Danario Alexander Scouting Report

Danario Alexander has been biding his time behind some great wide receivers. Even with the talent in front of him, Alexander caught 15 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown as a freshman. As a sophomore he missed some time with a wrist injury, but still managed to catch 37 passes for 417 yards (and that was on a team with Jeremy Maclin, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman). The 2008 season was much like 2007. Alexander was slowed by off-season knee surgery and still had to battle with Maclin and Coffman for catches. The expectations were high for Alexander heading into the 2009 season. The offense might not be as prolific without Maclin, Coffman and quarterback Chase Daniel, but Alexander was still expected to step up and turn into the offense's main weapon. And he has done just that. Through six games, Alexander has stayed healthy and caught 44 passes for 627 yards and five touchdowns. At 6-5 and 215 pounds, Alexander certainly has the size to be a great receiver in the NFL. He is a great athlete for his size and needs to work on his strength a little bit to fight off physical cornerbacks. Alexander will not put up Maclin type numbers -- since the Missouri offense is certainly less explosive than they have been in the past -- but Alexander will be a great third or fourth round draft pick if he falls that far. 1/19 Update: Alexander had a superb second half of the 2009 season and ended the year with an impressive 113 catches for 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns. It took some time for quarterback Blaine Gabbert to step out of the shadow of Daniel, but once he did Alexander really shined. Alexander is still not getting the respect from most pundits that he deserves, but he has first round talent and somebody might figure that out by April. 3/24 Update: He may have first round talent, but Alexander cannot stay healthy. An injury suffered during the Senior Bowl has sidelined him during all the workouts and his stock has suffered greatly because of it. If Alexander was healthy, he would probably be among the better receivers in this class, but his injuries just keep getting in the way. That means he will be a late round selection to a team that has the luxury to take a chance on a player who could be really, really good if he can stay healthy.