1. Mike Williams (Clemson)– In 2015, he suffered a neck injury and missed the rest of the year. In 2016, he had a nice bounce back season and showed why he was Deshaun Watson’s number one target and he was the ultimate difference maker in the Tigers title game win over Alabama. He plays what I call “grown man football” meaning he simply uses his height and speed to make a play on the ball. He’s a 6’4, 218-pound receiver with the flexible body control to turn and adjust to the football with a defender all over him. Williams also has a very large catch radius and uses his length to extend for the football to make catches. He’s extremely trustworthy in contested situations and plays the position with toughness, focus and finish. He’s a mix of A.J. Green and Plaxico Buress and has a similar build to both receivers.
2. Corey Davis (Western Michigan)– He had a lot of people talking this past season and for good reason of course. With the NFL having such a young crop of wide receivers entering stardom, Corey Davis could enter that conversation and we could be talking about him for years to come. He’s an athletic route runner with phenomenal lower body coordination to burst in and out of his breaks. He has polished footwork which is always a double plus and if he were shorter than 6’3, he’d still be successful as a receiver because of the footwork used to complement his skill set. He’s a good blocker and gives a very consistent effort in this area of the game.
3. John Ross (Washington)– The star of the NFL Combine, he set a record that we all thought would never be broken, but it was. This guy ran his 40-yard dash in 4.22 seconds and no, you don’t need to adjust the screen or clean your eyes. What you read is correct. The speed, of course, stands out. He simply just has a nose for the end zone as he feels anytime he touches the football, he can make something happen with it. The numbers don’t lie either. He caught 17 touchdowns last seasons which ranked for third in the nation. He’s not afraid of being jammed at the line of scrimmage. In fact, he encourages it because when that happens, he just beats a cornerback at the line with pure speed.
4. Dede Westbrook (Oklahoma)– Next to Mike Williams, this was my favorite receiver to watch and breakdown. He was an understudy of Sterling Shepard before finally becoming that number one option in Norman. He has the above-average speed to be a big-play threat vertically down the field. He has excellent burst and a great first step to beat press coverage and also has the burst to create immediate separation on slants and out-routes. He’s also very effective in the punt return aspect of the game.
5. Curtis Samuel (Ohio State)– You should know the rule by now: You better have game if you have two first names and this kid does. I see a lot of similarities of Percy Harvin in his game. He plays all over the offense as a receiver just like Percy did and does his best damage as a slot receiver. He’s a big-play threat. Last year with the Buckeyes, he had 18 plays for 20 yards. He’s a highly productive football player as he led the Big Ten with 128 all-purpose yards per game. He shifts gears so well in the open field to simply get by defenders to gain yards.
