Please tell me it's not Golden Tate. That would be too funny since he's barely in my top 10 WRs.
People always try to nitpick the top prospects even when it's pretty obvious that those players have a lot of talent. Lots of people were looking for every excuse to downgrade Crabtree last season. What did he do? Step onto the field after two weeks of NFL practice and perform at a higher level than the vast majority of veterans in the league. Sure, he might not be Calvin or Andre, but I don't think most reasonable people expected that. He was touted as a quality WR1 prospect and that's what he appears to be. Citing him as an example of an overrated player seems silly.
Same with Dez. There's not much to nitpick about his game. He might not become a Hall of Famer, but I find it highly unlikely that he'll be a bust. The Braylon comparison doesn't hold much weight with me. Dez is stronger, more compact, and a more fluid runner. The only similarity is that they'll both occasionally leave a catchable pass on the field.
There's less of a consensus about Thomas, but my personal opinion is that he's easily one of the two most athletically gifted receivers in this class. I think he's the second best WR prospect regardless of what happens on draft day. His game projects well to the next level. I'll have more on that next week when I release the new list.
Crabtree is certainly overrated in comparison to the hype in here before entering the league. He has to be Fitz-Jerry Rice-Andre-Calvin type to live up to the hype that was in here. I'm not saying that he isn't good, he certainly is, but he's not on those guys' level yet, and I seriously doubt he ever gets there.And I beg to differ with your assessment that Bryant is stronger or more compact than Braylon. They have as close to the same body type as two WRs can get, and I believe they are almost twins physically and athletically (leaping ability, body control, explosiveness, top-end speed - although Braylon may be a bit faster)......right down to the dropsies. Dez is probably a more fluid runner, I will agree there, but he's still not all that much better after the catch than Braylon even with that advantage.
One thing that people should beware of is comparing prospects to such elite players, like comparing Crabtree or Bryant to Fitz/Rice, Moreno to Walter Payton, yikes!......to meet these types of expectations is simply unfair to the propsects. Elite comparisons should not be handed out unless a guy is unquestionably, undeniably, and supremely gifted (physically and as a football player). Recent vintage guys like Peterson, Calvin, Andre1500, Peyton Manning, LT, and even Reggie Bush, yes that's right, entering the league he graded out supremely high, have deserved such lofty comparisons. Again, I start from a historical perspective in rating prospects, and if a player is not in the Bo Jackson, Dickerson, Payton, O.J. Simpson, Sayers, Barry realm for RBs, or the Moss, Calvin, Andre1500, Fitz, Charles Rogers (great prospect, not good NFL career) realm for WRs then he's not worthy of an elite tag. He simply has to earn it ala Jerry Rice, not considered amongst the most elite prospects but turned into one of the greatest ever.
I recently compared Ryan Mathews to Thomas Jones (in one of these rookie threads).....and in my estimation, that is a very nice compliment. If he can produce something along the lines of what Thomas Jones has done over the past few season, then any Mathews owners should be jumping for joy.