With the 2024 NFL Draft on the doorstep, let’s look at PFN’s final position rankings for the class’ wide receiver prospects. There are no changes at the top of the board, but the class has developed nicely in the 6-12 range.
Ranking the Top WRs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Zay Flowers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Josh Downs, and Jordan Addison were promising prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft cycle, and Puka Nacua and Tank Dell later emerged as stars. However, many evaluators believed that the WR position in the 2023 class lacked significant blue-chip talent and top-end depth.
Early indications were that the 2024 NFL Draft WR class had what the 2023 class lacked, and the 2023 college football season only served to confirm those suspicions. Whatever you need, the 2024 class appears to have it: size, athleticism, versatility, alpha ability, and more. These are the top WRs of the group.
10) Xavier Legette, South Carolina
Xavier Legette was no stranger to adversity in his early years at South Carolina, but he weathered through it all to turn in a phenomenal 2023 campaign. He racked up 71 catches, 1,255 yards, and seven touchdowns catching passes from Spencer Rattler.
At 6’1″, 220 pounds, with sub-4.4 speed, Legette has explosive big-play potential on the vertical and lateral planes, but the flashes of route running nuance and blind spot awareness make him truly worth investing in.
9) Ladd McConkey, Georgia
Ladd McConkey‘s production doesn’t jump off the page — he caught just 30 passes for 478 yards and two scores in an injury-impacted 2023 season — and at around 6’0″, 186 pounds, he isn’t a superlative size threat.
Nevertheless, McConkey is one prospect whose film effusively supports his future as a weapon and independent separator at the NFL level.
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Combine Results
At his size, McConkey is a turbocharged technician who not only has high-end speed, explosiveness, and throttle control but knows how to use those traits to put defensive backs on a string before using his coordination to convert at the catch point.
8) Keon Coleman, Florida State
Few WR prospects helped their 2024 NFL Draft stock in 2023 more than Keon Coleman. Though he doesn’t have the same volume as other top WR prospects, he scored a touchdown on over 20% of his receptions and put plenty of dominant reps on display.
At 6’3 1/4″, 213 pounds, Coleman’s play strength is an obvious plus — both at the catch point and as a run-after-catch (RAC) threat. He compounds that play strength with rare catch-point instincts and body control in the air and has size-defying elusiveness and burst to go with it on the ground.
On top of his traits at and after the catch, Coleman also has the lateral twitch and fluidity to separate independently, giving him a nearly unmatched three-level upside.
7) Ja’Lynn Polk, Washington
The Washington Huskies could boast three future NFL starters at wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft. Jalen McMillan is an honorable mention for this list, and everyone knows Rome Odunze, but Ja’Lynn Polk may be one of the class’ most underrated WRs.
In 2023, as Odunze’s complementary threat, Polk amassed 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns on 69 catches and also ran for 32 yards and a score on four designed carries.
At 6’1 3/8″, 203 pounds, Polk is an explosive and fluid athlete who often served as the Huskies’ go-to convertor over the middle of the field and in the intermediate range with his late-snap separation speed and hands of glue.
Looking at how the Rams’ Nacua succeeded in 2023, Polk has some of the same usage qualities. He’s a versatile, fluid, and tough receiver with elite conversion ability, and his path to NFL production is on stable ground.
6) Adonai “AD” Mitchell, Texas
It took no time whatsoever for Adonai Mitchell to find a home at Texas. The former Georgia Bulldogs playmaker obliterated his previous career-highs with 55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 6’2 1/4″, 205-pounder played fast, confident, and looked every bit of a solid starter at the next level.
Mitchell has great flexibility and fluidity for someone so lanky, and his strength at the catch point is a major part of his game.
It’s no accident that Mitchell ends up wide open on slant routes so often. Defenders have to hedge against vertical routes due to Mitchell’s size and 4.35-second 40-yard dash speed, but recovering against his releases is extremely difficult.
If there’s a knock on Mitchell, it’s that he could be a bit more consistent in finishing reps and giving 100% effort, and he also doesn’t have much movement versatility outside of his X-receiver role. But at the next level, he should be a very solid boundary threat.
5) Xavier Worthy, Texas
Xavier Worthy is unique. It’s rare to come across a wide receiver who weighs only 172 pounds in collegiate or professional football. The Texas product not only competes at this weight but excels at it.
In 2021, during his first year as a college player, Worthy made an impressive 62 catches for 982 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he sustained his production — even with QB uncertainty in 2022. In three years, he never dipped below 60 catches.
