NFL Counterparts for College Football's Top 10 WRs
It's an ongoing debate about whether star wide receivers at the college level are able to easily transition to the pro game, as each year there are breakout rookies, but also some highly drafted players who turn out to be duds. It ultimately depends on the team they end up with, as well as the player's individual desire to succeed in the NFL.
What isn't debatable is that NFL teams love to draft receivers early.
Six wideouts were taken in the first round of the 2015 draft, including two (Alabama's Amari Cooper and West Virginia's Kevin White) in the first seven picks. That follows up a 2014 draft in which five pass-catchers went in the first round, while in 2013 there were three first-round receiver selections and the 2012 had four go in the first round.
Early 2016 mock drafts—such as the one from WalterFootball.com—have at least three receivers getting taken in the first round, though others could emerge as the upcoming season progresses.
When projecting how a college receiver will do at the NFL level, we often look for a current pro player that most closely resembles their style and makeup. This is an inexact science, but it's a good way to predict how they might perform at the next level.
We've taken 10 of the college game's top receivers (based on their career numbers, skills and pro prospects) and matched them up with a standout NFL wideout who their game is similar to.
Tyler Boyd, Pittsburgh
1 of 10
Similar to: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Even if both Fitzgerald and Tyler Boyd didn't go to the same school, there would still be plenty of reasons to compare them to each other. The 6'2", 200-pound Boyd is slightly smaller than Fitzgerald (6'3", 225 lbs) but plays much bigger thanks to the willingness to go up into traffic to get the ball, a specialty of his NFL counterpart.
Boyd averaged more than 16 yards per reception in 2014, doing so in an offense that also featured a 1,700-yard rusher and a quarterback that took off quite a bit rather than hang around in the pocket. Last season, Fitzgerald suffered from woeful quarterback play and had the worst season of his career, but still managed 63 receptions on 103 targets.
With decent speed and good vision, Boyd has also starred in the return game during his career. If he were to take some of those skills and apply them to his time at receiver, that will boost his stock even more.
Corey Coleman, Baylor
2 of 10
Similar to: Odell Beckham, New York Giants
If there's someone in college today who has a chance to do some of the otherworldly things that Beckham did as a rookie last year, it's Corey Coleman. With hands that catch almost everything—according to ESPN's Max Olson, he hauled in nearly 72 percent of his targets at Baylor last season—and did so while also posting some of the fastest times as a wide receiver and featuring a 45-inch vertical.
Those are just some of the reasons why NFL.com listed the 5'11", 190-pound Coleman as the top "freak" athlete in college football for 2015.
Coleman was Baylor's leading receiver in 2014 despite only playing in 10 games after sitting out the first three with a hamstring injury. He finished with 64 receptions, 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns, topping 150 yards on three occasions.
Beckham was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, ranking in the top 10 in receptions (91), yards (1,305) and TDs (12), though he only played in 12 of 16 games.
Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina
3 of 10
Similar to: Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
It's unlikely that Pharoh Cooper will be asked to be a team's top receiver, occasional return man and also a secret weapon as a ball carrier and passer when he gets into the NFL. But knowing he's capable of doing all that, and not just at a rudimentary level, is likely to make Cooper a coveted pro prospect despite not having prototypical NFL size at 5'11" and 207 pounds.
That's much how former Kentucky star Randall Cobb was described when he was taken by Green Bay in 2011. He returned kicks, carried the ball and even threw a pass while also getting snaps at receiver, and now he's one of the Packers' top receiving targets who occasionally dabbles in other parts of the offense or on special teams.
In 2014, Cooper led South Carolina with 69 receptions for 1,136 yards and nine touchdowns, but he also scored twice on rushes and threw a pair of touchdowns while adding 15 punt returns. Against Tennessee, Cooper threw a TD pass, ran for a score and caught a TD from Dylan Thompson.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Josh Doctson, TCU
4 of 10
Similar to: Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles
Josh Doctson began his career at Wyoming before coming to TCU, but it wasn't until last season that he really got onto the national radar after serving as the primary receiving weapon in the Horned Frogs breakout offense. He's garnering far more attention heading into his senior season, much like Matthews did en route to becoming the SEC's all-time leader in receptions and yards from 2010-13 at Vanderbilt.
Matthews parlayed that big finish into a second-round draft spot with the Eagles and as a rookie was very dependable with 63 catches for 872 yards and eight touchdowns. Whoever ends up taking Doctson in the 2016 draft will be more than glad to get that kind of production out of the 6'3", 195-pound target.
Doctson, who had 65 catches for 1,018 and 11 TDs in 2014, is a receiver that likes to go up in traffic to make difficult catches. Matthews earned raves for a similar talent in college.
D.J. Foster, Arizona State
5 of 10
Similar to: Percy Harvin, Buffalo Bills
D.J. Foster was a 1,000-yard rusher for Arizona State in 2014, but for his senior year he's been shifted to the slot to help the Sun Devils shore up a thin receiving corps, but also capitalize on his great pass-catching skills. In three seasons, Foster has 163 receptions for 1,874 yards and 11 touchdowns, and according to Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, he's the only active player in FBS with at least 1,500 career rushing and receiving yards.
"Whether at receiver or running back, Foster's athleticism is the first thing that stands out," Rang wrote. "He's a fluid runner with impressive lateral agility, balance and stop-start quickness to avoid would-be tacklers and squirt through gaps."
At 5'10" and 195 pounds, Foster is too small to be a full-time running back in the pros, but he can still handle that job on occasion.
While at Florida, Harvin was used equally as a rusher and receiver and has managed to translate that into a decent NFL career.
Rashard Higgins, Colorado State
6 of 10
Similar to: Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
The state of Texas routinely produces some of the best receivers in the country, churning out so many good ones that they can't all end up at big-name programs. That's how Rashard Higgins found his way to Colorado State and came seemingly out of nowhere to be one of the top wideouts in FBS last season.
Higgins led the nation in receiving yards (1,750) and touchdowns (17) while catching 96 passes and helping the Rams win 10 games. He was one of the most consistent players around, including a three-game stretch when he had at least 175 yards in each contest and then had 174 in the fourth.
That was the best run by an FBS receiver since 2007, when Crabtree was a redshirt freshman at Texas Tech. Another Texas product who was a 3-star prospect coming out of Dallas, according to 247Sports, Crabtree put up big numbers at a non-traditional program and parlayed that into the No. 10 pick in the 2009 draft.
Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma
7 of 10
Similar to: Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
After a very productive freshman year in 2012, it seemed like Sterling Shepard was certain to be Oklahoma's next great receiver and be its best pro wideout prospect since Mark Clayton. He's still in that boat, though because of injuries, Shepard's career hasn't progressed as expected.
Last season he had a career high 970 yards on 51 receptions, but he had only two catches over the final six games while recovering from a groin injury.
If he's healthy during his senior year, Shepard has a chance to make a big leap and benefit from the Sooners' switch to an Air Raid passing attack. It's similar to how Sanders' career at SMU took at turn as a senior in 2009 as the top target in coach June Jones' run-and-shoot attack.
Sanders is now one of the top slot receivers in the NFL, coming off a 2014 campaign when he had 101 receptions for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns.
Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
8 of 10
Similar to: Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns
The comparisons we're making are strictly based on physical characteristics and on-field capability, not personality or character. Gordon's suspensions that have kept him from fully realizing his talent since being drafted in 2012 don't take away from the fact he's an imposing presence who led the league with 1,646 receiving yards in just 14 games in 2013.
Laquon Treadwell is nothing like Gordon away from the game, but he is very similar in that he's a big target at 6'2" and 210 pounds who runs like a much smaller receiver. The 6'4", 220-pound Gordon has been described the same way, when he's able to stay on the field.
We've yet to see the full range of what Treadwell can do, since his first two seasons in college were with inconsistent quarterback Bo Wallace throwing to him in an offense that didn't have balance. He's also coming back from a horrific leg injury suffered last November, though all signs indicate he'll be at full strength when the 2015 season starts.
D'haquille Williams, Auburn
9 of 10
Similar to: Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears
Despite only one year of FBS football under his belt, D'haquille Williams is widely regarded as one of the top NFL receiving prospects in the country heading into 2015. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had him as his No. 4 wideout on his early 2016 draft board, but this is based more on potential than performance.
Williams was the primary target in a run-first offense at Auburn last year, finishing with just 45 receptions for 730 yards. He also missed two games, one because of injury and another to suspension, but in those games he quickly established himself as a go-to player that could be called on in the clutch.
At 6'2" and 224 pounds, he's a massive target, but one that needs more opportunities to show his stuff. That should happen this fall, as the Tigers shift to a more pass-friendly attack behind quarterback Jeremy Johnson.
It's similar to how Jeffrey went from 46 receptions in 2009 as a freshman at South Carolina to 89 the following season. And in the NFL, he's showed his true worth as a deadly weapon for the Bears the past two seasons.
Mike Williams, Clemson
10 of 10
Similar to: DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
Clemson has become a wide receiver factory of late, and the current Tigers team has another set of great ones that are primed to be NFL stars. Williams will be the first one to go, a 6'4", 210-pound junior who could be the program's fifth first-round pick in the last four years and the third from the wide receiver position.
And Williams' game compares favorably to the first of those Clemson first-round wideout picks, Hopkins, who went 27th overall in 2013. Since then, Hopkins has caught 128 passes for more than 2,000 yards in those two seasons.
Last year, Williams had 57 catches for 1,030 yards and six TDs. His 18.1 yards per reception average is better than the 17.1 average Hopkins had as a junior for Clemson in 2012.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
