(Photo: flickr)
The 2016 NFL draft is still months away, but if you’ve paid attention to the fortunes of a lot of the teams in the NFL this year, you know that a quality wide receiver is high on many teams’ shopping lists. Let’s take a look at some of the wide receivers who will be in the draft — and could go high… Not only for the team, but also for the fans and online betting sites.
Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss)
Treadwell is being compared to such big NFL names as DeAndre Hopkins and Dez Bryant, and he’s likely to be the first receiver to go in the draft. This past season, Treadwell caught 82 balls for 1,153 yards, scoring 11 touchdowns. The experts view Treadwell as having an exceptional catching radius and strong hands. He also has the power to make himself a threat after the catch, which if you’ve noticed the quick passing games that are coming more and more into vogue, you know that’s a good weapon to have in your arsenal.
Josh Doctson (TCU)
Doctson caught 79 passes for 14 scores and 1,327 yards this season. He did have to sit out the Alamo Bowl with an injured wrist, but he should be fine for the upcoming draft. He has the ability to elevate himself to make plays on the jump balls. He is strong and big and possesses considerable ball skills. He doesn’t have an elite level of speed, but he is fast enough to make big plays down the field.
Michael Thomas (Ohio State)
Thomas is a big receiver (6-3, 210), making him a solid possession option for a team that already has one solid receiver, or a backup leadership option if a team either lacks that primo receiver or has him go down to injury. This last season, Thomas caught 56 balls for 781 yards and nine scores. Scouts compare him to Demaryius Thomas with his ability to catch short balls and then surprise the defense with balance and acceleration to increase his gain after the catch. He also has the ability to elevate and catch jump balls, adjusting to the flight of the ball mid-route.
Will Fuller (Notre Dame)
In 2015, Fuller caught 14 touchdown passes — and he caught 15 the year before. He is one of those smaller receivers (6-0, 185) who nonetheless finds himself on the receiving end of big plays down the field. In 2015, he caught at least one pass for at least 46 yards in seven games. In the team’s last two games, against Stanford and Ohio State, he had catches of 81 and 73 yards, respectively. He has a deceptive speed that lets him blow by cornerbacks once the ball is in the air. HIs only weakness is a tendency to make drops at just the wrong time.
Corey Coleman (Baylor)
Coleman won the Biletnikoff Award given to the best receiver in the NCAA, catching 74 balls for 1,363 yards and 20 scores. He did undergo an operation for a sports hernia last month but is slated to be at 100% for February’s scouting combine. At 5-11, he is the shortest of this group, but he can zip down the outside and nail defenses deep. Defenders who fail to respect his speed will see him jogging into the end zone ahead of them.