MCM Draft Prospect Previews: Hakeem Nicks

Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina is another receiver sure to be taken early in April's draft. To learn a little more about him, I asked Brian at Tar Heel Fan Blog for his thoughts on Nicks:

Hakeem Nicks, in three years at North Carolina, become one of the most prolific receivers, if not offensive players in school history. Granted it is a somewhat inconsistent football history but considering Nicks was hamstrung by a bad offense and worse coaching his freshman season, the work he did over the next two seasons was phenomenal. The junior from Charlotte had the benefit of playing beside speedster and probable 1st/2nd round pick Brandon Tate. Following Tate's injury earlier in the 2008 season, Nicks still found ways to get the ball who ended the season with 1222 yards receiving and 12 TDs. Nicks capped off his career at UNC with a 3 TD, 232 yard performance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against West Virginia.

Nicks is not the kind of receiver who will blow you away with his speed. While he is fast enough, Nicks greater asset is his size, especially the size of his hands. During one game the announcers indicated Nicks wore XXXXL gloves. That became fairly evident seeing him catch the ball sometimes doing it with one hand. The offensive play calling at UNC relied more on short passes of the 10-15 yard variety. Nicks excelled in this scheme getting the ball in space and creating yards after the catch with his ability to make tough runs. Overall the NFL team that ends up picking Nicks will get a good receiver with size and reliable hands who can turn small receptions into big gains on the run.

This catch is just crazy.

Click here to check out all of the players we have looked at so far.