Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Talking RB handcuffs, WR and TE rankings, and more!
In this episode, Steve and Harley bring you NFL news, their top-12 wide receivers, top-12 tight ends, and a look at handcuffing. So Huddle up, tune in, and get Blitzed!
Today let’s take a look at the top 10 wide receivers in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
The quarterback may be king, but wide receivers are the next-most important position in the modern pass-happy game. Today let’s take a look at the top 10 wide receivers in the 2024 recruiting cycle. At the top of the list, there’s Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith, who’s committed to Ohio State but has several other programs still trying to flip him. One of Smith’s high school teammates also made the top 10 – as did another Buckeyes commit.
Here are our composite top 10 receivers in this class. To get the rankings, we averaged the nationals for each prospect at Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports.
Today Smith is in Tallahassee visiting Florida State’s campus.
Last week we shared our high school football watchlist for the top 10 wide receivers in the class of 2024. At the top of the list is Jeremiah Smith from Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.), who’s the cousin of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. At the next level, Smith is committed to playing at Ohio State. However, Smith is still keeping his options open and is visiting one of several programs that want to flip him.
Today Smith is in Tallahassee visiting Florida State’s campus. Here’s a look at Smith being greeted as he arrived.
Five-star WR Jeremiah Smith arrives on FSU’s campus pic.twitter.com/aWYQbpf3W9
— Bob Ferrante (@BobFerrante) June 19, 2023
In addition to being the top-ranked receiver in his class, Smith (6-foot-3, 198 pounds) is first overall in the state of Florida and No. 3 nationally, going by the 247Sports composite rankings.
So far, Smith has received offers from nearly 40 different schools, with Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Miami considered contenders to flip him.
While Ohio State is still the overwhelming favorite to sign Smith, the Buckeyes’ hold on him has been a question since the cycle’s No. 1 overall recruit, QB Dylan Raiola, decommitted back in December, just days after Smith committed to the Buckeyes. Raiola has since joined No. 1 ranked Georgia and is actively recruiting other big names to the Bulldogs.
More football stories
Georgia pads their recruiting lead with another 4-star DL commit
No. 1 ranked Mater Dei OT Brandon Baker names his top 10 schools
Roll Tide Wire ranks the Alabama wide receivers in the NFL based off of their production and impact on their respective teams.
There is no debate whether Alabama sends great players to the league. Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his staff send some of the best players to the NFL year after year.
The Tide has paved the way for success at the NFL level specifically at the wide receiver position. Many have coined Alabama as “Wide Receiver U,” and while many debate which school truly is WRU, it’s hard to argue with the Crimson Tide’s resume.
The 2022-2023 season was a good one for former members of the Tide. The wide receivers represented their respective teams and Alabama to the highest standard.
Today, Roll Tide Wire ranks the Alabama wide receivers in the NFL following the 2022-2023 season.
College Wire Regional Editor Patrick Conn breaks down his top 10 WRs for the upcoming 2022 season.
The quarterbacks seem to get all the headlines and for good reason each year. Without a solid QB, you won’t be winning anything of significance, but they need someone to catch the ball and that is where we are heading for this list.
There are plenty of options for top pass catchers across the college football landscape. Last year the Ohio State Buckeyes had two top-tier receivers in Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, but now it is Rose Bowl standout Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s turn.
Among the top WRs in the country, we have players from each of the Power Five conferences. This list is dominated by the ACC, despite losing their best pass-catching threat to the USC Trojans.
I ranked the top 10 pass catchers heading into the season, a projection of where I expect them to finish following the 2022 season.
Examining this year’s wide receiver fantasy class and looking at which players offer value in the later rounds.
The main questions most are faced with when building their fantasy roster is: Because there are so many quality pass-catchers in the league these days, when should you draft them? Do you wait? Or, do you draft them early and try to just use that position as a strength to outscore your opponents?
“The Price Is Right” often plays this game called “Hi-Lo”, where contestants have to guess if the price of an item is too high or too low.
Below is a twist on that game as it relates to this year’s wide receivers and their fantasy value. Let’s take a look at which wide receivers are being valued at the right price and which ones are plain wrong at this point during the fantasy draft season.
