NFL Draft: Top 24 Receiver Prospects for Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – When and how many? Those are the questions at receiver for the Green Bay Packers entering the 2023 NFL Draft.
Even after drafting three receivers in 2022, the Packers have a massive need at receiver. They have only five receivers under contract; only three of them have caught a pass in game.
Will the Packers select a receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002? Regardless, don’t be surprised if they follow last year’s model of drafting one receiver early, one late and one in between.
The receiver class is weak at the top – Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba being the clear-cut No. 1 option – but should deliver quality depth well into Day 3.
Here are our Top 24 receiver candidates. It’s important to note that the Packers steer clear of small receivers, which means the likes of Boston College’s Zay Flowers (5-9 1/4, 182 pounds), North Carolina’s Josh Downs (5-8 3/4, 171 pounds), Cincinnati’s Tyler Scott (5-9 3/4, 177 pounds and Houston’s Tank Dell (5-8 3/4, 165 pounds) – four players who could go in the first two rounds – probably won’t be a consideration for the Packers.
(Note: Analytical stats are provided by Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions.)
1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
Measureables: 6-foot 5/8, 196 pounds, 9 hands. 4.52 40, 3.93 shuttle, 8.34 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Even while sharing targets with 2022 NFL first-round draft picks Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Smith-Njigba dominated in 2021. Here’s his slot-only production and where it ranked nationally, according to PFF: fifth with 87 receptions, third with 1,367 yards and seventh with eight touchdowns. Overall, he wound up beating Wilson and Olave in receptions (95 compared to 70 for Wilson and 65 for Olave) and yards (1,606 vs. 1,058 for Wilson and 936 for Olave). The yardage total broke a 20-year-old Big Ten record. In the Rose Bowl, he caught 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns. However, he missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury.
Analytical stats: Because Smith-Njigba barely played in 2022, this will focus on his 2021 numbers. Of 74 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked first with 4.01 yards per route run and 31st with a drop rate of 5.9 percent. He was 9-of-10 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 13-of-18 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 27 percent of his catches and averaged 8.6 yards after the catch. He finished third in YAC per catch and fourth with 19 missed tackles. He ran 15 unique routes.
How he fits: With Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs on the outside, Smith-Njigba could step into the slot and give new starting quarterback Jordan Love a premier package. Not that he can't play on the perimeter but he's the best slot threat in the draft.
“I just think my playmaking ability is second to none in this draft,” he said at the Combine. “I see myself as a top-five player, not just receiver. I see myself as a top-five player in this draft, just being able to make plays and given the opportunities, you know, you throw me the ball seven to nine times, I can win you the game. And I think that speaks for itself.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (USA Today Sports Images)
Athlon says: Smith-Njigba is an absolute surgeon as a route-runner thanks to a combination of quick feet, exceptional body control and fluid athleticism. Along with an innate feel for setting up defensive backs, he's a flexible athlete who is incredibly sharp getting in and out of cuts.
“I always think I’m one of one. I'm myself,” he said at the Combine. “But I definitely watch film of receivers. Davante Adams and his feet, Stefon Diggs and his overexaggerating route-running and Cooper Kupp (and) the way he finds space and takes advantage of the defense. A lot of players, I just try to steal little things from.”
Personal touch: Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline has created an NFL assembly line. He placed Smith-Njigba second on his all-time pecking order. "And the only reason why I feel very comfortable saying that, because Chris [Olave} and Garrett [Wilson] chose him, as well," Hartline said.
He’s always been a stud. He was a Texas player of the year after finishing his career with an astounding 82 career touchdowns – 34 of which came as a senior. He caught the school’s attention during a camp when he was in eighth grade.
“We figured out real quick that Jaxon knew all of the routes, knew how to run them already. He’d get out there and run a post-corner, then we just started making stuff up,” Rockwall High School coach Trey Brooks told The Athletic.
“I was sending videos to my buddies that follow us like, ‘Look at this kid.’ I’ll never forget seeing him run double-move routes. We’re giving him whatever we can think of, and he was able to do it so easily as an eighth-grader. And at that age, it wasn’t just that he was bigger, stronger and faster than everyone else. He could just play. He’s a natural route runner. That’s what made him stand out. He wasn’t this huge, physical freak.”
Sports are part of the family. His father played linebacker at Stephen F. Austin. His brother, Canaan, is an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The kids’ training started at an early age.
"My goal was to tire them out so when we got home, all I had to do was feed them, bathe them and put them to sleep," their father, Maada, told Fox Sports. "Then they started getting on [local] teams and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, these guys are good! They can play!’”
2. Jordan Addison, USC
Measureables: 5-11 1/8, 173 pounds, 8 3/4 hands. 4.49 40, 4.19 shuttle, 5.90 RAS
Stats and accolades: In three seasons – two at Pittsburgh and 2022 at USC – Addison caught 219 passes for 3,134 yards (14.3 average) and 29 touchdowns. He won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver in 2021 with 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. With the Trojans in 2022, he caught 59 passes for 875 yards (14.8 average) and eight scores.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 10th with 2.78 yards per route run and 18th with a drop rate of 3.3 percent. He was only 2-of-9 in contested-catch opportunities but caught 9-of-17 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. (At Pitt in 2021, he caught 22-of-40 deep balls.) He forced a missed tackle on just 8 percent of his catches but averaged 7.0 yards after the catch. He ran 16 unique routes and went deep 38.5 percent of the time, fourth and sixth, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receivers.
How he fits: Inside or outside, short of deep, Addison can win every which way. While the numbers were down in 2022, he showed much better hands.
“I feel like I'm the guy that can do anything,” he said at the Combine. “My traits, my God-given abilities, I'm sudden, quick and my route-running is really good. I can track the deep ball. I really can do anything from running an intermediate route, a shallow or deep ball. I'm doubted with my speed a little bit. I am going to show everybody what I can do. Some people slow down when they go into their breaks — I speed up.”
Athlon says: His game is built around exceptional quickness, as he creates easy and immediate separation at the snap with his ability to accelerate and change directions. He consistently won against press coverage with quickness off the line of scrimmage.
Personal touch: Addison dominated at Pittsburgh in 2021 en route to Biletnkoff and All-American accolades. “This is my dream,” Addison said. “This has been my dream since I was a young kid. Seeing that amazes me sometimes that I’m living it.” With quarterback Kenny Pickett off to the NFL’s Steelers, Addison transferred to USC – where he joined quarterback Caleb Williams and pocketed more than a million dollars of NIL money.
At Pitt, he drew quick comparisons to former star Antonio Brown. The hype built as he entered his 2021 season. He put it to bed when he went home to talk to his mom and nine siblings. “When I saw (the recognition), I took it in to show my mom, my family,” he told The Pittsburgh Tribune, “and, then, once I came here, now it’s time to go work for it. My mom was very proud. I told her, ‘I ain’t got it yet.’”
One of those siblings was his older brother, Michael, who was a Division II cornerback. “It was pretty tough because he knows me pretty well,” Jordan told The Pittsburgh Tribune. “He knows most of my moves. Growing up, that’s who I looked up to. He was the first one to play football within my family. He can’t guard me, though.”
Before emerging as a college star, Addison was a hot recruit – including by Notre Dame as a cornerback.
“We thought early on in our recruiting efforts that he would be a guy who would do well at the cornerback position because of his length,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “That’s kind of what stood out to us. But obviously he could play other positions as well. We are finding out that he’s going to be one of the top receivers in this league for a few years now.”
