Prospects: The Year of the Wide Receiver, Part 3 Sep 25, 2009 | More

Sammie Stroughter is not an intimidating specimen, standing just 5-foot-9 and weighing in at just 185 lbs. However, defenders that take this kid lightly will be burnt … repeatedly. He has tremendous ball skills and body control both on the sideline and across the middle of the field, is technician-like in his route running and looks very natural catching the ball. His best asset is clearly his after-the-catch skills. He has tremendous wiggle that often makes defenders lose one-on-one battles to him in the open field. He’s not going to blow you away with speed, which is a big reason why he fell to the seventh round on draft day, but in small spaces he’s tough to wrap up.

His size was also a big reason for his draft day fall but perhaps the biggest reason is his mental makeup. It is tough to blame him for coming down with the case of depression that took over him just before the start of the 2007 season that was caused by the death’s of two close family members, but it was something NFL teams couldn’t (and didn’t) ignore draft day. He sat out the beginning of the 2007 season contemplating his football future. He bounced back in 2008 with a 1,000+-yard, seven-TD campaign after being granted an extra year of eligibility and decided to go forward with his football career, which caused him to even be a consideration draft day. This chip on his shoulder mentality was witnessed by the Tampa Bay coaching staff throughout offseason workouts, making him the talk of camp, and has been a continuation of his newfound commitment to the game. He does not hide from his past, openly talking about it when asked, so there’s reason to believe this little firecracker’s got a future in the league. As so many have proven before him, a guy who lacks the size and speed combination demanded by the NFL has to be all there mentally. Thankfully for the Buccaneers that no longer seems to be an issue with Stroughter.

He may never be given an opportunity to be anything more than a slot WR and/or returner, but if he’s going to get it he’ll get it in Tampa. He’s on a roster already lacking talent at WR as their No. 1 Antonio Bryant has come down with a knee injury that may linger throughout the season. Michael Clayton being the only other established WR on the offense there is a window of opportunity for Stroughter to take advantage of, when (not if) Tampa continues losing that opportunity should come. Dynasty owners should take a ‘roster now, ask questions later’ approach with this kid; he’s definitely one to follow and a player that if left for others to snatch off waivers may not be an option if left out there for too long. If he doesn’t take the next step by training camp 2010 he’s likely one to forget about, but that’s an issue to address at that time. For now, get him if you can.