Los Angeles, CA
Instead of playing his Senior season in Los Angeles, USC Trojans Wide Receiver Marqise Lee decides to turn pro and declares for the 2014 NFL Draft. Lee is a receiver who came into his own last season and became the number one target for then quarterback Matt Barkley, supplanting his teammate since high school in Robert Woods. Lee isn’t the biggest wide receiver at 6-foot tall and weighing in at 197 pounds; however he can seemingly score from anywhere on the field. Both Woods and Lee were track stars in suburban Los Angeles before focusing on football full-time.
While he was hampered by the lack of talent in 2013, his 2012 stands out in what he can do when he is surrounded by amazing athletes, as he had 118 catches for 1721 yards with 14 touchdowns and he finished fifth overall in the Heisman vote as well. When Lee gets to hear his name called in May’s NFL Draft, he will not disappoint the team that selects him especially if there is a complimentary wide receiver opposite him such as a Larry Fitzgerald who will allow him to draw only single coverage. If this happens, Lee will likely make defensive coordinators respect him much sooner than later.
All and all, Marqise Lee looks like he could be a potential game changer at the wide receiver position especially if he can grow and climb up a team’s depth chart over the course of his first two seasons in the NFL. While it’s unlikely he will ever be a number one wide receiver on a team, however this is the guy if the team needs a solid number two wide receiver threat.