2020 NFL Draft Prospects: Wide Receivers

By: Cole Negen

I’m taking at players for each position who will be selected in the upcoming NFL draft. Today, I am taking a look at wide receivers

Ceedee Lamb - Oklahoma

Lamb is probably the best WR I’ve seen come out of college, for sure in the last 5 years, and maybe last 10 years. He has no obvious weak spots in his game, outside of his tall, skinny body frame. He is maybe the best WR I’ve seen after the catch since Sammy Watkins. He is super nimble, able to wiggle his way out of a lot of tackles, and more often than not turns minimal plays into big plays pretty effortlessly. His route running is very good, he has great hands, he can make contested catches, and he is an absolute nightmare of a deep threat. He is a freak of nature with insane leaping ability and top end speed. There really isn’t much to say about him, and the only thing that is going to keep him from being selected is going to be the stigma of drafting a WR with an early draft pick.

Jerry Jeudy - Alabama

So I have Jeudy below Lamb here, but it is completely personal preference. In fact, most people would put Jeudy above Lamb. All of what I said above on how Lamb is one of the best WRs I’ve seen enter the draft in a while, applies in the exact same fashion for Jeudy. Jeudy trumps Lamb in the speed and route running departments. While Lamb’s speed and route running are very good, no doubt, Jeudy’s ability in both categories is something I’ve never seen before. I’ve never seen a receiver that is A) fast enough to pull away from literally everyone on the field, and B) still has the ability to stop and start his route in the blink of an eye. His feet are a wonder to look at. There is no way that you will be able to guard him straight up at the next level, you are going to have to rotate a safety to his side. He, like Lamb, is also very tall, and very skinny. Unlike Lamb, however, I think this affects Jeudy’s game more. He doesn’t often make tough catches with a defender on him, and he isn’t much of a red-zone threat with the ball. But, that is absolutely no reason to take away from his hands, which are great, and his athletic ability. He should go right around where Lamb is taken.

Tee Higgins - Clemson

Higgins reminds me a lot of AJ Green. Super tall and long athlete, who doesn’t sacrifice speed. Higgins is a straight up deep threat. He doesn’t have great agility to be a super great route runner, but if you get him running downfield, he is dangerous. First of all, he can is fast enough to at least gain separation from slower corners. Second, he is tall and long enough to use his body and make contested jump-ball catches. He also caught a lot of balls at Clemson, so he clearly has a play style that works. The biggest bugger with him is, like I said above, agility and coming out of breaks. He has a slow first step, which really hurts his ability to gain separation on timing routes. But he should be a great receiver at the next level.

Laviska Shenault - Colorado

Shenault is one of the more peculiar prospects I’ve seen at the position in a while. He has the size of a running back, with a tight end mentality, while playing the WR position. He is great after the catch, tough to tackle and loves contact. He is a big body receiver, able to make big body catches in traffic on all levels of the field. He isn’t very quick, but he has surprising breakaway speed in open field. Major concern is a lack of games played. He hasn’t played a full season at Colorado, and he has just 1 year of major production. I think that DK Metcalf should be a testimate, however, that you don’t need to play a lot of games in college, you just need to look good in the games you play in, and Shenault definitely passes the eye test.

Henry Ruggs III - Alabama

Ruggs is a future star from the slot position. He has speed to get in and out of breaks, and an attacking mentality after the catch. There was also a stat I saw that said he ran over 24 mph in a game this year. So that just tells you what you need to know about his speed. He isn’t super tall, under 6 feet, but it doesn’t really matter. He is a good route runner and can work in space. Essentially, he is an addition to your running game with how he can work after the catch, and of course is always a threat to burn you deep. My major concern is his hands. They are definitely toward the average side of the spectrum. He also has never been in a position where he is the go-to receiver, which garners concerns about his potential when you factor in his play style.