Top WRs In The NFL Draft

1. Ole Miss WR D.K. Metcalf – Redshirt Sophomore – 6-3, 228 – 4.33
He went viral on the internet for his muscular physique but Metcalf is way more than just that. He has blazing speed to go along with all his physical tools, evidenced by his 4.33 40-yard dash. Metcalf accumulated 1,228 yards on 67 receptions and 14 touchdowns during his career at Ole Miss, included winning SEC freshman of the year. He’s had some injury issues in the past, breaking his foot in his initial freshman year, which caused him to redshirt, followed by a season-ending neck injury after seven games in his sophomore season. Metcalf’s father, uncle, and grandfather all played in the NFL, and he will soon follow in their footsteps.

2.  Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown – Junior – 5-9, 166 – N/A
Brown is a four-star recruit from Hollywood, Florida and is the cousin of All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown. Much like his cousin, Marquise Brown has lightning quick speed, who claims that he can run a 40-yard dash in 4.22 seconds. Brown could not run at the combine as he recovering from a Lis Franc injury. During his time at Oklahoma, Brown eclipsed the 1,000 yard receiving mark in each season, including 1,318 yards on 75 receptions for 10 touchdowns with Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray as his quarterback in 2018. He has breakaway speed, having a career-long touchdown of 87 yards.

Ohio State WR Parris Campbell – Photo by: Getty Images

3. Ohio State WR Parris Campbell – Senior – 6-0, 199 – 4.31
This is a receiver that just continued to progress from year to year. Campbell went from playing eight games as a freshman to a team captain by the beginning of his junior year, and then as senior was a first-team All-Big 10 selection after catching 90 passes for 1,063 yards and 12 touchdowns from Dwayne Haskins. Campbell’s strengths include his speed and a tackle-breaking ability, as he was used in the running game as well. He falters a little with his route running, which slows him down in game. Campbell is as athletic as they come, though.

4. Georgia WR Riley Ridley – Junior – 6-1, 199 – 4.58
The younger brother of current Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley, Riley was a four-star recruit at Georgia. His statistics won’t blow you away with only 1,015 receiving yards on 69 catches and four touchdown catches in over two and a half seasons, but he has the skill set and traits that one would want on their team. Riley is a lanky receiver whose best ability is to get up after the ball. He can catch in traffic, high, low, you name it. Ridley can control his body well, it’s just separating away from the defender that he needs to work on.

5. Ole Miss WR A.J. Brown – Junior – 6-0, 226 – 4.49
Playing right away as a true freshman, Brown racked almost 3,000 yards in his college career as an important piece to the Rebels offense. Even though his teammate, D.K. Metcalf, might have gotten all of the attention, Brown was just as productive for the team and could be argued as their most important player once Metcalf went down. He went back-to-back years as a first-team selection on the All-SEC team, and was also drafted by the San Diego Padres in baseball, so he is an all-around talent with higher athletic ability than most. He doesn’t have the biggest size but he does have muscle. Yet as he had Metcalf and DeMarkus Lodge – two other NFL prospects – in the receiving group as him lobbying for receptions, it was Brown that got the ball the most.

6. South Carolina WR Deebo Samuel – Senior – 5-11, 214 – 4.48
Samuel can be used all over the field in different ways. Other than receiver, he’s been a part of the running game as well returning punts and kicks on special teams. Samuel excels at each of them, as he has scored 15 career touchdowns in those positions that are not his natural one, and even threw a touchdown pass. He had a good showing at the Senior Bowl, showing off his electrifying speed and play making capabilities. He’s a real competitive player looking to win every battle. Though he’ll use his speed to his advantage, Samuel is limited with his range and arm length, so the ball needs to be right on him if you want to move down the field.

7. Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry – Junior – 6-3, 216 – 4.53
Harry has the ideal size for the type of receiver you want to select in the draft. He’s got the length and frame to box out a receiver win in a battle for the ball. What he lacks though is the speed and versatility in his routes to get as open as possible. Harry isn’t the most physical of players, which has led to some questioning his effort, but when he does have the ball in his hands, it’s difficult to bring a big player like him down. He had a more than respectable final season at Arizona State with 73 receptions, 1,088 yards, and nine touchdowns.

8. North Carolina State WR Kelvin Harmon – Junior – 6-2, 221 – 4.60
Don’t let the slow 40-yard dash time fool you, Harmon is an efficient route runner that faster in game speed than in a drill. Harmon was a starter as a freshman and had five touchdowns, but really hit the ground running in his sophomore year where he had 69 receptions for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns. He then followed that up next season increasing every statistic with 81 catches, 1,186 yards and seven touchdowns. Harmon is a diligent worker that continues to improve. One of those improvements he’ll need at the next level though is to gain more separation.

9. Iowa State WR Hakeem Butler – Junior – 6-5, 227 – 4.48
Butler has a great combination of size and speed. At this point in the rankings, he is the tallest and heaviest of all the wide receivers, while clocking in at the third-fastest 40 time. The reason why he isn’t much higher is that he sometimes has fallen into a pattern of dropping the ball. He has long strides and physicality to get him open, he just needs to secure the ball in more. Butler has plenty of favorable traits with all his measurements, and could be a real force to reckoned with if he can put it all together. Butler had a career year in his final season for the Cyclones with 60 catches for, 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 22 yards per catch.

