2016 Prospect Watch: Why Charone Peake Is a Fit for 49ers

Clemson University wide receiver Charone Peake is one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft. The 49ers, in need of a receiver, could fall in love with Peake and still select him on the second day of the draft.

The San Francisco 49ers will enter the 2016 season with a group of unproven wide receivers. Unless the team decides to re-sign free-agent receiver Anquan Boldin, they’ll trot out Torrey Smith and some guys that have done little-to-nothing in the NFL. Needless to say, they’ll almost surely be looking to grab a receiver or two when April’s draft rolls around.

The team has more needs than wide receiver and, although someone like Ole Miss’ Laquan Treadwell or Ohio State University’s Michael Thomas would be nice, the 49ers will probably wait to grab a receiver until the middle rounds. Unfortunately, they have needs that sit much higher than receiver as of now.

The team is hoping to get contributions from DeAndre Smelter and Eric Rogers in 2016. Smelter essentially redshirted his rookie season, and Rogers was head coach Chip Kelly’s first target in free agency.

The 49ers signed Rogers shortly after announcing Kelly’s hire in January.

While the expectations for those two might be exciting, the 49ers can’t assume any receiver is ready to immediately contribute. If they were, they’d already be playing.

The 49ers are in the market for a receiver and Clemson University just happens to be churning one out right in time.

Clemson University receiver Charone Peake could become one of the steals of the 2016 NFL Draft. Before we crown him, let’s talk about what makes him so intriguing.

Scouting reports are often a concise, clear way to absorb as much information on a prospect quickly. After watching Charone Peake play, I had an opportunity to write one listing his strengths and weakness. In addition to his ability, the final overview and pro comparison might ring a bell.

Charone Peake-Wide Receiver-Clemson

Strengths:

Another year, another Clemson receiver worth noticing. Peake enrolled at Clemson as a highly-regarded high school prospect and, although other wideouts have received considerable recognition, Peake has an opportunity to continue the success of Tiger receivers in the NFL.

At 6’2” and 209 pounds, Peake has the frame to put on another five to 10 pounds and stand as a physically ideal WR1 in an NFL offense. In a class where wide receiver 40-yard dash times were slow, he impressed with a time of 4.45 seconds. The tape on him matches; the guy specializes in straight-line speed and gets on top of defensive backs in a hurry.

As a redshirt senior, Peake has played alongside other successful Clemson receivers such as DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant and has likely benefited from staying in school to continue his development. Despite being behind other receivers on the depth chart, Peake has had an opportunity to improve as a prospect with experience.

The Clemson offense utilized quick screens to Peake and allowed him to use his speed and size to chew up yards after the catch. As a big-bodied receiver in a quick offense, Peake looks comfortable attacking defensive backs with the ball in his hands. He is fast enough to elude tacklers, but does well to recognize when to drive at defenders for extra yards.

Weaknesses:

While Peake’s expectations out of high school were high, the fact that he failed to live up to them while at Clemson makes projecting him at the NFL level difficult. He’s been largely unable to assert himself as a ready-made NFL receiver despite playing for a coach and system that has seen tremendous success over the last few years. He also suffered a torn ACL in 2013 and has durability concerns tied to his college career, including another injury in 2014.

Primarily, Peake’s hands are of concern for many teams, not just the size but how he utilizes them as well. Although his hand size–9 ¼” inches–meets the general threshold for receivers, a receiver of his size would ideally have larger hands to pair with his frame. 

In addition to the size, Peake struggles to catch the ball cleanly; a likely result of inconsistencies in effort. If he is able to clean up his focus and effort in game, he has a chance to improve as a natural pass-catcher.

Despite his impressive frame, he is inconsistent in his willingness to use his size to box-out smaller defenders to make plays on 50/50 balls. While his size can be used in the red zone, he’ll have to learn how to routinely high-point passes to succeed.

Peake may rely on his speed too much, oftentimes rolling out of his stance and wasting movement at the line of scrimmage. He’ll struggle to get open against press coverage with a lack of consistent burst off of the line of scrimmage.

Clemson’s offense rarely asked wide receivers to block defensive backs, often electing for Peake to use speed and run defenders off. Unfortunately, his commitment to do so was inconsistent as well. An NFL wide receivers coach will expect more effort than Peake routinely showed at Clemson.

Pro Comparison: Torrey Smith-Wide Receiver-San Francisco 49ers 

Peake will attempt to follow the examples of former Clemson receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant. While it is unfair to assume that a school automatically makes a prospect ready, Clemson receivers have found recent success in the NFL and it’s hard not to anticipate the arrival of Peake as well.

