Keelan Doss, Wide Receiver, UC Davis
UC Davis’ Keelan Doss was one of the more highly touted wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft. Daniel Jeremiah had him ranked as the 99th best prospect in the class. However, due to an injury, Doss fell out of the draft altogether.
Forgot to mention here word was the pectoral injury he suffered at the Combine contributed to his slide. Outside of that, quite the stunner he went undrafted. https://t.co/sIfyv4gupU
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 29, 2019
Doss entered the draft with high expectations following a prolific college career. In four years at UC Davis, Doss caught 321 passes for 4,069 yards and 28 touchdowns.
NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein gave Doss a fifth round grade heading into the draft.
Wins with a high football IQ and above average skill level, but has to prove he can transfer those elements into catches against NFL coverage. He is not a burner and can be a little delayed in defeating press, but he just has a feel for finding catches using above-average route savvy and ball skills. His lack of top-end speed and suddenness could push him towards a role as a big slot and WR3/WR4.
A big slot receiver could be exactly where Doss could excel for the Raiders. It’s unlikely that he takes over for Antonio Brown or Tyrell Williams. However, at slot receiver currently former Clemson Tiger Hunter Renfrow is slated to start.
If Doss were to make the team, he could function as the thunder to Renfrow’s lightning. Renfrow is the faster of the two backs, making him much more of a burner against larger nickel cornerbacks. Doss, who stands 6’2″ could work in the red zone and function against smaller nickels.
Jeremiah, who as mentioned had Doss in his top 100 prospects, compares the former Aggie to current Charger wide receiver Keenan Allen.
I’m a fan of UC Davis WR Keelan Doss. I see some similarities to @keenan13allen when he was coming out of Cal. Keenan could teach a master class about releases/route running. I was told… https://t.co/kFIEsWSiLF
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) January 23, 2019
Doss will need to get over his injury and of course learn how to play against higher levels of competition. That being said, it’s unlikely that any undrafted receiver in the entire league has a better chance of sticking on a roster than Doss.
After shockingly going undrafted, the former FCS star looks like he could be a true difference maker for the Raiders.
