Here’s how I broke down the rating scale:
5 - Blue chip players that you can build around an offense around.
4 - All-pro caliber players
3 - Pro Bowl caliber players
2 -Significant contributors in the league with fringe all-star status.
1 -Solid contributor in the league
0 -Never panned out
A few quick disclaimers:
- I acknowledge there’s not a level playing field here. The younger classes will tend to be rated higher because projections tend to skew positively.
-I’ve hedged my bets on some of the ratings. If I was on the fence about two players, I rounded up for one player and rounded down for the other to split the difference. For instance, I think players from last year, Miles Boykin and Hakeem Butler, both project as borderline 1’s so I split the difference and counted one as a 1 and one as a 0.
Let’s dig in!
2019:
Good early returns. We’ll see if all of the threes and fours can back up strong first years. The Renfro, Campbell, Isabella, Butler, Boykin, Johnson group only netted a total of two points for now, but there’s potential for higher scores there in the future. Deep class but light on elite talent.
Marquise Brown – 3
N’Keal Harry
Deebo Samuel – 4
A.J. Brown – 3
Mecole Hardman – 1
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
Paris Campbell
Andy Isabella
D.K. Metcalf – 3
Diantae Johnson – 1
Terry McLaurin – 4
Miles Boykin
Hakeen Butler – 1
Hunter Renfro
Darius Slayton – 2
TOTAL SCORE: 22
2018:
Kind of an average crop. Decent top three, but no depth.
D.J. Moore – 3
Calvin Ridley -2
Courtland Sutton – 4
Dante Pettis
Christian Kirk
Anthony Miller - 1
James Washington
D.J. Chark – 3
Michael Gallup – 1
Trequan Smith
Keke Coutee
Antonio Calloway
DaeSean Hamilton
Marques Valdez-Scantling – 1
Total: 15
2017:
A lot of heavy investment in the top 10 without much return. Teams that waited had much better luck.
Corey Davis – 1
Mike Williams -1
John Ross
Zay Jones
Curtis Samuel – 1
JuJu Smith-Schuster -3
Cooper Kupp – 3
Taywan Taylor
ArDarius Stewart
Carlos Henderson
Chris Godwin – 4
Kenny Golladay – 3
Dede Westbrook -1
Total: 17
2016:
Total whiffs in round 1. Really solid round 2. Some serviceable players later… and Tyreek Hill.
Corey Coleman
Will Fuller – 2
Josh Doctson
Laquon Treadwell
Sterling Shepard – 1
Michael Thomas – 5
Tyler Boyd – 2
Braxton Miller
Leonte Caroo
Chris Moore
Malcolm Mitchell
Demarcus Robinson – 1
Tajae Sharpe
Tyreek Hill – 5
Rashard Higgins
Jakeem Grant – 1
Total: 17
2015:
Abysmal after Cooper at the top with Lockett and Diggs (5th rounder!!) later salvaging this from being a total disaster. Although Parker and Perriman are finally perking up. We’ll see if they can keep trending up and really bolster this class.
Amari Cooper – 3
Kevin White
Devante Parker – 1
Nelson Agholor
Breshad Perriman – 1
Phillip Dorsett
Devin Smith
Dorial Green-Beckham
Devin Funchess
Tyler Lockett – 3
Chris Conley – 1
Ty Montgomery – 1
Jamison Crowder – 1
Stefon Diggs – 3
Total: 14
2014:
The current consensus gold standard for WR classes. Turns out the hype looks justified. It boasts one of the strongest day 1 groups along with a day 2/day 3 group that could go toe to toe with the day 1 guys. Benjamin being rated as a 1 is stretching a little but I thought the cluster of Benjamin, Richardson, and Lee have done enough collectively to justify at least one 1 rating. Beckham as a 4 might raise some eyebrows, but just know that I originally had him as a three and actually bumped him up. Look, the talent is immense, but I docked him because he’s struggled to stay healthy and it is always something with him off the field. His teammates can swear he’s not a distraction but from the kicking net love saga, to criticizing Eli Manning, to boat trips in off weeks, to off season photos with shady women and questionable substances, to whining about getting fined for wearing his Rolex (or whatever that was) during a game , to single handedlyscuttling my fantasy football team.. twice!.. in two different years!! That’s it, I’m out! You are getting rated 4 out of 5 stars by me Odell Beckham! Take that.
