The 2024 NFL draft is going to be known and remembered for its QB, WR, and OL classes. If they work out as well as promised, then there will be a plethora of offensive Hall of Famers in an offense-driven era. If they’re busts, they will be all-time misses that change the future of how NFL players are evaluated.
Detroit Draft 2
The wide receivers in particular are well-touted and will be the faces of this draft. How they do will truly affect how good or bad people view the 2024 NFL draft years from now. There are a lot of big names, sons of Hall of Famers, and both underrated gems and overrated prospects with busts written all over them. Here’s how they truly measure.
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10. Will The Green Bay Packers Select Braden Rice In The 2024 NFL Draft?
Braden is normally seen as the 13th or 14th-best WR in the draft, but he deserves slack for many reasons. For one, he played at USC with the #1 overall QB Caleb Williams. His production wasn’t super high, but he mainly played in the slot and in the red zone. Rice isn’t super fast, but he’s a solid route runner who can play a more physical role. His dad was seen in a similar light and fell for the same reason. That’s not by any means saying he’s going to be an all-time great wideout, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt over other mid-round receivers.
While the Packers aren’t needing a wide receiver, there’s still a high chance they pick someone in the mid to late rounds. Braden will probably slide that far and would be on the table for Green Bay to pick. Why not select him? He fits their receiver mold.
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9. Ladd McConkey
Ladd is an interesting prospect, to be honest. He isn’t special at anything in particular, but he has almost no weaknesses. Sure you can nitpick, but he’s not outright bad at anything. He’s not super fast, but he ran a 4.39 and he shows flash on film. He might be considered a steal if he ends up falling hard.
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8. Deon Coleman
Coleman is a pretty good prospect with one major weakness. Starting with his strengths, the FSU receiver plays very physically and can make tough, contested catches. If he has the mental part of the game down well, he could translate well to the NFL. With that being said, Deon is most known for his lack of speed. He ran a __ at the combine and looks even slower on tape.
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7. Xavier Worthy
Worthy started off as being slightly underrated, and since his record-breaking combine performance has become slightly overrated. He isn’t worthy of being a first-round draft pick based on his college production and tape, but his speed is undeniable.
It’s hard to tell if he’ll be good as a pure receiver in the NFL, but at the very least he can be a useful returner and gadget player. His upside is much higher than that, and there’s a chance he’ll be picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
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6. Troy Franklin
Oregon’s Troy Franklin has a lot of upside but has some drawbacks as well. Franklin is 6’3″ and 187 pounds and is fast. He’s good at getting past press coverage, but he doesn’t make contested catches. He struggles with routine catches as well, having a disappointing 10% drop rate in his senior year. Please note that not every receiver with a drop problem means they’ll be as bad as MVS or Kadarius Toney. Guys like Tee Higgins and David Njoku have high drop rates and no one complains because they’re productive. Franklin still has potential regardless.
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5. Adonai Mitchell
Mitchell is very underrated, but in a draft this thick it’s understandable how he’d fall hard. He’s as good as it gets when it comes to route running. He has a good ability to make catches, open and contested. Speed isn’t an issue, as he ran a freakish 4.34 at the combine. He’s just good.
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4. Malik Nabers
LSU’s Nabers is getting a lot of love. He’ll probably land in the top 10, and while he might not be as good as touted, he still has a bright future ahead of him. He’s a bit undersized and doesn’t play above his size like Tyreek Hill does. But he is extremely fast and twitchy, and racks up yards quickly. If he ends up in the right spot, he could be extremely dangerous.
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3. Rome Odunze
It’s a coin flip on who’s better between Odunze and Nabers. There are a lot of differences between the two, as Odunze doesn’t get as much separation as Nabers. But he’s tall and can make contested catches in double coverage, something that will translate well to the big leagues.
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2. Brian Thomas Jr
Most analysts have the big three of this draft being Harrison, Odunze, and Nabers, but there’s some that are bullish on Thomas Jr. Before anything else, it should be noted he went to LSU, the receiver factory (which could be applied to Nabers as well). Brian is a complete package as a wideout – fast, smart, tall, and physical. He’s a freak with a high floor and a high ceiling.
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1. Is Marvin Harrison Jr. The Best Player In The 2024 NFL Draft?
Marvin Harrison Jr is too known at this point to describe. The only thing about him that isn’t being talked about is that he doesn’t have elite speed, and isn’t as good of a route runner as one would expect given how great his father was at it. But make no mistake, he has Hall of Famer written all over him. If he goes to Arizona like he most likely will, he’ll go to a place that has a history of developing receivers well and should make the most use of him. And yes, he is the best receiver in this draft by a wide margin.
