Benn will look to improve his stock at the combine.

Arrelious Benn WR

Junior: Illinois

Height 6’2″ , 220 lbs.

Benn is a wildcard in this years draft. His resume is short and his stats non-impressive, but he has the bottom-line basics to make it at the next level.

He’s shown glimpses in his career at Illinois, but was victim of a run-first offensive approach and was deprived of a true throwing quarterback. Benn has the prototypical size of a wide-out, but his height and weight appear to be his most impressive stats as the Illini offense failed to take advantage of the talented wide-out’s skill.

Freshman Year 2007: Was an All-American in his first season. Started as a true freshman and made an instant impact. Won Big-10 Freshman of the Year. Pulled down 54 catches for 676 yards.

Sophomore Year 2008: His most impressive season, 67 catches, 1,055 receiving yards, but his touchdowns once again struggled with only 3 scores.

Junior Year 2009: Benn failed to have a 100 yard receiving game in his third season and only found pay-dirt twice through the air.

The Illinois offense prohibited Benn from reaching his potential. His soft hands and precision route running will draw attention from NFL scouts. Declaring as a Junior kept Benn from participating in the Senior Bowl. His stock will rely heavily on his combine performance. Plays double duty as a kick return man, but lacks the explosion to do so at the next level. Only pulled down 7 career TDs in three years of starting. Plays more of a possession-like role – will move the chains. Needs to improve on his red-zone presence and make better use of his size near the goal-line.

Predicting his draft position is tough. He could very well go in the first, but could just as likely fall to the second. He’s a roll of the dice, but a gamble that could pay off. Our latest mock has him being selected by the Bengals as Cincy is in need of reviving their passing game and are forced to deal with the loss of Chris Henry. His upside is undeniable. We expect him to perform well at the combine and to surprise as a rookie at the next level. The Brotherhood endorses Benn.

Highlights:

Benn will look to improve his stock at the combine.

Arrelious Benn – Wide

ReceiverJunior: Illinois