3. Quentin Johnston, TCU
Quentin Johnston (USA Today Sports Images)
Measureables: 6-2 3/4, 208 pounds, 9 5/8 hands. 4.51 40, 4.28 shuttle, 8.66 RAS.
Stats and accolades: In three seasons, Johnston caught 115 passes for 2,190 yards (19.0 average) and 14 touchdowns. In 2022, he grabbed 60 passes for 1,069 yards (a career-low average of 17.8 yards per reception) and six scores. He was first-team all-Big 12 in 2022 and was the MVP of the playoff victory over Michigan with his six receptions for 163 yards and a 76-yard touchdown.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked fifth with 3.05 yards per route run but 90th with a drop rate of 11.8 percent. He was 8-for-23 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 10-of-25 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 38 percent of his catches, tops in the class, and was third with 8.9 yards after the catch. He ran 12 unique routes and went deep 39 percent of the time, which ranked 28th and 16th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects. He’s not the traditional slot receiver but he led the class with 6.14 yards per target.
How he fits: Johnston is the total package with size, athleticism (40.5-inch vertical), ball skills and an incredible knack for a bigger receiver to beat would-be tacklers and pile up yards after the catch. Christian Watson and Johnston on the perimeter could be double trouble for defenses.
"Being a taller receiver, my ability to get in and out of my breaks,” he said at the Combine of an underrated aspect of his game. “Usually, unless you've already been in the league, it takes taller receivers more time to get in and out of breaks. I feel like that's something I've worked on a lot, playing like I'm 5-10.”
Athlon says: A size/speed monster with an unmatched 2022 highlight reel, Johnston dominates when he's at his best. The raw athleticism is off the charts; he's a long but twitched-up mover who eats up ground in a hurry when running vertically. His ball-tracking ability, body control and concentration are exceptional; he's an acrobat in the air who can adjust and make plays in traffic.
Personal touch: When Sonny Dykes took over as coach, he targeted four players he needed to keep on the roster. Only Johnston stayed – and he played a huge role in leading the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoffs.
“I think it was important not only for his talent, but I think it was also an endorsement from him,” Dykes said in January. “Everybody was looking for somebody to say, ‘Look, I’m jumping on the train.’ And Quentin did that for us. And I think it gave our staff some credibility because, when you take over in today’s era of football, there’s chaos. There’s a lot of guys looking to leave, and there’s people reaching out to them. … And you’re trying to get to know these guys. You’re trying to sell them on your vision for the program.”
Perhaps Johnston’s family background played a role in his loyalty. Both of his parents served in the military – his mom in Desert Storm and his father in Kuwait.
As he said at the Combine: “Temple (Texas is) a small town, not a lot of people make it out. From making it out of there, to doing well in college, to this point, I can't ask for anything better. I'm excited for me and my family for sure. For kids to be looking up to me, I'm not an emotional guy, but when I think about everything I've been through and everybody who looks up to me, it's something very special.”
4. Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
Measureables: 6-foot 1/8, 176 pounds, 9 hands. 4.40 40, 4.33 shuttle, 8.75 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Hyatt had a bananas final season with 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and an FBS-leading 15 touchdowns to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. He averaged 18.9 yards per catch. Through the first two-and-a-half seasons of his career, he scored nine touchdowns. Then he caught six passes for 207 yards and five touchdowns vs. Alabama. During the final seven games, he scored 10 touchdowns and topped 130 yards on four occasions.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked third with 3.27 yards per route run and 57th with a drop rate of 6.9 percent. He was 3-for-5 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 14-of-24 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield with a draft class-leading eight touchdowns. He forced a missed tackle on only 12 percent of his catches but averaged 7.3 yards after the catch. He ran 12 unique routes and went deep 35 percent of the time, both of which ranked 28th among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects. He ranked fifth in the draft class in slot receptions and first in touchdowns.
How he fits: Hyatt is a long-ball artist who could provide some incredible big-play ability if paired with Christian Watson. Imagine the play-action possibilities. They’d also open up the middle of the field for whoever is drafted at tight end.
“When I step on a field just knowing nobody can cover me as far as with speed, making that threat for defenders, taking advantage of that,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “As far as when I run to them if I do have a free release, how they backpedal, they try to get out a little quicker, get out a little faster, it actually sets up more stuff for digs or for hooks or curls, other route tree that I have. I think the speed it translates, it's big for the NFL.”
Most of his routes came from the slot. That would fit in the NFL, too, as it would keep him out of press coverage.
“There are some teams that think I should just play slot, but I believe I can play everywhere on the field,” he said at pro day. “I have some outside reps, I’ve played outside before. I know what to do on the outside. All of that. Just playing receiver comes easy to me. At the same time, you’re still a receiver and you’re still going out there and making plays. It doesn’t matter where I’m at. Wherever the coaches think I can play at, or wherever they think I feel comfortable at, I just can’t wait to get on the team. Can’t wait to just go out there and play.”
Athlon says: The ultra-fast Hyatt consistently blew defensive backfields away during his breakout 2022 season. Speed is his calling card, and he emerged as college football's most dangerous deep threat last season.
Personal touch: Hyatt, a native of Irmo, S.C., who scored 57 touchdowns at Dutch Pork High School, was a hot recruit but was deemed too slight-of-build at about 155 pounds. Both of his home-state teams said thanks but no thanks.
"It sucked not getting an offer from your hometown school because I feel like they should be the first ones to offer," Hyatt told ESPN. "But they never did, and I know why. Things work out the way they're supposed to, and I'm glad they thought I was too small. It helped lead me here, and look at what all I would have missed."
As his father recalled of a conversation with then-South Carolina coach Will Muschamp in the interview with ESPN, "Man, you're fast, but you need to eat more peanut butter."
Hyatt has an athletic background. His father played college basketball, his mom was a sprinter and his younger brother, Devin, will be a freshman on Arizona’s football team.
5. Jonathan Mingo, Mississippi
Measureables: 6-1 3/4, 220 pounds, 10 3/8 hands. 4.46 40, 4.25 shuttle, 9.86 RAS.
Stats and accolades: In four seasons, Mingo caught 112 passes for 1,758 yards (15.7 average) and 12 touchdowns, topped by his 51 grabs for 861 yards (16.9 average) and five touchdowns as a senior to earn second-team all-SEC.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 41st with 2.14 yards per route run and 60th with a drop rate of 7.3 percent. He was 7-of-17 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 10-of-27 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 24 percent of his catches and averaged 7.3 yards after the catch, 12th-best. He ran 16th unique routes and went deep 33 percent of the time, which ranked fourth and 35th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects. He was guilty of four penalties, tied for the most among our top 25 receiver prospects.
Jonathan Mingo (USA Today Sports Images)
How he fits: Roughly speaking, Mingo played two snaps on the outside for every one in the slot. So, he fits the mold as the big slot receiver – something Allen Lazard did so well. Those 10 3/8-inch hands should help him catch the ball as well as block smaller slot defenders.
“I feel like I just can’t be stopped,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Once I get the ball in my hands, I feel like nobody can bring me down I feel like I have great run-after-the-catch because I got a lot of tools in my bag.”
At pro day, he added: “I think today went well. Just showing every team I’m versatile. I can play any position and show them I can run the whole route tree.”
