Similarly to how I wrote about Quinton Coples roughly 10 days back, I feel I need to state openly that I'm not a huge Michael Floyd fan. I don't see a particularly fluid athlete and someone who's currently lost somewhere between being a quick receiver, and a powerful possession one.

That being said, he does have the unique quality of having back-to-back 1,000 seasons- a quality shared only with Justin Blackmon. Currently Russ Lande of the Sporting News is mocking Michael Floyd to the Panthers, so I felt it was apropos to discuss the Notre Dame wide receiver.

At 6'3", 220 lbs he has equal size to Alshon Jeffery, but plays significantly faster. His 4.47 time in the 40, coupled with a 36.5" vertical jump mean he has the ability to burn a lot of DBs, and his size is a significant benefit to him. Over the last 12 months he seemed to bulk up a lot, and while he lost some of his top-end speed it isn't really a huge area of concern. However, there are some very definite concerns when it comes to Floyd, and we'll look at those.

After the jump

Everyone makes a mistake at some point in their life, and we all have things we'd like to take back. Like Janoris Jenkins, Michael Floyd has his own demons he'll need to account for. In June of 2011 he was arrested for DUI, his third alcohol related charge while at Notre Dame. We already experienced what it was like to deal with a talented WR with alcohol issues in the form of Dwayne Jarrett, and I'm not a fan of going through that again.

There are also injury concerns with Floyd. In 2009 he needed surgery to repair a broken collar bone, and this year he missed the senior bowl due to injury also. Obviously doctors will have gone over him with a fine tooth comb, but it's worth mentioning that physically he hasn't been unblemished.

Despite all this his numbers at Notre Dame were extremely impressive.

They're definitely the kind of numbers that pop off the page. Watching him on film I attribute the drop in average yards per reception to be related to his increase in weight, and his changing role in the offense which turned him from #1 receiver, to offensive crutch.

At this point Floyd is in the same conversation with Janoris Jenkins- talented, but flawed from a character standpoint. He's as bigger risk as some of the upside guys, but he has the on field numbers to show it. If the Panthers are looking to take a WR who will likely be available then keep an eye on Floyd. He may not be my favorite guy in the class, but I can see what all the fuss is about.

Has the ability to make plays vertically down the field, eats up the cushion quickly off the line for a guy his size and has a bit of a second gear once he gets into his stride. The further he gets down the field the harder he is to cover, as he does a great job locating the football quickly, high pointing the throw and coming down with the catch. Now he does lack elite straight-line speed, but because of his power and overall acceleration for his size, he's still very tough to stay with when asked to get vertical.

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