D.J. Moore, Panthers, Average Draft Position (ADP) 33 — Moore will see a ton of targets in the new Panthers offense and they will most likely trail on the scoreboard often this season, which will force them to throw the ball in high volumes late in games.
Calvin Ridley, Falcons, ADP 42 — The Falcons offense has the potential to be very explosive and that means more opportunities for Ridley while most teams will focus on Julio Jones.
D.K. Metcalf, Seahawks, ADP 55 — The height, weight, speed combination for Metcalf is very impressive. He also had a really good rookie year, so look for him to take another leap with Russell Wilson in 2020.
D.J. Chark, Jaguars, ADP 56 — He compares to A.J. Green of the Bengals with the way he is built and his game really took off last year. Look for him to be a deep threat again this season in that Jaguars offense.
Robert Woods, Rams, ADP 57 — Woods is so consistent. He is just a pro in every sense of the word. With Bradon Cooks now playing for the Houston Texans, Woods should have even more opportunities to find the endzone more in Los Angeles.
Terry McLaurin, Washington, ADP 61 — Not many offensive options to be excited about on the Washington Football Team, but McLaurin is a rising star. Hopefully, they will target him a ton and let his talent shine.
Stefon Diggs, Bills, ADP 62 — The Bills paid a king’s ransom to obtain him this offseason. He is a polished technician with the ability to get open deep. Look for Josh Allen to launch it downfield to Diggs this year and for his numbers to likely be the best of his career so far.
Mike Williams, Chargers, ADP 120 — Williams was a high draft pick that has never reached his full potential. This could be the year he puts it all together and outplays his very low ADP in drafts. He is a steal if his new quarterbacks can get him the ball more.
Kenny Golladay, Lions, ADP 25 — Golladay has played great recently, but this draft position makes him a WR1 on your fantasy team and that is a very expensive price tag considering other players being drafted in that same range.
Allen Robinson, Bears, ADP 28 — He had a very nice bounce-back year after finally getting over some injuries and moving to the Bears. He is a very good player, but his draft stock seems extremely high. Hard to take Robinson as a Top 30 player unless he finds an amazing volume of touchdowns again — something that he has not done since 2015 where he scored 14 times.
Adam Thielen, Vikings, ADP 31 — He is solid, but not dynamic. Now that Diggs is in Buffalo and replaced by a rookie in the starting lineup, Thielen is all alone. He is not an elite fantasy talent at the position and that is where you have to draft him. His best years are likely behind him.
Amari Cooper, Cowboys, ADP 32 — Cooper has everything you look for, except consistency. He will have huge weeks and then disappear. There are better options in the mid to late second round for you to take as his offense will probably spread the ball around more this year with all the weapons they have.
A.J. Brown, Titans, ADP 36 — The Titans are being thought of as a top team due to the playoff run they made last year. But Brown’s quarterback is Ryan Tannehill and the Titans love to run the ball, both of which hurt him. It will be difficult for Brown to replicate the big plays he had week in and week out last season, and while I expect him to be a quality wide receiver during his career, he’s not one worth his current ADP in 2020.
As you can see, it’s important to understand a player’s ADP value before your fantasy football draft begins. There is a lot of talent and all the players listed above would all help your fantasy team, but at what price?
Try taking running backs early and then wait it out for value-based wide receivers in the middle rounds, where you can maximize their value, and make sure the price is right while you build your team.
Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones both failed to make the list
Kenny Golladay led the NFL in touchdown receptions in 2019. He finished third in yards per reception, seventh in yards and made his first Pro Bowl. Golladay is one of the game’s young standout receivers.
Alas, he doesn’t stand out quite enough yet. Golladay failed to crack Touchdown Wire’s list of the top 11 outside wide receivers. Running mate Marvin Jones, who missed several games with a knee injury, also doesn’t make the list even though he’s a more complete receiver than Golladay.
This keeps with the theme from earlier this summer, where ESPN also omitted Golladay and Jones. Interestingly, Detroit gets acclaim from both as having an argument for the best duo; Golladay is even the featured picture for the honorable mentions here, though he’s not specifically noted by name.
If Golladay churns out another monster season in 2020, these sorts of omissions are going to look foolish.
[lawrence-related id=47392]
