Leonard Hankerson: Patience

[COWBOY-KILLA-]

Hank has been steady Eddie. Not just yesterday but the past few weeks he's made some big time, in traffic, chain moving catches. He gets Buqoo respect from me. He's stepped up big time.

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

Hank Time is now!

[CTskins]

He shows up at opportune times. I'd say he's more reliable than Moss at this point.

They play different positions. I still feel more a tad comfortable with the quick slant out the slot from Moss on 3rd down. 2nd and short is Hankerson time.

[Prototype]

We have a good young offense to stick around with RG3 for a while. Let's shore up that D and we're talking dynasty potential.

[Truant]

Good to see improvement. And the second TD grab being smooth and confident. I think his confidence is growing, exhibited by that pretty mediocre endzone dance. Good news is that I think he's going to have more opportunities to work on that.

Guy was lacking confidence. I think that grew quite a bit yesterday. I'd still rather see a wide-open WR be Garcon, Moss, or Morgan... but if Hank keeps emerging our WR core is going to be ready for a run this season.

[kevinklein]

For a guy at the end of his second year, I'd say Hank is right on track, if not ahead of the curb, especially if you consider he missed a lot of last year due to injury. Seeing him perform with Cousins under center is encouraging too. Him and Griff are going to have a nice chemistry from the get go next year.

[amm0409]

We need a highlight reel of him, wheres it at?

[RedBeast]

3 years for a WR to develop, or so they say. Last year he was hurt part of the year. i think once he starts getting more confidence and looses the nervousness, he will start catching more balls. He has dropped a few, and this has always been a problem for him...hence the tennis ball drill in college. He needs to get back to that. He needs more practice and playing time. I think by mid next year he could be a strong asset for us, and it appears he is starting to bloom.

[moondog]

The Browns have a pretty solid secondary and two very good players in Haden and Ward. Almost all of my best friends are huge Browns fan because we grew up near the Cleveland area.

That being said they were all very complimentary of our receiving corps (before the game) and were nervous about what those guys could do. Just wanted to share that fans of outside teams that don't necessarily follow the skins consider our receiving corps to be very talented. I think sometimes with all the talk amongst our own fans we can become either too high or too low on some of our players and it's nice for everyone to get an opinion from someone outside looking in.

I realize that Browns fans may not be the best to get an opinion from considering their receivers are all rookies or very young (I think they have a ton of potential though) but just wanted to share some outside thoughts.

Edit: It's also worth noting that all of these guys either played or coached (or both) on high school championship/#1 ranked teams or even played semi-pro, so it's not as if they don't know what they are talking about.

[chet06]

Hankerson doesn't have the drive to be great. You can see it already. But dont take my word for it , just watch RG3. When Griff needs a crucial play he goes to Moss, because he can't trust Leonard to make the play. It's completely and utterly dissappointing. Hank doesn't sell out for balls, he has issues with his hands, and he cant get separation from receivers. I'm sorry, but you can be patient until he's in year 13, it wont matter. He is not the one!

---------- Post added December-17th-2012 at 06:44 PM ----------

actually in the last 3 or 4 games Hankerson has had very very key clutch catches for 1st downs

[RandyHolt]

Leo has been clutch.

Someone said it, you see that deep ball and you cant see who the WR is, and then there he is, Hands "bobble it to give fans a heart attack" Hankerson!

He is passive but that's the way a lot of young WR are. Talk about a tough job, I really feel like he needs to fill out his body to handle the rigors of the game, he is an athlete becoming a football player. Protein shakes and the weight room may help his game and his confidence a lot.

We have seen signs, I think it was 3 weeks ago, he lowered his head late in the 4th, and got us a first.

[Alcoholic Zebra]

Guys who were drafted in 2011 and are now in their 2nd year at WR:

http://pfref.com/tiny/P5IcD

Discounting the awesome duo of Julio Jones and AJ Green, here's how Hankerson stacks up with the guys above him in some key areas.

Randall Cobb, 5 drops, 77.8% catch rate, 42.4% 1st down rate
Hankerson - 4 drops, 66.7% catch rate, 42.6% 1st down rate
Jeremy Kerley - 3 drops, 61.9% catch rate, 33.3% 1st down rate
Denarius Moore - 8 drops, 46.5% catch rate, 31.7% 1st down rate
Greg Little - 5 drops, 55% catch rate, 33.8% 1st down rate
Torrey Smith - 3 drops, 44.9% catch rate, 34.7% 1st down rate
Cecil Shorts - 6 drops, 52.1% catch rate, 36.2% 1st down rate


So just using these, the only 2nd year WR (outside of AJ Green and Julio Jones) that's really been performing better than Hankerson is Randall Cobb. The others have superior yardage totals simply due to being thrown at way more often. Their catch rate is a sign that they weren't able to get enough seperation or shield the ball from the defender.

The biggest thing that Hankerson needs to work on (imo), is getting yards after the catch. He's struggling in the catch and run department. But his solid 1st down rate makes up for that.

[redskins55]

---------- Post added December-17th-2012 at 06:44 PM ----------

actually in the last 3 or 4 games Hankerson has had very very key clutch catches for 1st downs

This conversation was had when Garcon was injured. The frame work of the original discussion was would Hankerson ever be our #1 receiver . That answer is still No!! for all the reasons i mentioned. But I'm impressed with Hank.. I think he's been motivated by his demotion to #3 when Morgan was promoted. He can make plays but he is not our go to guy. The plays he's made are designed because Garcon is getting all the attention. The fact remains that when Garcon was injured Hank was invisible.

[LiveStrongSkins]

This conversation was had when Garcon was injured. The frame work of the original discussion was would Hankerson ever be our #1 receiver . That answer is still No!! for all the reasons i mentioned. But I'm impressed with Hank.. I think he's been motivated by his demotion to #3 when Morgan was promoted. He can make plays but he is not our go to guy. The plays he's made are designed because Garcon is getting all the attention. The fact remains that when Garcon was injured Hank was invisible.

Disagree with a few items in this reply. 1. Unless you're referring to someone else, I never mentioned Hank as a #1. I gave my opinion that through thestruggles I was still seeing things that led me to believe he could be "a force". As a 3rd round draft pick, making critical catches in a playoff push one can argue that's becoming a force. A home grown mid round selection growing in front of our eyes. Second, having garcon on the field is not the reason for his production in my opinion. He has helped the offense in general and he's our unquestioned best wr (garcon) but Hanks play of late is just as much attributed to a young guy improving. His focus has been better, he's getting open, and finishing plays now. He isn't thinking as much. His confidence has led to coaches confidence which is why were seeing him featured more. He is earning every rep.

[KDawg]

I've said it a million times, from when we drafted him, through his struggles, through now:

Here is what Hankerson is:

-A hard working player
-Will prepare with the best of them
-Coachable, willing to learn
-Decent speed, improving routes, good sized target
-Has mediocre hands. Will make incredible catches and will drop easy ones

That's what you get with Hank. I think the positives far outweigh the negatives with him. He will come into his own. But he'll always drop (or bobble) balls. It's the way he's always played. He's a good addition to this team, and I don't think he's a guy that is going to outprice his services. He might be a 'Skin for a very, very long time.

Just figured I'd premptively bump this with a quote that I've said a few times now. Don't get too down on him yet