Minnesota's Profile for Eric Decker

Eric is a 2005 graduate of Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota where he was selected to the SuperPrep Midwest Team, and was ranked as the 14th-best receiver. Eric was also named to the PrepStar All-Midwest Region Team and was a first-team selection to the 2004 Minnesota Associated Press All-State Football Team. Decker was a 2-time all-state, all-conference, all-area and all-section performer and was named Rocori’s team MVP as a junior and senior. He caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards with 15 touchdowns as a senior and tallied 2,156 receiving yards with 28 touchdowns for his career. Eric was also all-conference, all-section and all-area in both basketball and baseball and was a member of the National Honor Society and the all-state academic team.

Eric redshirted his first year at Minnesota in the fall of 2005. In 2006, he appeared in all 13 games with three starts and caught 26 passes for 378 yards with three touchdowns. In 2007, he upped those marks by starting all 12 games and being named the recipient of the Bruce Smith Award as the team’s outstanding offensive player. He set the Minnesota single-season record for receptions with 67 and totaled the fifth-most receiving yards in school history with 909. Eric hauled in nine touchdown passes that season. As a redshirt junior in 2008, he started 11 of 12 games, missing only the Wisconsin game with a high ankle sprain. He broke his own single-season school record for receptions with 84 for 1,074 yards and seven touchdowns. His 1,074 receiving yards rank No. 2 on the Gophers’ single-season receiving yards chart. His final year for the Gophers was marred by injury, but he still tallied 50 catches for 758 yards (15.2 ypc.) with 5 Tds in just 8 games.

Big, tough, physical slot guy. Fearless competitor. Above average quickness. Precise routes. Sidesteps and splits defenders well after the catch. Very good hands and can make the tough catch. Sells out for the tough catch. Will work to get open and will come back to bailout his QB. Strong hands and uses a stiff arm. Faster than he looks. Can develop into a dependable 3rd-down #3 receiver at the next level because of his toughness and hands.

Lacks track speed and vertical. Does not have Wes Welker-type quickness or cutting ability despite being a fine slot option. Physical style could get him hurt at the next level. Has been beaten down already, and may not hold up all that well over the long haul.

Bigger than you think, stronger than you think, faster than you think but he is limited to a slot/3rd-down role by the above mentioned deficiencies and should still be around in round 4, or even 5, unless he shocks the world and runs in the 4.4s in front of pro scouts in the weeks leading up to the 2010 NFL draft.

User: bigk
Date/Time: 10/27/2009 - 11:14AM CDT
Predicted Round: Round 3

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