Clarke that sidelined him for half a game.

Welker was undrafted because of his size obviously

Great find, Mike. For some reason, I’m always a bit surprised when journalists actually do journalistic research. But you are making a habit of it.
I can only wish that the people who cover politics take journalism as seriously as you do. Maybe you should cover politics. I enjoy reading about Brady and Welker, but knowing what actually goes into the stimulus plan is more pertinent. No offense intended.

I also think size was a factor, but '5"9 isn't that uncommon for wide receivers and you would think that with his work ethic a team would have seen what they could have gotten out of him and picked him in one of the last rounds.

the article also shows Welker was a class act in 2004 too!

Hey Dave, I don't believe Cassel was invited to the combine, but he got attention when he worked out at an open day in USC (I could be wrong on that one). It was based on that workout that the Pats drafted him (and the advise of Carroll).

I thought McDaniels worked out Cassel privately, unless I'm thinking of O'Connell

Welker is a pretty good example of how using the combine as a system of player evaluation is antiquated. With athletes getting better and stronger and it becoming quite clear that playing at a 'major' university does not mean you will be more talented than a guy that comes from a Chattanooga St., T-Tech, etc , Welker isn't going to be the last overlooked player and to fix this, an idea that is out-of-the-box, per say, is required. It is the same type of thinking that will fix the college football playoff, the tie-rule in pro-football, as well as institute a rookie salary cap for the NFL. You can't fix complex problems with answers gleaned from 20th century precedents. You need new ways of looking at problems and thinking around them and that only comes with intellectual evolution, something that is being clamored for in every facet of every sport.

Its a domino effect...once the first great idea comes, they will all fall in line.

Thanx for the info, David. Much appreciated.

Mike Reiss

Great work. I would love to see the list of players who were actually invited and their stats vs Welkers

Here is an unofficial list I found on a website of WR who were invited to the 2004 combine. I don't see many players I would want over Wes Welker. Actually I don't see any!
WIDE RECEIVERS

Derek Abney Kentucky
Bernard Berrian Fresno State
Maurice Brown Iowa
Drew Carter Ohio State
Keary Colbert USC
Chris Collins Mississippi
Terrance Cooper East Carolina
Jerricho Cotchery North Carolina State
Josh Davis Marshall
Lee Evans Wisconsin
Carlos Francis Texas Tech
DJ Hackett Colorado
Devery Henderson LSU
Michael Jenkins Ohio State
Justin Jenkins Mississippi State
B.J. Johnson Texas
Tony Johnson Penn State
Kelvin Kight Florida
Triandos Luke Alabama
Maurice Mann Nevada
Derek McCoy Colorado
Jeris McIntyre Auburn
Clarence Moore Northern Arizona
Johnnie Morant Syracuse
James Newson Oregon State
Samie Parker Oregon
Carlos Perez Florida
Jonathan Smith Georgia Tech
Kendrick Starling San Jose State
Jamaar Taylor Texas A&M
Sloan Thomas Texas
Andrae Thurman Southern Oregon
Darius Watts Marshall
Huey Whittaker South Florida
Ernest Wilford Virginia Tech
Roy Williams Texas
George Wilson Arkansas
Rashaun Woods Oklahoma State
Kevin Youngblood Clemson

I'd also like to see the names of all the people that posted that the Pats overpaid for him in 2007.

"But things don't always go the way you plan. I'm not mad at anyone. I'm not bitter. You live with it and move on."

This sort of exemplifies the Patriot mentality, and I think that's what eventually attracted the interest of the Patriots. I can imagine it's nigh impossible to keep track of all the college prospects, so you typically have to mind the schools which attract better highschool players (via their scouting efforts and reputation).

And playing multiple positions is not always attractive to teams; while versatility may be valued highly (especially in the Patriots organization), pro teams need to find masters of one trade, not jacks of all.

I don't think there are any players on that list that I would take over Welker, but that could be because I alredy have Randy Moss. It's understandable that a team that looking specifically for a deep threat took someone like Berrian, Evans, or Jenkins. As good as Wes Welker is, he definitely benefits from having a guy like Randy Moss on the team.

what benefits Welker is him having played against the Pats and B.B.That opened B.B.mind to get him and make him a PAT.He has benefited on having B.B. as a coach.Probably no other coach would have given him the chance.