2019 NFL Draft Wide Receiver Prospect Primer

[blacklabel]

Here's a rundown of the top wide receivers set to be available in the 2019 NFL Draft. 

 

The Top Ten

1. DK Metcalf, Ole Miss (r-Sophomore)
6'3" | 228 | 4.33

The Good: Elite athlete/physical freak, prototypical size, strong off the line, light feet, explosive, uses size effectively.

Needs Work: Injury history, route running needs refining, could be sharper in and out of breaks, dropped passes.

Projection: Round 1 (Top 15)

 

2. Marquise Brown, Oklahoma (Junior)
5'9" | 166 

The Good: Elite speed, quick feet with ability to shed press coverage, plays inside or outside, explosive with a second gear to outrun DBs, electric after the catch.

Needs Work: Small frame raises durability concerns, relies heavily on his speed and needs to become a more well-rounded receiver, inconsistent adjustments to the deep ball, lacks size and ball skills to consistently battle for 50/50 balls.

Projection: Round 1 (mid-late)

 

3. Parris Campbell, Ohio State (Senior)
6'0" | 205 | 4.31

The Good: Gifted athlete with track-like speed, explosive yet fluid, gains separation on all three levels of the field, solid adjustments to poorly placed throws, consistent hands, playmaker after the catch, offers above-average kick/punt return skills.

Needs Work: Played a limited role at Ohio State, needs to develop more as an all around receiver, route running can improve, limited experience with the route tree.

Projection: Round 2

 

4. AJ Brown, Ole Miss, Junior
6'0" | 226 | 4.49

The Good: Strong and compact frame, highly competitive and determined, shows experienced route runnng skills, sharp in and out of breaks/cuts, strong hands, elite hand-eye coordination, tough runner after the catch, solid blocker.

Needs Work: Didn't face a lot of press coverage, needs to show he can work downfield against NFL DBs, struggled with focus drops, could improve his adjustments to poorly thrown passes.

Projection: Round 2

 

5. Tyshun "Deebo" Samuel, South Carolina (r-Senior)
5'11" | 214 | 4.48

The Good: Employs an array of route running techniques to get open, fearless over the middle, highly competitive, strong hands, works aggressively back to the ball, rips through arm tackles, excellent vision with the ball in his hands, offers kick return potential (four career kick return touchdowns).

Needs Work: Size may limit him to the slot, footwork could improve, average burst in and out of breaks/cuts, smaller catch radius, history of hamstring injuries raises concern.

Projection: Round 2

 

6. Riley Ridley, Georgia (Junior)
6'1" | 199 | 4.58

The Good: Tough, competitive, strong route runner using physicality to leverage in and out of breaks, consistent hands with a large catch radius, outstanding body control and focus, shows determination when blocking.

Needs Work: Average quickness off the snap, lacks bust against press coverage allowing DBs to quickly close in on him, average long speed, not much of a threat after the catch.

Projection: Round 2/3

 

7. Emanuel Hall, Missouri (Senior)
6'2" | 201 | 4.39

The Good: Fantastic combination of size and speed, has a smooth release with the speed to outrun DBs, showed improvement each year, gifted athlete with rare stop-start quickness, averaged 20.5 yards per catch for his career.

Needs Work: Needs polish as a route runner as he lacks finesse, below average ball skills with a history of drops, needs to attack the ball and show he can compete for the catch in traffic, level of compete dropped against elite competition.

Projection: Round 2/3

 

8. Diontae Johnson, Toledo (r-Junior)
5'10" | 183 | 4.53

The Good: Versatile with big play potential, home run threat with the ball in his hands, agile and sudden, accelerates through coverage, elite feet, offers the talent to run screens/sweeps, positive effort as blocker.

Needs Work: Below average play strength, tendency to go off the page with his routes, will need to refine his route running to become smoother and less erratic, doesn't win a lot of contested catches.

Projection: Round 3

 

9. N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

Needs Work: Doesn't consistently gain separation due to below-average feet quickness, top end speed won't intimidate NFL corners, needs more urgency turning upfield after the catch, wasn't a major red zone threat.

Projection: Round 1/2

 

10. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford (r-Junior)
6'2" | 225 

The Good: Excellent combination of size and play stength, steady increase in production with each season, major red zone threat, above-average ball skills with strong hands, confident player.

Needs Work: Gets jammed up by more physical corners, average burst, unlikely to be a deep threat at the NFL level, room for improvement as a blocker.

Projection: Round 3

 

11-20
11. Mecole Hardman, Georgia (Junior)
12. Jalen Hurd, Baylor (Senior)
13. Anthony Johnson, Buffalo (r-Senior)
14. Kelvin Harmon, NC State (Junior)
15. Darius Slayton, Auburn (r-Junior)
16. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Texas (Junior)
17. Hakeem Butler, Iowa State (r-Junior)
18. Antoine Wesley, Texas Tech (Junior)
19. Keesean Johnson, Fresno State (r-Senior)
20. Andy Isabella, Massachusetts (Senior)

 

Obviously, I didn't include every receiver out there, just the top 20 according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. 

