STRENGTHS - Strong and well built, Hamilton definitely looks the part of an NFL receiver "on the hoof." Having quick feet to go along with good agility and balance, Cobi is able to change directions fast to make tacklers miss while running after the catch. His strength to run through arm/grab tackles and elusiveness makes him a dangerous runner after the catch. Fearless catching passes in traffic, Cobi shows ability to catch pass and hold onto it when he gets hit right after the catch (When he reaches out and catches ball with hands). When the pass is outside the frame of his body he has good hands making the catch and can twist and adjust to make tough catches on off-target passes.
WEAKNESSES - Despite showing good speed once gets to full speed, he lacks explosive acceleration and does not show the speed to consistently get deep separation. He is not smooth or fluid running routes and actually looks choppy and awkward getting in and out of his cuts. Most problematic is that Cobi is a real body catcher who allows the ball into his body on all passes within his frame. This leads to the ball getting into his body, where he ends up fighting it and drops too many passes he should easily catch. Even though he is productive catching passes away from his body in traffic, he is not as productive when he body catches on passes in traffic as defenders can break up passes by making hit right as ball arrives and gets into his chest.
SUMMARY - After backing up Arkansas' big three receivers in 2011, Hamilton had a breakout first season as a starter catching 90 passes for over 1,300 yards. However, I was disappointed when I evaluated him on film because his routes are choppy, he struggles to get separation from man coverage and fights/drops too many passes he should easily catch. While he lacks premier speed, I think he has enough speed to be a big play maker in the NFL, but his struggles catching the ball consistently make it unlikely he will ever become the player he has the talent to be. Overall, I would not draft Hamilton as highly as he is likely to be drafted because of the reasons mentioned above. I think he will become an inconsistent starter who struggles with drops throughout his career, but continues to get playing time because of his ability to make big plays running after the catch.