Trying to get a better handle on this WR class.
THUMBS UP
Chris Harper, Kansas State - A bit of a late revelation. Looks the part physically. Lacks just a little bit of burst and speed, but smooth athlete with the dimensions of an NFL starter. Not sure I really see that special something to be a #1 target, but I look for him to get drafted pretty high and have a long pro career. When you watch the
you can see that he really suffered from the terrible QB play of Collin Klein. Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech - Always liked him. He's an efficient player. Quick and smooth. Productive, tough, and dangerous after the catch. Definitely has the innate WR skills to make a smooth transition to becoming a productive pro. The only question is athletic ability. He has enough to be a starter, but doesn't really have any standout traits. I've made the comparison a million times by now, but he reminds me of Stevie Johnson.
Markus Wheaton, Oregon State - Already said a lot about him. Plays fast. Almost out of control, but not quite. Has the best burst of any outside WR in this class and shows good ability to win contested passes. Size is a negative. Would be more optimistic if he were 2 inches taller and ten pounds heavier. Can't really see him being a bust though. Has standout speed/burst and enough football skills to take advantage of it.
Fairly optimistic about Keenan Allen, Da'Rick Rogers, Marquess Wilson, Robert Woods, and Justin Hunter as well. Allen has a good chance to be my #1 WR and a first tier prospect in this class. The other guys have at least one wart that will keep them in the second tier, but they're all players that I would think about grabbing at their ADP.
THUMBS DOWN
Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee - My pick for most overrated WR prospect. I just don't really see what the fuss is about. Yes, he has good straight line speed and he can run well in the open field, but overall I don't find him that impressive. Not that productive and looks like a poor route runner. Also not that strong physically. I expect to be down on him relative to the consensus.
Terrance Williams, Baylor - Has the production you want. Tall with above average strength and speed. Doesn't move very well though and looks like he could have a lot of trouble separating in the NFL. A bit of a sloppy runner and doesn't have the crisp movement of someone like Patton or Harper. I wouldn't say that he's a certain bust, but he's definitely not someone who pops for me.
I'm also likely to be a little bit down on DeAndre Hopkins and Tavon Austin compared to where others will rank them. Tavon is explosive, but very hard to assess simply because there's no one like him in the NFL. He's too small to play RB and doesn't show a lot of downfield game, so I think he'll only really have value if some teams feeds him short catch-and-run opportunities. Could be Harvin. Could be McCluster. Maybe somewhere right in the middle. As for Hopkins, I think he's pretty good, but he's kind of a size/speed tweener. Not quite big enough to be a pure possession WR. Not quite fast enough to be a deep threat. Certainly not a bad player. There are others I like more though.
Marcus Davis falling like a stone in my rankings too.