2023 WR Class = Island of MisFit Toys

[T-RO]

I've heard numerous people say:
There might not be a single WR in this class capable of being a true #1 WR.

-Jaxon Smith-Njigba, has great balance, good hands, solid. Was productive. But guy has pedestrian speed and scary injury history
-Quentin Johnson - freaky tools, but dude is a body-catcher and mouth-breather. Struggles to beat press. Doesn't compete well at catch point.
-Jordan Addison - he's ok, but feel like I'm back watching another slender glider Cedric Wilson. Who took your tools, kid? More muscles please, or speed, or hops.
-The remainder of the class is an army of slot minions, beginning with 5'10, 172 Zay Flowers. Only a couple have good speed or size to work downfield.
-Jalin Hyatt is fast. Oh he's fast. Nice height maybe. But route running? Balance? Strength? Can he get past a press defender? Make someone miss or ever break a tackle?

At the combine 2/3 of the WR class seemed to be jogging through their 40's. Quite literally there were linebackers and edge players out-running most of the WR. Almost to a man all the CBs were way faster.

I'm sure a some will develop and have nice careers, but so glad Cowboys got Cooks and don't need a WR in this class.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I've heard numerous people say:
There might not be a single WR in this class capable of being a true #1 WR.

-Jaxon Smith-Njigba, has great balance, good hands, solid. Was productive. But guy has pedestrian speed and scary injury history
-Quentin Johnson - freaky tools, but dude is a body-catcher and mouth-breather. Struggles to beat press. Doesn't compete well at catch point.
-Jordan Addison - he's ok, but feel like I'm back watching another slender glider Cedric Wilson. Who took your tools, kid? More muscles please, or speed, or hops.
-The remainder of the class is an army of slot minions, beginning with 5'10, 172 Zay Flowers. Only a couple have good speed or size to work downfield.
-Jalin Hyatt is fast. Oh he's fast. Nice height maybe. But route running? Balance? Strength? Can he get past a press defender? Make someone miss or ever break a tackle?

At the combine 2/3 of the WR class seemed to be jogging through their 40's. Quite literally there were linebackers and edge players out-running most of the WR. Almost to a man all the CBs were way faster.

I'm sure a some will develop and have nice careers, but so glad Cowboys got Cooks and don't need a WR in this class.

Not a strong class. Addison will probably be the best pro. Reminds me of Devonte Smith and Calvin Ridley. His body amd measurables dont do anything for you, but the dude is smooth.

JSN, Flowers and Downs will probably be productive players. Johnson and Hyatt scare me

We are bringing Downs in for an official visit. Wouldn't be a bad 2nd rounder. He will be a productive player once we move on from Cooks or Gallup. He should probably be good enough off the bat for them to use 4 WR packages, but I dont know that they will

 

[rambo2]

I like JSN, Zay Flowers, Marvin Mims, Trey Palmer, Bryce Ford- Wheaton, and Charlie Jones. The Cowboys are interested in Mims. I hope that they have some interest Palmer. I think Mims and Palmer will go in the 2nd round. Ford-Wheaton and Jones could go 4th or 5th round. I think that Mims and Palmer will be solid pros. Mims is from Frisco. Jones is best friends with the Purdue qb that the Cowboys are interested in.

 

[T-RO]

Not a strong class. Addison will probably be the best pro. Reminds me of Devonte Smith and Calvin Ridley. His body amd measurables dont do anything for you, but the dude is smooth.

Smooth yes, but skinny. Short arms. Only average speed. High jump and broad jump sub-par.

We are bringing Downs in for an official visit. Wouldn't be a bad 2nd rounder. He will be a productive player once we move on from Cooks or Gallup. He should probably be good enough off the bat for them to use 4 WR packages, but I dont know that they will

In a normal draft Downs would be a late 3rd or 4th rounder, and would make sense for this Cowboys draft. I'm not seeing it make sense this time.

 

[T-RO]

I think Mims and Palmer will go in the 2nd round

Mims maybe, but mainly as there's lots of GM mouths to feed and only so much on the table.

 

[Pass2Run]

Parker Washington is intriguing too.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Guys I like

JSN is foolproof. The ceiling is at least decent, and the floor is just rock solid. There is no way he busts outside of injury.

Zay Flowers isn't quite foolproof, but he's not far off. He's not a good athlete at his size, but he's not a bad one, and he hits all the thresholds you'd like to see. His real selling point is that he absolutely hogged production for 3 years on a bad passing offense. Early breakout age and massive offense "market share" are both green lights for NFL success.