MORE: NFL World Reacts to Xavier Worthy’s Combine Record 40-Time
At 6’1″, Worthy is a long, wiry receiver who can dissect defenses with his record-breaking 4.21-second 40-yard dash speed and instant explosiveness. He can destroy coverage and pursuit angles with his long strides, but he also has the snappy flexibility and route-running nuance to keep defenders guessing.
On top of all this, Worthy has a rare sense of timing at the catch point. Focus drops are still a concern, but he has hyper-elite speed and knows how to use it. Round 1 is assuredly on the table.
4) Brian Thomas Jr., LSU
LSU WR Malik Nabers took hold of the spotlight for the Tigers’ passing attack, but true junior Brian Thomas Jr. also emerged as a big-play and red-zone threat. In 2023, Thomas caught 68 passes for 1,177 yards and a team-high 17 touchdowns.
Thomas found the end zone on 25% of his catches — a stat that’s representative of his elite size-speed combination at 6’3″, 209 pounds. Thomas is an instant accelerator who can offset DBs with smooth releases and effortlessly stack with his 4.33-second 4-yard dash pace.
Separation and speed only make up half of the equation, though. Thomas also has high-end body control, ball-tracking ability, and coordination at the catch point, and he can make high-difficulty catches against tight coverage.
3) Rome Odunze, Washington
Had he declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, Rome Odunze would have been a first-round candidate on our board. While nabbing 75 catches for 1,145 yards and seven TDs in 2022, Odunze flashed a truly complete skill set.
The 6’3″ pass catcher has elite catching instincts and is an incredibly smooth separator who can slither through crowds as a RAC threat.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
Odunze is a nuanced route runner with second-nature coordination, but this year, his high-level speed and vertical ability have fallen under the microscope. His size-adjusted flexibility is reminiscent of Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen, but he’s even faster and more explosive.
Ultimately, Odunze’s strong hands, fantastic body control, smooth athleticism, and consistency are tough to beat. He was a menace catching passes from Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. this year and will have a similar impact in the NFL.
2) Malik Nabers, LSU
It appears Malik Nabers is cut from the same cloth as his predecessors: Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase and Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson. The 6’0″, 200-pound Nabers was arguably the rightful Biletnikoff winner in 2023 after tallying 85 catches for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Catching passes from Heisman-winning QB Jayden Daniels, Nabers was simply unstoppable in 2023. He’s particularly deadly on slot fades with his explosiveness, patience, and ball-tracking ability, but there are reps of him winning in many different ways.
Nabers is an athletic powder keg and a stack specialist as a route runner with smooth hands. After the catch, he’s a tough competitor with size-defying contact balance and RAC ability.
His ability to win from the slot on vertical routes or as an all-around threat on the outside makes him a diverse, all-encompassing weapon for NFL evaluators projecting his potential.
Who Is the Best WR in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Throughout the entire 2024 NFL Draft process — even in a strong WR class — one player has separated himself as the front-runner to claim the mantle of WR1.
1) Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
You’ve heard many things about Marvin Harrison Jr., and I’m here to confirm what you’ve heard. Harrison is indeed a generational prospect. He’s my highest-graded WR prospect ever — even over Chase. It’s not hyperbole — it’s what he is.
It’s impossible not to get excited over the potential of a prospect like Harrison in the NFL. He has all-encompassing ability and tools to be a true central piece for any NFL passing attack.
Size and athleticism are where it starts with Harrison, the son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., but he brings so much more to the table beyond that combination.
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— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) April 25, 2024
He’s an elite, acrobatic force at the catch point with hands of steel, and he has the route nuance, physicality, and flexibility to win 1-on-1 against DBs three or four inches shorter — not to mention the speed to stack and generate chunk plays after winning those reps.
Receivers shouldn’t be able to convert as often as Harrison does in contested situations, and they shouldn’t be able to bend and carve through man coverage as effortlessly as he does at almost 6’4″. He’s an elite WR1 with All-Pro upside.
Honorable Mentions
- Troy Franklin, Oregon
- Roman Wilson, Michigan
- Malik Washington, Virginia
- Jermaine Burton, Alabama
- Jalen McMillan, Washington
- Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
- Ricky Pearsall, Florida
- Devontez Walker, North Carolina
- Javon Baker, UCF
All the 2024 NFL Draft resources you need — the draft order, the top QBs, the Top 100 prospects, and the full 2024 Big Board — right at your fingertips at Pro Football Network!