Travin Dural

Relatively meager production at the college level sure has not slowed down Odell Beckham, Jr. in the NFL and the hope is that Dural could follow suit. Like Beckham, Dural possesses the athleticism to project greater production in the NFL than he ever saw in college, where he averaged just 10 yards on his 28 receptions during the 2016 regular season, including a single touchdown. Like his LSU predecessor, Dural's relatively pedestrian statistics are more a function of LSU's focus on the running game and poor play at quarterback than a knock on his ability, which is why his performance at the Senior Bowl and in pre-draft workouts could play a significant role in how highly he is drafted. Dural's production as a senior and a junior (28-533-three) were especially disappointing given that he appeared well on his way to stardom as a sophomore, leading the Tigers in receptions (37), receiving yards (758) and touchdowns through the air (seven) while starting all 13 games.

in our view

Throw out the statistics when evaluating Dural as his lack of production is hardly a reflection on his talent. He projects as a third or fourth receiver and outside deep threat early in his NFL career but could develop into much more than that if plugged into an offense capable of feeding him the ball.

strengths

Dural offers rare straight-line speed for a receiver of his size. He possesses a tapered, athletic frame with long limbs and good overall weight distribution and his combination of size and speed makes him a legitimate matchup concern for even the most gifted cornerbacks in the conference. Dural uses a variety of techniques to escape press coverage, including a slight side-step and hesitation move to get corners off balance. He accelerates smoothly, showing a distinct second gear to track down deep throws. Dural tracks the ball well over his shoulder and shows excellent timing on his leaps and hand-eye coordination to contort in space to make the tough grab outside of his frame. Dural has enough stop-start quickness and agility to elude defenders in tight quarters as well as good vision to set up blocks and generate yardage after the catch.

compares to

Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens

weaknesses

While moved around frequently in Cameron's offense, Dural still needs plenty of polishing to be characterized as a pro-ready receiver. At this time, in fact, Dural is a bit of a one-trick pony as a speed threat. Dural is reliant at this time on his agility and speed to slip past jams at the line of scrimmage, showing limited use of hands to gain a quick release. While showing good hands overall, Dural drops too many passes across the middle, showing some "alligator arms" when he senses a big hit coming. Dural's lack of ideal physicality also shows up as a downfield blocker, where he is more pesky than punishing, despite good size and plenty of opportunities to improve in this run-based offense.

Speedy receiver who missed all of last year with a knee injury

Will be back at full strength for spring practice

Was in position to be part of LSU's wide receiver rotation before suffering injury early in pre-season camp

Deep threat with great hands

Redshirted as a true freshman in 2012.

Parents are Tamika Dural and Troy Clement

Born Nov. 19, 1993.

2016

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
-2.0	0.0	-2.0	1.0	0.0

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
28.0	10.0	1.0	21.0	280.0

2015

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
4.3	0.0	13.0	3.0	17.0

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
28.0	19.0	3.0	67.0	533.0