Separation Skills: Edmund Gates is an extraordinary athlete with the gift of speed. He shows excellent separation skills during deep routes. If given an inch, he’ll take the top off the defense. On underneath crossing routes, he displays the ability to catch the ball and accelerate from defenders. The speed that he has is quite amazing. Time and time again he’s blowing by defenders even when they’ve taken the proper angles. All of that being said, he is very raw when it comes to executing intermediate NFL style routes. He tends to drift into his breaks and will often round things off. Gates had limited experience on the football field time prior to joining the Abilene Christian football team. His first love was basketball and he originally played that sport before being kick off of his JUCO team.
Ball Skills: Despite his lack of experience, he already has learned the art of catching the football. He rarely lets the ball into his frame, showing a propensity at extending his arms and plucking the ball from the air. Gates does a nice job of timing his leaps, meeting the ball at his vertex. He also shows a great amount of focus, especially when in heavy traffic. Somehow some way, he’ll come down with a difficult catch while a defender is draped all over him.
Big play ability: No matter what you want to say about the level of competition Gates faced week in and week out, he is a bona fide deep threat. Watching him blow by defenders is quite funny. The only way I can compare this particular type of speed is by comparing it to a Ferrari vs a Honda Civic. Gates is one of the rare athletes in the nation to possess 4.3 speed. In fact, he ran a 4.37, but he did so with a pulled groin. In all honesty, I believe he is capable of running the the high 4.2’s when fully healthy. The great thing about Gates is that not only he is excellent deep down the field, but he is also excellent in the short game. Bubble screens, drags, reverses, he can take them all to the house. He has the lateral quickness and elusiveness to go along with his speed. Big plays are the name of the game for Gates.
Competitiveness/ Toughness: Has a real nice frame and isn’t afraid to use it. He shows no qualms about going over the middle or blocking in the running game. Plays with a good deal of passion and his teammates feed off of that.
Intangibles: Gates was a 2010 team captain for the Wildcats. He’s endured some life hardships and has been surrounded by some not-so-great character people, but it seems as if he has maintained himself on a straightened arrow. Prior to his collegiate career as a receiver for the Wildcats, he played basketball at a Community College. During his sophomore year he was kicked off of the team due to being out of shape. Since then, he has had no character issues come up. Also, Gates is an older athlete (24).
Overall Stock: Since showing an uncanny amount of toughness and athleticism at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, Gates has received an enormous amount of attention from NFL teams. I mean, who runs a 4.37 forty-yard dash, verts 40 inches, and broad jumps 10.6 feet with a pulled groin?! There’s no wonder why he is a popular guy 3 weeks before the draft. With visits set up with multiple teams, I look for Gates to come off the board in the third round. Whichever team pulls the trigger on him will get a weapon. That weapon may malfunction initially, but once its greased and massaged, it will become lethal. The thing that makes Gates so special is that he is not the typical speedster. He is a big receiver that can work all sections of the field. Give Gates a season or two, and we’ll be seeing highlights of him blowing by defenders on all national sports shows.
NFL Comparison: Greg Jennings