FanPost

The Incredible Depth of the 2015 WR Draft Class




We all know the big ones. DeVante Parker, Kevin White, Amari Cooper, Jaelen Strong and Dorial Green-Beckham. Some refer to these 5 as "the top tier" of Wide Receivers in this years draft class. This may be, but if so, there are many, many more that are just behind them that never even get mentioned, and I believe they deserve some more respect. I am going to bring up a few of those guys.

Dres Anderson, WR, Utah

Dres is as good of an athlete as you can get, standing tall and long at 6-2 and weighing 190 pounds with a burst off of the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, Dres suffered a very serious, college career ending ACL injury this past October, which will certainly damage his draft stock and may cause him to lose some of that burst that he had prior to the injury. The thing that I love with Anderson is his outstanding ability to run routes. He gets targeted with a variety of different routes, including screens, slants, deep balls, etc. This trait will certainly translate well to the next level, and I think Dres could be a steal wherever he goes, despite his somewhat lean appearance, because he can meat up throughout time.

DeAndre Smelter, WR, Georgia Tech

Like Anderson, Smelter suffered a torn ACL in November. Smelter is a guy that I had going in the top 20 of the draft before his injury. I was extremely upset when I heard the news of his knee, but I know somehow he will get around it and be a superstar one day. Just think of all the Georgia Tech Wide Receivers. Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, and of course, the legendary Stephen Hill. It absolutely boggles me how much Wide Receiver talent Georgia Tech attracts considering their triple-option based offense. They pass the ball very rarely. I personally love this kind of offense, and I believe every college team should run it, but that is a different conversation. Smelter has very limited weaknesses, standing at 6-2 and weighing 225, nearly 35 pounds heavier than Dres Anderson. Smelter does not struggle to gain seperation, he never drops a pass, and he is physical after the catch. I have also heard excellent things about his leadership role with the GT program. The guy is just a complete player, and I have difficulty pointing out a weakness with him, except possibly straight line speed, but that is not a major flaw in my mind if you are that big.

Devante Davis, WR, UNLV

DeVante has not suffered an injury this season. If you like monsters, Devante is your kind of guy, He is a violent ballcarrier, and it is seemingly impossible for Defensive Backs to bring this guy down on tape. He also shows incredible athleticism in terms of hand-eye coordination, as he gets nearly every ball intended for him, which is also helped by his 6-3, 220 pound size. Devante reminds me of Brandon Marshall after the catch. However, I must admit his speed and acceleration is not quite there yet, as he seems to run awkward and sloppy routes at times. I have also heard some bad things about his lack of effort during blocks. In all, if you get the ball in this guys hands, he is as good as anybody out there, and should be worth a second round pick come draft time.

Vince Mayle, WR, Washington State

Another big man at 6-2, 220, gotta love it. Hardest working guy you can possibly get. He lost 20 pounds during the last offseason as reports say his speed and acceleration has dramatically improved since that time. Mayle as some of the softest hands I have seen and constantly wins 50-50 balls. He reminds me a bit of Devante Davis, except a tad less explosive. He is a polished receiver, which with his size, is hard to pass up and should be considered at the very worst a fourth round pick and could be a very effective no. 1 receiver in the near future.

These guys are just a sample of somewhat obscure Wide Receivers that I really love that represent how deep this draft class really is. Other guys include Tony Lippett from Michigan State, Stefon Diggs from Maryland, Tre McBride from William & Mary, Kenny Bell from Nebraska and Kasen Williams from Washington. Thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think.

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