Evaluating wide receiver prospects in the NFL draft can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean it’s complicated.
It’s hard mostly because it’s so damn tedious and there are A LOT of useless reps to work through in order to get to the five or so snaps per game that are actually instructive. The way college defenses play is so different from what we see on Sundays. College teams rely on more zone coverages, and there’s a lot more space in between those zones, and receivers are gifted free releases, making things even easier on them.
On Sundays, things are never easy. Corners are more physical and more willing to disrupt a route at the line scrimmage. The coverage is tighter and time to get open is limited. Now, some of those more difficult, translatable reps can be found on college film; they’re just harder to find.
That said, the receiver position isn’t complicated. You really only need to ask two questions when making an evaluation:
- Can the guy get open?
- Can the guy catch the ball?
If the answer is “yes” to both, you probably have a good receiver on your hands. From there you can figure out how that receiver gets open and where he does his damage and what role he might play at the next level. That will give you an idea of that receiver’s value and where he should be drafted.
That’s my method for evaluating receivers, at least. And it’s the one I used to put together this ranking of the top-10 wide receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Note: Ages are based on how old each player will be at the start of the NFL season.