NFL Draft Bible says: Stout for a receiver, frame is reminiscent of Ole Miss pass catchers in the NFL. Liken his skill-set to an outside receiver with some versatility in the slot or tighter alignments. Utilized on locked hitches and smoke screens in the quick game. Want the ball in his hands where his pace and strength garner yards. An acrobat in the air, body control, and strength to maintain balance through the catch point.
Personal touch: Mingo caught nine passes for a school-record 247 yards against Vanderbilt. It was especially meaningful based on the calendar. “I had surgery last year around this time in October,” to repair a broken foot. “I had it again in April to make sure everything would be straight during the season. So, it’s a blessing out there in the field. I don’t take (any) day for granted.”
The broken foot meant Mingo was down. But he wasn’t out. Faith and his mom kept him positive through tough times. “Jonathan is a very humble, loving, encouraging, motivating individual who doesn't always just look out for him,” his mother, Tonja, told DJournal.com. “He’s wanting to have a huge breakout season … But at the same time, he’s hoping that his other teammates, especially those that are playing their last year in college, that they have a great season as well. He doesn’t want to just take it all in for himself.”
Said Mingo at pro day of draft projection: “It’s not up to me. I feel like which team gets me they’re going to get a good player. So, whoever skips over me, that’s their miss. Whoever gets me going to get a dog. I know I got more left on the table and more I can bring out. There’s a lot of football people never seen out of me. Whatever team gets me they’re going to get a blessing.”
6. Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
Measureables: 6-3 3/8, 213 pounds, 10 hands. 4.54 40, DNP shuttle, 8.67 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Tillman caught eight passes from 2018 through 2020, then caught 64 passes for 1,081 yards (16.9 average) and 12 touchdowns in 2021. A high-ankle sprain limited him for most of 2022, limiting him to 37 catches for 417 yards (11.3 average) and three touchdowns.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 46th with 2.01 yards per route run and 32nd with a drop rate of 5.1 percent. He was 6-for-14 in contested-catch opportunities and caught just 3-of-15 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield (compared to 13-of-18 and 12-of-27, respectively, in 2021). He forced a missed tackle on 8 percent of his catches and averaged 2.9 yards after the catch, both rates among the worst in the class. He ran nine unique routes and went deep 33 percent of the time, which ranked 45th and 35th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: The Packers like big receivers – and if they’ve got big hands, all the better. Tillman checks all the boxes. Ignore the injury-impacted 2022 numbers and look at how he dominated in 2021. However, is he just a one-year wonder?
“I think No. 1, you’ve got to be disciplined,” Tillman said at the Scouting Combine about being an NFL receiver. “No. 2, I think you’ve got to go out there and play even when you’re injured. And No. 3, you’ve just got to make plays. You’ve got to be a playmaker. I take great pride in trying to make plays for my team. … I feel like naturally I’m a playmaker, but definitely being able to make plays for my team, I high-point the ball, red zone – I think NFL teams will look forward to that.”
Athlon says: Tillman is a power forward–type receiver with impressive body control for his size. His ability to wall off defensive backs with his broad frame is his biggest advantage, but his length, strong hands, competitiveness and concentration also combine to make him a force in contested-catch situations.
Personal touch: Tillman’s father, also named Cedric, was an 11th-round draft pick by Denver in 1992. In four seasons as a receiver for the Broncos and Jaguars, he caught 87 passes for 1,227 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I just remember I was around 6 or 7 years old and I remember my dad just said come in the car right quick and took me to flag football practice,” Tillman recalled on a podcast. “Ever since then I’ve been playing football. It’s just that I saw my dad and brother play so it’s just like OK, they did it, so I’m supposed to do it. And I just fell in love with the game. …
“My dad … coached me my whole life. From elementary school to high school. He’s hard on me, but that’s just because he has high expectations. He sees a lot of himself in me. A lot of times when I’m frustrated with him or anything like that, I just remember he just wants to see me be great. That’s definitely a person I look up to.”
Despite the genetics, he was ranked No. 246 among receiver in his recruiting class.
“Sometimes players like me can get lost up in the recruiting scheme,” he told 247 Sports. “The late-bloomers, sometimes we get lost, caught up. But it paid off now, so I don’t think those thousand guys that were in front of me, I don’t know what they’re doing now.”
In three seasons, Tillman had 124 receiving yards. Still, Vols receivers coach Kodi Burns thought big things were ahead. "He called me up into his office," Tillman recalled, "and he said there is no reason why I shouldn't have a 1,000-yard season. It definitely became a goal of mine, and I'm definitely going to try and get it."
7. Rashee Rice, SMU
Measureables: 6-foot 5/8, 204 pounds, 9 1/2 hands. 4.51 40, 4.23 shuttle, 9.53 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Elevated into a bigger role with Danny Gray off to the NFL, Rice caught 96 passes for 1,355 yards (14.1 average) and 10 touchdowns as a senior to earn second-team All-American honors. His 112.9 yards per game led the nation. His four-year totals were 233 receptions, 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Analytical stats: In the deep game, he was first in catches, targets and drops (four). He forced a missed tackle on 22 percent of his catches and averaged 6.2 yards after the catch. He ran 14 unique routes and went deep 36 percent of the time, which ranked 14th and 26th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
Athlon says: Rice has the best hands in this draft class, assembling a highlight reel of catches in which he had to work through contact in heavy traffic, contort his body to adjust to the ball, or both. His effective catch radius is enormous despite merely average size. He's very competitive after the catch as well, with the ability to break a tackle and make a short throw into a long gain.
How he fits: The drops are troubling but he was unstoppable at times, whether it was deep balls or contested-catch opportunities. The Packers could use a weapon in the slot and Rice was superb, ranking second in the draft class with 4.99 yards per slot route (behind only TCU’s Quentin Johnston). With nice size, Rice will block, too, which surely will catch Green Bay’s attention.
“In my opinion, and probably most people would agree, there’s not a better receiver in the draft that can catch the ball contested like he can,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said at pro day. “They’re not 50-50 balls with him, they’re 80-20 or better with him. Most of the people can only cover him by tackling him.”
Personal touch: After biding his time behind Danny Gray, Reggie Roberson and James Proche, Rice broke NFL star Emmanuel Sanders’ school record for receiving yards. ”He’s a professional now,” SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods. “Obviously, he’s got unique ability, but God gave him that. It’s the other part that’s so impressive.”
Always a smart player, Rice needed to work on his stamina before he could make a consistent impact. “My legs were like real-life noodles,” he said after being thrust into duty in 2019. Before his final season, he gained muscle but lost weight to put himself in position to succeed.
“Out of high school, I always had to prove myself. In college, at SMU, we always had to prove ourselves as a team, so it was nothing new to me,” Rice said at pro day. “Being able to prove myself to [scouts and evaluators] is another opportunity to shut everything down and close all the noise off.”
His monster final season came despite playing through a toe injury for most of the season.
“If you look at his first three games, specifically the Maryland game against a top-flight corner where he was explosive, versus after he got hurt, he was still tough and productive because he loves to ball,” Lashlee said at pro day. “He loves to compete, that's what he loves to do. He had plenty of chances to shut it down in the middle of the year, and no one would've blamed him. He didn't because he loves to compete and play with his teammates.”
