Who is Keevan Lucas?
First, he is a burner with 4.5 speed and that makes him a candidate for the rover SB position. Second, mix in a 37-inch vertical with soft hands and he is also a red zone threat.
Coming in after minicamp to compete with Juron Criner, Kenny Stafford and Shaq Hill puts Lucas at a bit of a disadvantage, but don’t count him out yet. In fact, as competitors go Lucas has risen over adversity repeatedly to be successful. From personal tragedy to injury and yet he finds the strength to rise up and continue on. Lucas is the kind of player you want to cheer for.
At Tulsa, Lucas had two season that were over a 1000 yard in a 12 or 13 game season. What is more impressive is that he had 15 TD’s in 13 games in his senior year. To say Lucas is a red zone threat with speed is to be understated. However, he had to re-establish himself in 2016 after he suffered a torn patella tendon in 2015 making the feat even that more impressive.
Directly from the NFL.com draft profile his strengths are, “Plays tall near the goal line with good high pointing skills and body control to win the ball. Good catch-to-touchdown ratio over last two seasons. Hands are generally soft and he can drop low to make a catch. Works the middle of the field. Able to concentrate and secure throws in traffic. Adjusts in space depending on coverage in order to create more accessible throwing lane for quarterback. Former 200-meter runner in high school with some build-up speed in his go routes.?
Could Lucas be the next Jason Tucker? He has the potential.
Maybe him being fashionably late to the party will push him onto the PR for the first 6 games like it did to Derel Walker, Duke Williams and Brandon Zylstra before. However, Lucas has a lot of competition. So where does he rank in the Esks Receiving corps for 2018:
- Walker, Derel BWR I 6'2 188 26 Texas A&M
- Williams, Duke BSB I 6'3 225 25 Auburn
- Criner, Juron RSB I 6'3 220 28 Arizona
- Lucas, Keevan RSB I 5'10 194 23 Tulsa
- Behar, Nate FSB N 5'11 204 23 Carleton
- Hazelton, Vidal FWR I 6'3 212 30 Cincinnati
- Mitchell, Bryant FWR I 6'2 198 25 Northwestern State
- Stafford, Kenny RSB I 6'3 204 28 Toledo
- Gibson, Torrance BWR I 6'5 225 22 Mississippi Gulf Coast JC
10.Berryman, Peter FSB N 6'3 221 22 Auburn
11.Adjei, Natey FSB N 5'11 193 28 Buffalo
12.Hill, Shaq BWR I 5'10 180 25 Eastern Washington
13.MacDonell, Scott FSB N 6'5 220 27 Queen's
14.Smith, Jamill FWR I 5'6 155 27 Ball State
15.McMaster, Harry FSB N 6'2 176 23 Western
16.Shuler, Miles FWR I 5'10 175 24 Northwestern
17.Aprile, Giovanni FSB N 6'2 223 28 Queen's
If Criner can’t impress Stafford gets the start at the rover slotback position, but Lucas will most likely come off the PR around game 8 or 9 to a Zylstra like CFL debut. However, before that can happen Lucas has to quickly come up to speed enough to impress versus Stafford and Criner.