Ohio State WR Terry McLaurin – Photo by: Getty Images

10. Ohio State WR Terry McLaurin – Senior – 6-0, 208 – 4.35
He was another receiver at the Senior Bowl this year and it sure paid off for him. McLaurin was the best receiver in practice when all the scouts are there. He constantly won his one-on-one battles and seemed to always be getting the ball is way when team drills were going. McLaurin does everything smooth, he’s fast, got good hands, and separates from defenders in with ease, which is one of his strongest traits. Any route you ask him to run, he can do it and he had his best year as a senior, catching 35 passes for 701 yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging 20 yards per catch playing opposite Parris Campbell.

Best Of The Rest

11. Stanford WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside – Junior – 6-2, 225 – 4.49
Arcega-Whiteside was a three-star recruit entering Stanford. He’s not going to burn defenders with speed, but he’s fast enough. What he will do is catch any football in his area. He saved his best for last in his final season when he came up with 1,509 receiving yards on 63 receptions and 14 touchdowns. Arcega-Whiteside’s reliable hands are suitable at the next level, but he’ll have to find a way to get open.

12. Notre Dame WR Miles Boykin – Senior – 6-4, 220 – 4.42
Boykin is another player with a good combo of both size and speed. As a four-star recruit going to South Bend, Boykin really bust onto the scene this last year as senior. After two seasons in which he combined for a total of 834 yards on 18 receptions and four touchdowns, Boykin finally exploded for 59 catches, 872 yards and eight trips to the end zone. He’s been shaky at times at bringing the ball in for the catch, yet other than that, he checks off the box everywhere else.

13. Missouri WR Emanuel Hall – Senior – 6-2, 201 – 4.39
Because of his quickness, Hall can be a real deep threat down the field for teams. Outside of that, he has a couple of things to work on. They can be corrected, for example Hall has be know to bobble some of his receptions during the season. He could get away with that in college but that won’t fly in the NFL. Hall hasn’t been known to excel in yards after the catch either despite a quick 40 time. He will battle for footballs, and can improve in his other lacking areas.

14. UMass WR Andy Isabella – Senior – 5-9, 188 – 4.31
Isabella made a name for himself with a big performance in the Senior Bowl’s game. He wound up with seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown on an impressive day. Isabella is a scrappy player that will do all the little things. His lack of size sticks out, although he makes up for it with how he gets open. Isabella accelerates at an impressive rate allowing him to switch gears and change direction to shake loose of a defender. He has third-down reliability written all over him.

15. West Virginia WR Gary Jennings – Senior – 6-1, 209 – 4.42
A three-star recruit, Jennings has had to play numerous roles for the Mountaineers, but did well in both. As a junior, Jennings played the slot and caught 97 balls for 1,096 yards, but only had one touchdown. In his senior year he became a vertical threat, averaging 17 yards per catch and racking up 917 yards, and while his receptions went down to 57, his touchdowns spiked up to 13. Jennings has proven that he can thrive in different roles and his versatility will prevail.

16. West Virginia WR David Sills – Senior – 6-3, 211 – 4.57
Sills has a big frame that makes him a viable option. He’s very consistent, as his numbers are very similar from his junior and senior year. Sills went from 60 catches, 980 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior to 65 catches, 986 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. Even his yards per catch went from 16.3 to 15.2, and his longest catch from 75 yards to 65 yards. He’s not bad running down the field, but directional routes are less than desired.

17. Toledo WR Cody Thompson – Senior – 6-1, 205 – 4.57
Thompson quickly went from a special teams standout as freshman to the Rockets’ leading receiving by the time it was all said and done. He had over 3,000 yards receiving at Toledo, with his best season coming in 2016 when he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, accumulating 1,269 yards along with 64 receptions and 11 touchdowns that year. Thompson is really good on vertical routes. What he lacks is the ability get after it on jump balls and fending off physical cornerbacks.

18. Clemson WR Hunter Renfrow – Senior – 5-10, 184 – 4.57
He’s had quite the college resume with two national championships under his belt. Renfrow will find the open space in a defense and get to that spot for the pass to move the chains. He is sure-handed and skillful in quick-twitched routes. His size won’t and speed won’t beat teams deep and Renfrow won’t physically dominate as his modest 11.5 yards per catch average suggests. In the right system, he is can be helpful picking up third downs, but he’s not a point producer, evidenced by just 15 touchdowns as a four-year starter.

19. Georgia WR Mecole Hardman – Junior – 5-10, 187 – 4.33
Hardman was a five-star recruit for the Bulldogs. In his time at Georgia he ended up with 961 yards on 60 receptions and scored 11 touchdowns. He is lightning quick and has the speed to take it the distance if he has an open field. As great as his yards after the catch is, Hardman will need to put on some more weight entering the draft if he wants to succeed at the next level.

20. Toledo WR Diontae Johnson – Redshirt Junior – 5-10, 183 – 4.53
As a receiver, what Jonson does efficiently is use his agility in the slot. He can stop on a dime and make his defenders miss in coverage by swiftly changing the direction of where he’s going. Johnson can also make a name for himself as a kick returner, where he had two career returns for a touchdowns. Johnson had 2,235 receiving yards in his time at Toledo on 135 catches and 23 touchdowns. He’s capable abruptly getting open over the middle, which will suit him well when finding a team in the draft.

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