Sammy Watkins – 2
Mike Evans – 4
Odell Beckham – 4
Brandin Cooks – 2
Kelvin Benjamin -1
Marquis Lee
Jordan Matthews
Paul Richardson
Davante Adams – 4
Cody Latimore
Allen Robinson – 3
Jarvis Landry – 3
John Brown – 2
Martavis Bryant – 1
Quincy Enunwa – 1
Total: 27
2013:
Ooph. We have a new low score. Hopkins and Allen salvage an otherwise brutal bunch.
Tavon Austin -1
DeAndre Hopkins – 5
Cordarrelle Patterson – 1
Justin Hunter
Robert Woods - 2
Aaron Dobson
Terrance Williams
Keenan Allen – 3
Marquise Goodwin
Markus Wheaton
Kenny Stills – 1
Total: 13
2012:
Substance abuse / legal problems derailed the top of this class and the hits were few and far between after that. We have a new low water mark point total.
Justin Blackman
Michael Floyd
Kendall Wright – 1
A.J. Jenkins.
Brian Quick
Stephen Hill
Alshon Jeffrey – 3
Ryan Broyles
Reuben Randle
DeVier Posey
Mohamed Sanu - 1
T.Y. Hilton -3
Travis Benjamin – 1
Marvin Jones – 2
Total: 11
2011:
In my head, this was going to be one of the heavyweights, but it turns out it had two big boys up top and then not much else. Yes, Green has had injury problems comparable or worse to what I docked Beckham for, but there’s no way I’m backing off rating him as a 5. Green has been the foundation of the Cincy offense for most of the decade. There have been some downs to go with the ups, but he has taken it all in stride. Can you imagine Beckham playing his whole career with Andy Dalton and continuing to defend him? How do you think he would have handled last year’s strange injury standoff? How about getting franchised? He would have detonated the locker room and that’s why he gets bumped down a notch.
A.J. Green – 5
Julio Jones – 5
Jonathan Baldwin
Titus Young
Torrey Smith – 1
Greg Little
Randall Cobb – 2
Austin Pettis
Leonard Hankerson
Vincent Brown
Cecil Shorts – 1
Jeremy Kerley – 1
TOTAL: 15
Alright, now for the moment we’ve all been waiting. How does 2020 stack up against the rest?
1. CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma - 5
When Coming up with comparisons for this year’s WR class, part of the reason I kept thinking of 2011 was the two sure fire studs at the top. A lot of people have thrown out DeAndre Hopkins comparisons, but Lamb's perfect blend of power to outmuscle defernders, speed to break free deep, and quickness and creativity to turn nothing into something at any moment lands him closer to Julio Jones for me. They’re not the same body type, Lamb is about 30 lbs. lighter, but he plays similar. It’s not fair to compare college prospects to players THAT good, but Lamb can handle it.
In the National semi final, everyone on Oklahoma’s team, from players up through coaches, looked out of place going up against LSU’s level of talent… except Lamb. He belonged.
Endless mock drafts have delighted fans of WR needy teams with Lamb and Jeudy falling into their laps in the 10 to 15 range. I’m not buying it. These guys are too good. The narrative is that teams in the top 10 are better served grabbing players at more shallow positions and then taking a receiver later. These two guys are blue chip offensive weapons that can carry offensive units. I don’t’ think you pass on players like that. Scroll back though the last 9 WR classes. There were only four 5 rating players, only two of which would have been rated that high going into the draft without the benefit of hind sight. They are top five talents in this class. Maybe they slip a few slots if three or four quarterbacks go early, but it’s a crime if they fall lower than 8.
