10 DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...
A lot of the pundits speculated that Javier Arenas was the best return man in the nation. I have to say that I disagree with that some. He was very good, but there are a few more players that I think had him beat in that regard. I believe that Arenas was a fantastic college football player and was able to play corner very well against some of the shorter wide receivers; however, in the NFL, I think he will be one-dimensional in being confined to just doing returns. He is not tall enough to cover the Randy Moss' and Vincent Jackson's of the league.
Although he is coming out after his Senior year, Arenas only played three years at the college level. He only started a year and a half out of those three. This past season he blossomed and had his best year. He was a key factor in the return game and a significant contributor on defense for the the Crimson Tide.
This past November, Arenas broke Derek Abney's SEC record for punt return touchdowns with 7. He was easily one of the more electrifying punt returners in college football last year. He reminds me a lot of a young Allen Rossum; explosive and dangerous.
Javier Arenas is also the cousin of NBA star Gilbert Arenas (who is currently suspended for bringing a firearm in to the locker room) of the Washington Wizards.
Below, as you're used to, we'll look at some of Arenas' highlights, stats, and I'll then provide a projection of where I think he'll end up being drafted.
There are some pretty decent highlights of Arenas returning some kicks here. He will be a solid pick, if he lasts until the later rounds. I think the mid rounds would be too high for him though.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2007 All-SEC Freshman
- 2008 All-SEC Second Team
- 2009 All-American First Team
- 2009 All-American SEC
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2007 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 63.0 | 63 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 70 | 46 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 9/5 | @Virginia Tech | W 34-24 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | FIU | W 40-14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | North Texas | W 53-7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9/26 | Arkansas | W 35-7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | @Kentucky | W 38-20 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/10 | @Mississippi | W 22-3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | South Carolina | W 20-6 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/24 | Tennessee | W 12-10 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | LSU | W 24-15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Mississippi State | W 31-3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/21 | Chattanooga | W 45-0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 22 | 0 | 2 |
| 11/27 | @Auburn | W 26-21 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/5 | Florida | W 32-13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| CITI BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME | Texas | W 37-21 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
I don't believe that Arenas will have the height and size to be a full-time starter on defense as a cornerback in the NFL. He could very well be a decent dime package corner though. His return abilities are going to be the thing that sets him apart from the average joe. Overall, I think Arenas will be an effective NFL player, but he will also be very one-dimensional as I mentioned above. I think that Arenas will be over-drafted and should go somewhere in the mid rounds. But if I was drafting, I wouldn't take him until the 5th-6th Round. He measured at 5'9" at the 2010 Combine and weighed in at 197 LBS.
Possibilities -- 3rd Round: Picks 81-98, 4th Round: Picks 99-131.
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