Every now and then an NFL draft class has a once in a lifetime wide receiver prospect and they are usually selected within the top five of that draft. What sets this draft class apart is that there are three of said prospects available to be selected in this year's draft class. These three receivers are all extremely talented athletes with very few things separating them from each other skill wise, and any of them could improve a teams wide receiver room.
Seen as the top wide receiver prospect for almost two years now, Marvin Harrison Jr. has been heralded as a generational ever since his breakout season in 2022 at Ohio State. The first thing that stands out about Harrison is his incredible frame; standing at six-foot-four and weighing 205 pounds, Harrison is a titan on the field.
This size and height gives Harrison a serious size advantage against cornerbacks he would match up against, as the average height of an NFL cornerback is 5-feet-11-inches tall. Harrison also allows for great flexibility lining up 366 times outside and 71 times in the slot. This versatility matched with his build is something extremely rare to find in a wide out, and it will probably be the reason he is the first pass catcher taken off the board.
The only thing to detract from Harrisons terrific on field ability was his withholding to participate both in the NFL combine and his pro day to give scouts a chance to see his 40 yard dash time along with tests to get his raw athletic score. It would be shocking if a team like the Arizona Cardinals or New England Patriots didn’t select Harrison with a top five selection.
If it were not for Harrison being in this draft class, unquestionably the talks of Louisiana State University's Malik Nabers would be considered as the wide receiver of the draft. Nabers ran a blazing 4.35 second 40 yard dash at LSU’s pro day, showcasing elite level speed which is arguably his best quality. He was in the top three for passes that exceeded 20 yards in all of college football hauling in 19 catches for 624 yards and nine scores.
Nabers also averaged an astounding 17.6 yards per catch. For comparison, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk led the league in this stat at 17.8 yards per catch. He also sports some of the surest hands in the class, only dropping five passes on 128 targets last year. If it weren’t for Harrisons size advantage being four inches taller, Nabers could easily be seen as the top wide receiver prospect of the draft.
In the event that Harrison and Nabers have both been selected, teams are in luck because of Washington’s Rome Odunze availability. Odunze has a mix of both speed and frame that is extremely rare in a wide receiver being, both 6-feet-3-inches tall and posting a 40 yard time of 4.45 seconds.
Something Odunze has going for him that neither of the other two top prospects have is that he participated in the NFL combine making him the prospect with the most information available to general managers. Odunze put up the second best total score at the combine with a 91 meaning that he is a perfect pairing of athleticism and production.
At Washington Odunze led all of college football with 1,640 receiving yards while bringing in 13 touchdowns. Odunze sports elite outside ability but does not show the versatility of playing inside like Nabers and Harrison do. He is another can’t miss prospect that will likely fall in the draft just because of the competition at the position.
Of these three receivers, any could make a case as the top of their class and the teams picking in the top ten of this year's draft more than likely have found their best wide receiver in these prospects. If these three are gone there is still a ton of talent after these three such as Texas receiver Xavier Worthy who gained fame for breaking the 40 yard dash record at the combine this year and Nabers LSU teammate Brian Thomas Jr. who is the same frame as Harrison.
Jasper Greuel is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Jasper about his column? Email him at jg453620@ohio.edu.
