NFL Draft Bust Watch: Michigan’s Devin Funchess
By J.P. Scott
Devin Funchess enters the 2015 NFL Draft as a man without a position.
On paper, Devin Funchess is listed as a wide receiver. He played wide receiver all throughout the 2014 season, however, he made his name as a sophomore in 2013 playing tight end.
I’ve questioned the motives behind the “position switch” since it happened. The bottom line here is that Funchess turned in worse numbers playing receiver than he did playing tight end. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
At 6-5, 230 pounds, Devin Funchess is obviously a big target. He does move well for his size, and I believe that’s what made him a mismatch at the tight end position during his second year at Michigan. He rarely came off the line with anyone directly over him. By the time he got to the second level in his route, it was usually an overmatched linebacker who was covering him. The end result was a boatload (that’s a technical term) of catches of over 20 yards.
Lining up at receiver in 2014, Funchess caught more passes largely due to more targets, however, he was much less effective. He lost 3.5 yard per catch off his average from the previous year and posted a career low of four touchdowns — only one of which came during conference play. The other three came against Appalachian State.
I attribute that dip in production to being unable to gain separation against a schedule full of decent college cornerbacks instead of linebackers and strong safeties.
Lining up at the wide receiver position in the NFL obviously isn’t going to be any easier. He won’t be lining up against the Minnesota Golden Gopher corners who held him to four catches for 37 yards. He’ll be covered by guys his size and with better speed — guys like Brandon Browner and the great Richard Sherman. Forget touchdowns and yards per catch. Funchess’ targets — outside of jump balls — will likely be severely limited.
Funchess supporters — almost always Michigan die-hards — will argue that his measurables are similar to Kelvin Benjamin’s coming out of college. Be that as it may, the product on the field was not even close. Funchess’ game speed is nothing like what Benjamin displayed at Florida State or during his rookie year for the Carolina Panthers.
I do believe Devin Funchess is a decent athlete. I think he can have success as a pass-catching tight end in the right system — one where his team moves him around to exploit matchups. I see him being used like Tim Wright in New England or Gavin Escobar in Dallas more than a Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski.
And therein lies the problem.
Numerous sites — including WalterFootball.com and CBS Sports — have Funchess projected as a first or second-rounder at the wide receiver position. Again, I go back to not being able to get open against Big Ten corners. No team in their right mind is going to line him up at wide receiver to be matched up against NFL corners. This is where the term “bust” comes in.
If a team drafts Funchess as a receiver in the first two rounds and ends up using him as a situational tight end who gets 2-3 targets a game, that can’t be called anything other than a bust. He would presumably be taken ahead of guys like USC’s Nelson Agholor, Florida State’s Rashad Green, Ohio State’s Devin Smith, Michigan State’s Tony Lippett and East Carolina’s Justin Hardy — all guys who are true wide receivers and look like they could see serious playing time relatively early on in their careers.
It’s all a crapshoot, really. But this is definately something to keep an eye on going forward as the NFL Draft combine approaches and draft season gets rolling. If your team is showing interest in Devin Funchess, I’d be full of cautious optimism with a little bit of fear — hoping they don’t draft the next Tim Wright in the first or second round.