Aaron Parker Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’-2”
Weight: 209 pounds
School: Rhode Island
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.57 seconds (unofficial)
Bench Press: 12 reps
Vertical Jump: 26.5”
Broad Jump: 112.0”
3 Cone Drill: 6.94 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.23 seconds
Aaron Parker 2020 NFL Draft Profile
After four seasons with the Rhode Island Rams, wide receiver Aaron Parker is looking to take his talents to the NFL level. Rhode Island typically doesn’t produce too many NFL hopefuls, but Parker hopes to be the exception to the rule. During his final season in college, Parker recorded 81 receptions for 1,224 yards and nine touchdowns. The receptions and yards were a career-high while the nine touchdowns was only one behind his career-high set in 2018. For good measure, Parker added another six rushing yards on five attempts.
Parker first made his collegiate debut as a true freshman in the 2016 season. Primarily serving as depth, the Maryland native recorded 23 receptions for 441 yards and four touchdowns. His 19.2 yards-per-reception remain a career-high. Parker continued to be a larger part of the offense, recording 51 receptions for 823 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017 before recording 61 receptions for 972 yards and a career-high 10 receptions as a junior in 2018.
Strengths
- Contested catch specialist in college;
- Capable of disguising his routes early in the snap;
- Fantastic catch radius and can adjust to off-target passes;
- Great at high pointing the football;
- Increased production with each year of experience;
- Decent work after the catch with ability to avoid tacklers.
Weaknesses
- Below-average NFL athleticism;
- Struggles to get open against man coverage;
- Not the fastest guy in the open field;
- Route running leaves a lot to be desired;
- Might have to move into the slot full-time;
- Stiff route runner.
NFL Comparison: Geremy Davis
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
Projection: 7th Round/Priority UDFA
Bottom Line on Aaron Parker
Aaron Parker is one of the best products to come out of Rhode Island in quite some time, but he probably won’t be much of anything at the NFL level. In college, Parker primarily won by being bigger and stronger than his collegiate competition. Parker excels at getting the football at its’ highest point, outmuscling cornerbacks, and catching anything thrown in his general direction. He improved each and every year while at college and has ability to make guys miss in the open field.
Unfortunately, what Parker does typically doesn’t translate very well to the NFL. Parker primarily won by being bigger and stronger than his competition, and that won’t be the case in the pros. Contested catch specialists can succeed in the NFL, but they need to be near-flawless athletes, which Parker isn’t. Parker tested in the 67th percentile in height, and had the worst vertical jump of any receiver at the NFL Combine. That’s not going to be good enough for the NFL. Unless he dramatically improves his route running and ability to get open, it’s hard to picture Aaron Parker making much of an impact in the NFL.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
