NFL Draft 2011: Ranking the Top Ten Wide Receiver Prospects
The 2011 NFL Draft is shaping up to be among the most talent-laden in recent memory, and it might not even happen.
Funny how things work out.
With a new collective bargaining agreement still in the early stages of development, the 2011 NFL season, much less the next draft, is far from certain to take place.
And though no one can accurately predict whether or not there will be an extended work stoppage in the pro football world, there's nothing to stop anyone from compiling mock drafts and ranking prospects at various positions.
It just so happens that the upcoming batch of potential draftees is replete with both quarterbacks and wide receivers, meaning there should be plenty of great passing combos to come in the NFL.
With that in mind, let's have a lot at this year's crop of wide-outs, focusing on the top 10 names to know come Draft Day.
10. Juron Criner, Arizona
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Few fans outside of the Pac-10 know who Juron Criner is, but those familiar with Arizona's star receiver know that he has what it takes to make it in the NFL.
At 6'4" and 210 pounds, Criner has the size, speed, athleticism and body control to be a big-time wide-out in the pros.
Criner was arguably the best receiver in a conference loaded with pass-catching talent this year finishing with 82 receptions for 1,233 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Wildcats.
However, Criner has yet to decide whether or not to enter the draft as a junior, putting his position very much in doubt until he makes a final call.
9. Titus Young, Boise State
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Like Criner at Arizona, not many casual fans around the country know who Titus Young is, even though he played for perennial BCS buster Boise State.
Most scouts had Young's teammate Austin Pettis pegged as the best pass-catching prospect on the Broncos' roster coming into the season, but Young has since surpassed him on draft boards all over the country.
Young was dazzling as Kellen Moore's go-to guy this season, dashing for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns on 71 receptions.
At 5'11" and 170 pounds with 4.4 speed, Young has the physical skills and the route-running know-how to be a productive slot receiver in the NFL.
8. Terrence Toliver, LSU
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Terrence Toliver is just one of many textbook cases as to why statistics are not always an accurate measure of how a college wide receiver will do in the NFL.
Toliver's career statistics at LSU–121 catches and 1,708 yards and nine touchdowns–are, by all accounts, pedestrian for a top-10 pass-catching prospect.
However, it's Toliver's size, at 6'5" and 205 pounds, along with his 4.5 speed and tremendous leaping ability that make him such a tantalizing pick in the draft, albeit between the third and fifth rounds.
Had Toliver been a target for a quality passing quarterback, which LSU's Jordan Jefferson is not, he would have had many more opportunities to showcase his value as a red-zone threat.
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7. Leonard Hankerson, Miami
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Production was not a problem for Miami's Leonard Hankerson in his senior year.
Hankerson led the Hurricanes with 66 receptions for 1,085 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season, all while relying on the inconsistent play of quarterback Jacory Harris.
Though his hands still leave something to be desired, Hankerson's size, at 6'3" and 205 pounds, and ability to make the difficult catch have helped him catch the eyes of NFL scouts everywhere.
6. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
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Ryan Broyles is one of those college players who has seemingly been around forever, in large part because he plays for a big-time program that is highly visible on the national stage.
Yet, somehow, Broyles is just a junior, though his productivity and the quality of his play for Oklahoma has made his a household name.
Broyles has a reputation for excellence after the catch and projects as a threat on the outside, with the 4.4 speed and elusiveness, at 5'11" and 183 pounds, to skirt around defenders on the perimeter.
5. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
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Notre Dame's Michael Floyd has the look of a prototypical possession receiver.
At 6'3" and 227 pounds, the junior from Saint Paul, Minnesota has the requisite size to make himself an easy target for a quarterback in the middle of the field and take a hit or two.
Floyd also possesses the kind of sub-4.5 speed to go deep on occasion along with the leaping ability to be a red-zone favorite.
As such, look for someone to pick him up in the second round as an impact player.
4. Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh
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Jonathan Baldwin may not be Larry Fitzgerald, but it would be foolish to deny that he bears a striking resemblance to the perennial Pro Bowler.
Beyond the fact that both played at Pitt, Baldwin, like Fitzgerald, is a big, physical wide receiver who is prone to making spectacular catches.
Baldwin didn't quite light up the stat sheet this season, with 52 receptions for 810 yards and five scores, like he did as a sophomore, when he took the Big East by storm with 57 catches for 1,111 yards and eight touchdowns.
Nonetheless, Baldwin continued to prove during his junior year that he would make for a tremendous possession receiver in the NFL, as he so often used his 6'5", 230-pound frame to take on safeties and linebackers over the middle.
Baldwin may not be off the board by the end of the first round, but he certainly has the talent and ability to be.
3. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
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Again, statistics aren't everything, but it's tough to ignore what Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon did as a red-shirt sophomore this season.
Blackmon finished his season with the third-most receptions (111), the second-most yards (1,782) and by far the most touchdowns (20) of any wide receiver in the nation.
Granted, Blackmon played in a pass-happy offense for the Cowboys, but it's not like he didn't put his considerable physical gifts to good use while accumulating those impressive numbers.
At 6'1" and 207 pounds, Blackmon has often been compared to current Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who was his predecessor at OK State.
Still others have suggested that Blackmon may be a better player than Bryant, though both fit the mold of prototypical NFL wide-out.
A difficult argument to make, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
2. Julio Jones, Alabama
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Julio Jones may very be the most talented receiver in this draft class, but his lack of consistency will keep him from being the first one taken in 2011.
The 6'4", 220-pounder has plenty of size to along with his 4.4 speed to make him a threat all over the field–on the outside, across the middle, down the field and in the end zone.
However, Jones has shown an occasional lack of intensity and focus in his time at Alabama, with his junior season numbers (75 catches, 1,084 yards, seven touchdowns) limited somewhat by poor routes and dropped passes.
Regardless, it would be a shock if Jones didn't go in the first round, though he does have significant bust potential.
1. A.J. Green, Georgia
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A.J. Green's top-10 prospect status has been a long time coming, and the draft is still six months away.
Green has been a big name in the world of football for years now, with Green being profiled as a high school junior in Sports Illustrated as part of the magazine's annual "Where Will They Be?" feature.
The junior out of Summerville, South Carolina is the definition of a can't-miss wide receiver prospect.
At 6'4" and 212 pounds, Green has the size that every NFL scout dreams about in a #1 guy.
Productivity? Despite missing the first four games of the 2010 season for selling his 2009 Independence Bowl Jersey to an agent, Green led the Georgia Bulldogs in catches (49), yards (771) and touchdowns (9).
Add in his speed, at under 4.5, his consistency and his incredible hands and concentration, and Green will undoubtedly be the first receiver off the board in 2011.
The question, in turn, isn't if A.J. Green will be taken with one of the first 10 picks, but rather how early among those 10 he'll go.
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