2011 NFL Draft: Ranking the Top Wide Receivers on the Big Board
With the NCAA season wrapping up and Bowl season upon us, it's time to look at some of the wide receivers available in the upcoming 2011 draft.
A.J. Green, Julio Jones and Jonathan Baldwin have been getting a lot of play, but is A.J. Green No. 1?
Boise State has produced Titus Young, and there are a lot of hard core Boise State fans who will fight you to the death if you try and say Young isn't going to be one of the top talents in the draft.
The biggest component of a wide receiver's job is to catch passes, followed by good route-running.
So here's how the receivers rank as we enter the heart of the Christmas shopping season.
21. Edmund Gates, Abilene Christian
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Edmund Gates is the small school receiver that will end up getting a lot of attention on Day Three of the draft to see who ends up taking him.
Gates can make the big plays, but his Combine performance will determine if he goes in the draft, or becomes an undrafted free agent.
24. Chris Owusu, Stanford
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Chris Owusu isn't being listed as fast enough to be a top prospect, but he can make the big play and doesn't have a reputation for drops.
23. James Rodgers, Oregon State
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Rodgers is fast, but he's small. At 5' 6", 186 lbs., he's not big enough to attract top round interest, but with his speed and track background, his ability to not drop the ball and adjust to the pass as it comes to him, Rodgers could have a good chance of making it in the NFL.
Rodgers definitely will be taken, probably in the sixth round.
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22. Jeremy Kerley, TCU
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Kerley has great hands, long arms and great running ability after the catch. He runs good routes, will go over the middle and has breakaway speed.
His height is the only thing keeping him from being drafted higher, but he's still a late fifth-round draft pick at worst.
21. Matt Szczur, Villanova
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Matt Szczur is the kind of all-purpose player NFL general managers pick up late in the draft. He can play wide receiver, running back, take snaps, and return kicks.
Szczur should be a late-round pick that hooks on with the special teams unit before becoming a permanent fixture on the offense.
20. Dwayne Harris, East Carolina
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Harris is being projected as a good slot receiver, he has good hands, and should be a good pick in the fifth round.
19. Armon Binns, Cincinnati
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Binns is a legitimate deep threat with big hands and the ability to separate from defenders. Binns Combine performance could raise his stock, but at the moment, he's still a middle-round pick, probably in the fourth.
18. Nick Toon, Wisconsin
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At 6' 3", 211 lbs, Nick Toon is a great physical specimen for a wide receiver prospect, and the scouts definitely will be giving him a long look this spring.
Scouts knock him for his route-running and a perceived inability to get away from defenders. However, all the other on-field measurables come out above average, so he''ll definitely go no lower than the fourth round.
17. Vincent Brown, San Diego State
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Vincent Brown has average height and weight for an NFL wide receiver prospect, but he runs good routes and make plays. He's good at fighting for the ball and has good speed.
However, he does drop the ball, and that will keep him around the fourth round at draft time.
16. Ronald Johnson, USC
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Johnson plays at USC and has big play potential, so he definitely will get a shot in the NFL. However, he doesn't seem to have the kind of control of his body you want to see in a top round prospect.
Johnson is fast and has shown the ability to break away from coverage, though. So he still has low third round potential.
15. Leonard Hankerson, Miami (Fl.)
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Hankerson has good skills when it comes to finding the soft spots in coverage and reading the defense, but he does have a reputation for drops.
His long legs and physicality, though, will get him noticed and give him a chance to develop in the NFL.
He could be a late third-round pick.
14. Terrence Toliver, LSU
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Any prospect coming out of LSU is going to get attention, and Toliver definitely isn't an unknown.
Toliver has very long legs, which allow him to break away from defenders, and he's very good at not dropping the ball.
Toliver has one arrest on his record, which can impact draft status in Today's NFL. Toliver could go as high as the top of the third round, but at this point, he's probably top of the fourth round.
13. Greg Salas, Hawaii
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Salas has what scouts are calling excellent focus and makes catches in traffic and while covered, but he needs that focus because he doesn't seem to have that extra gear to break away from defenders.
He also is a good blocking wide receiver, and that could raise his draft stock and put him in the third round.
12. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa
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At 5' 11", Johnson-Koulianos is slightly undersized, but there is room to grow. He's a solid and reliable receiver who also has kick returning capability.
If he falls below the third round, that would be a surprise.
11. Austin Pettis, Boise State
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Pettis gets knocked for his route running, but he's athletic, fast, makes shoestring catches, leaps through the air, and generally is pretty fun to watch.
Pettis will have somebody take a chance on him no later than the top of the third round.
10. Niles Paul, Nebraska
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Niles Paul is reliable, has good but not great speed, and he fights for extra yards through traffic and over defenders.
Paul definitely is a top-of-the-third-round pick, possibly the end of the second round.
9. Greg Little, North Carolina
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Greg Little has ideal size and height for a wide receiver, catches the ball the way you're supposed to and can break away from coverage.
Little doesn't go any lower than the second round.
8. Titus Young, Boise State
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Boise State's other wide receiving prospect, Young is fast, doesn't drop the ball and is a go-to receiver when you need the big play.
His separation skills and height keep him out of the first round, but he gets taken in the second.
7. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
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Michael Floyd is 6' 3", 215 lbs., has good hands and is fast. He can outrun a lot of defensive backs and he's big enough to be a good blocking wide receiver.
Floyd also is a solid second round pick.
6. Devier Posey, Ohio State
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Devier Posey has good separation skills, runs good routes and is good at knowing where the ball is going to be.
Depending on Posey's Bowl Game showing, he could be a solid second-round pick, or drop into the third round.
5. Jerrel Jernigan, Troy
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Long arms, good route-running skills and good speed offset what is scouted as below average height and weight.
The latter negatives keep Jernigan out of the first round, but he goes in the second round.
4. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
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Broyles is a natural talent as far as basic skills go, but he needs development. However, his natural ability to run good routes, catch the ball and get good yards after the catch make him an idea prospect.
Broyles is a second-round pick all the way.
3. Jonathan Baldwin, Pitt
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Baldwin is 6' 5", so you know teams are going to want this guy who is shaping up to be an excellent possession receiver.
Baldwin could go in the first round depending on what teams feel their needs are after the season and free agency.
2. Julio Jones, Alabama
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Jones is one of the rising "stars" of the upcoming draft, and he makes big plays, doesn't drop the ball too much, and can leap over defenders to get the ball.
Jones is definitely a first-round pick unless teams go in other directions.
1. A.J. Green, Georgia
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Green already is described as a receiver who runs pro-style routes, his leaping ability is unquestioned, and because of his height and long legs, he can get away from defenders and get good yards after the catch.
Green is a Top 10 pick in the draft, no question about it.
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