Pass Catcher Rankings (Top 15 WRs/TEs)
 

Wide Receivers

1. DeAndre Hopkins :: CLEMSON
2. Tavon Austin : WEST VIRGINIA
3. Keenan Allen :: CALIFORNIA
4. Justin Hunter :: TENNESSEE
5. Cordarrelle Patterson :: TENNESSEE
6. Robert Woods :: USC
7. Marquise Goodwin :: TEXAS
8. Markus Wheaton :: OREGON STATE
9. Quinton Patton :: LOUISIANA TECH
10. Da’Rick Rogers :: TENNESSEE TECH
11. Stedman Bailey :: WEST VIRGINIA
12. Terrance Williams : BAYLOR
13. Chris Harper :: KANSAS STATE
14. Cobi Hamilton : ARKANSAS
15. Ryan Swope :: TEXAS A&M

Analysis: DeAndre Hopkins impresses me more than any other receiver with his terrific route running, very good speed, and strong hands. Justin Hunter's ranking is based in large part on projecting him to continue to improve following his knee injury and becoming the player he flashed prior to the injury, and that's a normal expectation for all athletes not named Adrian Peterson. Cordarrelle Patterson has as much upside as any receiver in the class, but right now I see more Devin Hester to his game than a Pro Bowl caliber player in the future. Goodwin and Wheaton are intriguing second round options. Terrance Williams had a tremendous season, but I don't see a well rounded game with him, simply a vertical threat in the mold of Devery Henderson. Ryan Swope had an underwhelming senior season, but it's hard to deny what he was able to do with a legitimate pocket passer during an outstanding junior season. Overall, another deep position in this draft and plenty of guys who will be drafted with the expectation to contribute right away.

Tight Ends

1. Zach Ertz :: STANFORD
2. Gavin Escobar :: SAN DIEGO STATE
3. Travis Kelce :: CINCINNATI
4. Tyler Eifert :: NOTRE DAME
5. Vance McDonald :: RICE
6. Jordan Reed :: FLORIDA
7. Dion Sims :: MICHIGAN STATE
8. Michael Williams :: ALABAMA
9. Joseph Fauria :: UCLA
10. Ryan Otten :: SAN JOSE STATE
11. Levine Toilolo :: STANFORD
12. Philip Lutzenkirchen :: AUBURN
13. Nick Kasa :: COLORADO
14. Zach Sudfeld :: NEVADA
15. Jake Stoneburner :: OHIO STATE

Analysis: After Senior Bowl week the tight end class is really all about the top 5 guys at the position. Ertz is a huge, athletic target and will continue in the explosion of tight ends being a dynamic part of the offense in the NFL. Gavin Escobar, Travis Kelce, Tyler Eifert, and Vance McDonald can have a very similar scouting report written of themselves as well, and for my rankings it comes down to players having shown the ability to be effective in game with those skills. Questions might come up with Tyler Eifert, and I am not denying his talent, but every time I watched Notre Dame this year I always waited for him to wow me and I rarely ever saw that. Travis Kelce is the best overall blocker of the top bunch so that makes him slightly more versatile than the other four. Michael Williams isn't the world's greatest pass catcher, but he's an asset for the running game and he knows how to work in the red zone. Overall, more top end talent than we usually see from the tight end position and at least four of the top five will be selected in the first two rounds.

We're in agreement a lot here. Love your top 3, those would be my top 3. Love that your not insanely high on Da'rick Rogers like some are.

Also agreed, Ertz is the number one tight end in this class.

Always did, still do love that headcase Da'Rick Rogers. Someone is going to get a huge steal.


Also think Terrance Williams is a little too low.

Starting to delve into the receivers a bit more. Like actually watching them play :)

Watching a single highlight reel of Patterson, I got almost the same exact impression. When he was doing really good things, they all basically looked like punt returns.

On the other hand, more impressed with my limited tape exposure to Goodwin. Speed is obvious, his agility numbers will be nice to see. One thing I noticed deals with my favorite analogy. Cunningham to Moss on deep balls. Everyone seemed criminally underthrown, which came to be a jump ball for moss, a strength just a bit. Saw a lot of Goodwin tracking underthrown bombs.

