Jaydon Mickens

Perhaps the player best suited for coach Chris Petersen's wide-open passing attack is Mickens, who led the Huskies last year with 60 receptions for 617 yards and four scores. Mickens is coming off one of the best games of his collegiate career, hauling in a game-high seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown and running 31 yards for another score in the Cactus Bowl. The athletic slot receiver enters his senior campaign with 145 career receptions, good for sixth in school history.

in our view

Mickens led the Huskies in receptions (50) and receiving yards (597) over the 2015 regular season and has been Washington's most consistent pass-catcher the past three years. However, he projects as just a late-round or free agent in the NFL as Mickens is more elusive than explosive and lacks ideal size. His best bet of making an NFL roster is as a slot receiver and punt returner.

mickens will drop an occasional easy one trying to make a move before he has the ball secured and needs to do a better job of protecting the football, too often swinging it loosely around defenders.

Mickens only has four career punt return attempts (for a total gain of 21 yards) and hasn't returned kicks since 2012 (when he averaged 21.5 yards on 19 attempts) but with John Ross out, the Huskies may ask the senior to take over the position. He may need to do so (and do it well) to assure being drafted as Mickens, while quick, is not a true blazer and comes with obvious size and strength limitations.

strengths

As Mickens' size implies, his game is built on quickness and agility. He possesses enough burst to force cornerbacks to think twice about pressing him at the line of scrimmage and is a savvy route-runner, incorporating varying gaits and fakes to create separation. He does most of his damage on quick throws to the perimeter and occasional deep balls.

mickens is generally a reliable hands-catcher and has shown the ability to absorb a big hit and hang on to the ball. he made some terrific grabs a year ago, showing the ability to adjust to poorly thrown passes behind him.

WEAKNESSES

2015

passing
ATT	YPA	PCT	YDS	INT	TD	COMPLETIONS
1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
6.3	1.0	44.0	7.0	29.0

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
58.0	11.9	2.0	43.0	692.0