2. Jerry Jeudy , Alabama - 5
The A.J. Green to CeeDee Lamb’s Julio Jones?.. Sort of. Like Green, Jeudy is a lean smooth as silk rout running technician with some deep speed. Shorter in stature though, Jeudy doesn’t have quite the contested catch chops that Green’s body allows, and his hands aren’t as good. On the other hand, if Green’s rout running is A+ caliber, then Jeudy’s rout running is A++. It’s a thing of beauty watching him dissect DB’s and it’s not even the most exciting thing about watching him play. Jeudy is absolutely breathtaking in the open field. He makes cuts like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Sometimes he’s a little too much in love with himself and he takes too much time setting it up but then he makes a cut and it’s just devastating. It’s so fast you almost can’t even track it visually. It’s like he teleports and all of a sudden he’s three feet away from where he used to be going in a different direction. The one thing I can compare it to is when you scare a small fish in the ocean and they are swimming one way and then they dart the other way. It’s unbelievable. Jerry Jeudy falling to 12. Give me a break.
3. Henry Ruggs, Alabama - 3
A speed receiver with hands. Sometimes it feels like that is an oxymoron, but Ruggs fits the bill as a 4.28 40 speed guy that makes circus stunt catches to go along with securing the ball reliably on routine passes. He has the skills to be great, but can he be a number 1 receiver for an offense? At Alabama he was more of a role player with moderate production. Is that because he doesn’t have the temperament for it or because he was playing alongside Jeudy along with DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle (two players likely to also draw first round consideration in future years)? Perhaps there were just too many mouths to feed and he should be commended for fulfilling his role dutifully. I think of him more as a 1A receiver. He can be one of the main weapons in an offense, but not THE main weapon. That’s not the end of the world. He’s still a top 15 prospect in this class.
4. Denzel Mims, Baylor - 3
Slotting Mims in the four spot, I might be accused of overreacting to his combine numbers. If anything I think the combine numbers just snapped me out of some kind of negative bias I had towards Baylor receivers that have come into the league in recent years struggling to succeed because of a lack of polish and a limited rout tree. The truth is, Mims had me holding my breathe a few snaps into watching him. He has this fluidity blended with an intensely raw athletic energy similar to the way early Chad Johnson looked. Except he’s bigger than Johnson (6’3”, 206 lbs.) and faster. Not only did he run a 4.38 40, but he had the fastest 3-cone time at (brace yourselves Bible thumpers) 6.66 s. The athleticism was evident watching him play and the combine numbers confirm it.
But if it were athleticism alone, he probably wouldn’t be ranked this high. He has receiving skills to match. He’s not as fundamentally sound as some of the elite prospects, but he runs solid routs and makes great high concentration catches all over the field. He has to develop some, but he’s worth the risk in the second half of the first round.
5. Tee Higgins, Clemson – 2
Higgins is flying under the radar a little. He is typically ranked several spots lower than this, but he can go pound for pound with anyone not named Lamb or Jeudy in this class. He’s kind of a poor man’s version of Lamb. At 6’4” with a gigantic wing span and high end ball skills, he makes for a substantial target. His rout running isn’t elite, but he’s no slouch either. Not having logged any athletic testing prior to the plague shutting down the world, speed is his main question mark. He’s a bit of a long strider so it’s hard to tell watching his games if he takes time to get to top speed or if it just looks like it because he’s really tall. I’m not too worried about it. There’s plenty of evidence of him applying pressure to defenses and making big plays on short passes, deep passes and even end arounds. Whatever the numbers are, they are good enough to generate explosive plays.
Reagor is a spark plug receiver that jets downfield in a hurry and has return skills. He played through below average quarterback play and still managed to log an impressive catalog of explosive plays throughout the year. At 5’11” he’s not going to win a lot of jump balls.. then again he should be just fine using his 42” vertical to outjump defenders. His 40 time at the combine was decent, but he looks faster in games than he ran at the combine. I worried a little bit about his desire when I was watching him, but several reports I’ve read indicate he has a dynamic personality determined to make an imprint on the league. It would be fun to see him fall to someone like Green Bay to see what kind of damage he could inflict opposite a true WR1 with an elite QB.
