Tag: Bub Means

2024 Draft Grades: Saints pick WR Bub Means with No. 170 overall selection

2024 NFL Draft Grades: New Orleans Saints pick Pittsburgh wide receiver Bub Means with the No. 170 overall selection. How do you grade this move?

The New Orleans Saints go with a wide receiver as they select Bub Means out of Pittsburgh with the No. 170 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.

Means, 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds, is a trait guy that they hope will develop into something in their offense. He has a great size and speed combo with a 4.43 40-yard dash, but has never been that productive in his career.

The Georgia native started his college football career in North. Louisiana at LA Tech, but transferred to Pittsburgh for his final two seasons. He really didn’t burst onto the scene until this past season with 41 catches for 721 yard and six touchdowns.

The fit is odd, as he really does the same things that Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed do on offense. With his build, it wouldn’t be surprising if Klint Kubiak plans to mold him into the Deebo Samuel role in his offense.

It’s a project pick for sure, so don’t expect him to immediately come into the room and start over someone like A.T. Perry.

Grade: C

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2024 NFL draft: Saints draft Pitt wideout Bub Means in Round 5

2024 NFL draft: New Orleans Saints draft Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means in Round 5

Here’s that help at wide receiver that fans have been asking for. The New Orleans Saints selected Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft, at No. 170 overall. He transferred a couple of times in college and also played for Tennessee and Louisiana Tech.

Means led Pitt in receiving last year and has a lot to offer athletically. He’s taller and heavier than Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed at 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, with better straight-line speed than A.T. Perry (he timed the 40 yard dash in just 4.43 seconds). He’s known for having some success on contested catches but he also has some moves in space with the ball in his hands.

So he could quickly climb the depth chart in New Orleans. Look for Means to compete with Cedrick Wilson Jr., Stanley Morgan, and Equanimeous St. Brown for that fourth spot on the depth chart this summer.

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Mock draft watch: Interesting 3-round projections for the Lions from ESPN

The first-rounder is a popular projection, while the second and third round selections defy conventional wisdom

The latest mock draft from longtime ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is an interesting one for the Detroit Lions. The three-round projections feature Kiper and fellow analyst Field Yates alternating picks across the rounds, with Kiper handling the odd-numbered picks and Yates handling the even ones.

With the Lions holding picks No. 29, 61 and 73, that means Kiper made all three projections for Detroit.

First round: Darius Robinson, DL, Missouri. This is becoming a popular projection for the Lions’ top pick, and his positional versatility to play either DE or DT aligns with how the Lions have built the defense. Kiper notes that in his explanation,

He is a bit of a tweener, and he might be better as a 3-technique tackle. He could play some snaps at end in Detroit.

Among the typical Lions candidates passed on here to select Robinson:

Kool-Aid McKinstry

Jackson Powers-Johnson

Johnny Newton

Ennis Rakestraw

In the second round, Kiper hits the Detroit secondary with Georgia safety Javon Bullard. Kiper notes that Bullard is his top-ranked safety and is quite bullish on the idea of pairing him with Brian Branch in the secondary. Good pick, one that Lions fans should probably like more than what the initial reaction of drafting a safety instead of a cornerback would likely garner.

The third-rounder is a bit of a headscratcher. Pittsburgh WR Bub Means is a decent enough prospect, but this is several rounds higher than Means typically projects. He’s No. 237 on the NFL Mock Draft Database, which averages the draft slot across a multitude of contemporary mocks. Kiper also notes how good Means was on contested catches, but that ignores the fact Lions QB Jared Goff tends to not attempt those sorts of throws.

 

 

2024 NFL combine: Nine receiver prospects detail their favorite college plays

2024 Scouting Combine: Nine receiver prospects detail their favorite college plays (via @NFL_DougFarrar):

INDIANAPOLIS — Unless you are somehow able to gain access to one of the rooms in which NFL teams meet with draft prospects during the week of the scouting combine, there’s no way to know what’s really discussed. One thing that is almost always happens is a tape-watching expedition in which the NFL people will have play examples dialed up that hopefully show what the prospects can do.

Here at Touchdown Wire, we do not possess the required juice to crash those rooms, but we are able to ask these prospects during their combine media sessions which plays from their college careers best typify their potential.

We’ve already done this with five quarterbacks, six tight ends and seven cornerbacks here at the combine, and now, it’s time to get into the favorite plays of nine receiver prospects of all shapes, sizes, and talents.

The full lineup:

  • Washington’s Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk
  • Alabama’s Jermaine Burton
  • Tulane’s Jha’Quan Jackson
  • Florida State’s Johnny Wilson
  • Pitt’s Bub Means
  • Michigan’s Roman Wilson
  • South Carolina’s Xavier Legette
  • Texas’ Jordan Whittington

2024 Scouting Combine: Nine receiver prospects detail their favorite college plays

The 2024 scouting combine was the right place to ask nine receiver prospects for their favorite college plays, and what they will mean in the NFL.

INDIANAPOLIS — Unless you are somehow able to gain access to one of the rooms in which NFL teams meet with draft prospects during the week of the scouting combine, there’s no way to know what’s really discussed. One thing that is almost always happens is a tape-watching expedition in which the NFL people will have play examples dialed up that hopefully show what the prospects can do.

Here at Touchdown Wire, we do not possess the required juice to crash those rooms, but we are able to ask these prospects during their combine media sessions which plays from their college careers best typify their potential.

We’ve already done this with five quarterbacks, six tight ends and seven cornerbacks here at the combine, and now, it’s time to get into the favorite plays of nine receiver prospects of all shapes, sizes, and talents.

The full lineup:

  • Washington’s Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk
  • Alabama’s Jermaine Burton
  • Tulane’s Jha’Quan Jackson
  • Florida State’s Johnny Wilson
  • Pitt’s Bub Means
  • Michigan’s Roman Wilson
  • South Carolina’s Xavier Legette
  • Texas’ Jordan Whittington

2024 NFL draft: 4 receiver prospects for the Steelers to replace Allen Robinson

The Steelers could be in the market for a slot reciever in the 2024 NFL draft.

The next salary-cap cut for the Pittsburgh Steelers needs to be veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson. Cutting Robinson saves the Steelers $10 million against the cap. Robinson didn’t pan out but even after he’s gone the Steelers will need to find a new slot receiver because Calvin Austin III isn’t developing as quickly as we hoped.

Pittsburgh has done well finding receivers in the middle or late round of the NFL draft and here are four guys to consider in 2024.

Lions 2024 NFL Draft report: Bub Means, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh

Means is a big, productive wideout who could fit the Lions in the later rounds

It is finally draft season for Lions fans.

Brad Holmes and his front office have proven they are very capable of putting together great draft classes. They have had major hits on every day of the draft, but especially on Day Two. This roster isn’t in desperate need of much because of his work, but they do have some positions that need to be addressed.

This offseason, they should be focusing on getting better play out of their defensive backs, adding depth on the defensive line, and building out the wide receiver room.

These scouting reports should introduce you to some of the names that Lions fans could hear during the three days of the NFL Draft.

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