Eddie McDoom (image via The Michigan Daily)
Name: Eddie McDoom
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Winter Garden (FL) West Orange
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #13
Last year: I ranked McDoom #60 and said he would be a backup receiver. He caught 5 passes for 59 yards and ran 16 times for 160 yards.
TTB Rating: 89
McDoom entered 2016 with some uncertainty surround his utilization. Was he a slot receiver? Was he an outside guy? Was he big enough? Could he return kicks or punts? Yes, no, I guess, I guess not. Michigan tricked everyone by turning a bunch of Jehu Chesson jet sweeps into Eddie McDoom jet sweeps, and the only thing missing was, sadly, a reverse from one to the other. Alas, we had to settle for McDoom averaging over 10 yards per touch, and the jet sweeps opened up some things in the run game. He had 33- and 20-yard rushes against Michigan State, but his usefulness waned late in the season when he had just 3 carries for 10 yards and zero catches over the final four games. Michigan’s coaching staff did not seem to trust his involvement in the passing game, and it showed.
The buzz about McDoom has been somewhat reserved, and I don’t think he’s taken the steps forward that perhaps I expected in the 2016-2017 off-season. With Michigan losing two starters on the outside, that should free up some room for some playing time. He played some outside receiver in the spring, and he also has the ability to play in the slot. The only catch he made in the spring game was a 31-yarder on a fade route over the head of freshman Benjamin St-Juste. He did hurt his ankle on that play, but he is expected to be full go for fall practices. I think McDoom can continue his jet sweep duty, and I think he will expand on those 5 catches from last season. I do believe he’s the most talented “slot receiver” on the roster overall, but I’m not expecting a step forward to stardom just yet. Maybe he can build on his rapport with Wilton Speight for next year.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver; 12 catches, 150 yards, 1 TD
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I thought he looked small and needs to hit the weight room. Didn’t see enough of him on routes to come to any definitive conclusion.
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In body type, he looks a hell of a lot like Mario Manningham to me. Manningham was listed at 6’0″, 185 lbs. McDoom’s never going to be a big receiver; that’s just not in his DNA, and it’s not his style of play.
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I’m still high on McDoom and think he’s on an all-conference track. Considering he was freshman flanked by 3 senior receivers drafted in the NFL I think his 21 touches is pretty impressive. The staff chose to give him the ball over Chesson, Peppers, and others and he produced a lot more on per carry basis than the others. In my eyes, that means a lot.
Like everyone else, I would have liked to see him catch more balls but there were many mouths to feed and McDoom was already getting his share of touches. I don’t see it as an indictment.
In my eyes Crawford, Perry, and McDoom are the top 3 options at WR until proven otherwise. I do expect one of the freshman to emerge in the mix too but I don’t buy into the narrative that we need a 6’3 WR opposite Crawford. The starters could easily be Crawford/McDoom.
As far as #38 goes – it seems low to me, but with so many options at WR and the lack of proven players, it’s hard to argue any of them are important enough to land in the top 20. So – even though I think McDoom is probably the 2nd most important WR and perhaps #1 in upside – I can’t disagree too vehemently with this ranking.
Oh, and thank you for give “slot receiver” the quotes it deserves..
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Manningham had 33 touches his freshman year.
Jason Avant had 2.
Edwards had 3.
Gallon had 4 after red-shirting.
Chesson 17
Darboh 0
Funchess 15 (as a pseudo-TE)
Nothing about McDoom’s 21 touch/5 catch season should be viewed as a negative.
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I’m going to guess that the most underrated players in this countdown so far will be a freshman (since that’s almost always the case). That’ll likely be at one of our need positions like OL, DL, LB, or DB but could be RB too.
As for the veterans though, I think McDoom is the most likely candidate for most underrated and it’ll be hard to pass him unless Thunder does something nutty like put Speight at #20 or something.
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Here’s some baseless speculation. Once Perry’s status became unknown, without Martin on campus, and with Nate Johnson scuffling a bit, the staff needed reinforcements at the slot “position”. This kept McDoom from dabbling on the outside as much and opened a chance for somebody like Nate Schoenle to emerge.
With Perry now expected back before conference play and Martin set to arrive the situation may change. Or not, depending on how good the outside WRs are in comparison at the start of camp.
In other words, Perry’s troubles are contributing to uncertainty at WR (which was already kinda uncertain to begin with) and McDoom (as perhaps the top most flexible of the inside/outside threats) is more affected by it than others.
I still think he’s a favorite to be one of the top 3.
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