2023-03-31 07:00:00
The NFL Draft is in less than four weeks. The last Pro Days are over, the NFL Combine was a long time ago and now all scouting reports are being finalized. Now is the moment when NFL teams create their position rankings and an initial big board, which will continue to be adjusted over the next few weeks. It is therefore the right time to rank the wide receivers of this 2023 vintage.
Jordan Addison was able to build on his great 2021 season, in which he prevailed once morest well-known competition and received the biletnikoff of the best receiver of the college football season, despite moving to the west coast. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, on the other hand, had to spend almost all of his last year on the sidelines due to injury. Are there other passport recipients who might take his place?
Receiver im NFL Draft 2023
The answer is, “not really”. Because a clear future number one can only be found with a little goodwill. Rather, there are very good options for the role of Z-receiver this year. Unlike the X-Receiver, this one encounters fewer one-on-one duels and plays once morest zone defense more often than even being taken into double coverage.
And then there’s the slot receivers, which are getting more and more gameplay in today’s NFL. Some of them bring the physique of a Cooper Kupps or at least Amon-Ra St. Browns to occasionally start from the outside lane. That’s why the vintage is better than its reputation suggests. Because receivers nowadays start from different positions anyway and are no longer assigned a clear role.
1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba / Ohio State Buckeyes
JSN has a good sense of how to miss a cornerback. He prefers to attack the intersections of the zone defense in order to then score many yards following the catch. He is one of the most natural receivers of his year, with very good route running, good quickness and sure hands. The slot role he’ll prefer to play in is becoming increasingly important in the NFL, so it’s no longer a shortcoming.
Smith-Njigba has technically worked out very finely in order not to have to win with speed alone. He mightn’t build on that in the future either. If he stays healthy, he can still be the best receiver of his year.
2. Josh Downs / North Carolina Tar Heels
Drake Maye is one of the best quarterbacks in college football and will be a candidate for the NFL draft next year. He will miss Josh Downs on his campaign. That’s for sure. Previously with Sam Howell, Downs has collected a total of 195 receptions over the past two years and was sort of the quarterback’s best friend.
As a next step, I want to see that he can make the difference more often in deep vertical play to add more levels to his game. He will probably no longer be a wide receiver who constantly wins on the sidelines. Although Jahan Dotson demonstrated last year that even small, narrow pass recipients can stand their ground there if they can screw themselves up with good timing. Downs hinted at this in college.
Downs is an incredibly intelligent and sophisticated slot receiver who has already made a lot of his possibilities with enormous disposition but raw skillset. Basically, there is no game in which he was logged off. That’s not the description of a player who should be reduced to a gadget role.
3. Jalyn Hyatt / Tennessee Volunteers
Jalyn Hyatt was unstoppable once morest Alabama and ever since this performance he has been on everyone’s lips among the scouts. It is a serious weapon in vertical play, constantly picking up the ball in short or deep positions and sprinting to the end zone. He’ll never be strong enough to consistently win once morest press or in physical one-on-ones on the sidelines, but you can’t deny his willingness to block and his physicality on runs following the catch. He has a future as a WR2 alongside a clear WR1 to focus on.
Hyatt is the wingman who can use his speed to win a running duel once morest any defender, giving his teammates more space. Mixed with his precise route running on a currently limited tree, he can always come loose. If he can continue to expand the latter, his role should continue to grow.
4. Jordan Addison / USC Trojans
Don’t be fooled by really poor athletic stats in 40-yard dash and shuttle drills. Jordan Addison ran this on his Trojans’ Pro Day and the pitch was completely submerged from the rain. There’s no doubt that the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner can consistently break away from opponents and still have tons of yards post-catch. How he breaks away from opponents with fast legs and quick changes of direction is really his special strength.
Going to be an EXTREMELY wet pro day today at USC.
The silver lining is that we will see if Jordan Addison passes the AFC North test. pic.twitter.com/m74isSHByg
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) March 21, 2023
He has also grown in press corners due to his quick release on the snap and his high agility. But various drops, a few different routes and a lack of physique allow for skepticism. Addison goes in many mock drafts in the first half of the first round. I think that’s too early for him. I don’t see the next Jahan Dotson, but rather Marquise Brown. Although the latter had better college tape and had to find his role in the NFL for a long time.
5. Quentin Johnston / TCU Horned Frogs
Opinions are divided on Quentin Johnston. He is powerfully built, agile and can accelerate relatively quickly, which can make him a very special weapon in the receiving game. To do this, he would not even have to expand his route tree. Johnston brings a lot of upside, making him one of the few prospects who can function in an isolated X-receiver role going forward.
