Thread by @eric_crocker

I put together my top 20 receivers.

Thread starts now. #CrockTalk

I’ll list 11-20 and just kind of touch on certain guys why I’m not as high on them as others. And then I’ll go more in depth with my top 10. Got cool lil graphics made for the top 10 guys.

I’m 100% sure I’m a lot lower on some guys that I see a lot of twitter loves. And I’ve done enough of these threads to know how this goes.. I’ll get the whole “Oh ‘blank’ ain’t top 10 (or 5), this this list is trash” lol I’m prepared for that 😂

Lastly I’ll start by posting my top 5 from last season. Aye.. I still believe in Riley Ridley 😂 #JusticeForRileyRidley. Not sure I can say the same for Butler lol but you live and you learn lol

11.Quartney Davis -Texas A&M
12.KJ Hamler -Penn State
13.Denzel Mims -Baylor
14.Antonio Gandy-Golden -Liberty
15.Tyler Johnson -Minnesota
16.Gabriel Davis -UCF
17.Quintez Cephus -Wisconsin
18.Van Jefferson -Florida
19.Laviska Shenault -Colorado
20.Devin Duvernay -Texas

I’ll start with Hamler. Terrific speed guy. Extremely high drop rate. A requirement of mine is if you are small you have to play big. Like his speed.. ability from slot and return ability. Plays too small to make my top 10

Mims. Watching him.. extremely stiff. And I know DK was stiff as well.. I still thought DK was quicker at the LOS.. more explosive and powerful as a runner and played really fast. Will have to be a contested catch guy. Don’t trust it for my top 10

Shenault. I’ve explained how I feel about him. I’ve watched over and over.. and I think he’s solid after the catch. Just don’t see enough before the catch that I care for. Don’t trust it. And stop saying he’s Deebo Samuel. He’s not

And now on to MY TOP 10. And y’all know all I’ve been doing during quarantine times is watch film. So respect my opinion lol dammit

WR10. Donovan Peoples-Jones
Michigan

Clearly he’s an athletic freak @ the combine but I thought he was a bit “underwhelming” at Michigan. But the more I watched him I said you know what.. he has the goods. He has the ability. It’s Michigan’s offense that sucks

I thought he had really good movement skills for his 6’2” 212 lbs frame. Played above the rim on jump balls but even outside of his contested catch ability I thought he did a solid job with route running.. run after catch.. showed strong hands. Had some twitch to his game..

I liked his versatility. Lined up all over in Michigan’s offense. Outside.. slot.. was a solid blocker. I thought he had a good all around game with room to grow at the next level

WR9 Tee Higgins
Clemson

Higgins was initially WR4. But as I’ve stated before since then I’ve had the opportunity to watch All-22 and see if guys are winning away from the ball. And a lot of times Higgins wasn’t.

I do feel he’s a fluid mover.. long strider.. I feel like he plays faster than his 40 time and is another above the rim guy. But he’s a long legged guy. Can he improve on routes? Can he be quicker at the LOS?

One thing I tried to focus on this year (and you’ll hear me say it again) where does he win? How does he win? And where he struggles, can it improve? Can Higgins improve at the LOS to allow himself to create more separation downfield vs NFL CBs? Won’t get free release all day

I like Higgins.. like a lot of you, I think there’s something there.. I need him to play stronger and quicker at the line.. and if he can improve on that..I think he can win at the next level. But hes a long legged wired guy. I have my doubts. But I like him.. but have doubts lol

Did you guys ever notice how I didn’t put out a Higgins thread? Lol I was a little disappointed and didn’t even know where to start

WR8 Isaiah Hodgins

Oregon State

I often times hear guys say “this player has good bend and flexibility” and I’m like.. wtf does that even mean? And then I watch Isaiah Hodgins and it all clicked lol This guy has bend and flexibility 😂