8. Jayden Reed, Michigan State
Measureables: 5-10 7/8, 187 pounds, 9 1/8 hands. 4.45 40, 4.29 shuttle, 6.73 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Reed in four seasons (2018 at Western Michigan; 2020 through 2022 at MSU) caught 203 passes for 2,866 yards (14.1 average) and 19 touchdowns. He had an incredible junior year with 59 receptions for 1,026 yards (17.4 average) and 10 touchdowns to earn first-team All-American honors. He caught 55 passes in 2022 but for only 636 yards (11.6 average) and five scores. He averaged 20.0 yards per kickoff return and 15.3 yards with three touchdowns on punt returns.
Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 66th with 1.83 yards per route run and 70th with a drop rate of 8.3 percent. He was an excellent 11-of-17 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 11-of-24 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 9 percent of his catches and averaged 4.0 yards after the catch.
How he fits: Reed’s speed, contested-catch ability and return skill would make him an instant-impact performer. He didn’t align much in the slot but was almost unstoppable when he did, catching 16-of-17 targets. He’s a pretty good blocker, as well.
“My versatility. That is a part of my game since high school,” he told Dawgs By Nature at the Senior Bowl. “Special teams, return man, inside, outside, X, Y, Z, slot, anything they want me to play, I can go out there and do it.”
Personal touch: Reed had only four scholarship offers and chose Western Michigan. After earning Freshman All-American honors with 56 receptions, he transferred to Michigan State. “Always a chip on my shoulder,” Reed said after at pro day. “I never forget what I’ve been through in my past. That’s always carried on to everything I do. I always give 100 percent in whatever I do. That’s how I got to this point today.”
Growing up in Naperville, Ill., his nickname was “Bird” because of his running style. His father died from heart and kidney problems when he was a sophomore in high school. His grade suffered. “He pushed me in everything I did. Everything," Reed told The Lansing State Journal. "I didn’t know how to handle it. I felt like I had nothing left.”
Thanks to his relationship with Payton Thorne – his quarterback as a kid as well as at Michigan State – Reed got back on track. He became a star in football and earned his degree from MSU in 2021.
Reed showed up at the Scouting Combine with an eye infection. “I knew I was going to run the (40-yard dash), but I only need one eye to run the 40,” Reed said. “In terms of catching the ball, I wasn't sure if I was going to do all the drills. But again, I thought about it. It's a childhood dream, so I was like all right, I cannot miss this.”
9. Marvin Mims, Oklahoma
Measureables: 5-10 7/8, 183 pounds, 9 hands. 4.38 40, DNP shuttle, 9.40 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Mims caught 123 passes for 2,398 yards and 20 touchdowns in three seasons, a gaudy 19.5 average. In 2022 he was first-team all-Big 12 with 54 receptions for 1,083 yards (20.1 average) and six scores.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 11th with 2.75 yards per route run and 57th with a drop rate of 6.9 percent. He was 6-of-11 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 13-of-33 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 17 percent of his catches and averaged 8.1 yards after the catch, fifth-best in the class. He ran 11 unique routes and went deep 41 percent of the time, which ranked 39th and 13th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Mimis is a playmaker, however he’s used. Of note, he delivered 21 catches from the slot and was eighth with 2.87 slot yards per catch. He’s small, so putting him in the slot would keep him from press coverage. Plus, he averaged 11.8 yards per punt return in three seasons in that role.
“I had three different quarterbacks, two different OCs, head coaching change [but] my production over the past few years, I mean, it's always been up there, always been consistent” he said at the Scouting Combine. “I think I averaged 16 then 22 to 20 yards per catch to 19 in my career. That's something I pride myself a lot – just making big plays, whether that's a screen, short pass, medium pass or a deep ball.”
Personal touch: With Mims, the plan was obvious. “You’ve got to give 17 the ball,” tight end Brayden Willis said after a victory over Kansas. “He’s so explosive, he’s so fast, he does such great things with the ball in his hand. and he also does great things without the ball in his hand. He does a great job of blocking if anybody ever catches it. Getting him involved is imperative.”
That was the plan in high school. At Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, he set the state record with 5,485 receiving yards for his career and the national record with 2,629 yards in a season. “Nowadays, people throw the ball a lot, so I'm hoping it stands for a while,” he said at the Combine, “but whoever can beat it, much respect to them, but I hope it stays up there for a while.”
Playing simultaneously, Mims and Jaxon Smith-Njigba chased the Texas career receiving record. Entering state semifinal games, Smith-Njigba had an 8-yard lead over Mims. For a couple years, they were AAU basketball teammates.
Mims brings plenty of value on special teams. Whenever he gets his first chance, he’ll be more comfortable than he was before making his debut in 2020.
“It’s a funny story because we had Coach (Shane) Beamer at the time, special teams coach, and Charleston Rambo was the other guy,” Mims said at pro day. “Coach DeMarco Murray told me I was starting. This was before we played Missouri State our freshman year, and I was scared out of my mind to go out there. I was nervous. Everything. I wouldn’t say anything. I was just so tensed up.
“He’s like, ‘Yeah, Rambo’s gonna go out there and get the first one.’ I got the second one. Punt return’s a huge isolated thing. I’m out there just shaking, catch it and return it for maybe 20 or 30 yards. After that, I’m feeling good.”
10. Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State
Xavier Hutchinson (USA Today Sports Images)
Measureables: 6-1 7/8, 203 pounds, 9 3/8 hands. 4.53 40, 4.35 shuttle, 7.25 RAS.
Stats and accolades: A junior-college transfer, Hutchinson piled up 64 receptions in 2020, 83 in 2021 and 107 in 2022, which he turned into 1,171 yards (10.9 average) and six touchdowns. He was first-team all-Big 12 all three seasons and first-team All-American as a senior. He is ISU’s single-season and career leader in receptions and led the nation in catches the past three years.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 12th with 2.72 yards per route run and 33rd with a drop rate of 5.1 percent. He was 14-of-31 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 9-of-19 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 17 percent of his catches and averaged 4.2 yards after the catch. He ran 13 unique routes and went deep 36 percent of the time, which ranked 19th and 26th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects..
How he fits: Hutchinson’s not the greatest of athletes but he knows how to get open and make plays on the ball. He ranked seventh in the class with 3.20 yards per route from the slot. Unlike a lot of the receivers in this draft, he actually catches the ball with consistency. He won’t wow anyone in any particular area but he’ll put up numbers.
“I honestly think it’s my yards-after-catch ability,” he told The Draft Network. “My ability to create something out of nothing sets me apart. Whether it’s a bubble [screen] or a simple shallow route, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy either. I might pick up an 6 six yards after the catch. You never know when those 6 yards can hurt the defense and swing the momentum in our favor. I’d say my yards-after-catch ability is my first X-factor. My contested-catch ability is up there. Everybody can make the easy catches. When it comes to the hard catches, can you make them? I can. I pride myself on that.”
Personal touch: One of the top receivers in the draft was a zero-star recruit following his high school career in Jacksonville, Fla. “In high school, I wanted to be a basketball player,” Hutchinson told The Des Moines Register. “I had the confidence to say I could maybe be Power 5 (in basketball).” He wasn’t, he belatedly realized. “I didn’t have the 47-, 48-inch vertical like most basketball players nor was I 6-foot-6, so my senior year in high school, I geared toward football more.”
He spent two years at Blinn Junior College before getting his shot at Iowa State, where he piled up the accolades.
