2019 NFL Draft Wide Receiver Prospect Primer

[blacklabel]

Here's a rundown of the top wide receivers set to be available in the 2019 NFL Draft. 

 

The Top Ten

1. DK Metcalf, Ole Miss (r-Sophomore)
6'3" | 228 | 4.33

The Good: Elite athlete/physical freak, prototypical size, strong off the line, light feet, explosive, uses size effectively.

Needs Work: Injury history, route running needs refining, could be sharper in and out of breaks, dropped passes.

Projection: Round 1 (Top 15)

 

2. Marquise Brown, Oklahoma (Junior)
5'9" | 166 

The Good: Elite speed, quick feet with ability to shed press coverage, plays inside or outside, explosive with a second gear to outrun DBs, electric after the catch.

Needs Work: Small frame raises durability concerns, relies heavily on his speed and needs to become a more well-rounded receiver, inconsistent adjustments to the deep ball, lacks size and ball skills to consistently battle for 50/50 balls.

Projection: Round 1 (mid-late)

 

3. Parris Campbell, Ohio State (Senior)
6'0" | 205 | 4.31

The Good: Gifted athlete with track-like speed, explosive yet fluid, gains separation on all three levels of the field, solid adjustments to poorly placed throws, consistent hands, playmaker after the catch, offers above-average kick/punt return skills.

Needs Work: Played a limited role at Ohio State, needs to develop more as an all around receiver, route running can improve, limited experience with the route tree.

Projection: Round 2

 

4. AJ Brown, Ole Miss, Junior
6'0" | 226 | 4.49

The Good: Strong and compact frame, highly competitive and determined, shows experienced route runnng skills, sharp in and out of breaks/cuts, strong hands, elite hand-eye coordination, tough runner after the catch, solid blocker.

Needs Work: Didn't face a lot of press coverage, needs to show he can work downfield against NFL DBs, struggled with focus drops, could improve his adjustments to poorly thrown passes.

Projection: Round 2

 

5. Tyshun "Deebo" Samuel, South Carolina (r-Senior)
5'11" | 214 | 4.48

The Good: Employs an array of route running techniques to get open, fearless over the middle, highly competitive, strong hands, works aggressively back to the ball, rips through arm tackles, excellent vision with the ball in his hands, offers kick return potential (four career kick return touchdowns).

Needs Work: Size may limit him to the slot, footwork could improve, average burst in and out of breaks/cuts, smaller catch radius, history of hamstring injuries raises concern.

Projection: Round 2

 

6. Riley Ridley, Georgia (Junior)
6'1" | 199 | 4.58

The Good: Tough, competitive, strong route runner using physicality to leverage in and out of breaks, consistent hands with a large catch radius, outstanding body control and focus, shows determination when blocking.

Needs Work: Average quickness off the snap, lacks bust against press coverage allowing DBs to quickly close in on him, average long speed, not much of a threat after the catch.

Projection: Round 2/3

 

7. Emanuel Hall, Missouri (Senior)
6'2" | 201 | 4.39

The Good: Fantastic combination of size and speed, has a smooth release with the speed to outrun DBs, showed improvement each year, gifted athlete with rare stop-start quickness, averaged 20.5 yards per catch for his career.

Needs Work: Needs polish as a route runner as he lacks finesse, below average ball skills with a history of drops, needs to attack the ball and show he can compete for the catch in traffic, level of compete dropped against elite competition.

Projection: Round 2/3

 

8. Diontae Johnson, Toledo (r-Junior)
5'10" | 183 | 4.53

The Good: Versatile with big play potential, home run threat with the ball in his hands, agile and sudden, accelerates through coverage, elite feet, offers the talent to run screens/sweeps, positive effort as blocker.

Needs Work: Below average play strength, tendency to go off the page with his routes, will need to refine his route running to become smoother and less erratic, doesn't win a lot of contested catches.

Projection: Round 3

 

9. N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

Needs Work: Doesn't consistently gain separation due to below-average feet quickness, top end speed won't intimidate NFL corners, needs more urgency turning upfield after the catch, wasn't a major red zone threat.

Projection: Round 1/2

 

10. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford (r-Junior)
6'2" | 225 

The Good: Excellent combination of size and play stength, steady increase in production with each season, major red zone threat, above-average ball skills with strong hands, confident player.

Needs Work: Gets jammed up by more physical corners, average burst, unlikely to be a deep threat at the NFL level, room for improvement as a blocker.

