D.J. Chark Scouting Report

Photo from John Raoux, AP Photo

Written by Christian Lysek

LSU WR DJ Chark Scouting Report:

With the amount of offensive talent that comes out of LSU, it is kind of amazing their college offense is so anemic. A plethora of bad offensive coaches and quarterbacks have held back talents such as Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and other NFL studs. D.J. Chark is yet another talented LSU  prospect who should have a much more prosperous NFL career than in college. Here’s why:

Measurables: 6’2-5/8’’, 207 lbs, 32-7/8’’ arms, 9-3/8’’ hands

Year (Age): Four Year Senior (21)

Career stats by year: 

						Receiving				Rushing				Scrimmage
Year	School	Conf	Class	Pos	G	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Plays	Yds	Avg	TD
*2015	LSU	SEC	SO	WR	1	0	11		0	1	79	79.0	1	1	90	90.0	1
*2016	LSU	SEC	JR	WR	11	26	466	17.9	3	12	122	10.2	2	38	588	15.5	5
*2017	LSU	SEC	SR	WR	13	40	874	21.9	3	12	63	5.3	1	52	937	18.0	4
Career	LSU					66	1351	20.5	6	25	264	10.6	4	91	1615	17.7	10

						Punt Ret				Kick Ret
Year ▲	School	Conf	Class	Pos	G	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
*2015	LSU	SEC	SO	WR	1	0	0		0	0	0		0
*2016	LSU	SEC	JR	WR	11	0	0		0	0	0		0
*2017	LSU	SEC	SR	WR	13	18	190	10.6	2	1	12	12.0	0
Career	LSU

Drop Rate: 2.9%

Combine: 

40-yard Dash: 4.34 seconds

Vertical Jump: 40 inches

Broad Jump: 129’’ inches

Bench Press: 16 reps

Tape Evaluation:

Strengths: D.J. Chark is an electric athlete, and it shows on film. He is a speedster who can take the top off of a defense and track deep balls for chunk plays. Chark not only creates separation with speed, but also with his finely tuned route running. Chark is sharp in his cuts and can use his surprising strength to bully corners out of the way for catches. Chark has great hands, as evidenced by his meager 2.9% drop rate. He has great concentration on tough throws and almost always puts his body in a position to make a play. Chark has nice moves after the catch, displaying the agility and breakaway speed needed to make big plays. LSU runs a run-heavy offense, so Chark is a skilled and willing blocker. Chark was also used as a punt returner his senior year, and he found great success. He should be a starting return man in the NFL.

Weaknesses: Chark has a skinny frame, and while he is a strong blocker, he doesn’t have the best hands through contact. He doesn’t wrap the ball up tight enough, resulting in defender’s tomahawk chopping it loose from his hands. Despite Chark’s low drop percentage, he does catch too much with his body, although I see enough catches with just his hands-on film that this doesn’t really concern me. Despite Chark being a tall player with a great vertical, he doesn’t win as much above the rim as he should. This mostly has to do with the contested catch strength, but it is a weakness he should look to improve upon.

Pro Comparison: Brandin Cooks

Brandin Cooks is one of the league’s true deep threats with his blazing speed. Cooks is much more than that, however, as his route running is also well refined and he displays great hands and concentration during catches. He may be shorter than Chark, but Chark wins in similar ways and should have a productive career like Cooks has.

 Teams that Fit: The Patriots just traded Cooks, so obviously Chark would be a logical successor early on in the draft. The Seahawks need a new deep threat after Paul Richardson signed with Washington, and Chark would give Russell Wilson a great target to throw to. The Cowboys need juice in their passing game and I think Chark compliments Dez Bryant’s game quite nicely.

Where he should go: Late 1^st Round

Where he (probably) will go: Top 50 Picks

Conclusion:

D.J. Chark is a phenomenal athlete who was severely underused at LSU, but he should be a force to be reckoned with in the pros due to his well-rounded game.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow me @4DownScouting on Twitter for more great content!

Combine Results courtesy of MockDraftable.com, Drop Percentage courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Career Statistics courtesy of sports-reference.com/cfb, Date of Birth courtesy of Scout Hub