Wide receiver, given the Raiders’ approach in free agency, remains arguably the team’s biggest need entering April. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used both first-round selections on the position (unlikely, but should be considered); at the very least, a first- and a third-round pick, perhaps.
Anyway, here are the top-25 receivers in the 2020 class. These rankings are 1) my opinion (your list will likely look a good bit different, and that’s okay), and 2) factor-in and weigh film, metrics (production), and athletic testing. Round “grades”, again, are based on my evaluations and where I would draft them (not necessarily where I think they go).
The class is deep, so the Raiders should capitalize. Enjoy:
The top five or six names remain largely unchanged from earlier offseason evaluations. The gap between Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb is obviously very small; you can flip-flop the two and I’m not upset about it. “1a” and “1b” perhaps, but I lean Jeudy.
One “surprise” addition, maybe for some, is Denzel Mims. My Baylor-product bias aside, Mims checks all the boxes; he put the exclamation mark on things with his Combine performance. Your WR3, folks.
Bryan Edwards had a legit chance to push top-5 status if he remained healthy and levitated at the Combine (as many anticipated). Instead, an unfortunate foot injury left him sidelined, and now recovering. I’m not wavering; early breakout, strong college dominator, and requisite build at 6-3, 212. Trust the (healing) process.
One more Day 2 player note: Chase Claypool is a freak. I’m not sure what his future holds as far as the possibility of tight ends reps, but I’ll overextend myself and roll the dice on these types of athletes every single time. It’s not the direct player comparison, of course, but for what it’s worth:
My favorite round four-plus (Day 3) dart throws: Van Jefferson (smooth route runner; natural feel, coming off injury as well), Devin Duvernay (4.3-speed), and both Lynn Bowden (DYNAMIC SCORE king) and Joe Reed (for similar reasons, clearly dynamic; this year’s version of Deebo Samuel kinda).
Lynn Bowden is going to be a steal for someone. Dude can catch, run like a RB and throw like a QB, reminds you of Deebo Samuel with the 49ers…
No one ever listens to me. Chase Claypool, come on Coach. It’s Notre Dame, Chase is who you want.