Top Five Senior Bowl Wide Receivers Competing for 2024 NFL Draft Capital Heading Into Day Two of Practices
The first day of Senior Bowl practices is in the books as nearly 150 NFL Draft prospects compete to earn their spot in the league. It's time to take a look at how things stack up among the best players at the wide receiver position. Coming into the week many NFL Draft experts already had […]
The first day of Senior Bowl practices is in the books as nearly 150 NFL Draft prospects compete to earn their spot in the league. It's time to take a look at how things stack up among the best players at the wide receiver position.
Coming into the week many NFL Draft experts already had a fairly firm grasp on what to expect from the top wide receivers in this Senior Bowl group, but when the best face off against the best consensus can change quickly.
So, the question is, who are the top five among the 16 wide receivers competing here in Mobile, Alabama this week as we head into the second day of practices?
Roman Wilson, Michigan
Roman Wilson is gaining momentum at just the right time. He's coming off the best season of his young career where he scored 12 touchdowns, won a National Championship with Michigan, and now he's already dominating at the Senior Bowl.
It didn't matter who was covering him, Wilson was always open on the first day of Senior Bowl practice. He won vertically, underneath, against press, off-man, all over the field. If he keeps this up and runs a sub-4.4 forty-yard dash like many expect he may just sneak into Round Two of the NFL Draft.
Ladd McConkey, Georgia
Speaking of wide receivers who were open all day. Ladd McConkey could not be stopped, flat out embarrassing most defensive backs all day. And even when the pass wasn't perfect he would finish with some acrobats like in the play below.
McConkey was always going to do well in this receiver-friendly environment with his quick releases and elite agility, but it's hard not to get excited about his potential in the right offense.
His analytics profile at Georgia left a lot to be desired, failing to ever account for more than 21% of the team receiving production, missing most meaningful rate stats as well. However, with a full week of dominance on the field it will be tough to see him dropping beyond the middle of Round 3.
Brenden Rice, USC
When you're the son of a Hall of Fame wide receiver who is perhaps the best to ever do it, the pressure is on. That doesn't seem to be bothering Brenden Rice so far. He manhandled his first three 1-on-1 defenders today, taking all three targets for touchdowns. This was perhaps his most impressive catch, battling through blatant holding and subsequent pass interference.
Rice also killed it in his post-practice interviews today. He was clearly well prepared, confident, and excited to compare his game to the likes of DK Metcalf and Mike Evans.
As he mentioned in my interview with him today, he needs to work on his releases to help him reach top speed sooner, but his NFL Draft stock is trending upward this week already.
Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
Malachi Corley is built like a feature running back, but wiggles like the hyperactive slot receiver he projects to be at the next level. He measured in at 5'11", 215 pounds, so the Deebo Samuel comparisons will only continue moving forward, and for good reason. He was forcing his way open all day on plays like the one below.
It's almost as if his Corley's experience gained from catching more than 250 receptions over the past three seasons has taught him something about playing the wide receiver position.
His only struggles came against tight man coverage working vertically down the field. Even then he still usually won, except against the best cornerback here, Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo).
Johnny Wilson, Florida State
At 6'6", 237 pounds it seems likely that Johnny Wilson will end up switching to the tight end position, but he's a potential Top 100 NFL Draft pick regardless of his positional designation.
When watching him play, if viewed as a wide receiver he can seem too slow with separation issues. However, if viewed as a tight end his long strides and wide catch radius clearly present a potential matchup problem running out of the slot like on this play from day one of Senior Bowl practice.
Wilson actually averaged more receiving yards per game than his first round projected teammate, Keon Coleman. He's a proven producer that posted a strong first day at the Senior Bowl to help verify some of the hype.
Be looking for more content like this all week long and throughout NFL Draft season from the A to Z team. If you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out to me directly @FF_TravisM on X.