Projection: Round 3

 

11-20
11. Mecole Hardman, Georgia (Junior)
12. Jalen Hurd, Baylor (Senior)
13. Anthony Johnson, Buffalo (r-Senior)
14. Kelvin Harmon, NC State (Junior)
15. Darius Slayton, Auburn (r-Junior)
16. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Texas (Junior)
17. Hakeem Butler, Iowa State (r-Junior)
18. Antoine Wesley, Texas Tech (Junior)
19. Keesean Johnson, Fresno State (r-Senior)
20. Andy Isabella, Massachusetts (Senior)

 

Obviously, I didn't include every receiver out there, just the top 20 according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. 

 

Instead of who I'd like to see them draft, I tend to try to project who I think they have on their radar based on the characteristics they've been known to look for in the past. Using that method, I think guys like AJ Brown, Parris Campbell, Deebo Samuel and Emanuel Hall all make sense if they intend on selecting a receiver within the first few rounds. I also think Arcega-Whiteside is on their board as a possibility. Beyond that, I'd like to see Anthony Johnson, the hometown guy, get a shot.

 

If people find this useful, I can do the same with other position groups. I know some of us dive pretty deep into the draft stuff while others gain a general gist of knowledge regarding the prospects. That's what this list is intended to do, just give everyone a quick overview on the top ten players without having to read a complete evaluation. So, let me know if anyone would care to see this type of post for OL, RBs, DL, etc. etc. 

Edited March 5, 2019 by blacklabel

[White Linen]

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

[SCBills]

2 minutes ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

Sounds exactly like what we need opposite Foster.

[billspro]

Whiteside, Isabella, and Butler are my favorites. 

[Mat68]

Those are my two top wrs as well.  Curious to see how Buffalo sees it.  Buffalo needs pretty much everything upgraded on offense around Allen.  They could go possession guy, speed guys, slot wherever yes please.  

[Misterbluesky]

And...Anthony Johnson continues to fall.Somebody is going to get a STEAL in the 4th round.

[PetermansRedemption]

Anyone else feel like this actually turned into a pretty good WR class? I would be happy with any of those top 10 guys. 

[cttnweary]

yes, this WR class seems to be pretty stacked, Teams could get very good receivers in every single round of this draft!

[White Linen]

47 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

Sounds exactly like what we need opposite Foster.

 

And the slot receiver not named Zay.  

[CaptnCoke11]

If they go with a vet free agent like Tyrell Williams(which i hope they don’t).  Then I’d be all over Andy Isabella in round 2/3 where ever he’s projected.  He looks like he’s going to be a beast in the slot.  

[Aussie Joe]

I got a feeling that if they pass on Metcalf in the first, then they wont pick a WR to the third...

 

JJ Arcega-Whiteside could be the pick at 74... Isabella if he is still there would be on my list as well..

[JESSEFEFFER]

Hakeem Butler is a contested ball specialist with a huge wingspan @ 6'5" and 228 lbs. and good YAC ability that helped him average over 20 ypc.   He may be everything they hoped Kelvin Benjamin would be but he actually showed more athletic ability at the combine with a 4.48 s 40 and 36" vertical he outperformed Benjamin at every measurable  beside weight.  They definitely do not have anyone like him on their roster.  He'd be a nice target to have at the other end of a Josh Allen scramble.  He doesn't seem to be in many top 10 lists and I'm not sure why, but, that might be changing post combine.

Edited March 6, 2019 by JESSEFEFFER

[BillsBlue]

Give me nkeal harry all day and tomorrow in round 2 kid has hands and crazy moves with the ball in his hands and can jump

[cage]

In another thread someone equated Metcalf w/ David Boston.  While he has some incredible numbers, the injury history and route agility scare me off.  I also don't want  M Brown, way too small.  Can you say Roscoe Parrish and Tavon Austin?  I'm liking Campbell, Samuel or Harry in the 2nd and then snag Anthony Johnson with one of our 4ths.  

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

He's my choice

[947]

Wow at Isabella at #20. He's going to be a much better pro than the majority of these guys.

Edited March 5, 2019 by 947

[Punching Bag]

5 hours ago, blacklabel said:

Here's a rundown of the top wide receivers set to be available in the 2019 NFL Draft.  

 

Posting the full list like that is a copyright violation.

[Alphadawg7]

4 hours ago, White Linen said:

Yes please.  Exactly the type of receiver I want (by this description).

