1.06 Detroit Vipers — WR Justin Blackmon

	In the real world: Mel Kiper said in 2010, "(Blackmon is) tough to redirect at the line. He's a tremendous deep-ball threat and someone who is constantly pushing himself to get better." At 6'1", he's not “big” in the same sense as Randy Moss or Vincent Jackson. He doesn't have blazing speed, either, but then again, Michael Irvin didn't and Larry Fitzgerald didn't. But his body control and hands remind Mike Mayock of Fitzgerald. He also ran a 4.46 40 at his Pro Day on March 9. A character red flag came up when Blackmon flew to Las Vegas after Oklahoma State's bowl game, rather than take the charter with the rest of the team back to school; then not work out at the Combine. "He has been raised by Dez Bryant (another Oklahoma State alum who had character issues the year he was drafted)," alleged one NFL GM. In Jacksonville, he instantly becomes the best WR they've had since Jimmy Smith retired over six years ago. Some have said that a wide receiver is only as good as the quarterback throwing to him, and right now, that QB is Blaine Gabbert.  However, a wise man once said to me, "Job situations change, talent doesn't." If Gabbert sucks again this year, then come next year, Blackmon will be catching passes from whoever the Jaguars draft.
	In the TUFF world: A year ago, I said in my Draft Wrapup, "I don't need WRs as much as other teams do," because I thought that between Randy Moss, Donnie Avery, Jerricho Cotchery and Taylor Price, I had good set of reserve wideouts. (In fact, I didn't draft any wide receivers last year.) Was I ever wrong. Filling three wide receiver spots wasn't easy last year. So, for the second time ever, I have used a first-round pick in the TUFF Rookie Draft on a wide receiver. (The only other time I did so was Bryant Johnson in 2003.) Blackmon, the long-overdue replacement for Moss, should be an instant upgrade over Jacoby Ford, whose durability issues from college resurfaced last year and who may be better suited as a reserve. What Blackmon did in each of the last two years is more than double the next-highest Oklahoma State receiver, which tells me he was productive even when double- and triple-teamed, and that his stats were not entirely the product of playing against Big 12 defenses. I'm thrilled to have him on board.
	TUFF trivia: A statistic: Out of the 26 games Oklahoma State played in the past two seasons, Blackmon scored at least one TD in 23. Also, this isn't the first time this franchise selected a Fred Biletnikoff Award winner. When they were the Chicago Blaze, they took Mike Hass, who won that award in 2005, with the 53rd overall pick in 2006.