 

Instead of who I'd like to see them draft, I tend to try to project who I think they have on their radar based on the characteristics they've been known to look for in the past. Using that method, I think guys like AJ Brown, Parris Campbell, Deebo Samuel and Emanuel Hall all make sense if they intend on selecting a receiver within the first few rounds. I also think Arcega-Whiteside is on their board as a possibility. Beyond that, I'd like to see Anthony Johnson, the hometown guy, get a shot.

 

If people find this useful, I can do the same with other position groups. I know some of us dive pretty deep into the draft stuff while others gain a general gist of knowledge regarding the prospects. That's what this list is intended to do, just give everyone a quick overview on the top ten players without having to read a complete evaluation. So, let me know if anyone would care to see this type of post for OL, RBs, DL, etc. etc. 

Edited March 5, 2019 by blacklabel

[White Linen]

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

[SCBills]

2 minutes ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

Sounds exactly like what we need opposite Foster.

[billspro]

Whiteside, Isabella, and Butler are my favorites. 

[Mat68]

Those are my two top wrs as well.  Curious to see how Buffalo sees it.  Buffalo needs pretty much everything upgraded on offense around Allen.  They could go possession guy, speed guys, slot wherever yes please.  

[Misterbluesky]

And...Anthony Johnson continues to fall.Somebody is going to get a STEAL in the 4th round.

[PetermansRedemption]

Anyone else feel like this actually turned into a pretty good WR class? I would be happy with any of those top 10 guys. 

[cttnweary]

yes, this WR class seems to be pretty stacked, Teams could get very good receivers in every single round of this draft!

[White Linen]

47 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

Sounds exactly like what we need opposite Foster.

 

And the slot receiver not named Zay.  

[CaptnCoke11]

If they go with a vet free agent like Tyrell Williams(which i hope they don’t).  Then I’d be all over Andy Isabella in round 2/3 where ever he’s projected.  He looks like he’s going to be a beast in the slot.  

[Aussie Joe]

I got a feeling that if they pass on Metcalf in the first, then they wont pick a WR to the third...

 

JJ Arcega-Whiteside could be the pick at 74... Isabella if he is still there would be on my list as well..

[JESSEFEFFER]

Hakeem Butler is a contested ball specialist with a huge wingspan @ 6'5" and 228 lbs. and good YAC ability that helped him average over 20 ypc.   He may be everything they hoped Kelvin Benjamin would be but he actually showed more athletic ability at the combine with a 4.48 s 40 and 36" vertical he outperformed Benjamin at every measurable  beside weight.  They definitely do not have anyone like him on their roster.  He'd be a nice target to have at the other end of a Josh Allen scramble.  He doesn't seem to be in many top 10 lists and I'm not sure why, but, that might be changing post combine.

Edited March 6, 2019 by JESSEFEFFER

[BillsBlue]

Give me nkeal harry all day and tomorrow in round 2 kid has hands and crazy moves with the ball in his hands and can jump

[cage]

In another thread someone equated Metcalf w/ David Boston.  While he has some incredible numbers, the injury history and route agility scare me off.  I also don't want  M Brown, way too small.  Can you say Roscoe Parrish and Tavon Austin?  I'm liking Campbell, Samuel or Harry in the 2nd and then snag Anthony Johnson with one of our 4ths.  

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

He's my choice

[947]

Wow at Isabella at #20. He's going to be a much better pro than the majority of these guys.

Edited March 5, 2019 by 947

[Saxum]

5 hours ago, blacklabel said:

Here's a rundown of the top wide receivers set to be available in the 2019 NFL Draft.  

 

Posting the full list like that is a copyright violation.

[Alphadawg7]

4 hours ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

Exactly.  And I have a hard time taking a rankings list seriously that has Harry as the 9th best WR prospect when he may be the first or 2nd WR taken.  

 

Anyone ranking him outside the top 4 is hard to take serious.  

[Jay_Fixit]

5 hours ago, Misterbluesky said:

And...Anthony Johnson continues to fall.Somebody is going to get a STEAL in the 4th round.

Didn’t know you were a Mets fan King Kev.

 

I’ve been all about N’Keal Harry myself as I am the PAC-12 Guru but I’d like Anthony Johnson as a mid rounder if the mood so strikes.

[ChanticleerBillsFan]

I honestly like a number of these guys. I think if we land Metcalf, N’keal, Deebo, Parris, Isabella, Brown we have a plug and play starter. Excited to see what we do. Hopefully atleast in the first two rounds.