bonafide projectable talent to play in the NFL and has the prototypical size that NFL teams and scouts will always value even as the game shifts into more teams using shifty slot wide receivers and dynamic moving formations. From the University of Texas’ Sports website “Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s name is somewhat of a contradiction. At 6-foot-4-inches, 222 pounds, he is not what most would call “little,” but as a compromise for his older brother — who wanted him to be named ‘Michael’ for
Michael Jordan — his mother went with “Lil’Jordan.”
Humphrey was a stud athlete in high school (a positive indicator for players like Stefon Diggs who did not have unreal college production but was viewed as a real prospect) where he was first team All-State in Texas as both a wide receiver and a running back. As a Freshmen at Texas University, however, Lil’Jordan Humphrey barely played. He was a special-teams only player for his Freshmen season, catching two passes and returning one kick.
In his sophomore season, Humphrey began to play a real role in the Texas offense and ended up starting six of their games. Unfortunately, Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s 37 receptions, 431 yards and one touchdown accounted for only 9% of the Texas passing offense in 2017. However, Humphrey actually played his second season at Texas at only 19 so his average year doesn’t kill his breakout age.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s final season at Texas is what has made him an NFL prospect. In his final season at the University of Texas with Sam Ehlinger as his quarterback, Humphrey posted an 86-1,186-9 receiving line in 14 games. Those numbers equaled 32% of the Texas passing offense for a team that won 10 games in a very competitive Big 12 and included a win over CFB playoff semi-finalist, Oklahoma. Humphrey dominated in what was Texas’ biggest game of the season with nine receptions, 133 yards, and a touchdown.
From an analytical and statistical perspective, one of the most remarkable things about Lil’Jordan Humphrey is that he had his great final season at the age of 20 and will play his first NFL season at the age of 21. Research done by Blair Andrews from Rotoviz has found that 21-year-old rookie WRs have gone on to have at least one WR2 season more than 40 percent of the time. Obviously, age is only one variable when it comes to projecting players like Lil’Jordan Humphrey to the NFL but starting his profile with a final season 32% Dominator Rating (total % of a teams’ passing offense) and a rookie year at age 21 is a good starting spot.
Humphrey does very much look the part in his University of Texas film. He actually primarily played out of the slot, which you would not expect from a player of size. Something that I generally look for when watching wide receiver prospects is how often plays are specifically schemed for the given player and Texas did use Lil’Jordan Humphrey as an outlet for screen passes. Given how big he is and the lack of super-explosive plays, he may not test that well at the 2019 NFL Draft combine which concern me. Brad Kelly from The Draft Network noted that one of Humphrey’s best traits was as a ball-carrier but if his short-area agility scores are bad at the combine, it would seem unlikely that an NFL team would choose to use him that way.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey Final Verdict
More than any of the other prospects I have written about in this offseason, I see a wide range of outcomes for Lil’Jordan Humphrey depending on how he tests at the combine and if one NFL team falls in love with him. D.J Chark was not a very productive player at LSU but had a great combine and the Jacksonville Jaguars fell in love with his game and took him in the second round. It has been reported that he has received a third to sixth round draft grade which feels reasonable to me. A landing spot that makes sense for big-bodied slot wide receiver game would be the New York Jets. The Jets used Quincy Enunwa in a hybrid WR/TE role for the last few seasons and I think Humphrey would excel playing that same position. The Oakland Raiders are another team desperate for talent at the wide receiver position that could make use of Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s skills. If he ends up going in the second or third round of the NFL Draft to a desirable location, I can see Lil’Jordan Humphrey being a late first round dynasty fantasy football selection though as of now, he projects for the mid-second.
