A lot has been made of how weak the 2017 NFL Draft is at the quarterback position, and the situation with the guys who will be catching passes at the next level is apparently not much better.
One executive from an NFC team told Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that teams are not going to find much talent at wide receiver in this year’s draft.
“It’s the worst wide receiver draft at the top I’ve seen in a long time,” the exec said.
In comparison, the class is considered loaded at tight end. As one AFC scout described it, many of the tight ends coming out of college are essentially “big wide receivers.” In a poll of 16 scouts conducted by the Sentinel, tight ends were ranked from 1-5 at their position. Alabama’s O.J. Howard led the way with 14 first-place votes and two seconds, and former Miami superstar David Njoku came in second with one first-place vote and 54 points.
“Every once in a while you get a guy like Vernon Davis,” one AFC personnel man said. “Howard and Njoku are impressive physically and they can catch and (block). Difference-makers.
“The last couple years there’s been like eight, nine draftable tight ends, if that. If you took one you felt like you stretched. I could see eight or nine in the first four rounds this year. Guys that can start.”
Scouts are far more split on wide receivers. The top-ranked player at the position in the poll received just 5.5 first place votes, and that was Western Michigan’s Corey Davis. John Ross of Washington had six first-place votes but only 51.5 total points, and Clemson’s Mike Williams had fewer firsts (4.5) but more overall points with 58.5.
Of course, projections can mean very little. Guys miss on should-be top talents every year and vice-versa. However, don’t be surprised to see teams picking tight ends ahead of wide receivers this year, which is unusual. If what one former NFL QB recently said about the 2017 QB class is true, teams could even opt for tight ends over signal-callers.