Quentin Johnson is almost like a skinnier version of Dez. There's not many other 6'3" receivers who can break tackles by the dozen, and it's because they've got that same freak-zone explosiveness. There is a ton of risk to his profile... drops, gimmicky offense, late breakout season, Georgia erasing him from existence. The upside is Bryant, the downside is Kevin White, and I don't think there's a lot of outcomes in between. But I'd still take that gamble on a potential high-impact player at a high-impact position. And I wouldn't be surprised if a team in the top 20 takes the gamble first.

Guys I don't like.

Jordan Addison. The tape is rock solid, but his measurables are almost identical to Cole Beasley, and his playstyle sort of is too. Beasley has had a good career, and I bet Addison will as well, but how high would you draft Beas?

Jalin Hyatt is covered in red flags IMO. He is fast and has explosion for WEEKS, but his size-speed combo is overall pretty plain, and he offers nothing if he's not winning deep. He ran 4.40, which is a strong time, but the one-trick ponies who've made it at his size (DeSean Jackson, Will Fuller, Mike Wallace from back in the day, anyone I'm forgetting?) usually run low 4.3s. Hyatt is a rocket, but I think he needs to be a little faster to leave orbit.

I am chugging the Josh Downs haterade. His height-weight-speed combo (5'8" 171, 4.48) is firmly in the Beasley zone, and he tries to play a very jitterbug-ey athleticism based game that WILL NOT translate with his size. If you are that small as an NFL receiver, you need to either be fast as all hell or be very sharp at running routes, and Downs is neither. He almost reminds me of Tavon Austin, but Austin was twice the college player (dude's highlight reel remains the GOAT) and he still couldn't produce in the league. I am not touching Downs before day 3.

 

[T-RO]

JSN is foolproof. The ceiling is at least decent, and the floor is just rock solid. There is no way he busts outside of injury.

Probably my favorite too, but geesh the injury thing is a concern and you said it correctly, "the ceiling is at least decent" Not high praise for what's probably the best guy in the class.

I'd only value shop WR, if anything. Maybe a Mims or Dell if they fell. A Palmer type in round five.

 

[cnuball21]

Lots of high end #2s and slot studs in this years class. In todays NFL you have to take those guys end of 1st or in the 2nd.

Flowers is probably my favorite option at 26. He’s smaller - but he can do everything.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Lots of high end #2s and slot studs in this years class. In todays NFL you have to take those guys end of 1st or in the 2nd.

Flowers is probably my favorite option at 26. He’s smaller - but he can do everything.

Flowers all day.

He’s one of the few small guys I can see legitimately playing on the outside.

 

[T-RO]

Watched more on Quentin Johnson tonight. What a very, very odd prospect.

Utterly elite speed, supreme size and physicality. Dreamy YAC ability. But the guy seems to show less understanding of his position than most high school players. Drops a lot of balls, only catches 40% when contested, probably shouldn't be trusted to run a route as designed. The man has zero craft or clue. He's just a stack of physical abilities.

He'll deliver a dream play. Then a dud or even a nightmare play which might lead to a devastating drop or even a pick.

I'd never ever draft him in the first round unless I had a coach who could find insane value in 3 or 4 routes...maybe some WR screens. Oh, nvm...pass on him unless third round.

50 second clip here and you'll get the idea.

 

[cnuball21]

Flowers all day.

He’s one of the few small guys I can see legitimately playing on the outside.

He’s been winning outside for years and he’s a contested catch stud.

 

[cnuball21]

Watched more on Quentin Johnson tonight. What a very, very odd prospect.

Utterly elite speed, supreme size and physicality. Dreamy YAC ability. But the guy seems to show less understanding of his position than most high school players. Drops a lot of balls, only catches 40% when contested, probably shouldn't be trusted to run a route as designed. The man has zero craft or clue. He's just a stack of physical abilities.

He'll deliver a dream play. Then a dud or even a nightmare play which might lead to a devastating drop or even a pick.

I'd never ever draft him in the first round unless I had a coach who could find insane value in 3 or 4 routes...maybe some WR screens. Oh, nvm...pass on him unless third round.

50 second clip here and you'll get the idea.

I think you’re being a little harsh…yes, he needs some development and refinement but he might be the only WR in the class with WR1 potential.

He might have a lower floor but his ceiling is really high. Also - considering what we’d be asking him to do on the outside it’d be pretty simple year 1. Beat 1:1s…gos, curls, slants, digs etc.

 

[T-RO]

I think you’re being a little harsh…yes, he needs some development and refinement but he might be the only WR in the class with WR1 potential.

Most of QJ's potential will forever be in an inaccessible vault. Key location unknown.

After his HS years and 3 years at TCU he still does things that sensible high school receivers would never do. Some guys get ball. Some never do. It's just pajama olympics with Johnson.