 

N'keal Harry, Arizona State (Junior)
6'2" | 228 | 4.53

The Good: Highly competitive and productive, plays fearless with an alpha-dog swagger, uses hands well to beat press coverage, strong hands with excellent ball skills, solid body control, times his jumps well to win jump balls, scrappy runner after the catch, not afraid to get his hands dirty when blocking.

 

Exactly.  And I have a hard time taking a rankings list seriously that has Harry as the 9th best WR prospect when he may be the first or 2nd WR taken.  

 

Anyone ranking him outside the top 4 is hard to take serious.  

[Jay_Fixit]

5 hours ago, Misterbluesky said:

And...Anthony Johnson continues to fall.Somebody is going to get a STEAL in the 4th round.

Didn’t know you were a Mets fan King Kev.

 

I’ve been all about N’Keal Harry myself as I am the PAC-12 Guru but I’d like Anthony Johnson as a mid rounder if the mood so strikes.

[ChanticleerBillsFan]

I honestly like a number of these guys. I think if we land Metcalf, N’keal, Deebo, Parris, Isabella, Brown we have a plug and play starter. Excited to see what we do. Hopefully atleast in the first two rounds. 

[Mopreme]

I really like Andy Isabella but let’s face it, this guy will be drafted by the Pats. He fits their offense perfectly and is a hometown guy.  I think the Bills need big and strong guys who can handle Josh Allen’s hard throws and adjust to them since he is not the most accurate guy.  I like N’keal Harry in the 2nd and why not add their hometown guy, Anthony Johnson, in the 4th or later.  Metcalf is very intriguing through, could he be the next Megatron?  He, too, had limited route tree out of college but was an absolute beast in the NFL.  Ideally, I would like the Bills to trade down, perhaps pick Ed Oliver who seems to be falling and pick up an additional 2nd.  

Edited March 6, 2019 by Mopreme

[blacklabel]

15 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Posting the full list like that is a copyright violation.

 

It's not a copy and paste list. I looked at their rankings and evaluations and then summarized in my own words for this post. 

[wppete]

Hakeem Butler #17 rated WR??!?!?! Ridiculous list. 

Butler will be a huge star in the NFL. Hope GMs subscribe to this list and we can steal Butler in the 2nd or 3rd.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by wppete

[ngbills]

The pick is

 

 

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

9 minutes ago, ngbills said:

The pick is

 

 

 

 

great highlight reel, horrible music.

 

 

[PIZ]

 

 

[PetermansRedemption]

Honestly give me anyone of these receivers. I see star potential in so many of them this year. Part of the reason I’m torn on taking one at 9. I think your getting a real good one in the 2nd round. 

[LABILLBACKER]

On 3/5/2019 at 11:55 AM, CaptnCoke11 said:

If they go with a vet free agent like Tyrell Williams(which i hope they don’t).  Then I’d be all over Andy Isabella in round 2/3 where ever he’s projected.  He looks like he’s going to be a beast in the slot.  

Pretty ridiculous Isabella ranked 20th. If you could get him in the 3rd, that would be the robbery of this draft.

[BillsFan1988]

On 3/5/2019 at 10:50 PM, JESSEFEFFER said:

Hakeem Butler is a contested ball specialist with a huge wingspan @ 6'5" and 228 lbs. and good YAC ability that helped him average over 20 ypc.   He may be everything they hoped Kelvin Benjamin would be but he actually showed more athletic ability at the combine with a 4.48 s 40 and 36" vertical he outperformed Benjamin at every measurable  beside weight.  They definitely do not have anyone like him on their roster.  He'd be a nice target to have at the other end of a Josh Allen scramble.  He doesn't seem to be in many top 10 lists and I'm not sure why, but, that might be changing post combine.

He has a really hard time with the press and although he makes circus like catches he has inconsistent hands. Don't get me wrong I like him and the fact that he's not high on many boards means we can steal him at some pt in the draft. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

13 hours ago, Bills2ref said:

Honestly give me anyone of these receivers. I see star potential in so many of them this year. Part of the reason I’m torn on taking one at 9. I think your getting a real good one in the 2nd round. 

I'd be good going this route.

 

BPA in the first.

 

WR rounds 2 and 3.

[PetermansRedemption]

12 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

I'd be good going this route.

 

BPA in the first.

 

WR rounds 2 and 3.

This is what I’m leaning towards as my preference as well. BPA in the 1st at nearly any position. TE/WR in the 2nd and 3rd. 

