WR Cody Latimer of Indiana catches a pass against All-American and first round prospect CB Bradley Roby.
Cody Latimer, who could be the 'fastest' rising player in the NFL draft, held a private workout on Friday and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Richard Mann was among those in attendance.
The Steelers met with Latimer at the NFL scouting combine two months ago, and he is one of the hottest names in the draft right now. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Latimer as the 29th-best player in the draft, and Todd McShay is also high on the Indiana wide receiver. "I’ve watched five tapes of his games and he didn’t drop a ball," McShay said. "I was blown away with his skill set." There is a lot to like about Latimer, a projected first- or second-round pick. He has good size -- Latimer measured 6-2 and weighed 215 pounds at the combine -- and McShay said he was clocked between 4.39 and 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash at Indiana’s pro day.
Latimer did not run at the combine since he was still recovering from surgery to fix a broken metatarsal in his foot. The fact he was limited in what he could do at the combine as well as the multitude of wide receivers available in the draft may have contributed to Latimer staying a bit under the radar up until the past couple of weeks.
But he excelled at Indiana, catching 72 passes for 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns last season as a junior, and Latimer has upside since he didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school and instead concentrated on basketball.
The range where Latimer is projected to go in the draft does not match up well with where the Steelers pick. But the draft is so deep with wide receivers that Latimer could last until the Steelers second round pick. Speculation is that he could be an option for them in the first round if they trade down? I don’t think they covet him or a wide receiver that much to warrant a first round pick, even though there are only a handful of receivers out there with that rare combination of speed and size. Latimer was remarkably productive last season and has come out of nowhere. If he continues to impress with his strong hands and route running , he could rocket up the draft boards on draft day. “He’s competitive, can run after the catch and has great ball skills,” McShay said.
He has the size the Steelers are lacking at wide receiver and we know that they will be keeping a close eye on Latimer in the next few weeks. He could be a steal for any team when it's all said and done.