Adrian Fedkiw
The 2016 wide receiver class is going to be treading water compared to the others in recent years, but there is one who might tread pretty well.
Pardon the pun I couldn’t resist!
The wideouts clearly appear to have a lot less starpower than the one in 2014, which featured five first rounders, and the one in 2015, which had six first rounders. Odell Beckham, Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin and Amari Cooper to name a few over the last two years.
That’s quite a crop!
So where will Laquon Treadwell stack up compared to those names? Then again, there are some scouts who believe that TCU’s Josh Doctson might be the first wide receiver taken. He does have the best hands in the class.
Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman has stated during the offseason that he wants a wide receiver with “deep speed.” Philadelphia added to its flailing receiver corps with the signings of Rueben Randle and Chris Givens, but will most likely look to draft another to join the young core which includes Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff. If the Birds are looking for a speedster in the middle rounds it might by the Horned Frogs’ Kolby Listenbee, who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine and was at the NovaCare Complex for a pre-draft visit.
Georgia’s Malcolm Mitchell, Florida’s Demarcus Robinson, Western Kentucky’s Antwane Grant and Southern Mississippi’s Mike Thomas were also brought in for pre-draft visits. The Eagles held private workouts with California’s Trevor Davis and Stanford’s Devon Cajuste and met with Richmond’s Reggie Diggs on his Pro Day.
Adrian’s Top 10
1. Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss)
2. Josh Doctson (TCU)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcBOYxzqXA
3. Corey Coleman (Baylor)
4. Tyler Boyd (Pittsburgh)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlhCWxriwRo
5. Leonte Carroo (Rutgers)
6. Will Fuller (Notre Dame)
7. Michael Thomas (Ohio State)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIsiuePI8kU
8. Braxton Miller (Ohio State)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCpYM6QgyZA
9. Sterling Shepard (Oklahoma)
10. Tajae Sharpe (Massachusetts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dezN4T4Xm14
@PHLAnon Top 10 Receivers
- Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss) Treadwell has exceptional ballskills and catching radius with strong hands to really attack the ball. He isn’t the standout athlete, but is a huge threat after the catch. Treadwell is highly respected and a real leader on the field. He has the skill-set to be a legit No. 1 target in the NFL, similar to Dez Bryant, but less athletic.
- Josh Doctson (TCU) Doctson’s is in a spread offense that didn’t require him to run a full route tree, but what he lacks in technical experience he makes up for in effort. He routinely expands his catch radius, contorting his body and finds ways to make impossible catches look routine. On many occasions he bailed out quarterback Trevone Boykin. Doctson can come in and contribute early as a No. 2 receiver role. May remind you of Jordan Matthews with even better hands.
- Corey Coleman (Baylor) Coleman has an athletic skillset at all levels of the field. Coleman is one of the best deep threats in the country with above average tracking and adjustment skills to make tough catches look easy, playing above the rim. He is a rare build for a wideout as he is built like a running back, and runs like one once the ball is in his hands.
- Tyler Boyd (Pitt) Boyd is a smooth athlete, he has solid hands, and uses quick eyes to make the catch and immediately analyze his surroundings. He does not have the body type to routinely go through the middle of the field. Boyd will stand out with his attention to the detail, putting his value even higher.
- Michael Thomas (Ohio State) Thomas is a well built athlete and detailed route runner that does not waste movements to create space. Do not rush him, as he will need time to adapt to a NFL playbook. Thomas has savvy footwork, body control and ball-skills to be a reliable possession target very similar to the Eagles own Rueben Randle.
- Braxton Miller (Ohio State) Miller is the NFL’s next converted QB that enters the NFL as a wide receiver. Miller is gifted and an exciting open-field athlete with game-changing speed and is extremely elusive. He showed signs of being able to translate his ability to read defenses as a passer to reading coverages in his routes. Do to only playing a single season at wideout he is still unpolished in areas and will need time as he continues his development.
- Sterling Shepard (Oklahoma) Shepard routinely proved to be a mismatch during one-on-one drills against cornerbacks at the Senior Bowl. He has great short-area burst to create spacing and give his quarterback a clean target. If the corner doesn’t make contact with Shepard off the line of scrimmage, it becomes easy for him to make things happen. Shepard shows toughness, but he’ll need to continue to play with a chip on his shoulder to see success in the NFL.
- Mike Thomas (Southern Mississippi) This is the biggest surprise in my rankings as Thomas isn’t a very well-known prospect, but he is a player to keep an eye on. The former JUCO transfer set school record while at Southern Miss. Thomas has great initial quickness to slip press coverage and get vertical and has also made spectacular catches that others can only dream of making. He needs to continue to play with great focus, to keep from having drop issues. This is the guy that I’d really love to see the Eagles grab and develop. (Video at the end of the rankings)
- Leonte Carroo (Rutgers) Carroo isn’t a workout warrior, but when you watch his film you see exactly why he is on this list. At Senior Bowl practices, Carroo showed off an a blend of quickness, agility and acceleration to sneak behind the defense, as well as strong hands and the vision to track passes over his shoulder. He is very similar in his style of play to Golden Tate.
- Pharoh Cooper (South Carolina) Cooper is an electric athlete in the open field with light feet and creative moves to redirect momentum without slowing at all. His change of direction skills allow him to separate in his routes with speed and vision to eliminate pursuit angles. Cooper isn’t ideal size and strength, but can impact the game in several ways on offense and special teams. He could be a real under the radar name that could eventually breakout like a Randall Cobb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5hq-x4_5UA
@PHLAnon Rebuttal
As I’m sure many of you will realize, I completely left Will Fuller out of my rankings. This was not by accident. I do not like his game and do not think he will translate at all to the next level. Speed is great, but when all you can do is go deep in a league of athletes, and have suspect hands.. Well, I don’t see you ever putting together a great career. Just ask the Raiders about how Darrius Heyward-Bey panned out.