A little more than two months away from the 2018 NFL Draft, Texas A&M football prepares for a few alumni to be selected, including Christian Kirk.
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Rebuilding the receiving corps became a primary priority for Texas A&M football after losing talents like former All-American weapon Christian Kirk. As a candidate for the first wide receiver picked in the 2018 NFL Draft, Kirk offers a versatile skill set that is valuable for whatever team ultimately decides to select him.
Throughout his three year career in College Station with the Aggies, Kirk was almost just as big of a threat on special teams as he was on offense. He consistently produced at a high level with a few different quarterbacks looking his way. There was not much of any reliability on former head coach Kevin Sumlin to give Kirk and the Texas A&M offense a quarterback to build around.
Over that span of three years for Kirk, he managed nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. He added an additional six touchdowns through that span of time too. Yet, while Kirk’s number of special teams touchdowns climbed during his career, his receiving yards actually dropped each year.
There’s a few reasons why that could have happened. The first is just the inconsistency at quarterback while he was with the Aggies, under Sumlin. Between 2015-2017, Kirk regularly played with Jake Hubenak, Nick Starkel, Kellen Mond, Trevor Knight, Kyle Allen, Kyler Murray, etc. That’s too many quarterbacks.
Strengths
One of the strongest parts of Kirk’s game comes after he makes the catch. Not only does Kirk have solid hands, but he’s elusive enough in space to make most cornerbacks and safeties miss on a regular basis. He’s decisive in his route running and very quick after making the catch.
That leads into Kirk’s next big strength, on the offensive side of the ball. His route running ability is among the best receivers in this NFL Draft pool. Kirk is quick off the start and also works in and out of his breaks at a very agile pace.
Moreover, Kirk will provide value in special teams for whatever team chooses him. That value will come in both the kick and punt return game. Kirk could potentially rack up at least eight total touchdowns his rookie year in the NFL.
Weaknesses/Areas of Improvement
Despite his strong performances as a wide receiver at Texas A&M, an area that does hurt him is his size. Kirk does have the speed and strength to play at a high level in the NFL. However, at 5-foot-11, Kirk will sit among the shorter receivers on the board.
And, while Kirk is extremely quick to find space, breakaway speed is not really his thing. Kirk is not much of a deep route runner, and can have trouble from separating in coverage at times. He’ll take a spot more as a slot receiver in the NFL than an outside or deep threat.
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Conclusion
All things considered, Kirk is a very solid option for an NFL team that could pick him up likely in the second round. It would not be too surprising if he falls in the late first round, but he also could drop to the early third round too. This is a smaller pool of talent at receiver than most years. That will benefit Kirk’s draft position.