Is Louisville WR DeVante Parker This Year's Odell Beckham Jr.?

Odell Beckham Jr. wasn't the first wide receiver selected in the 2014 NFL draft. Or the second.

However, by the time the dust settled, it was Beckham who rose to the top of the most loaded class of young receivers in recent memory, reeling in 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns—in 12 games, no less.

This year's crop of young wideouts may not be quite as stacked as 2014's draft was, but it's still a deep and talented group. And once again, buzz is building in some circles that the presumptive first receiver off the board may not wind up being No. 1 when we look back.

That's the latest from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who reports that Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker is picking up steam as a potential top-10 pick on April 30:

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The receiver who I hear scouts gush quietly about the most is Louisville's DeVante Parker. A year ago around the combine I wrote what several evaluators I really trusted were telling me that Odell Beckham Jr. was to them the top receiver in the draft and would be a steal. I'm hearing some similar buzz about Parker.

Parker has pretty much everything scouts are looking for. People rave about his hands and route running. I know some evaluators have him ranked higher than Kevin White, for instance, and while Amari Cooper is seen by some as the safest of the receivers, Parker might not be that far behind. "Parker is the kind of kid who could go to the right spot and put up 1,200 receiving yards as a rookie," one personnel man said. "He's that good."

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Dane Brugler of CBS Sports paid Parker, a 6'3", 209-pounder, equally high praise.

"Although he's not quite on the same level as [A.J.] Green," Brugler said, "Parker is just a notch below with a similar athletic skill set with the height and length to tower over defenders."

John Harris of the Texans website also sees similarities between Green and Parker, although he isn't as willing to assign top-10 status to the youngster:

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I still think that Parker will go in the first round, but watching him closely, I'm not sure he's ready made to be a bona fide, all-around receiver like A.J. Green. He can excel on slants and intermediate routes but down the field, I don't anticipate him making a ton of plays on deep balls when he isn't wide open. In fact, he didn't make a ton of catches on contested passes all over the field.

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Mind you, this isn't to say that Parker and Beckham are carbon copies or really even close to being carbon copies. For starters, Parker is about four inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than Beckham. Based on their respective 40-yard dash times at the combine, Beckham (4.43) is ever so slightly faster than Parker (4.45).

Still, there are also more than a few similarities. Both players were touted for their hands entering the NFL while simultaneously being criticized for the occasional lapse in concentration.

Of course, Brugler's critique of Beckham came before, you know, this.

Would you care to revise that assessment? I thought you would.

Both young wideouts suffered foot injuries last year that cost them significant time. And both were ridiculously productive once they got on the field.

G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	RYPG
7	43	855	19.9	5	122.6

Still, it isn't so much a comparison of the players themselves where the real similarity lies. It's their situation.

A year ago, Mike Mayock of the NFL Network ranked Beckham third among wide receivers, behind Clemson's Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans of Texas A&M—the two wideouts who went ahead of Beckham in the 2014 draft.

Where does Parker land in Mayock's wide receiver rankings this year?

Third, behind Kevin White of West Virginia and Amari Cooper of Alabama.

Assuming that holds true, we may be headed for a rookie repeat. The Buffalo Bills (who drafted Watkins at No. 4) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who selected Evans at No. 7) aren't complaining about those picks. Watkins came within a hair of 1,000 yards receiving, exhibiting the same open-field explosiveness in Western New York that was on display so often in South Carolina.

Evans, meanwhile, topped 1,000 yards receiving and tied Beckham with a dozen scores.

It's unlikely the teams that draft White and Cooper will be having buyer's remorse come Christmas either. In many ways, White's a faster (by 40 time) version of Parker. But White's huge numbers in 2014 came over a full season—to the tune of over 100 catches and 1,400 yards.

Cooper may not have Parker's size or White's speed, but the Crimson Tide star is as pro-ready as you could ask a young receiver to be.

Just as last year, there are a lot of "right" answers for teams looking for wide receiver help in the first round. In that regard, the past two classes at the position have just been mind-boggling with so many talented pass-catchers.

It's a good problem to have.

However, just like last year with Beckham, the closer we get to the draft, the more we're hearing rumblings that three is the new one, that third is the new first:

Maybe this time an NFL team will listen.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.