“Yeah, honestly, it feels surreal,” he said at pro day. “I’ve always dreamed of this since I was a kid. I know that everybody says that, but truly, since I was five years old, I dreamed of being in this position. So, to be in this position, it feels great. I just have to capitalize every chance that I get.”
11. Trey Palmer, Nebraska
Measureables: 6-foot 1/4, 192 pounds, 9 5/8 hands. 4.33 40, 4.26 shuttle, 6.15 RAS.
Stats and accolades: After three seasons at LSU, it was off to the Big Ten for Palmer. It was a wise decision, just as it was for Samori Toure the year before. Palmer has big-time speed. He caught 71 passes for 1,043 yards (14.9 average) and nine touchdowns to earn some all-Big Ten honors in 2022.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked fourth with 3.26 yards per route run and 94th with a drop rate of 12.3 percent. He was 7-of-23 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 12-of-32 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 14 percent of his catches and averaged 5.4 yards after the catch. He ran 14 unique routes and went deep 39 percent of the time, which ranked 14th and 16th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Palmer has inside-outside versatility and can stretch the field. From the slot, he caught 43 passes and was 12th in yards per route – just ahead of Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt – with 2.89 yards. At LSU, he returned a punt for a touchdown in 2019 and a kickoff in 2020. He’s not a small man but struggled in contested-catch situations.
“A playmaking person. I'm just a dog, and versatile. I love returning kicks,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “I really just like the ball in my hands and I do what I do with the ball in my hands.”
Personal touch: It was quite the one-and-done season for Palmer, who set Nebraska’s single-season receiving record.
“They can’t guard me — that’s all I seen,” Palmer said after trouncing Iowa. “They can’t guard me or they can’t run with me. That’s what I did.”
That’s not Palmer’s only record. At Kentwood (La.) High School, Palmer won the 100-meter state title as a senior and ran away with four 200-meter state championships, including a state-meet record time of 21.11 as a senior.
“You ain’t gonna out-throw me,” said Palmer, who led the nation with three catches of 70-plus yards and four catches of 60-plus yards.
12. Charlie Jones, Purdue
Measureables: 5-11 3/8, 175 pounds, 9 hands. 4.43 40, 4.15 shuttle, 8.55 RAS.
Stats and accolades: With two seasons at Buffalo and three seasons at Iowa, Jones’ career was going nowhere. He transferred to Purdue for 2022 and led the nation with 110 receptions. Jones was a second-team All-American with a school-record 1,361 yards and 12 touchdowns. At Iowa, he averaged 25.4 yards per kickoff return in 2021 and 8.6 yards per punt return in 2020 and 2021.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 14th with 2.70 yards per route run and 11th with a drop rate of 2.7 percent. He was 22-of-42 in contested-catch opportunities – the most contested catches in the class – and caught 12-of-30 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on just 7 percent of his catches and averaged 4.1 yards after the catch. He ran 16 unique routes and went deep 37 percent of the time, which ranked fourth and 23rd, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: With a lack of play strength to beat press, Jones might be able to make a living in the slot. He caught 24-of-27 passes from that spot last year, with more touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three). His 4.33 yards per route from the slot trailed only Quentin Johnston and Rashee Rice. Jones has good speed and great hands.
“I think that gives me a little bit of an edge, being able to be a receiver and a returner,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Not everything starts out the way you want. So, at the next level, there may not be something right away so if the way to get my foot in the door is special teams, I think getting that opportunity at Iowa taught me how important special teams was. That's how I got my foot in the door at Iowa and ultimately how I got the chance to show I'm also a receiver at Purdue.”
Personal touch: Jones is a study in perseverance and personal belief. He gave up a scholarship at Buffalo to join Iowa as a walk-on.
“It definitely was a tough decision,” Jones told SI. “I was on scholarship there. I came here as a walk-on. A hard decision for me and my family. But I knew this is what I wanted to do. And this is a great program, one that rewards people who work hard. I’m still learning every day. And I just hope to get the opportunity to show what I’ve been working on.”
Having made his mark as a returner, Jones wanted to make his mark on offense. Purdue lost three receivers for coach Jeff Brohm’s pass-happy offense.
“I just bet on myself,” he said at the Combine. “I believed I could play against the best of the best every week. That's why I made the move from Buffalo to Iowa. After that I wanted to prove that I was one of the best recievers, so I made the move from Iowa to Purdue.”
Jones had six games of 10-plus receptions, including a career-high 13 against Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game.
“I’ve got a pretty unique story,” Jones said at the Combine. “I think it shows I’m resilient, and I’m willing to work. I didn’t come out of high school super highly recruited. I definitely wasn’t when I was leaving Buffalo. None of that stuff matters to me. I’m going to put my head down and go to work.”
13. Parker Washington, Penn State
Measureables: 5-9 3/4, 204 pounds, 10 1/8 hands. No workouts (ankle).
Stats and accolades: In three seasons, Washington caught 146 passes for 1,920 yards (13.2 average) and 12 touchdowns. He caught a career-high 64 passes in 2021. In 2022, he missed the final three games and was limited to 46 receptions for 611 yards (13.3 average) and two touchdowns.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 36th with 2.18 yards per route run and 41st with a drop rate of 6.1 percent. He was 5-of-7 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 4-of-10 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 35 percent of his catches and averaged 6.7 yards after the catch. He ran 16 unique routes and went deep 39 percent of the time, which ranked fourth and 16th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: We’ll go with the Amari Rodgers rule here. The Packers don’t draft short receivers but bucked that trend in 2021 with Amari Rodgers, who was less than 5-foot-10 (5-9 1/2) but a sturdy 212 pounds. Washington is a bit closer to the 5-10 bar but 204 pounds and with large hands. He caught 30 passes from the slot in 2022. Really, he could be what the Packers were hoping they were getting in Rodgers as a play capable of taking a bunch of short passes for extended yardage because he runs with such power.
His best traits? “Playmaking ability and being versatile. Third, having elite hands; and last understanding how to get open. Understanding zones, understanding man, and being able to make plays,” he said at the Combine.
Personal touch: Washington’s dad played at Mississippi State, his sister works for the Chicago Bears and a cousin is NFL quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
“My dad just pushed me to be the best me I can be,” he said at the Combine. “I feel like that's a great support system I have. I don't take that lightly. I use that as motivation.”
Washington is short but he’s not small.
“He played really good high school football (in suburban Houston),” coach James Franklin said. “When he got here, he didn’t really look like a wideout. He looked like a running back. His lower half is really built that way. Then he has elite ball skills. And he’s a smart guy, so he’s taken a very mature approach to it. We’re excited about his future.”
Washington missed the end of the 2022 season with an ankle injury that kept him out of predraft testing. He could have returned to school but decided to enter the draft.
“You have to bet on yourself and be confident in yourself,” Washington said at pro day, which was attended by Packers GM Brian Gutekunst. “At the end of the day, it is a gamble. If I come back, it’s a gamble. You have to be willing to attack that and put your best foot forward and be confident.”
14. Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia
Dontayvion Wicks (USA Today Sports Images)
Measureables: 6-1 3/8, 206 pounds, 10 hands. 4.62 40, 4.20 shuttle, 9.16 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Turn on the 2021 film and Wicks looks like a potential first-round pick with his 57 receptions for 1,203 yards (21.1 average) and nine touchdowns to earn first-team all-ACC. However, 2022 was a different story with 30 catches, 430 yards and two touchdowns).
