NFL Draft 2012: How Many Wide Receivers Will Go in Round 1?

The NFL has quickly morphed into a pass-happy, aerially-explosive league, meaning teams' wide receivers will be highly sought after in the 2012 NFL Draft. 

There is an array of talented pass catchers that will enter the league in many different shapes and sizes with varying skill sets. 

With many teams throwing the ball more often now than ever before, how many wideout prospects will be taken in the first round? 

To begin, Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon will be taken in the first round, most likely in the Top 10. At 6'1'' and a sculpted 215 pounds, he was one of the most productive and physically imposing receivers in the country over the last two seasons. 

He reeled in 111 catches for 1,782 yards with 20 touchdowns in 2010, and followed that outstanding sophomore season with 121 grabs with 1,522 yards and 18 touchdowns. 

Blackmon ended his career with the Cowboys in style, with a performance in a Fiesta Bowl win over Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinals. 

He caught eight passes for 186 yards with three touchdowns and displayed the speed, route-running ability and strength NFL scouts love. 

After Blackmon there's a drop off, but it's not considerable. South Carolina's mammoth wideout Alshon Jeffery is the next most likely to come off the board. 

He's 6'4'' and 230 pounds. The junior battled weight issues and poor quarterback play during his career with the Gamecocks, but no one is better at going up and snatching the jump ball than Jeffery. He isn't a true burner, yet his size and leaping ability make him an ideal big-play threat. 

I've got him going in the Top 10 as well. A team like the Jacksonville Jaguars could certainly use a player of Jeffery's caliber. 

Notre Dame's Michael Floyd is nearly as big as Jeffery at 6'3'' and 225 pounds, and he's definitely a more well-rounded wideout. Due to his long strides, he's deceptively fast and is great after the catch.

However, Floyd's best attributes are his tremendous leaping ability along with the way he can come down with a catch in traffic. He finished his career in South Bend with over 3,600 receiving yards and an astounding 36 TD grabs.  

The Chicago Bears seem like an ideal place for Floyd to land when they make their pick at No. 19 overall. 

Baylor's Kendall Wright has first-round potential, too. He was the go to guy for Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III in 2011, catching 108 passes for 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's a different type of receiver at 5'10'' and 190 pounds—almost in that DeSean Jackson mold. 

His elite speed and the elusiveness he displayed on bubble screens and short passes this season could make him a pick in the first round. 

Teams like the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 21) or Houston Texans (No. 26) make a lot of sense.

Four seems to be the number many are going with in terms of wide receivers taken in the first round. I do think Rutgers wideout Mohamed Sanu has the size (6'2'', 215-pounds), overall skills, and production (115 catches, 1,206 yards, seven touchdowns) to sneak into the late-stages of the first round. The San Francisco 49ers would love to grab him at No. 30 overall.

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