Want to see the exact opposite, someone with supreme football sense? Watch Alabama safety, Brian Branch or Arkansas Drew Sanders. Or to stay more on point.. his rival JSN...that guy knows how things work. Knows his craft a bit.

 

[cnuball21]

Most of QJ's potential will forever be in an inaccessible vault. Key location unknown.

After his HS years and 3 years at TCU he still does things that sensible high school receivers would never do. Some guys get ball. Some never do. It's just pajama olympics with Johnson.

Want to see the exact opposite, someone with supreme football sense? Watch Alabama safety, Brian Branch or Arkansas Drew Sanders. Or to stay more on point.. his rival JSN...that guy knows how things work. Knows his craft a bit.

Sure, he has some flaws but I think are some big some positives you’re not giving him credit for.

 

[xwalker]

Most of QJ's potential will forever be in an inaccessible vault. Key location unknown.

After his HS years and 3 years at TCU he still does things that sensible high school receivers would never do. Some guys get ball. Some never do. It's just pajama olympics with Johnson.

Want to see the exact opposite, someone with supreme football sense? Watch Alabama safety, Brian Branch or Arkansas Drew Sanders. Or to stay more on point.. his rival JSN...that guy knows how things work. Knows his craft a bit.

The expectation when drafting a WR in the 1st is that he'll become a #1 WR.

I don't see any of the WRs in this draft as better than about 50-50 of becoming a true #1 WR.

All of the WRs in this draft are a high risk of not becoming a #1 WR.
- Different types of risk. Size or speed or hands.

JSN is a safe bet to become a #2 WR. Not big, not small. Not fast, not slow.
- Davante Adam (6-1, 4.56) was picked at #53 in 2014. He was 212 pounds vs 196 for JSN.

Many of the small WRs project to have good ability as #2 or slot WRs but are questionable as #1 outside WRs.

QJ's size, speed and agility all project as a #1 WR but his hands are the big question.
- The McCarthy offense is expected to have a big focus on YAC. QJ is the top YAC WR in this draft.
- Christian Watson (6-5, 4.36) was picked at #34 last year. He was considered raw.

 

[rambo2]

The expectation when drafting a WR in the 1st is that he'll become a #1 WR.

I don't see any of the WRs in this draft as better than about 50-50 of becoming a true #1 WR.

All of the WRs in this draft are a high risk of not becoming a #1 WR.
- Different types of risk. Size or speed or hands.

JSN is a safe bet to become a #2 WR. Not big, not small. Not fast, not slow.
- Davante Adam (6-1, 4.56) was picked at #53 in 2014. He was 212 pounds vs 196 for JSN.

Many of the small WRs project to have good ability as #2 or slot WRs but are questionable as #1 outside WRs.

QJ's size, speed and agility all project as a #1 WR but his hands are the big question.
- The McCarthy offense is expected to have a big focus on YAC. QJ is the top YAC WR in this draft.
- Christian Watson (6-5, 4.36) was picked at #34 last year. He was considered raw.

It looks like they are interested in Downs and Mims.

 

[AsthmaField]

I’m not really a fan of QJ.

 

[RS12]

Most of QJ's potential will forever be in an inaccessible vault. Key location unknown.

After his HS years and 3 years at TCU he still does things that sensible high school receivers would never do. Some guys get ball. Some never do. It's just pajama olympics with Johnson.

Want to see the exact opposite, someone with supreme football sense? Watch Alabama safety, Brian Branch or Arkansas Drew Sanders. Or to stay more on point.. his rival JSN...that guy knows how things work. Knows his craft a bit.

Read today but dont have access to it but Johnston won a very low percentage of contested/ jump balls under 40%. With his tools maybe that suggests a problem above the neck as he should have a physical advantage over most of the guys covering him.

 

[Carson]

Watched more on Quentin Johnson tonight. What a very, very odd prospect.

Utterly elite speed, supreme size and physicality. Dreamy YAC ability. But the guy seems to show less understanding of his position than most high school players. Drops a lot of balls, only catches 40% when contested, probably shouldn't be trusted to run a route as designed. The man has zero craft or clue. He's just a stack of physical abilities.

He'll deliver a dream play. Then a dud or even a nightmare play which might lead to a devastating drop or even a pick.

I'd never ever draft him in the first round unless I had a coach who could find insane value in 3 or 4 routes...maybe some WR screens. Oh, nvm...pass on him unless third round.

50 second clip here and you'll get the idea.

My analysis is that Johnston is not a good receiver. He’s just a really big guy with decent tools.

Apples to oranges, but he’s like the tall kid growing up who doesn’t really like basketball, but plays center because he is “tall”.

I think he has tools, but just not my favorite receiver