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 88th with 1.45 yards per route run and last with a drop rate of 23.1 percent. He was 3-of-14 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 5-of-21 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 27 percent of his catches and averaged 4.1 yards after the catch. He ran 12 unique routes and went deep 47 percent of the time, which ranked 28th and seventh, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Wicks took a predraft visit to Green Bay. No doubt his tale of two seasons was a topic of conversation. He went from 3.25 yards per route with 15-of-29 success on contested catches to 1.45 yards per route with 3-of-14 on contested catches. He’s got nice size, above-average quickness and giant hands, which make that appalling drop rate seem unfathomable. He’s an asset as a blocker.
“He needs to improve his hands and work on his strength at the catch point to be a viable threat in an offense,” The 33rd Team wrote. “He did show good toughness in contested catch situations and going over the middle. He also showed good effort in the run game as a blocker when he knew the ball was coming his way.”
Personal touch: What happened last year?
“What I tell them is that I feel like I learned a lot from last year,” Wicks said at the Senior Bowl, where he was voted a player of the week by the opposing defensive backs, “and that I’m using it as a motivation to show that you can always be at your lowest but it’s about how you react and respond. I also tell them that 2021 was the real me and 2022 was a year of thinking, learning a new scheme and new systems.”
Wicks grew up with dreams of being a basketball player. Virginia delivered his only Power-5 scholarship offer late during his senior season. “I didn’t get an ACC scholarship until a month before Signing Day,” he told NBC 29. “So, I didn’t really imagine this. I really thought I was going to go play basketball in college.”
This touchdown was incredible.
15. Michael Wilson, Stanford
Measureables: 6-1 7/8, 213 pounds, 9 3/4 hands. 4.58 40, 4.27 shuttle, 9.55 RAS.
Stats and accolades: In five seasons, Wilson caught 134 passes for 1,662 yards and 11 touchdowns. Injuries, however, limited him to merely 14 games the last three years. It’s too bad. In six games in 2022, he caught 26 passes for 418 yards (16.1 average) and four touchdowns.
Analytical stats: Had he reached our 50-targets threshold, Wilson would have ranked 32nd out of 104 with 2.30 yards per route run and 96th with a drop rate of 12.9 percent. He was 5-of-10 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 5-of-7 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 31 percent of his catches and averaged 7.8 yards after the catch. He ran 10 unique routes and went deep 27 percent of the time, which ranked 43rd and 45th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Wilson is one of the more polished prospects in the draft. He’s got NFL size, runs NFL routes and blocks – a Combine-high 23 reps on the bench press helps him with the physical battles – but can’t stay healthy if his, well, career depended on it. By skill, he’s probably second round, but it’d going to be hard to justify using a premium pick on a player with an injury history and without elite speed. An excellent Senior Bowl and Combine will help. It will be fascinating to see when he’s drafted.
“Wilson has the ideal size and build to play on the outside in the NFL” wrote The 33rd Team as part of an extensive scouting report. “He is a smooth and fluid athlete rather than a quick-twitch explosive player. He can run the entire route tree but does round some cuts at the stem point. He has reliable hands, showing good technique catching the ball away from his body.”
Personal touch: Growing up in Simi Valley, Calif., Wilson was a star receiver and point guard with a 4.1 GPA.
“Pretty much from a young age, that was my dream school,” Wilson told The Los Angeles Times. “That’s where my dad wanted me to go. That’s where my mom wanted me to go. My family felt I was a Stanford guy, whatever that means. I fit that role — someone who’s humble, works hard, great grades, kind of an academic-first guy who also has the athletic side.”
Wilson majored in management science and engineering, and he was an intern for Pac-12 Networks broadcaster Yogi Roth.
“That’s an avenue that interests me and he’s been a great resource,” Wilson told the LA Sentinel. “I’ve learned so much from him from media training to working with him on various projects, teaching me how to interview people, how to handle interviews.”
Wilson missed the end of the 2020 season and the start of the 2021 season with a foot injury. He then missed the second half of 2022 with an injury, as well.
16. A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
Measureables: 6-3 1/2, 198 pounds, 9 1/4 hands. 4.47 40, 4.32 shuttle, 9.62 RAS.
Stats and accolades: In his first three years, Perry caught 19 passes. During his final two seasons, he caught 26 touchdown passes. Perry was first-team all-ACC each of those years, with 71 catches, 1,293 yards (18.2 average) and 15 scores in 2021 and 81 receptions for 1,096 yards (13.5 average) and 11 scores in 2022.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 16th with 2.57 yards per route run and 76th with a drop rate of 9.0 percent. He was 11-of-25 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 10-of-28 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 10 percent of his catches and averaged 2.0 yards after the catch, that latter figure ranking 103rd. He ran 11 unique routes and went deep 31 percent of the time, which ranked 39th and 38th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: The Packers like their receivers to have some height, and Perry’s got that. He’s a better route-runner than a lot of taller receivers and has a good feel for the game. However, he’s absolutely no threat with the ball in his hands and doesn’t offer much as a blocker, either.
“Honestly, I thought about it as wanting to do things that shorter guys can do that taller guys can't,” he said at the Combine of his route-running skills. “Those are the kind of things I work on. I know I went into the indoor (facility) everyday just to work on those little things. I know those little things matter. In the game, getting out of breaks or sinking my hips and getting out of my cuts. I thought about it as, ‘I don't want the DB to beat me to my spot,’ so I was like ‘I got to work on this. It's something I have to work on.’ Just seeing a lot of things that taller guys can't do. I want to break that chain. I want to be able to do things, shift and all this kind of stuff.”
Personal touch: Perry, whose parents served in the Navy, starred in basketball (all-county) and track (county champion in the long jump) at Park Vista High School in Lake Worth, Fla. The track skill comes from his mom, who competed at Arizona State.
Still, his best offer was to UAB – he was only 185 pounds in high school – until Wake came in late. “My senior year, being at the bottom of the list in the county and being lower than guys I know I can compete with, I took that to heart, too,” he told the Palm Beach Post. “Looking at the offers they got, the season I had and I didn't get the same offers, it really messed with me a little bit because I really didn't understand why. What was I missing?”
Perry likes to have fun, inspired by former NFL star Chad Johnson. “That’s one guy I really looked up to,” Perry told The Winston-Salem Journal. “For all he’s done and just how he approached the game. Just put on a show for the people – help people have fun, see people happy. See your teammates having fun, see them happy.”
A former Packers great is the one receiver he likes to study. “I usually watch Davante Adams,” he said at the Combine. “Like, in college, I would watch his highlights before every game. Just to learn from him and take it into the game.”
17. Kayshon Boutte, LSU
Measureables: 5-11 1/4, 195 pounds, 9 1/2 hands. 4.50 40, 4.25 shuttle, 4.95 RAS.
Stats and accolades: In three seasons, Boutte caught 131 passes for 1,782 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught a career-high 48 passes in 2022, which he turned into 538 yards (11.2 average) and two touchdowns. He averaged 16.3 yards per catch as a freshman and scored nine touchdowns in just six games in 2021 before a season-ending ankle injury.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 86th with 1.49 yards per route run and 95th with a drop rate of 12.7 percent. He was 5-of-11 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 5-of-13 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 21 percent of his catches and averaged 4.8 yards after the catch.
How he fits: Boutte was a five-star recruit and sure played like one during his truncated 2021 season. He aligned in the slot at LSU (37 catches in 2022) and probably will in the NFL. He should be a late-round pick on drops alone but that five-star status and 2021 domination will hold sway.
Said NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah during a conference call: “When he was younger, you paid attention to him. He kind of jumped off the tape a little bit and got you excited. I didn't really see him take that next step going forward. There are some teams that still really like him and they're holding on to what they saw earlier, but I didn't think he was just real crisp as a route runner.”
Boutte sees his game as being similar to that of Stefon Diggs. What part of his game transfers best to the NFL? “Everything,” he said at the Combine. “I would say all-around transfer. … I'm a hard-working player. Anything you need me to do, I'm able to do.”
Personal touch: Boutte had a down season following the ankle injury but finished strong. Among his final six games: six catches for 115 yards vs. Florida, seven catches vs. Alabama and six catches for 107 yards vs. Georgia in the SEC title game.
“Yeah, I paid attention to that,” he said at the Combine of talk about his draft stock.” But I tried not to listen about what people are talking about. Honestly, if you ask me, I still feel like I'm WR1.”
His athleticism was honed in the backyard by playing chase with the family dog. Those games – and elite production at Westgate High School in New Iberia, La. – helped him escape a troubled area.
“This is a tough area," his high school coach told The Advocate. "Not too many people make it out. Our kids know that. As coaches, we push that. A lot of our kids maybe come from low-income areas, so their talents are going to pay for their school. We try to do our best.” Said Boutte: “There's a lot of stuff. Shootings. Killings. Stuff like that. You've just got to be cautious about where you're at.”
18. Justin Shorter, Florida
Justin Shorter (USA Today Sports Images)
Measureables: 6-4 1/2, 229 pounds, 10 hands. 4.55 40, 4.46 shuttle, 7.93 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Shorter spent his first two years at Penn State before transferring. After catching 41 passes in 2021, Shorter grabbed 29 passes for 577 yards (19.9 average) and two touchdowns in nine games in 2022.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 24th with 2.42 yards per route run and tied for first with a drop rate of 0 percent. He had the third-most receptions without a drop. He was 6-of-12 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 9-of-17 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He didn’t force a single missed tackle and averaged 3.0 yards after the catch. He ran 11 unique routes and went deep 54 percent of the time, which ranked 39th and first, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Shorter isn’t fast and he really isn’t quick, but he’s tall, powerful, has long arms (33 3/4 inches) and superior hands. There’s some Allen Lazard to his game, with the sneaky ability to get deep and the power to trigger the run game.
"Everyone has to work together and they give me the opportunities and obviously the quarterback," Shorter said at pro day. "My mind-set, I just want to work even harder. Where the ceiling is, I don’t really think I have a ceiling. I just want to really work and that involves bringing up the people around me. I want to bring everyone in that room up and get everyone better and eventually the whole team.”
Personal touch: When Shorter transferred to Florida, his mom moved, too. Good thing: She’s his quarterback. Literally. “She has a cannon,” Shorter told The Orlando Sentinel. “She can throw it.”
In June, he was one of 16 student-athletes who went to Greece for a service program.
“Really just seeing something else, seeing how other people live, someone else’s culture for a change. That really opened my eyes up,” he told FloridaGators.com. “I was kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ They call it wanderlust. Now I just want to travel everywhere now after doing that.”
19. Andre Iosivas, Princeton
Measureables: 6-3 1/8, 205 pounds, 8 3/4 hands. 4.43 40, 4.12 shuttle, 9.96 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Iosivas had a superb senior season with 66 receptions for 943 yards (14.3 average) and seven touchdowns to earn first-team All-American honors in FCS.
Analytical stats: Throughout this story, this list has been based on the 104 FBS-level receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game. Iosivas played in FCS. If you were to place his 2.71 yards per pass route, 4.5 percent drop rate and 6.7 yards after the catch into the FBS list, those numbers would rank 13th, 29th and 22nd in the class. He forced 16 missed tackles, caught 11-of-16 on contested-catch opportunities and 10-of-21 deep targets.
How he fits: If you want to bet on athleticism, bet on Iosivas, who finished fourth in the heptathlon in the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2022. He’s got the height, he’s got the speed. Can he compete with NFL players? That he’d be focusing only on football should help with the transition. Drops weren’t a problem in college but his hands are really small.
“Explosive playmaker,” he said when asked at Princeton’s pro day what he’ll provide to his NFL team. “Someone who is smart, and willing and hard-working. I’ll learn the playbook, I’ll play hard and I’ll make plays. I’m not a one-trick pony, you know? I think I have everything a team needs to be successful.”
Said NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah in a predraft conference call: “Obviously, he has a tremendous track background, so he can really run. He is a strider. He gains a lot of ground as he goes. He has a second gear when the ball goes up in the air. I didn't think he was a tremendous run-after-catch guy with make-miss and elusiveness, but a true over-the-top receiver. In a draft with so many small guys, he is one of the rare guys that's 6-3 and 200-plus (pounds). That will help him.”
Personal touch: Iosivas didn’t just compete in the heptathlon. He was one of the best at it. “[Breaking records] has always been at the back of my head. I knew what I could do athletically — it was just about putting the pieces together. I don’t mentally … go into meets thinking ‘oh, I’m going to … make this mark’ or ‘I’m going to run this time.’ I go into it with the mindset that if my training is where it is, I should be able to perform well,” he told the Daily Princetonian. “And so I never really go into things overthinking; I just let them happen.”
He showed that elite athletic ability at the Scouting Combine. “It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication and vision to get to where I am now. As long as you have trust in the process and trust in yourself, your path will be your path,” Iosivas told The Daily Princeton.
He’s drawn comparisons to another former FCS star, Green Bay’s Christian Watson.
“People always make comparisons as prospects are heading for the league,” Iosivas said at the Scouting Combine. “I’m very grateful [to Watson for putting] smaller guys like me on the map, but my goal is to carve my own path.”
20. Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia
Measureables: 6-3 3/4, 221 pounds, 9 3/8 hands. 4.38 40, 4.15 RAS, 9.97 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Ford-Wheaton was second-team all-Big 12 in 2022 with 62 receptions for 675 yards (13.1 average) and seven touchdowns. He finished his career with 143 grabs, 1,867 yards and 15 scores.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 76th with 1.73 yards per route run and 75th with a drop rate of 8.8 percent. He was 18-of-34 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 7-of-24 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 10 percent of his catches and averaged 4.4 yards after the catch. He ran 11 unique routes and went deep 45 percent of the time, which ranked 39th and eighth, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Ford-Wheaton is a coaching-staff special. What receiver coach will convince his general manager that he’s the man that can coax the most out of that prodigious toolbox? He’s tall, he’s fast, he can jump (41-inch vertical). He should be unguardable. And he was to an extent; look at all that contested-catch production. But a 10.9-yard average in 2022? How is that even possible?
“If you look at his measurables, they’re off the charts,” coach Neal Brown said at pro day. “His numbers at the Combine, I think they speak for themselves. I think you’ve seen some things that came out historically for what receivers’ numbers are that are guys that size and who he compares to and he’s in rare air.
“His best football is going to continue to be ahead of him. He’s going to be an asset, not just as a receiver.”
Personal touch: A North Carolina native, Ford-Wheaton followed his grandfather, Garrett Ford Sr., and uncle, Garrett Ford Jr., to West Virginia. Garrett Ford Sr. was a running back and became the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher and first black assistant coach. His parents went to West Virginia, as well.
“Both my uncle and my grandfather played here,” Ford-Wheaton told The West Virginian Times. “We always argue who’s the best. Now I’m moving up in the ranks a little bit.”
The RAS is elite. So is this: Over the last two decades, Ford-Wheaton and Seattle Seahawks stars D.K. Metcalf and Tariq Woolen are the only players who are taller than 6-foot-3 to beat 4.4 in the 40 and eclipse 40 inches on the vertical.
“Every time you do what they say you can’t do, they’re going to add something on and you can’t do this now,” Ford-Wheaton said at pro day. “I’m still hearing it, but I’m still going to prove them wrong at the end of the day and just keep working.”
21. Elijah Higgins, Stanford
Measureables: 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, 10 1/2 hands. 4.54 40, DNP shuttle, 8.94 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Higgins caught 104 passes during his final two seasons, including 59 grabs for 704 yards (11.9 average) and two touchdowns as a senior to earn honorable-mention all-Pac-12.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 66th with 1.83 yards per route run and 44th with a drop rate of 6.3 percent. He was just 4-of-13 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 3-of-8 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 28 percent of his catches and averaged 6.8 yards after the catch. He ran 14 unique routes and went deep 34 percent of the time, which ranked 14th and 30th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: The Packers lost a big, dirty-work receiver in Allen Lazard. Lazard was a top option in the slot, even without that stereotypical slot skill-set. Higgins ranked 13th in the draft class with 45 slot receptions. Interestingly, at the 2018 Scouting Combine, Lazard was viewed as a combo tight end and receiver. That’s a projection for Higgins, as well.
“I’ve been watching Evan Engram (of the Jacksonville Jaguars) a lot. … I’m preparing for that tight end role,” he said at the Scouting Combine.
Personal touch: Higgins was a receiver at Stanford. His younger brother, Kaleb, is a cornerback at Cal.
“It kind of shows we both made something happen of the opportunities we were given growing up,” Elijah said before the 2021 Big Game. “I’m excited to take a picture with Kaleb (on Saturday). It would be cool to line up against him, but he’s not playing much this season. Maybe next year. When it happens, I think it’ll be, ‘Oh, crap, this is crazy.’”
His father, George, played football at South Florida.
Higgins made Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks list.
22. Ronnie Bell, Michigan
David Bell (USA Today Sports Images)
Measureables: 5-11 5/8, 191 pounds, 9 1/2 hands. 4.54 40, 4.04 shuttle, 8.19 RAS
Stats and accolades: After missing almost all of 2021 with a torn ACL, he caught 62 passes for 889 yards (14.3 average) and four touchdowns as a fifth-year senior to earn third-team all-Big Ten. He had a career average of 11.5 yards on punt returns, as well.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 16th with 2.57 yards per route run and 64th with a drop rate of 7.5 percent. He was just 3-of-18 in contested-catch opportunities but caught 8-of-18 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 21 percent of his catches and averaged 5.2 yards after the catch. He ran 12 unique routes and went deep 37 percent of the time, which ranked 28th and 23rd, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Bell can play inside and out; he had 22 catches from the slot, where he was 16th in yards per route. With that excellent shuttle time and quality route-running ability, the slot might be his NFL destination.
"I definitely feel like there’s more that I’m scratching and climbing to, but I definitely also do feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be," Bell told The Detroit Free Press at the Senior Bowl. "I say, it kind of changes your perspective on everything. It changes your perspective on ball, it changes your perspective on life. It all worked out for the greater good."
Personal touch: Bell was getting ready to play basketball at Missouri State when Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh offered him a scholarship.
“When I was in Kansas City, the biggest thing was just playing college football in general,” Bell said at the Scouting Combine. “That was the first step. Once I was at the next level, then the next dream was being here.”
Bell said the highlight of his career was practicing for the first time since the knee injury.
The draft will be held in his hometown of Kansas City.
“It doesn’t even feel real,” he said. “It all kind of comes full circle when you think about the timeline and how it all played out with me coming out this year. Definitely just really, really excited about it.”
23. Matt Landers, Arkansas
Measureables: 6-4 3/8, 200 pounds, 9 1/4 hands. 4.37 40, 4.32 shuttle, 9.85 RAS.
Stats and accolades: After four seasons at Georgia and one at Toledo, Landers finally found a home at Arkansas. As a sixth-year senior, he caught 47 passes for 901 yards (19.2 average) and eight touchdowns. He had more catches, yards and touchdowns with the Razorbacks than the rest of his career combined.
Analytical stats: Of 104 receivers in the 2023 draft class to be targeted at least 50 times in the passing game, he ranked 31st with 2.33 yards per route run and 68th with a drop rate of 7.8 percent. He was 9-of-22 in contested-catch opportunities and caught 11-of-18 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. He forced a missed tackle on 34 percent of his catches and averaged 6.2 yards after the catch. He ran 12 unique routes and went deep 44 percent of the time, which ranked 28th and 10th, respectively, among SIS’s top 48 receiver prospects.
How he fits: Tall and fast will always be worth a look. Maybe he’s just Jeff Janis 2.0 (without the special-teams skill), though.
He was given the nickname “Slim Reaper.” Said Arkansas defensive back Malik Chavis: “Really just his speed. He’s fast. Matt is really fast. He has SEC speed. He’s fast. … Just speed. Speed. He’s very long, a very good guy. He can run and he can catch. The deep ball, the 50-50 ball — yeah, I like Matt.”
Personal touch: Landers caught 12 passes in two years at Georgia and 20 catches in one year at Toledo. As a graduate student, he caught 47 in his one year at Arkansas. Four of his six 100-yard games came at Arkansas, as did a 99-yard, three-touchdown performance.
“I learned how to stay level-headed through my situations,” he told The Draft Network recently. “I had to learn how to better overcome adversity. I did a better job keeping my composure. I learned how to deal with frustration. I’ve done a lot of growing up throughout the years.”
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett saw a “special” talent. “He’s fast, he’s got great hands, he comes out of breaks great. He’s a special talent,” Bennett said via Dawg Nation. “He’s still trying to get everything together but, gosh, he’s really good. I love throwing to him. Nobody’s telling us to do that. We just believe in him.”
24. David Durden, West Florida
Measureables: 6-1 1/2, 204 pounds, 9 1/2 hands. 4.45 40, 4.21 shuttle, 9.59 RAS.
Stats and accolades: Durden spent his final three years at West Florida. COVID wiped out 2020 but he was an honorable mention Division II All-American in 2021 and a first-team All-American in 2022, when he caught 54 passes for 1,128 yards (20.9 average) and 13 touchdowns. He scored 23 touchdowns with three drops in two seasons.
Analytical stats: None available.
How he fits: Size, athleticism and production are always worthy of a look, regardless of level of competition. His baseball background (more on that in a second) shows up with his ball-tracking skills.
Personal touch: Coming out of high school, Durden was a 20th-round draft pick by Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. "I didn't know what I was getting into," Durden told WGXA-TV. "I was just like 'Shoot, I'm getting drafted.' It's cool, I can be famous, like why not?" He played one year of minor-league ball before going back to football.
He played at Mercer in 2018 and 2019 – he was a Freshman All-American with a 22.6-yard average during his debut season. COVID canceled the 2020 season and Durden landed at West Florida for the final two seasons.
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