Where Does Ricky White III Rank Among the Top Mountain West Offensive Prospects?

The Mountain West Conference has a ton of talented young prospects who have declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. How does UNLV's Ricky White III stack up against the competition?
UNLV Rebels wide receiver Ricky White III (11) catches a touchdown pass in front of Utah State Aggies cornerback Avante Dickerson (17) in the first half at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.
UNLV Rebels wide receiver Ricky White III (11) catches a touchdown pass in front of Utah State Aggies cornerback Avante Dickerson (17) in the first half at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

The Mountain West Conference has a ton of talented young prospects who have declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. We are going to take a look at the top prospects from the conference and see where Ricky White III fits in. Here, we are going to focus on offensive prospects who we have graded out to be drafted and not be post-draft free-agent pickups. 

2025 NFL Draft: Mountain West Conference Offensive Prospect Rankings

1. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State Broncos

2. WR Jalen Royals, Utah State Aggies

3. WR Nick Nash, San Jose State Spartans

4. WR Troy Horton, Colorado State Rams

5. WR Ricky White III, UNLV Rebels

6. OL Mose Vavao, Fresno State Bulldogs

7. QB Spencer Petras, Utah State Aggies

We currently have White III ranked as the fifth-best offensive player coming out of the Mountain West Conference in this year's draft and the WR4 in the class. We all know Jeanty is a potential high first-round pick so we will focus on the wide receivers more here. Royals is a good margin ahead of the rest of these wideouts, so we will focus on Horton, Nash, and White III. 

You can make a case for White III to be the WR2 in this class, but his combine performance really hurt his stock and raised questions about his athletic upside. What makes him so appealing is that he is a complete receiver on offense and also a Day 1 special teams ace. That can't be overlooked. However, Horton has a niche that he can immediately try to fill for a team. He is a vertical field stretching specialist. So while he lacks the upside to ever become a WR1 or even WR2 in the NFL, he can come in and fill a very specific role.

Unlike the other two, Nash has an NFL body and has the potential to really develop into a true WR2 on the next level. He has already shown impressive development. If he can continue to develop like he has in college from year to year, he has real upside in the NFL as a potential starter. That's not likely for Horton or White III.

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Mark Morales-Smith
MARK MORALES-SMITH

Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites.