Khalil Shakir could be a hybrid of Doug Baldwin and Robert Woods

Which is good, I think

Doug Baldwin was not a significant part of Stanford’s offense until his senior season, at which point he caught 58 passes for 857 yards and nine touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck. Though his college reps were limited, Baldwin’s college highlight reel puts on display the same receiver we became familiar with in the NFL: Phenomenal concentration to make circus catches, elite route running, and rare vision and movement traits in the open field.

Not invited to the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, Baldwin performed well at his Stanford pro day: He measured 5’10, 189 lbs, and ran a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash, which is basically line-for-line with second round pick Randall Cobb that year.

He posted a respectable 37” vertical, 123” broad jump, and his 6.56 in the three-cone would’ve ranked fifth among receivers at the 2011 combine.

Baldwin was not an elite athlete, didn’t have exceptional size, and he only put one year of highlights on film, so it’s understandable that he wasn’t a high draft pick. Maybe he should have been selected, but going undrafted was not a crime against football until we found out (immediately) that the NFL had miscalculated the value of Doug Baldwin.

Two years later, Robert Woods was a productive 20-year-old receiver coming out of USC, recruited by none other than Pete Carroll (but the pair were not Trojans at the same time).

At the 2013 combine, Woods measured 6’, 201 lbs, and he ran a 4.51 with a 33.5” vertical, 117” broad, and he posted the worst three-cone time (7.15) and third-worst shuttle (4.47) for his position group. The Bills selected Woods with the 41st overall pick and after a good career in Buffalo, he proved that he is a great player after signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.

One thing that changed was how the Rams utilized Woods, as he has averaged 78 catches for 961 yards in the air, plus 17 carries for 118 yards on the ground.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who worked with Woods from 2017 through 2020 with the Rams, is looking for his own version of that player to emulate on jet sweeps, direct snaps, and crossing routes. Meanwhile, Pete Carroll would probably like to find a player who, similar to Baldwin, can make unfathomable receptions because of a huge catch radius, has vision in the open field, and can run the routes from a complicated playbook.

Boise State’s Khalil Shakir may be the answer for both coaches.

Seaside Joe: Daily Seahawks Newsletter @NFL_was_taken

It's a good thing I'm not John Schneider because if I was I'd say "We draft Khalil Shakir or I walk" He could be Pete's "Doug Baldwin" & Waldron's "Robert Woods" at the same time. Am good with him at pick 72. Good with trading up into the 2nd round for him. Good with him at 40.

Shakir was a three-star recruit out of Murrieta, CA in 2018, choosing Boise State over Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington State, among many others. Appearing in 10 games as a true freshman, Shakir had 16 catches for 170 yards and 14 carries for 70 yards with the Broncos. He broke out as a sophomore the next season, catching 63 passes for 872 yards and six touchdowns, also rushing 19 times for 66 yards and three more scores. He also threw for a touchdown.

Damian Parson @DP_NFL

Khalil Shakir is a bright star shining in Boise! Really interested in studying his 2019 & 2020 tape to get a full picture of his game. From first glance, he reminds me of Tylan Wallace.

The Transfer Portal CFB @TPortalCFB

looking back at this Khalil Shakir touchdown grab from his sophomore season 🔥 cold blooded, that footwork is nasty coming off a clean release and his hands are super reliable 🥶 First game in 2019, you can see all that hard work he put in paid off 😤

Despite a seven-game season in 2020, Shakir still managed 52 catches for 719 yards and six more touchdowns. He then capped off his college career with 77 catches for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns over 12 games in 2021.

Shakir totaled 38 carries for 278 yards over his final two seasons. He was PFF’s highest graded Power 5 receiver over the last three years.

PFF Draft @PFF_College

Highest receiving grades among G5 WRs since 2019 🥇 Khalil Shakir: 93.2 🥈 Skyy Moore: 91.5 🥉 Jerreth Sterns: 90.6

But as you saw in my WR write-up on Monday, Shakir is not even a consensus top-10 receiver in his own draft class. I would be perfectly fine with the Seahawks selecting Shakir with one of their two second round picks, though it may only take their third rounder to get it done. I would still be worried, if I were Schneider, about leaving the 2022 draft without Khalil Shakir.

Two inches taller than Skyy Moore, without a drop in athleticism; nine pounds heavier than Chris Olave and 15 lbs heavier than Garrett Wilson, but without a significant drop in speed or vertical leap or broad jump; faster than Wan’Dale Moore despite being four inches taller and 20 lbs heavier… Shakir didn’t disappoint at the combine, even if he didn’t blow people away like Christian Watson.

I think it would be ludicrous to have Watson ranked over Shakir.

Shakir: 6’, 196 lbs, 4.43 40-yard dash, 34.5” vertical, 124” broad, 4.21 shuttle, 7.28 three-cone

Baldwin: 5’10, 189 lbs, 4.48 40-yard dash, 37” vertical, 123” broad, 4.26 shuttle, 6.56 three-cone

Woods: 6’, 201 lbs, 4.51 40-yard dash, 33.5” vertical, 117” broad, 4.47 shuttle, 7.15 three-cone

At the moment, the Seahawks have DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Dee Eskridge. We can safely assume that it is Eskridge who is meant to fill the “jet sweep role” in Waldron’s offense, but we’ve also yet to really see him on the field. Shakir could play slot, he could play outside, and he could play under center or running pre-snap motion to do something with the ball in his hands.

Lance Zierlein’s NFL.com write-up reads like a person begging his team to draft Khalil Shakir:

A coach's dream, combining competitive nature, exciting versatility and elite character on and off the field. For a short-armed player with average explosiveness, Shakir puts an emphatic stamp on games. He's more football player than prototypical slot receiver and needs to prove he can handle an increase in contested catches. He can be activated from a variety of alignments with the vision, wiggle and toughness to move the chains once the ball is in his hands. He finds a way to frequently show up on the notepad when watching tape and his will to outperform the guy across from him should not be overlooked. Shakir should become a valuable piece for a creative play-caller.

Lots of “Doug Baldwin” in there.

At The Draft Network, weaknesses are characterized as a need to improve route running, run blocking, creating separation, and a lack of high-end speed. Other than speed, the rest can be improved, and we’ve seen that Shakir makes up for his lack of speed by being quick, decisive, and smarter than the person across from him.

Remember: He’s faster than Doug Baldwin and Robert Woods.

Danny Kelly’s comp for Shakir is a different Seattle receiver… Golden Tate. I see that too. I see it all. The question is, how does Khalil Shakir leave the 2022 NFL Draft without becoming a Seattle Seahawk?

If I were John Schneider, I don’t think I would let that happen.