Mohamed Sanu could be entering his last year as a Falcon, and Atlanta could take West Virginia wide receiver David Sills V in the draft to replace him. Sills doesn’t have to be a world beater with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley already on the roster. He would just have to play a specific role and give Atlanta a big target for Matt Ryan to hit in crucial situations. He’s our next 2019 draft profile.
WR David Sills V, West Virginia University
Combine/Pro Day Measurements
Stats
2018: 12 games played, 65 catches, 986 receiving yards, 15 receiving touchdowns
2017: 13 games played, 60 catches, 980 receiving yards, 18 receiving touchdowns
2016: played season at El Camino Junior College
2015: 7 games played, 7 catches, 131 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
Highlights
Scouting Report
Strengths
Sills has a lot of functional athleticism to go along with a prototypical frame for a receiver. He’s also intelligent in his spacing as a former quarterback. He employs a bit of intuitive route running to find open holes in zone defenses for easy completions. He’s not afraid to be physical at the end of routes and will fight for the ball in the air. Sills has good awareness and ball skills as well. He was highly productive at West Virginia—especially in the red zone.
Weaknesses
Sills still has a lot of work to do when it comes to shedding press cornerbacks. This comes down to a lack of functional strength, and he’ll have to improve that. Creating separation is an issue as well, because his route running still hasn’t fully developed to where he can account for his lack of speed. Sills isn’t going to blow the top off of a defense either. He’s a mid-line speed kind of guy and needs to learn how to use his size to his advantage more than worrying about trying to run past guys. He also dropped way too many passes over the course of his college career.
How does he fit the Comrade Filter?
Sills has a very interesting story in that he was signed by Southern California as a quarterback prospect in the seventh grade. However, due to a lack of performance in high school, he had that scholarship rescinded and needed to head to West Virginia. After giving up his quarterback dream, he became a quality receiver and team captain.
On the field, Sills shows a ton of fight right off the line and will wrestle through blocks in the running game. He scratches and claws for everything he gets. Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff should love his on and off-field competitive spirit.
Overview
Early on in his career, expect David Sills to be used as a primary third down and red zone target until his route running improves. As a former quarterback, he compares well to Mohamed Sanu coming out of Rutgers. He’s a sleeper in the third round or later.
How he would fit into the Falcons’ plans
Sills would start out as a special teams player who would see minimal action on offense. After that, he’d have to beat out Sanu for the No. 3 wide receiver role behind Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones.