He is currently using his pure physique and moderate speed to break away from opponents. It will not be so easy for him to do that in the future and that is exactly where the drop lies. There are now too many failed talents with his skillset that were previously lauded. Drafting him first wouldn’t be worth the risk to me.
6. Zay Flowers / Boston College Eagles
Zay Flowers is one of the most dynamic receivers of this vintage. In the future, he can still achieve big plays from short passes, mainly from the slot, or he simply sprints past all opponents before accepting the ball in order to get the ball at depth. How well he can already attack the interfaces, which would be an indicator of his continuity on the next level, remains a question mark at the moment.
Flowers is clearly not one of the larger receivers in this class. There’s virtually no tape once morest Press Man, so we can only imagine how good he can be at it. In the future he will probably act primarily from the slot, where he is often set in motion and with a free release can go on routes that are primarily regarding yards following catch. Then he can gradually learn a more versatile role.
7. Cedrick Tillman / Tennessee Volunteers
Cedrick Tillman actually always attacked from the right flank in college. He has very good qualities for a flanker. Coming from an ankle injury and playing in a scheme where he barely tried route running, Upside is in for the X-Receiver role. But even as a WR2, he has a future in the NFL.
I like to refrain from comparisons, but here the Pro Comparison to Alshon Jeffery is simply obvious. He too had his best years as a Z receiver alongside Brandon Marshall. The switch to WR1 was very difficult for him at the time. But you have to try that with Tillman just like you did with Jeffery.
Looking at Velus Jones tape.
Cedrick Tillman might be one of the more underrated receivers in the country. He has a big body, great speed, and he adjusts so well to the football.
Simply outran the cover three from the Alabama defense. pic.twitter.com/cqDnW51Gpe
— John Vogel (@DraftVogel) December 11, 2021
8. Tyler Scott / Cincinnati Bearcats
Speed is one of the most sought-following attributes in a modern receiver, and Tyler Scott is bringing some of that to bear in his 2023 NFL Draft bid. He can also hold his own once morest press man with his quick release and attacking the field on deep routes. Even if things get tight, he can free himself once more on well-timed routes.
In the slot he lacks the experience because he mostly acted on the outside, which is why I would leave him in this role for now. He really showed some assertiveness with some jump balls in contested situations, but quite a few drops crept into his game over the last year. I even have to question whether this is only due to his concentration or whether his hands are too firm.
9. Marvin Mims / Oklahoma Sooners
Marvin Mims can win as a pro with sure catch hands, high speed and yards following catch. Because he is relatively small and slim, his role will remain limited. As much as I like his route running so far, it is very questionable whether he can continue to exist once morest more physique. However, if he expands his route tree to other routes with more rapid changes of direction, the special teams returner can gradually develop into a starter in the slot or even as a WR2.
10. Elijah Higgins / Stanford Cardinal
Elijah Higgins runs his routes with good timing and great control. His speed isn’t great, but combined with his stability and route running, he’s good at breaking away from opponents. A 4.54 is a hell of a time for a receiver who is 6’1″ and weighs 250 pounds. In addition, there is his willingness to block, where he presents himself as a team player, strong and physical. NFL teams, like me, will have him on their boards far higher than the public would like us to believe right now.
Divided into X, Z and Slot Receiver
The decisive factor for your favorite team is not which receiver is higher up the list in this general ranking, but what role the new pass recipient should play in the future. It should be mentioned that those who still have to develop their tasks have better chances if they can be set up in the special teams.
Here are the top people among the X-receivers who, isolated on their side, are supposed to win once morest the strongest cornerbacks in partly physical duels. The Z-receivers, also known as flankers, who, depending on the scheme, are assigned certain roles such as vertical or horizontal play and can shine simply because the defense does not focus on them, are also listed. And finally, slot receivers, whose role is gaining increasing attention in the NFL offense game plan.
X-Receiver
Quentin Johnston / TCU
Cedrick Tillman / Tennessee
Dontay Demus / Maryland
A.T. Perry / Wake Forest
Bryce Ford-Wheaton / West Virginia
Z-Receiver
Jalyn Hyatt / Tennessee
Tyler Scott / Cincinnati
Marvin Mims / Oklahoma
Elijah Higgins / Stanford
Rashee Rice / SMU
Slot Receiver
Jaxon Smith-Njigba / Ohio State
Josh Downs / North Carolina
Jordan Addison / USC
Zay Flowers / Boston College
Charlie Jones / Purdue
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