[MrEpsYtown]

I like David Sills better than a lot of those guys. While he didn't have a blazing 40, his three cone and vertical were really good. He has that short area quickness with size. He has also mastered finding the ball in the air, particularly the back shoulder fade. He understands route concepts and where to put his body in zones to give the quarterback a good target. He's long, big, smart, and a former highly touted quarterback, so he looking at the game through the lens of a quarterback. He had a great senior bowl week as well. From all accounts he works his ass off, as he went from back up quarterback to one of the most productive WRs in the country. He seems like he'd be a great E-P fit for this team. That's my guy maybe third-fourth round. 

[Magnum Force]

Just my opinion...but Beane's tenure in Buffalo will be tied to Josh Allen and how he performs....The better Josh looks and does increases  Beane's job security and legacy.  I don't see Beane as being conservative and taking the safe route.  Again based on Beane's MO, I see Metcalf being high on his wish list.  I could be wrong but if we looked at the polls prior to last years draft....how many people wanted or were right about the QB Beane selected?  I don't see him taking the simple route such as Kyle retired so we have to replace him immediately with our 1st or our OL is bad so we have to grab the best OL with our 1st.   I think landing AB would have potentially taken some of the pressure off how he would have approached the draft.  Other than Metcalf (probably the only WR I would take with our 1st unless we trade down)  I like Harry, Isabella, Campbell, Brown, Butler and Anthony Johnson.  I do think Buffalo needs a bigger physical WR in the mold of Metcalf, Harry or Butler.   I also think Isabella has the it factor and will surprise.....it is a good class of WRs

[WideNine]

On 3/6/2019 at 9:30 AM, wppete said:

Hakeem Butler #17 rated WR??!?!?! Ridiculous list. 

Butler will be a huge star in the NFL. Hope GMs subscribe to this list and we can steal Butler in the 2nd or 3rd.

 

 

 

There are a few in this draft that can separate and have good hands. I think Johnson should be right in the mix, but will fall..may be the best bang for the buck this draft.

 

Depending on his pro-day work I would take a flyer on Hurd in the 7th, or as an UFA.

 

Has great size, toughness, and played through injury at Baylor. He had off-season scope work so will see if he has recovered the speed and burst.

 

His Tenn affair was poor coaching IMO, but he could have handled it better. I chalk that up to just a lack of maturity and savvy.

 

 

 

 

 

[JustWinPlease]

I would love Metcalf or Harry...I think I would prefer Harry because of his production.

And I think the value would be much better too. (1st round compared to 2nd round.)

I think they should draft that big target (Harry/Metcalf) and a smaller guy (Brown/Samuel/Isabella/Renfrow/Godwin).


(As for Anthony Johnson, I don't think anyone around here would care about him if he didn't go to UB.)

Edited March 10, 2019 by JustWinPlease

[John from Riverside]

I have a feeling Harry is going much higher then ppl think......

[WideNine]

18 hours ago, PIZ said:

 

 

 

A lot of haters from Tennessee still mad because Hurd left that program.

 

A few recognize that Jones and his staff misused the kid and once Hurd left what did they accomplish - they drove that Vol's program into the turf and were jettisoned 2017.

 

Grinding a 6'5" player with that frame as a RB between the tackles - just crazy. The kid gets tore up and concussed, does the mature thing and asks the coaches if he can take more reps at WR and he is labeled a quitter.

 

It was not like they did not have other options at RB either. 

 

Not the tune you hear coming out of the Baylor program Hurd transferred to. I hope the kid gets his shot and finds some success.

 

 

 

 

[JESSEFEFFER]

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 10:30 AM, wppete said:

Hakeem Butler #17 rated WR??!?!?! Ridiculous list. 

Butler will be a huge star in the NFL. Hope GMs subscribe to this list and we can steal Butler in the 2nd or 3rd.

 

 

These highlights showed lots of body control at the point of the catch and sort of define him as more of a big play threat rather than a possession guy.  He supposedly had the largest wingspan ever measured (for any player or just for WR?) at just under 7ft.   The 20+ ypc says the same but most of these passes in the clip are pretty soft tosses and are not much like what JA typically throws but with the ball in the air longer it gives him more time to adjust his body position and track the ball.  I wonder what sorts of passes characterized his drops that I have read about.  Those don't make highlight videos.   I'd like him in the 2nd and then another guy in the 4th.