Chicago Bears NFL Draft Scout: Simmie Cobbs

Parker Hurley

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 24: Simmie Cobbs Jr.

The Chicago Bears will be looking for help at wide receiver. Can Simmie Cobbs helps provide some?

Simmie Cobbs lost his entire third season due to an ankle injury. However, in a red shirt junior year, Cobbs put up 841 yards and eight touchdowns on 72 receptions. Cobbs put up over 1,000 yards as a sophomore, albeit with just three touchdowns. Still, Cobbs will go down as one of the more prolific wide receivers in Indiana Hoosier history. Will his skill set translate to the NFL? Does he fit into the Chicago Bears scheme?

Measurables

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 215

Age: 22

School: Indiana Hoosiers

Strengths

Sammie Cobbs can go up and get it. Whether it is tracking down passes or winning the jump ball, when it is in the air, he has a chance. This comes from great body control and ball tracking. Take the play below for example. He is able to spin his body while hauling in a pass. The corner was in no position to turn around for that ball because Cobbs wasn’t either. Still, Cobbs got his body around, and while he did not get two feet down, he brought in the pass.

Cobbs had a game that sky rocketed him up draft boards against Ohio State. He dominated pro level cornerbacks, and in the play below beat Denzel Ward, a noted top prospect. Cobb again shows the body control, but also shows the ability to play the ball in the air, while the cornerback is still trying to play the receiver. That is how he is able to gain separation on a player likely to test out more athletic than him.

Cobbs has that ability to go from even to beyond the cornerback while having the space to track down touchdown passes.

Weaknesses

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The question to his game is how much he brings away from splash plays down the sideline. He has some yards after the catch ability, but was not as dominant as a route runner or as a physical receiver going over the middle as you would like.

In the play below, Cobbs rounds off his route, and drops the pass as the cornerback easily breaks inside on him. Some of the efforts he puts in make it hard to tell if he is still dealing with an injury, or if he is not putting in a total effort when it comes to going over the middle and being physical.

His lack of physicality shows the most when he is a blocker. That is when questions of effort come in again. It is either that, or a lack of strength to hold blocks down the field. Either way, that concern of physicality pops up in multiple areas of the game.

Watch Auden Tate, a wide receiver prospect in a similar tier to Cobbs finish off a run towards the sideline. He is looking to punish. He also shows this physicality as a blocker, and in turn it shows up on tape going over the middle and making contested catches.

Then, there is Cobbs. He gets an extra yard or two, but it is not the strongest finish to a run. That, combined with his blocking and over the middle physicality can draw the question if he is worth being in the same tier as Tate.

Pro Comparison

Allen Robinson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Robinson is likely what would be expected if Cobbs can be at full strength, and show the improvements in his physicality. The two do share similarities, though. If Cobbs can do those things, he can track balls like Robinson and come down with stunning catches down the sideline in the same way. Robinson was known before his injury for making the most out of playing with Blake Bortles. He hauled in off target pass after off target pass to the tune of 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015.

Those might be lofty numbers for a player with Cobbs ability, but the ability to erase accuracy, be quarterback proof, and track passes and turn them into touchdowns is what you are buying into with Simmie Cobbs. It is also what teams will be deciding on with Allen Robinson, a player with a similar skill set at a higher price tag as he hits free agency in 2018.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – NOVEMBER 25: Simmie Cobbs Jr.

How does he fit Bears?

Cobbs could fit in as a red zone piece, but it would depend on the round. What the Bears truly need is a game breaker who can take the top off. Until Cobbs is able to get to his combine, it is tough to say that he can do enough deep down the field to warrant a high draft pick. Especially if he is such a limited overall player.

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However, there is a price to every prospect. If the Bears were to go away from the wide receiver position in the first two rounds, and Cobbs were to fall into the third round, he would be worth a chance. The talent is there, but the refinery is needed. The Bears are looking for more stability in the first two rounds, and it should have them looking elsewhere from Cobbs in that area.

Parker Hurley

IUP Alum. Pittsburgh native. Follows NFL, NCAAB, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Steelers and Pirates critic, Penguins homer. Write about the Chicago Bears and other relevant NFL news