Kolby Listenbee grabs some shine in loss

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Kolby Listenbee (7) catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jordan Thomas (7) during the first quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

TCU Horned Frogs receiver Kolby Listenbee had his night out Saturday night!

The senior hasn’t had too many opportunities to shine this season with elite receiver prospect Josh Doctson there. Right now, most of the draft experts have him projected to go in the sixth or seventh round if at all in the 2016 NFL Draft. Fighting through a hip injury early in the season certainly wasn’t helpful toward him.

But Saturday night, Listenbee had to take the role of No. 1 receiver with Doctson out with a wrist injury. And he took advantage of his opportunity with four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in a close loss to Oklahoma. The touchdown was form 37 yards out and he also had a 44-yard catch in the game.

On both catches he displayed that there’s no one in college football that can run with him. Actually, there’s no one in the NFL that can run with him either as he is one of the 30 fastest human beings on planet Earth. For the seasn so far, Listenbee has 28 catches for 593 yards and five TDs, averaging 21 yards per catch.

The man has blistering speed, having run the 100 meter dash as fast as 10.06 but that’s not all he can do. It’s a big part of his game but he can run routes, catch the ball and he’s decent after the catch. If he was draft eligible in 2011, deceased Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis would certainly lived long enough to draft him.

He probably would have done so in the first round but the Raiders didn’t have a first round pick then. However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Raiders to get him somewhere in the mid-to-late rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. Safeties wouldn’t be able to double Cooper or Crabtree out of fear of Listenbee running by them.

Running back Latavius Murray wouldn’t face too many 8-man fronts while running the ball either. Davis has been looking for the next Cliff Branch since he retired, failing with Darrius Heward-Bey. But Listenbee is nothing like Heyward-Bey as he knows how to catch the ball plus he’s even faster.

Davis is going to go to Reggie McKenzie and tell him he has to draft him as that traditional speed guy the Raiders always have. He might as well get some lightning speed to go with quarterback Derek Carr’s big arm. Listenbee is getting a little shine now so with Doctson out another week, he might make his way up to Round 4.

That’s a good round to get a speedster in.