Peake possesses the size that teams will look to turn into a bonafide WR1 that can win down the field with impressive speed. He’ll need to remain healthy to erase concerns about durability at the next level–putting on some weight and developing into a more versatile receiver off of the line of scrimmage will help in that regard.

Inconsistencies in effort are the most glaring hole in Peake’s game. His size and speed make him an immediate threat but he oftentimes chooses to take plays off. It is evident in the infrequent success he found in a dynamic Clemson offense. As he prepares at the professional level, he’ll have to commit to maximum effort every down.

As of now, Peake is realistically outside of the first four rounds of April’s draft. However, with the third-tier of receivers being relatively unsettled, Peake may be able to entice teams based on his obvious physical talent and university ties. Teams that are expecting an immediate success may feel discouraged but, if a team can wait for Peake to develop, he could be recognized as a steal of the draft in the fourth round for a team needing an eventual WR1. 

As you can see from my scouting report above, Peake has impressive size and could convince teams to select him in the third round if they are a particularly receiver-needy team. In Kelly’s offense, Peake would be coveted for his size but would ideally add more weight to be an effective blocker.

In fact, Peake’s blocking ability might be the one glaring flaw in keeping him from being the type of receiver that Kelly covets. Kelly expects big-bodied receivers to bully defensive backs, including in the run game, and Clemson’s offense simply didn’t ask that from Peake. If the 49ers are interested in the Clemson Tiger, they’ll certainly expect him to develop his skills on the edge.

In the following clip, pay attention to Peake’s left foot. Ideally, wide receivers explode out of their stance and don’t waste movement at the line of scrimmage. Although it is subtle, Peake’s first step is slightly up and backwards with his left foot, rather than driving forward immediately,

In defeating press coverage, Peake has already lost strength at the snap of the ball. This sort of wasted movement gives the impression that Peake’s upper body is rising at the snap, as opposed to firing straight out like a sprinter might. Thus, he appears to be rolling out of his stance.

Peake was able to succeed in college despite some of his technical flaws due to the explosiveness of Clemson’s offense and his sheer size. While he occasionally seems lazy at the line and in his routes, Peake has shown flashes of impressive feet to defeat defensive backs anywhere on the field.

The 49ers will need receiver depth and might consider taking Peake in the fourth round if he is still available. Peake has been generating serious buzz since the Reese’s Senior Bowl and has continued to make a case for being in the second-tier of receivers. The issue with Peake isn’t his size or ability, but his willingness to practice his craft and commit completely each and every play.

Clemson’s offense made it so that Peake could fluctuate his level of effort and still see plenty of opportunities to score. In the NFL, that sort of mentality will land Peake a spot on the bench. If he is able to commit to a team and to developing into the type of receiver that some have expected him to be since high school, Peake could be the best receiver in this class, value aside.

The 49ers can’t waste one of their top picks on a stud receiver. They’ll have to take a chance on a guy in the middle rounds that they feel can quickly develop. Peake is that type of player when he wants to be.

Niner Noise’s own Rob Lowder recently reviewed some film on Peake. One play in particular stands out.

For more clips of some of the impressive receivers in this draft, follow Rob on Twitter @CenCalFaithful.

That play from Peake is the perfect example of what he could be. If defenders aren’t careful, he’s behind them before they know it. However, Peake is also blessed with ideal size and can demonstrate elite play strength when giving maximum effort. The team that drafts him will be hoping that he is willing to bring all of his talents to the field each and every play.

The 49ers could turn out to be the team that gives Peake a chance. They already have a receiver of his mold on the team in Torrey Smith. Peake could wind up being as good as, if not better than, Smith and it wouldn’t take particularly long.

Clemson knows how to coach receivers. The players to enter the league in the last few years have found immediate on-field success and teams notice that. Peake is no different. In fact, he has the most coaching and developmental time in college out of all of the recent Tiger receivers.

Those factors all weigh-in when teams evaluate what type of player Peake will be at the next level. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that the guy can run extremely fast. Or that he can do so while weighing over 200 pounds and standing taller than six feet.

The 2016 NFL Draft will be an experience of estimated guesses for all teams. At best, that is what teams are hoping for. That they have the brightest scouts to make the best educated guesses about the success of players in the NFL. If the 49ers scouting department on the East Coast has been doing their job, they shouldn’t have to guess much with Clemson’s Charone Peake.

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Peake has played at a university that recently competed for the NCAA National Championship. He’s learned behind current NFL stars like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. With top-end speed and size, the 49ers should address their need for a receiver by selecting Clemson’s Peake in the third or fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Next: Breaking Down the 49ers Offensive Line

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN Statistics unless otherwise indicated. Salary cap figures courtesy of OverTheCap.com unless otherwise indicated.