Amara Darboh, Michigan

Height: 6’2”
Weight: 214 lbs.
Arms: 32 5/8”
Hands: 9 7/8”
Vertical: 36”
40-yard dash: 4.45 seconds

Darboh is one of the players that I’m curious to see how his skill-set translates to the NFL, as he does a lot of things right, but he also has some pretty glaring flaws. It really does help that he comes from Jim Harbaugh’s pro-style offense in Michigan. Upon first glance, Darboh has great size, he ran a great 4.45 second forty-yard dash, and he was the focal point of Michigan’s offense against some really good competition.

The backstory on Darboh is truly remarkable as well, as he was born into an ongoing war in Africa. In the first five years of his life, more than 35,000 people were killed, including his parents. He and his relatives escaped on foot, and at 17, he was given the opportunity to move to the U.S. Since that time, Darboh has done nothing but impress people with his talent.

Off the line of scrimmage, he possesses enough strength to break press coverage. Despite his solid speed, he does seem to come off the line of scrimmage somewhat slow. His route running isn’t bad, but it also isn’t great. He doesn’t have any twitch to his game, not many sharp cuts to his routes, though he does seem to understand how to beat zone coverage. He’ll wait for the ball to get to him at times, leaving the quarterback vulnerable.

Speaking of quarterback, they didn’t do Darboh many favors. There were plenty of passes thrown well behind him in the games that I took in. The fact that Darboh got his hands on them most of the time actually made him look worse than it should have. The reason they were even catchable at all were because of Darboh’s long arms and large hands. Of the 58 wide receivers that attended the NFL Combine, his arms were the 11th longest, and his hands were eighth largest.

When talking about his hands, Darboh seems to make every catch look like a struggle. It’s not very often where you see a ball caught smoothly, though he does bring in a lot of them. He’s a body catcher, but one that uses his 6’2” frame to box out defenders well. He will have some drops along the way, but you accept it with his versatility. He can play the big-slot role, though he was primarily used as a perimeter wide receiver in Harbaugh’s offense.

For a guy with Darboh’s background, it’s quite impressive to see him this far along, especially considering the level of competition he’s seen playing for Michigan. He’s played against some of the top-tier recruits at the cornerback position and held his own. There are definitely rough edges to his game, but he’s arguably more pro-ready than most wide receiver prospects.

NFL comparison

A player who came onto the scene in 2016 that matches a lot of what Darboh brings is the Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa. They possess great strength, have solid body control, and have very similar measurables. Enunwa has better hands than Darboh, but that’s evened out with Darboh’s ability to play anywhere on the field, whereas Enunwa was used almost primarily out of the slot. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used in the NFL.

To read up on some of the other high-profile NFL Draft prospects, check out the links below:

Corey Davis – (WR, Western Michigan)
Mike Williams – (WR, Clemson)
John Ross – (WR, Washington)
Taywan Taylor – (WR, Western Kentucky)
JuJu Smith-Schuster – (WR, USC)
Chris Godwin – (WR, Penn State)
ArDarius Stewart – (WR, Alabama)
Carlos Henderson – (WR, Louisiana Tech)
Chad Hansen – (WR, California)
Zay Jones – (WR, East Carolina)
Isaiah Ford – (WR, Virginia Tech)
Cooper Kupp – (WR Eastern Washington)
Curtis Samuel – (WR, Ohio State)

Ep. 72: Dynasty Rookie Draft

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.