Positives
Patton has good height and a sturdy frame, which allows him to absorb punishment and fight through injuries to stay on the field. He displays the natural hands to snag balls outside of his frame and has a solid radius for a player his size. He is a savvy route runner that uses an excellent combination of foot quickness, explosion and physicality to run precise lines and consistently create separation. Against off coverage he eats up the gap quickly and does an excellent job of disguising his routes with subtle fakes before his cuts. He is an aggressive, instinctual runner after the catch and while not physically dominant, he is a competent blocker because of his consistent effort.
Negatives
Patton has good timed speed as well as short area quickness and burst, but he lacks the long speed to consistently separate or run away from defenders down-field. He lacks the length and strength to consistently win contested balls, as defenders are able to reach around an break up passes when able to stay on his hip. While he displays natural hands, at times he turns his focus upfield before securing the catch and drops easy balls.
Analysis
Quinton Patton was a fun receiver to evaluate because he is such a polished route runner with the burst and quickness needed to consistently create separation against all types of coverage. He makes very subtle fakes against man coverage, and commits to his pivot step on his break which allows him to explode into his route. He possesses quite hands and consistently catches the ball away from his frame, but will at times lose focus and drop easy balls and does not have the hand strength to consistently win 50/50 balls. His top end speed makes him a solid threat after the catch but he isn't a threat to simply run away from defenders down-field. While some teams will gamble early on with more dynamic homerun threats at the position, whichever team selects Patton will be getting a dependable #2 WR that is ready to step in and produce immediately at the NFL level.
Grading System
Read More: 2013 NFL Draft - SI.com
Patton has good height and a sturdy frame, which allows him to absorb punishment and fight through injuries to stay on the field. He displays the natural hands to snag balls outside of his frame and has a solid radius for a player his size. He is a savvy route runner that uses an excellent combination of foot quickness, explosion and physicality to run precise lines and consistently create separation. Against off coverage he eats up the gap quickly and does an excellent job of disguising his routes with subtle fakes before his cuts. He is an aggressive, instinctual runner after the catch and while not physically dominant, he is a competent blocker because of his consistent effort.
Negatives
Patton has good timed speed as well as short area quickness and burst, but he lacks the long speed to consistently separate or run away from defenders down-field. He lacks the length and strength to consistently win contested balls, as defenders are able to reach around an break up passes when able to stay on his hip. While he displays natural hands, at times he turns his focus upfield before securing the catch and drops easy balls.
Analysis
Quinton Patton was a fun receiver to evaluate because he is such a polished route runner with the burst and quickness needed to consistently create separation against all types of coverage. He makes very subtle fakes against man coverage, and commits to his pivot step on his break which allows him to explode into his route. He possesses quite hands and consistently catches the ball away from his frame, but will at times lose focus and drop easy balls and does not have the hand strength to consistently win 50/50 balls. His top end speed makes him a solid threat after the catch but he isn't a threat to simply run away from defenders down-field. While some teams will gamble early on with more dynamic homerun threats at the position, whichever team selects Patton will be getting a dependable #2 WR that is ready to step in and produce immediately at the NFL level.
Grading System
Read More: 2013 NFL Draft - SI.com