Gary

Jennings

Jennings (6’1/214) was a four-year contributor and two-year starter in the Mountaineers’ wideout corps, graduating with a career 168/2,294/13 (13.7 YPR) receiving line as West Virginia’s vertical-slot receiver with Will Grier at quarterback. Jennings showed NFL-level athletic chops in Indy, blazing 4.42 with 83rd-percentile cumulative SPARQ results. Able to create separation and outrun defensive backs, Jennings was clocked as one of this year’s fastest Senior Bowl invitees by the NFL’s new Zebra technology after being unfairly stereotyped as a product of Mike Leach disciple Dana Holgorsen’s Air Raid scheme. It makes sense the Hawks prioritized adding another rookie playmaker to their receiver room given Doug Baldwin’s rumored retirement that came to light Friday evening. Jennings has a chance to compete with David Moore as the team’s No. 3/4 pass-catcher.

“Jennings will be most effective in the slot, where he can use his body and strong hands over the middle,” Miller writes of the 6-foot-1, 214-pound West Virginia product. He likes him more for the slot than on the outside due to some of the issues he showed on tape creating separation from press coverage. To add a little context, Jennings led the Big 12 in yards per route run out of the slot in 2018. He is one of a bevy of somewhat intriguing receivers who should be available in the middle rounds of next week’s draft.

Jennings (6'1/214) may end up on the outside in the NFL -- that’s where Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy projects him to play -- but Jennings was very efficient on the inside at West Virginia. As a junior, Jennings caught 97 passes, but he went on a contested-catch streak as a senior which led to 13 touchdowns. On top of his production, Jennings offers 4.42-speed as a nice wide receiver sleeper.

Jennings (6'1/214) doesn’t get a ton of love from the draft community despite catching 97 passes as a junior, scoring 13 touchdowns as a senior, leading the group in contested catch rate, and running a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Jennings also had the 2nd-best touchdown rate (17.6%) and averaged the 4th-best yards per target (12.6), so he has the profile of a Day 2 prospect despite sitting on the Day 2/3 borderline.

Jennings (6'1/214) was able to get more experience against press-man at the Senior Bowl, something he didn’t see a lot of at West Virginia. Nagy continued to call Jennings one of the most underrated wide receivers in the class, and that’s an easy argument to make. Jennings has produced as a volume receiver and as a playmaker at West Virginia, but he also tested as an above average athlete at both the NFL Scouting Combine and at the Senior Bowl. Currently sitting on the Day 2/3 borderline, Jennings can provide value as a rotational receiver early with the upside of being an every week starter.

Nagy continued by saying Jennings (6'1/214) “had fastest max speed on South team (per Zebra Technologies) in this year’s #seniorbowl game at 21.56 mph and field speed is far more important than any 40 time.” Nagy is far ahead of the game on this one. The 40-yard dash will nearly become irrelevant once player tracking data is used during all college football games. Until then, the 40-yard dash is one of our few ways to quantify a players speed. Jennings posted an 82nd percentile SPARQ score overall and is in play for an early Day 3 selection.

Jennings (6'1/214) has turned in a nice evaluating season to date. He got it started at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he very clearly outperformed teammate David Sills during the practice week, and kept the good vibes going for the combine weekend in Indianapolis. On Friday, Jennings recorded 20 reps on the bench press. Now a slick run through the 40-yard dash as he tries to move himself into range for an early Day 3 selection. The Draft Network’s Brad Kelly noted back in November that Jennings has a “smooth ability vertically.”

“There’s some Sammie Coates to his game at times with dropped passes and tracking struggles,” Ledyard writes, “but when he’s on.” The analyst adds that Jennings “can make impact plays with size and athleticism that will attract NFL teams on day three.” The 6-foot-1, 213-pound wideout was a sharp performer during the Reese’s Senior Bowl practice week -- by most accounts he outperformed teammate David Sills -- and will look to build momentum in Indianapolis next week. Jennings should be viewed as a likely Day 3 selection, but one with stock upside toward Day 2.

Jennings (6'1/213) had a nice showing at Senior Bowl practices, and he was underrated at West Virginia with QB Will Grier getting a lot of the attention. However, Jennings is a legit NFL prospect and Nagy’s listing is more evidence as so. As a senior, Jennings scored 13 touchdowns (17.8 TD%) and averaged 12.6 yards on his 73 targets (917 yards). As of now, Jennings sits on the Day 2/3 borderline.

Jennings (6'1/213) did all of his damage in the fourth quarter, but damage down. He caught a 54-yard pass from Tyree Jackson, and a few plays later, Jackson found him on a perfect slant from 10-yards out for a score that briefly got the South back in the game. Jennings had a solid -- if not spectacular -- week of practices, but many analysts feel he could be a steal in Day 3. The combine will go a long way in determining his draft stock.