WIDE RECEIVERS
Emeka Egbuka WR Ohio St
Emeka is a long-striding receiver with excellent, quiet hands, very much like the Buccaneers Mike Edwards, and the Jaguars Brian Thomas. His long strides give him deceiving speed to make yards after the catch. Emeka has the agility and body control to make the difficult catch. He also has the lateral agility to run excellent routes and a High football IQ to read defenses on the run. Emeka runs precise routes and with his long strides can separate easily. Because of his excellent route running, and ability to separate, Emeka can play any one of the receiver positions. He can move the chains or go deep, and with his quiet hands, can catch the deep ball with ease. Emeka has the size needed to take the pounding to the next level. He does a solid job blocking and looks to be a good teammate and that is very important for a receiver not to be a diva. I think the most impressive aspect of Emeka's overall talents is his ability to be in sync with his quarterback on down and distant situations. He still has to prove that he can come up with the contested catch in the red zone but that is nitpicking. Emeka should be an excellent receiver for his team. Talent Grade: 1.83
Tetairoa McMillan WR Arizona
Tetairoa has the length that a lot of receivers lack and this helps him dramatically. He has good, strong hands to catch the ball and is one of the most consistent, and crafty route runners that I have seen coming out in any draft. Tetairoa has those smooth long strides and quiet hands that allow him to catch anything thrown his way. He has a high football IQ that allows him to stay in sync with his quarterback when a play breaks down. Tetairoa is not fast and he is not quick so running his forty at the combine would not be smart because there is too much attention on the forty time, and his speed will be the biggest issue for a lot of teams to judge him by. My guess is if he runs in the 4.6 range he will sneak into the 1st round but anything close to 4.7 or over, will drop him into a later round. Nevertheless, his speed, or lack of it, should not affect his production on the field if he is matched up with a franchise quarterback. All Tetairoa needs to do is build the trust of the quarterback and playcaller to be an impact receiver for the team that selects him. His length, quiet hands, crafty route running, and high football IQ, will make him a quarterback’s favorite target, and that’s all that matters when it comes to a receiver impacting. Talent Grade: 2.19
Luther Burden III WR Missouri
Luther has the potential to be an excellent slot receiver because of his quickness to elude tacklers after the catch. He does a good job in the slot, finding those soft spots in a zone and showing his numbers to the quarterback for easy receptions. Luther should be excellent on special teams returning punts. He has good hands and does a good job adjusting to the ball in the air. His quickness and High Football IQ will make him a “security blanket” type of receiver when plays break down giving his quarterback and offensive play-caller the ability to call any type of play knowing Luther is on the field. Luther is more quick than fast and that will affect teams thinking about his ability to play on the outside and gain separation unless he becomes more of a technician running routes. Nevertheless, inside the red zone, he is strong enough and smart enough to be a weapon in the slot or lined up wide, using his quickness to gain the needed separation to score touchdowns. Talent Grade; 2.50
Jack Bech WR TCU
Jack is on a mission, and that mission has given Jack the confidence to play at a level he never thought was attainable. Tell me, what do Cooper Kupp selected in the 3rd round, Devante Adams selected in the 3rd round, Puka Nacua selected in the 5th round, and Adam Thielen who was undrafted, all have in common? They are all about the same size as Jack, and their workout numbers are all about the same but that is not what makes them all excellent receivers, in fact, as far as teams were concerned, their workout numbers led to them all being down-graded. So, what does Jack have in common with all of those players you ask...Jack catches the ball. Jack catches the ball over his head, under his legs, with players hanging on him. He runs his routes with annoying consistency and will adjust his route making it easier for his quarterback when he breaks the pocket. Jack is on a mission and that mission is to catch the ball when it is thrown to him with no excuses. Jack has that annoying football intelligence that will allow him to play inside or outside. He also can establish that annoying trust built with his quarterback and play-caller that other receivers will wonder how he established that trust. That trust is established because Jack catches the ball with no excuses. So, nitpick away. Use the fact that Jack only has one season of stats to show as outstanding, he’s not fast, he’s not fluid enough to run routes. I’ll take my Cooper, Devante, Puka, Adam, and Jack Bech over your 4.3 receiver who is fast and fluid but struggles to catch the ball with excuses. Talent Grade: 2.64
Matthew Golden WR Texas
Matthew is a receiver who plays smaller than his size. He is a complimentary receiver who can scare a defense with his speed and make big plays on the field when he is not being double-teamed. Mathew has been clocked at the combine at 4.29 speed. Nevertheless, on film, it’s hard to see that speed when he gets caught from behind, and is a better route runner against zone coverages than against single coverages. Matthew can adjust to the ball in the air and looks to have good hands to catch the ball. He is tough, and against zone coverages, will go over the middle and catch the ball. Matthew’s impact should be as a 3rd or even a 2d receiver in a team’s passing offense. Because of his long speed, he should be able to go deep for the quarterback and pull an offense out of trouble in their part of the field. Because Matthew lacks the burst and quickness that you like to see in a 4.29-speed receiver, gaining yards after the catch and separating from single coverage makes him a limited route runner until he can improve. If Matthew works hard and learns the tricks of the trade, he has shown on film the toughness and hands to become much better than I have him rated right now. That being said, and in profiling him for this draft, I’m not convinced that will happen given his lack of the ability to play to his speed on film. Talent Grade: 3.14