Williams does one thing and that's run in a straight line fast otherwise the rest of his game is simply ordinary.

Goodwin has a Mike Wallace/DeSean Jackson quality to him where he can torch you deep, and guys like that are so valuable to an offense. Goodwin isn't limited to the vertical routes either, as he displayed during Senior Bowl week.

I think he's more Titus Young or TY Hilton than Wallace/Jackson, who were more downfield threats than catch-and-run threats when they first came into the league. Both Wallace/Jackson went from 18-21 ypc down to 14-16 range after being used more in the short-to-intermediate range.

I've never posted rankings on this board before, but what the heck. WR is the one position I think I'm pretty solid in my rankings right now...at least until the combine.

I have:

1. Justin Hunter :: TENNESSEE
2. Keenan Allen :: CALIFORNIA
3. DeAndre Hopkins :: CLEMSON
4. Cordarrelle Patterson :: TENNESSEE
5. Tavon Austin : WEST VIRGINIA
6. Robert Woods :: USC
7. Markus Wheaton :: OREGON STATE
8. Terrance Williams : BAYLOR
9. Quinton Patton :: LOUISIANA TECH
10. Da’Rick Rogers :: TENNESSEE TECH
11. Marquise Goodwin :: TEXAS
12. Cobi Hamilton : ARKANSAS
13. Kenny Stills :: OKLAHOMA
14. Stedman Bailey :: WEST VIRGINIA
15. Aaron Dobson :: MARSHALL

Mostly projection with Hunter. But this is a guy who averaged over 22 ypc before he got hurt. Was slow to come back this year, but I'm excited about the fact that he put up 6 plays over 30 yards in his last 6 games, after just 1 such play in his first 6 games of the year. I think after Patterson, he has the 2nd most potential on this list, and I think he's more likely to reach his potential than Patterson. The first 5 are all 1st round talents to me. Not big on Woods or Williams, but they don't deserve to be ranked any lower than they are based on their bodies of work.

If Justin Hunter had not gotten hurt we'd probably be looking at a receiver similar to AJ Green and an undisputed first round pick. Both Tennessee receivers come with some risk, and Hunter gets the nod from me because we've seen how good he can be as a receiver and it's all about his knee and head giving him the comfort and confidence to be the guy we saw two years ago.

Im on the Tavarres King bandwagon. Where does he rank after the top 15?

I have him 16th.

King would be 16th for me as well

Terrance Williams is Torrey Smith 2.0

This draft is crazy deep at wide receiver. There's a dozen guys I could see making the Pro Bowl at some point in their careers.

The more I watch Patterson the more I like him, with that size and having legit return skills, that is something special, and he is so raw. And Woods will be undervalued but he is so smooth and got very overshadowed this year by Lee's amazing season. This is how I have them ranked at WR and TE, over the 15 limit though.



WR
Cordarrelle Patterson Tennessee JR
Justin Hunter Tennessee JR
Keenan Allen Cal JR
DeAndre Hopkins Clemson JR
Robert Woods USC JR
Da'Rick Rogers Tennessee Tech JR
Tavon Austin West Virginia
Terrance Williams Baylor
Ace Sanders South Carolina JR
Cobi Hamilton Arkansas
Kenny Stills Oklahoma JR
Ryan Swope Texas A&M
Tavarres King Georgia
Stedman Bailey West Virginia JR
Marquise Goodwin Texas
Aaron Dobson Marshall
Mark Harrison Rutgers
Chris Harper Kansas State
Rodney Smith Florida State
Markus Wheaton Oregon State
Marcus Rucker Memphis
Quinton Patton La Tech
JD Woods West Virginia
Marcus Davis Virginia Tech
TJ Moe Missouri
Emory Blake Auburn
Jamal-Rashad Patterson Stanford
Martel Moore Northern Illinois
Tracy Lampley Southern Miss
Marqueis Gray Minnesota
Darius Johnson SMU
Conner Vernon Duke
Dan Buckner Arizona
Tobais Palmer NC State
Uzoma Nwachukwu Texas A&M
Russell Shepard LSU
Javone Lawson Lousiana Lafayette
Jheraine Boyd UNC
Lance Ray East Carolina
Mike Shanahan Pitt
Chad Bumphis Miss State
Brandon Wimberly Nevada
Travante Stallworth Auburn



