Draft season is here!
As we prepare for the three-day event that will be held in Detroit from April 25-27, I’ll be dropping some positional rankings before unveiling my top-50 prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Last week, I ranked my top five quarterbacks. Now, let’s focus on the five best pass-catchers (wide receivers/tight ends) in this year’s draft class.
As I mentioned in my quarterback rankings, we’ve had a confluence of things in college football over the last few years that have led to this year’s draft being as deep as we’ve seen in a long time. Quarterback and offensive line are both deep with talent. The group of pass-catching prospects falls in that category, too.
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It’s going to be difficult to rank just five. There are many more talented receivers than that. I’m going to share the same preface that I always share with prospect rankings: Just because I ranked one player lower than another doesn’t mean I hate them. It’s my biggest pet peeve in this process. I don’t hate the player if I ranked them lower than you think they should be ranked. In fact, all five players in the top five seem likely to be picked in the first round.
But, in this day and age, you have to rank the players ahead of the draft, just like the teams do. So, let’s get into it.
1. Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Let’s not overthink it. We knew Harrison was going to be the best pass catcher in this draft for a long time. There’s a reason why he won the Biletnikoff Award (he probably should’ve won it twice in a row) and is a two-time All-American, becoming the only receiver in Ohio State’s history to ever do that, which is really saying something.
Harrison is as good as they come. Physically, he’s way bigger than you’d expect. He’s 6-foot-4, weighing 205 pounds (probably a little bit more) and he’s probably faster than people realize. He runs terrific routes. He’s a technician in a lot of ways; he understands the game and is a tireless worker.
Every time I’ve been to Ohio State over the last few years, which was a lot, Harrison was on the field after practice catching footballs off the JUGS machine. Whether he was nursing an injury or not, whether it was the spring or fall, Harrison showed that he’s a tireless worker. He understands that his goal is to not just be a good player at the college level. Ever since I first met Harrison or spoke with any of his coaches, you always came away knowing that his standard is greatness. That’s what he’s chasing, and it’s where he comes from.
I don’t buy the argument that this list needs to change at the top because we’ve known this for a long time. Similar to Caleb Williams, let’s not get bored with players who we’ve known for a long time were going to be in this spot. Just because they’re generational prospects at their respective positions doesn’t mean we have to start poking holes in their games.
Harrison is going to be an All-Pro and a 10-time Pro Bowler if he stays healthy. If he goes to the right spot, it’s on. I’ve got him going to the Arizona Cardinals in my first mock draft. I’m not sure if that’s a great spot, but I know Harrison is a great player.
Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Bowers in Klatt’s top pass-catchers in draft
2. Georgia TE Brock Bowers
Just like with Harrison and Williams, I’m also getting a sense that people are chasing ghosts with Bowers.
Bowers is a phenomenal player – and he plays a position that’s highly valuable. I know that’s not a popular take, and you’ll probably hear a lot about the devaluation of the tight end position in the lead-up to the draft and how it should drop Bowers’ stock.
Bowers impacts the game every time he’s on the field. Whether it’s a third-down or red zone play, Bowers is an impact player. He’s fast and a matchup nightmare. He also happens to play a position that’s highly valuable. Don’t buy into those telling you that tight end is a less valuable position.
As a former quarterback, I know what it feels like when you’ve got a tight end who can occupy the middle of the field. It’s an important role. Don’t believe me? Just look at the teams who’ve won the Super Bowls over the last eight years. You’ll see teams who had someone who’s an incredible player in the middle of the field. Travis Kelce, Cooper Kupp, Rob Gronkowski, and Zach Ertz make up that group. You don’t see CeeDee Lamb, Dez Bryant and Ja’Marr Chase.
That’s not an argument against wide receivers, either. There’s always a spot for a great wide receiver because they can turn 11-on-11 into a one-on-one matchup quickly. That’s very valuable and inherent to what we understand about football. What’s not inherent is the value of the tight end. When you look at the Super Bowl winners, all of those players are high-production players who can occupy the middle of the field. Gronkowski and Kelce might be two of the best tight ends ever. Gronkowski’s one of the greatest mismatch players ever. Ertz led the Philadelphia Eagles in receiving when they won it all. Kupp’s a production savant.
When you get into critical situations, you can’t fall on the one-on-one player because those are always 50-50 propositions. As an offense, I don’t want to be in a 50-50 situation. I want to put the odds in my favor, and I can do that by having a player who can occupy the middle of the field. It changes and manipulates coverages. In a tight end’s case, it forces how the defense is going to cover him from personnel and schematic standpoints. There’s a reason why Andy Reid went to 12 personnel to win this year’s Super Bowl: he was inviting a certain look from the San Francisco 49ers, so they would be thinking about a condensed formation. The game-winning touchdown didn’t work just because of the motion, but also because the guy who was the No. 1 player on the right side was Kelce, a great tight end.
So, Bowers has high value as a tight end. If he falls into the middle of the first round, that’s a mistake. I’ll be pounding the table if that happens. But I don’t think he gets past Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5. Harbaugh understands the value of the tight end, and I think he understands the value of this tight end, one of the best college tight ends I’ve ever seen. He had 175 catches for over 2,500 yards and 26 touchdowns over his three seasons at Georgia, recording huge games in the Bulldogs’ run to back-to-back titles.
3. Washington WR Rome Odunze
One of the things I loved about Odunze was that when Washington needed big performances against some of the stiffest competition, he was at his best. Even in the national title game, Odunze had five receptions for 87 yards and drew a couple of flags against that Michigan defense. He recorded over 100 receiving yards in both games against Oregon and a ranked win against Oregon State and against Texas in the semifinal, which is why he led the nation in receiving yards (1,640).
Odunze is a terrific route runner. He’s very confident once the ball’s in the air. He’s outstanding down the field and he’s got great hands.
Odunze is going to be a No. 1 receiver and a mainstay in the NFL. I could see him being an All-Pro or a Pro Bowler right away.
As we move down the rankings, we have to recognize that wide receiver is a bit of a dependent position. You’ve got to depend on the quarterback and the offensive line to do their jobs. But you also have to depend on the philosophy of the organization and the schematics of that team’s specific offense.
Let me give you quick evidence of that. If you get drafted as a receiver who really understands football and runs clean routes by the Los Angeles Rams, you’re linking up with Matthew Stafford as your quarterback and Sean McVay as your coach. That makes you Puka Nacua, a fifth-rounder who set rookie records. He’s a great player.
Now, let’s say you’re a great route-running receiver who’s terrific with the ball, can occupy the middle of the field, play on the outside and do a lot of things, but maybe you didn’t have the year everyone expected. Well, it was because you played for the Seattle Seahawks. That’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Do I think Smith-Njigba is a worse player than Nacua? No. But the fit in Seattle wasn’t proper for Smith-Njigba to produce at the level Nacua produced.
Fit is really going to matter on how these receivers progress and produce early in their careers.
Rome Odunze, Malik Nabers in Klatt’s top pass-catchers in 2024 NFL Draft
4. LSU WR Malik Nabers
Nabers is sensational.
He finished his career as LSU’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, which is saying something. He’s really explosive down the field, which I think is becoming more and more common in college football.
Nabers is 6 feet and 200 pounds, helping him be a strong downfield threat. He might have been the most explosive player in the country last season. His 17 catches of 30-plus yards led the nation. He had nine 100-yard games. He was also a big reason why Jayden Daniels won the Heisman.
5. Florida State WR Keon Coleman
Coleman made some splashy plays right away for Florida State following his transfer from Michigan State. He was terrific for the Seminoles. His one-handed grab against Syracuse comes to mind among the many highlight plays he recorded this past season. He led the ACC with 11 receiving touchdowns in 2023 and was a big reason why that team was undefeated through the regular season.
Coleman is also huge. He’s 6-4 and 215 pounds, as most of the guys in my top five are just physically large. They’ve all got size, speed and great ability. You really can’t go wrong with a lot of these guys.
There are some really good players though, outside of this top five, which could hurt the value of this group. I don’t think it will impact Harrison, Bowers or even Odunze. It might not touch Nabers, either. But there’s a chance that teams look at the crop of receivers and say “We don’t need to pick a wide receiver in the first round with the talent at the position in this draft.”
Let’s just look at some of the players I didn’t include in my top five.
Honorable mentions
LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Georgia WR Ladd McConkey
North Carolina WR Devontez Walker
Thomas is 6-4 and led the country with 17 receiving touchdowns. Franklin was phenomenal for Oregon last year, and I thought he was the second-best receiver to Harrison for much of the season. McConkey was terrific when Bowers went down for a bit in 2023. Mitchell might have gotten lost for a bit due to the transfer, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s one of the best receivers in the league in a few years.
What’s even more wild is that there are even more than just these 10 receivers that I’m high on. Texas’ Xavier Worthy and Micigan’s Roman Wilson, who had an exquisite week at the Senior Bowl, are just a couple of the other receiver prospects with high potential in this draft.
This depth could impact the value of receivers who might’ve been picked in the backend of the first round, because a lot of these players will be available in the second or third rounds. That’s something that I find really interesting in this draft.
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him on X/Twitter at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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