1. Brandon LaFell, LSU – LaFell did declare for this years NFL draft, but changed his mind in the 72 hour period allowed for underclassmen, and is coming back to LSU for his senior season. LaFell was a first team All-SEC selection in 2008, and in three years with the LSU, has 118 career receptions for 1,725 yards and 14 touchdowns. LaFell is a big receiver at 6-3 210 pounds, with good speed but needs to be more consistent in his route running to become an elite wide receiver. If works on his ability to get in and out of breaks more smoothly and not just rely on his natural athletic ability then he could be a top notch wide receiver.
2. Marshawn Gilyard, Cincinnati – Gilyard emerged last season catching 81 passes for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns despite not having his starting quarterback for a few games. In the spring Gilyard ran a 4.51 at 5-11 182 pounds, which he was slower and wasn’t as big as people thought, but he is a good overall receiver that has good hands and can make plays when he gets the ball in his hands. Right now he is a late second round pick, but could improve his stock.
3. Eric Decker, Minnesota – Decker had a good sophomore season catching 67 passes for 909 yards and nine touchdowns, and followed that up last season with 84 catches for 1,074 yards and 7 touchdowns. Decker has good size at 6-2 215 pounds and a good overall athlete, he isn’t a super fast, but does a good job coming in and out of his breaks and has good hands. Decker is a player that most likely won’t be a number one receiver in the NFL, but will be a great number two receiver, kind of like a Vincent Jackson of San Diego or Anthony Gonzalez of Indianapolis. Not a guy who will wow you with the big plays, but will make all the catches and will be there to make that catch on third down to keep the drive alive.
4. Jordan Shipley, Texas – Shipley is a productive receiver in Texas offense and caught 89 passes for 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He is better athlete then people give him credit for and has good size at 6-0 190 pounds and should be around the high 4.4 rang in the 40. He shows good ability to run good, clean routes and catches the football with his hands. He also can be used in the return game and had a touchdown but as a punt returner and kick returner last season. The thing with Shipley is he is a stead receiver that isn’t going to wow you in any particular aspect of his game and is a number two receiver at the NFL level.
5. Chris McGaha, Arizona State – Last season didn’t put up greats stats with only 35 catches for 501 yards and 1 touchdown, but he has good size at 6-1 200 pounds and is an outstanding athlete. In high school he won a basketball slam dunk championship and anchored the 4x100 meter relay team. He does a good job getting in and out of his breaks when he is running routes and has very good hands. He is guy at the next level that should be a very good number two wide receiver and could also play in the slot because of his quickness.
6. Andre Roberts, Citadel – Roberts is a small school player who people who just follow major college football won’t get a chance to see, but they will get to know his name when the NFL Draft comes around in April. Last season he had 95 catches for 1,334 yards and 14 touchdowns, he has good size at a little over 5-10 and 180 pounds and has decent speed and was clocked at 4.50 in the 40 this spring. He ran anchor leg on the school's 400x100 relay team that won a Penn Relays title in 2007. He has good hands and that what makes him ranked this high and why his name will be talked about around draft time, because he doesn’t wow you with his measurable’s. He also returns punts and that should give him some add value come draft time.
7. Mike Williams, Syracuse – Williams last season was suspended by the school over an academic issue. So you have to go look at Williams sophomore season at Syracuse to be able to do an evaluation on him and in that season he caught 60 passes for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has good size at around 6-2 210 pounds and good speed and has a chance to really move up with a good season and improving his route running skills. He has the ability if he can put it all together to be a number one receiver at the NFL level, but he still has a lot of work to do and is some what raw and it didn’t help him that he missed all of last season.
8. Jacoby Ford, Clemson - Ford doesn’t have great size at only 5-9 182 pounds but he is a fast and explosive receiver. Last season he had 55 catches for 710 yards and 4 touchdowns and in 2006, he averaged 32.8 yards per kickoff return. To go along with his blazing straight line speed he has the quickness to go with it and show that when either he has the ball in his hands or when he is running routes. Because of the lack of his size some teams are only going to be looking at him as a slot receiver and a return man to start out with, but could turn into more like what Steve Smith of Carolina did when he first come into the NFL.
9. Jeremy Williams, Tulane –Williams only played in 5 games last season before he got hurt and end up with 27 catches for 437 yards and 5 touchdowns. He is 6-1 205 and should run in the low 4.5’s in the 40. If Williams stays healthy this season could end up putting up some good numbers and being able to move up the draft boards. He is what teams are looking for in a wide receiver a player with good size, speed and is a good overall athlete, who could play both the on outside as well as in the slot at the next level.
10. Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan – Anderson is a big receiver at 6-5 215 the question mark will be what will his straight line speed be. Last season he missed one game because of an injury and 63 catches for 865 yards and 6 touchdowns as sophomore he had better stats when he caught 90 passes for 1,132 yards and 10 touchdowns so he is very productive receiver. He has been able to use his size to his advantage in college but that won’t necessarily be the case at the next level. He will have to improve his route running since he just won’t be able to just over power the defensive backs.
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