7. Justin Jefferson, LSU – 2
Jefferson got upstaged last season by his underclassman running mate at LSU, but when the dust settled from LSU’s explosive national championship run people started to wake up to the fact that Jefferson may not be a WR1, but he’s still pretty darn good.
He had a lot of production out of the slot and reminds me of a less rocked up version of A.J. Brown. Not highly recruited going into college, Jefferson worked his way into a starring role on the best team in the country and the status of being a top 50 NFL draft prospect. He’ll be a fine addition to whatever WR corps he joins. Just don’t ask him to be your backup plan for not taking Jeudy in the first round. He can’t fill that role.
8. Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State -1
Aiyuk is a dynamic run after catch weapon with return skills. He runs fluid routs, but disappears for stretches of games. Suspecting Arizona State’s quarterback was a bigger part of the problem than Aiyuk himself, I will eagerly be waiting to find out his landing spot and to see how his career evolves.
9. Laviska Shenault, Colorado – 1
Shenault was used as a multi purpose player at Colorado doing everything from playing outside receiver to running between the tackles. He can do a little bit of everything and he does it all well. He’s elusive. He can run with power. He can break returns for touchdowns. He’s battled injuries throughout his career including at the combine where he ran a so-so time and then pulled up lame and couldn’t complete the workout. If this cluster of prospects is on a team called the "we-think-you-might-actually-be-great-but-we’re-not-sure-because-your-college-offense-stinks all stars,” then Shenault is the team captain. With the right fit, he is one of the prime candidates to outplay his draft position.
10. Donovan Peoples Jones, Michigan -1
Peoples Jones is an athletic freak that never lived up to the hype. Still, he showed enough to make you think he’s another player that can exceed expectations in the pro ranks. I lean towards the notion that if he were really great he could have shined through the Shea Patterson rain clouds in his life, but he can still be a high end number 2 receiver with a long shot at being a WR1.
11. K.J. Hamler, Penn State – 1
At 5’9” 175 lbs., Hamler is a mighty mite slot receiver with loads of speed to terrorize defenses deep down the field or laterally on shorter patterns. He has good hands, but struggles with his small frame making plays in contested catch situations.
12. Bryan Edwards, South Carolina – 1
Edwards is a big bodied possession receiver dominant enough to headline a college offense. What does that translate to in the pros? As long as he’s not asked to do too much I think he’ll be able to utilize his elite tracking and ball skills to make for an effective WR3 and a potent red zone target.
13. Van Jefferson, Florida – 1
Smooth rout runner adept at getting open on short to intermediate routs, especially in the red zone. He could have handled a larger role at Florida and has potential to develop into a high end WR2.
14. Michael Pittman, USC – 1
Not the strongest or the fastest, Pittman is a solid all around player that catches everything thrown his way. He finds ways to get open and when he doesn’t, he out fights defenders for the ball. He’s not flashy but he gets the job done.
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15. Quartney Davis, Texas A&M
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Another solid technician that wows with his fluidity. He was featured quite a bit in the games I watched (jet sweeps, bubble screens..get that guy the ball!!), but he didn't quite have the juice to capitalize on it. When he gets in the open field, he can be dangerous. He just needs a little help getting there.
16. Quintez Cephus, Wisconsin
Big strong receiver that ran slow at the combine. He ran better at his pro day for whatever that's worth, but he doesn't exactly look blazing fast watching him play. As possession receivers go, he's not quite as technical as someone like Pittman, but he has a little more swagger. Not a bad investent in day three.
And the Grand Total Is...
29!!!
Honestly, I haven't watched many more prospects than this, but there's a dozen more names I could run through here. I'm sure there will be one or two hidden gems that I haven't even given the time of day in this exercise, but then again everyone I've discussed surely won't pan out so hopefully it all comes out in the wash.
Tallying up all of the ratings, it turns out this class edges out 2014 by a hair. This isn't just the best WR class since 2014, it's the best WR class EVER!!! ... Or is it? Let's dig into all of the wide receiver draft classes since 1980 to find out... just kidding. I'm done for now. Three more days until the draft! Can't wait!
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