Liberty wide receiver Demario Douglas has concluded a very productive week for himself at the East West Shrine Bowl, making himself a lot of money in the process, according to some NFL Draft experts.
Douglas, who was measured at 5’7″ and 7/8 and weighing 175 pounds at the Shrine Bowl, did not play in the game Thursday night, but turned a lot of heads and grabbed a lot of coaches and scouts attentions throughout the week with his performance in practice.
He was frequently highlighted as one of the top players, regardless of position, at the Shrine Bowl throughout the week.
“Douglas gets open in a number of ways,” one scout said of Douglas. “He uses guile and route-running ability to trick defenders on tight coverage. He clearly understands leverage and will set up his feet to make the right cut at the right time. Add in speed and burst off the line of scrimmage, and it’s easy to see why Douglas is always open.”
Playing for the West team, Douglas was highlighted as the best slot receiver on the field. During his career at Liberty, Douglas hauled in 172 passes for 2,193 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also carried the ball 7 times for 109 yards and a score. Douglas was also Liberty’s primary punt returner during his collegiate days, finishing his career with 55 punt returns for 383 yards and two touchdowns.
“He stole the show during Shrine game practice week,” said one scout. “He proved that he can hang against physical press-man coverage, fighting through contact to make contest catches. He has that easy, sudden speed and acceleration. His route-running is impressive and he made creating separation look easy.”
Douglas can certainly carve out a nice career for himself in the NFL as a slot receiver, and he also has the ability to be a productive returner. Entering the week, many draft projections pegged Douglas as a 7th round pick or undrafted free agent. Now, there are projections for Douglas with a best case of 4th round and worst case being a 6th round pick.
Douglas is #11 in the below video taken during one of the practice sessions at the Shrine Bowl earlier this week:
