The NFL is a pass-happy league, and is always looking for more talent to add to its pass-catching ranks.
Fortunately for the Shield, there is a deep and talented class of receivers available.
The players are getting bigger, stronger and faster, and many exhibit the polish and poise of a seasoned veteran. A bunch of these guys will get thrown into the fray immediately and given a chance to produce -- many of them will.
These eyes are a bit different from many others in that they rank South Carolina's Deebo Samuel as the top receiver in the 2019 class. His ability to turn nothing into something with great YAC ability will be highly coveted, as will his ability to add heat to a team's return game. Any of the top 10 wideouts could be in for big rookie seasons.
What follows is a breakdown of the top five receivers in this year's draft, each with an assigned Round Grade. The Round Grade is not a projection of where the player will be chosen, but where talent merits he be chosen. After the top five, all quarterbacks projected to be drafted will be listed.
1. Deebo Samuel/South Carolina (ROUND GRADE: 1)
PROS: Good route runner, shifty out
of breaks; Will win most contested balls because of great hand-eye awareness;
Has good open field speed and is hard to bring down due to thick frame; Can be
a home run threat on the deep post; Good cuts and change of direction, gets
good separation; Decent blockers, shows toughness; Outstanding yards after
catch, excellent acceleration; Adds pop to the return game
CONS: Limited catch radius; Hands can
be inconsistent; Not always adept at fending off DBs, allows them into his body
to knock down the football; Not a true burner but quick enough; Doesn’t always
adjust well to off-target throws; Allows himself to be overpowered in man
coverage at times
2. N’Keal Harry/Arizona State (ROUND GRADE: 1)
PROS: Excellent catch radius,
strong hands to win contested jump balls; Frame and strength allow him to get
off of tight coverage; Excellent yards after catch; Very spatially aware,
especially on sideline routes; Excellent acceleration out of the catch; Size
makes him inviting red-zone target
CONS: Allows ball to reach his body
on routes over the middle; Effort has been questioned at times; Not a great
athlete; Does not possess exceptional long speed; Sometimes allows himself to
be taken out of a play by press coverage; Should have been consistently more
dominant given his size and run after catch ability; Wasn’t always the
hungriest player on the field
3. AJ Brown/Ole Miss (ROUND GRADE: 1)
PROS: Shifty in the open field,
takes good angles to get past defenders; Strong hands; Excellent route runner,
works corners with good fakes and jab steps; Made a living off short and
intermediate routes, when he could get a clean break; Effective on route depth,
knows how to move the chains; Excellent balance, which helps in yards after
catch; Does his best work between the numbers
CONS: Not super athletic or fast;
Could be relegated to slot duty at next level due to limitations vs physical
outside corners; Doesn’t always hold point of attack as a blocker; Struggles to
create separation; Lacks explosiveness, not a true home run threat; Won’t be a
red zone target as he lacks the strength and athleticism to win jump balls;
Will need to polish his technique if he is to become anything more than a slot
guy
4. Marquise Brown/Oklahoma (ROUND GRADE: 1-2)
PROS: Was exposed to a variety of
routes at Oklahoma; Quick feet allows him to excel at shallow crosses and
drags; Great top end speed and vision make him a home run threat; Excellent
body control, can adjust to poor throws; Very explosive; Wins his fair share of
battles vs press coverage despite underwhelming size
CONS: Hands aren’t particularly
strong, won’t win a lot of jump balls; Lack of size and functional strength
limit his potential; Can be overpowered as a blocker; Ball can be easily
dislodged by defenders; Not as smooth in and out of cuts as you would like to
see, sometimes relies too much on his speed to get by
5. DK Metcalf/Ole Miss (ROUND GRADE: 1-2)
PROS: Huge (6-3, 230) target who is
difficult to jam and who plays with aggression; Explosive in and out of breaks;
Excellent body control helps him win jump balls; Very good open field speed,
difficult to bring down; Fluid and smooth; Will be inviting red zone target;
Great combination of speed, length and athleticism; Is a nightmare against
press coverage; Extremely physical after the catch, almost daring defenders to
come at him.
