Entering the season, Isaiah Bond was a popular candidate to win a WR3 spot in this class behind the burden of Tetaro Amakumillan and Luther. Obviously, his draft stock continues to plummet amid reports of character concerns as his season didn’t go as planned. In this field, Bond has motor traits that players of this class rarely match, but his flaws as a pass-catcher are difficult to pass.
Measuring possible
Height: 5’11”, Weight: 180, Arm Length: 30.5”, Hand: 8.5”
Test – Combination
40 yard dash: 4.39, 10 yard split: 1.51
Scout overview
There aren’t many players in college football and the NFL who have the athletic skills that Isaiah Bond has. His acceleration from the line of scrimmage is exceptional and he can win on the vertical route against deep zone coverage where he hasn’t beaten business. His change in direction is also special. He can really explode from the break and create massive separations. He also does an amazing job accelerating his breaks
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Bond also shows a flash of light that truly understands how to beat human coverage. He has a wide variety of route setups he runs, but some have more crafts than others. On a destructive route, he takes his head at the top of the stem and feeds the defender inside. He adjusts the tempo to keep the defender in balance, but he doesn’t fully understand the situation in which this applies. Similarly, he uses a lot of head fakes on the stems of the root, but it’s not necessarily effective because the timing is off.
For zone coverage, bonds are where they make mistakes and encounter coverage rather than settling in open areas. But when he makes the right decision, he is excellent at reaching his landmark directly and getting out of the break.
Bond has many issues as a pass catcher and can actually hinder him. The most common is the tendency to attack targets from his frame. He also routinely jumps for targets around his helmet and locks the ball into his chest. This leads to drops and limits what you can do after a catch. There are also some deep balls that he couldn’t track over his shoulder. When he tracks the ball, Bond is very good at discovering late to catch the target before the defender reacts.
Perhaps the most concern of his tape is the lack of effort from the bond on the vertical clear-out route. His lack of effort ruins the play’s spacing, and there are multiple plays that muddy up his quarterback photos. His Texas coach was so unhappy with Bond that he was actually benched for stretches in the playoffs.
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It’s hard to know how to take reports of bad personalities seriously. I don’t know if it’s really hard for players to deal with, or if they didn’t get along with a particular coaching staff. In Bond’s case, the rumors have plenty of smoke and it’s hard to deny the possibility of a fire. Without these concerns, bonds are an interesting developmental option in the middle rounds.
Comparison of players
Bond’s game is very reminiscent of Marvin Mims when he comes out of Oklahoma. Mims was probably drafted a little higher than he should have been, but he has slowly improved in his first two seasons, only 23 years old. Looking up in a few years, it’s no surprise to see any of these players affecting them as vertical weapons both from the slot and from the outside.
Final Grade: 4th Round
This article was originally published in Raiders Wire: NFL Draft Scouting Report -Isaiah Bond