TE
Tyler Eifert Notre Dame JR
Zach Ertz Stanford JR
Joseph Fauria UCLA
Chris Gragg Arkansas
Dion Sims Michigan State
Michael Williams Alabama
Jordan Reed Florida
Brandon Ford Clemson
Levine Toilolo Stanford JR
Matt Furstenburg Maryland
Jake Stoneburner Ohio State
Vance McDonald Rice
Mychal Rivera Tennessee
Colter Phillips Virginia
Philip Lutzenkirchen Auburn
Jake Doyle Western Kentucky
Ben Cotton Nebraska
Ferbia Allen Ole Miss
Blake Hammond Western Michigan
Kendrick Moeai Utah
DC Jefferson Rutgers
Kyler Reed Nebraska
Andrew Power North Texas
Blake Ayles Miami FL TS




Not sure I would agree with that, a lot of talented guys but just as many could be nothing in the pros. Major question marks with Hunter, Rogers, Stills, Allen and Hamilton etc. I see very few elite level receivers in this class, now if you were speaking of tight end, yeah I could see ten or so tight ends at some point making a Pro Bowl best case.

But now a days with the Pro bowl alternate, making a Pro Bowl is not what is used to me, hell 1/6th the roster did not play because they were in the Super Bowl

Basically I mean receivers who can go over a thousand yards, because that's about as much of a criteria for "making the pro bowl" as you'll find anymore. Just depends if they do it on a popular team.

Cordarrelle Patterson could be something special
Keenan Allen is going to look a lot different with an NFL quarterback throwing him the ball
Justin Hunter and DeAndre Hopkins both look like they can potentially be no. 1 receivers
Da'Rick Rogers is your classic character-concern talent
Terrence Williams is your classic physical specimen with the stat sheet to back it up
Robert Woods and Marcus Wheaton are silky smooth and know how to get open
Stedman Bailey alternates between dropping balls and dropping jaws
Tavon Austin mostly just drops jaws with the best open-field talent in this class

etc. It's a deep class, and there is a wide variety of players.

That's the thing with Terrance Williams though, he has nice height and it seems like he should be a lot stronger than what he really is. Dude is kinda weak.

I like his potential but I wouldn't expect a lot from him in his rookie campaign.

I think my Rankings would be...

1. Keenan Allen
2. Tavon Austin
3. DeAndre Hopkins
4. Justin Hunter
5. Cordarrelle Patterson
6. Markus Wheaton
7. Terrance Williams
8. Robert Woods
9. Quinton Patton
10. Stedman Bailey

Travis Kelce should be #2 IMO, but I won't fault you because 3rd is a lot higher than most have him.

Ozzy, I sure has hell hope you just forgot about Travis Kelce bc now having him in the Top 24 is a joke.

I find it tough to rank the WRs. Making the projection for players and deciding whether to go off upside or what you see consistently is the hard part.

Corrdarelle Patterson is electric with the ball in his hands but he is a body catcher who needs serious development as a route runner.

Justin Hunter looks like a top 5 WR in the NFL at times then loses his concentration and lets the ball hit him in the face.

DeAndre Hopkins is a crisp route runner with good hands but doesn't have the size or speed to be a mismatch.

Tavon Austin is dynamic from the slot but can he win consistently against man coverage?

Robert Woods is a smooth route runner with nice hands but is he anything more than a complimentary weapon in the NFL?

Terrence Williams can get deep but can he beat press coverage and can he work underneath?

If I had to rank the WRs now it would probably be

1. Kennan Allen
2. DeAndre Hopkins
3. Corrdarrelle Patterson
4. Tavon Austin
5. Robert Woods
6. Justin Hunter
6. Marcus Wheaton
7. Steadman Bailey
8. Quinton Patten
9. Da'Rick Rogers
10. Marquise Goodwin

Not sure where I would rank him, but I'm a little surprised Marquess Wilson's name hasn't even been ranked yet on any list