CONS: Sometimes gets lost on
sideline routes, allows himself to drift too wide; Hands have been
inconsistent; Has strength but doesn’t always reach for the football; Sometimes
can lose focus while running routes; Breaks off routes too early; Size should
allow him to dominate in tight situations, but he often gets called for a
push-off; Not the most willing blocker despite the size to excel; Will be
interesting to see if a midseason neck injury lingers into the offseason
workouts
6. Kelvin Harmon/NC State (ROUND GRADE: 1-2)
7. JJ Arcega-Whiteside/Stanford (ROUND GRADE: 2)
8. Riley Ridley/Georgia (ROUND GRADE: 2)
9. Terry McLaurin/Ohio State (ROUND GRADE: 2-3)
10. Hakeem Butler/Iowa State (ROUND GRADE: 2-3)
11. Andy Isabella/UMass (ROUND GRADE: 2-3)
12. Jazz Ferguson/Northwestern State (ROUND GRADE:
3)
13. Emanuel Hall/Missouri (ROUND GRADE: 3)
14.
Parris Campbell/Ohio State (ROUND GRADE: 3)
15. Anthony Johnson/Buffalo (ROUND GRADE: 3)
16. Greg Dortch/Wake Forest (ROUND GRADE: 3)
17. Antoine Wesley/Texas Tech (ROUND GRADE: 3)
18.
DeMarkus Lodge/Ole Miss (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
19. David Sills IV/West Virginia (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
20. Stanley Morgan Jr/Nebraska (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
21. Preston Williams/Colorado State (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
22.
Keesean Johnson/Fresno State (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
23. Lil’Jordan Humphrey/Texas (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
24. Dillon Mitchell/Oregon (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
25. Keelan Doss/UC-Davis (ROUND GRADE: 3-4)
26.
Penny Hart/Georgia State (ROUND GRADE: 4)
27. Trevon Brown/East Carolina (ROUND GRADE: 4)
28. Jakobi Meyers/NC State (ROUND GRADE: 4)
29. Terry Godwin/Georgia (ROUND GRADE: 4)
30. Travis Fulgham/Old Dominion (ROUND GRADE: 4-5)
31. Hunter Renfrow/Clemson (ROUND GRADE: 4-5)
32. Anthony Ratliff-Williams/North Carolina (ROUND
GRADE: 5)
33. Tyre Brady/Marshall (ROUND GRADE: 5)
34. Olamide Zaccheaus/Virginia (ROUND GRADE: 5)
35. Gary Jennings/West Virginia (ROUND GRADE: 5-6)
36.
John Ursua/Hawaii (ROUND GRADE: 5-6)
37. Darius Slayton/Auburn (ROUND GRADE: 5-6)
38. Miles Boykin/Notre Dame (ROUND GRADE: 6)
39. Johnnie Dixon/Ohio State (ROUND GRADE: 6)
40. Cody Thompson/Toledo (ROUND GRADE: 6)
41.
Jalen Hurd/Baylor (ROUND GRADE: 6)
42.
Dredrick Snelson/UCF (ROUND GRADE: 6)
43. Jovon Durante/FAU (ROUND GRADE: 6-7)
44. Jamal Custis/Syracuse (ROUND GRADE: 6-7)
45.
Felton Davis III/Michigan State (ROUND GRADE:
6-7)
46. Mecole Hardman/Georgia (ROUND GRADE: 6-7)
47. Alex Wesley/Northern Colorado (ROUND GRADE: 7)
48.
Jalen Guyton/North Texas (ROUND GRADE: 7)
49. Jon Duhart/Old Dominion (ROUND GRADE: 7)
50. Tyron Johnson/Oklahoma State (ROUND GRADE: 7)
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