Fluid mover with terrific route running ability. Wins inside or outside. 6’4” 210 pounds Hodgins ran a 4.61 at the combine. Which usually I’d knock but it didn’t seem to effect him. He still won on the outside pushing guys vertically and sitting down creating space on comebacks

During the season I called him “All he does is catch touchdowns” seemed like every week he was catching 3 Tds (caught 13). Hodgins as the lowest drop rate of any receiver in the class. He’s like All State.. you’re in good hands lol

He’s not a burner but when his an threw the ball up to him he’d twist his body to make these acrobatic catches on the side line or in the end zone. He has sneaky good run after catch ability. The only thing knocking him in my rankings is the 4.61 40.

On top of all that good stuff. I’ve been around the kid personally.. I’ve seen how he gets down. I’ve seen how he goes out of his way to grind. Drove an hour to Stockton just to get work in. Hard worker.. great kid.. terrific football player..

WR7 Jalen Reagor

Texas Christian University

Watching Reagor I think last week. I’m a fan of his. And in any other class he’d be much higher. I had Deebo Samuel at WR2 that was my comp for Reagor.. only I think he does everything a little better

I think he’s a little twitchier I think he’s a little quicker.. I think he’s a little faster (not as much faster as most would lead you to believe). I think he’s a little better route runner.. I think he’s a little better vertical thread.

They are built similar.

Deebo Samuel 5’11” 214
Jalen Reagor 5’11” 206

Stocky new era receivers who do it all. DJ Moore was that guy in the 2018 class.

I said he’d be a great complement to a team that has a legit WR1 already like.... The Green Bay Packers who have Tae Adams. Could use him a lot like Cobb but also more on the outside. Go watch Deebo or Moore and you can have a good idea of what Reagor can look like in the NFL

Alright.. now this is where it starts to get a little sticky.. again.. THESE ARE MY RANKINGS lol but y’all know I really watched these guys.. so just respect my opinion and I’m always open for conversation. DM’s wide open. But I’ll also explain why guys are where they are. 😓

WR6 Henry Ruggs III

Alabama 🐘

I know. Nobody has him this low. Again, I think this i a legit draft class. Him being WR6 for me doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s a guy.. I just have a few...... questions or “concerns”.

I’ll get straight to it.

I’m big on how someone wins. And do they win that way consistently. I don’t view Ruggs as just a speed guy. If I did I’d have Reagor over him. I do however think he can be more efficient at using his speed as a threat

When watching him against LSU the reoccurring theme was “Fulton isn’t respecting his speed” .. Fulton was lined up man press against Ruggs for an entire game and won like 90% of the reps. While Smith on the other side looked a little more like what I expected Ruggs to look like

Now I’m not saying Ruggs doesn’t have the ability to consistently win with his speed. Or get better at it. I just know if that’s how he’s going to win I need to see it more. I need to see more consistent clean releases. I need to see him win more the LOS

He has the ability to do so. I saw him rock Fulton back on his heels twice. Whooped him on a blaze out. I watched several other games and was like.. he kinda just disappears. I wanted Ruggs to win on the outside like Smith. And do it consistently like smith did

Because if he does/can’t.. what am I getting? Again.. he’s at 6 so I like him. That’s my argument for why he’s at 6. Let’s talk about what I do like about him and why’s he’s at 6 in a positive light

I think he’s tough as a nails. I saw him stand in there and take on Delpit who was running full speed from the safety position... full speed and took on the block. I think hes fearless. Goes over the middle and will fully extend for the rock

He clearly is a burner. He can catch a slant or dig and outrun angles 70 yards to the end zone. That’s special. Special talent. But can he be consistent with it? Smith on the other side was.

I think my biggest question is.. am I going to get Tyreek Hill or John Ross? Both extremely talented guys. Extremely talented. People mention Ross like he was a random top 10 pick. Dude was LEGIT. But can Ross take the threat of his speed to the next level?

WR5 Bryan Edwards

South Carolina

I had a bunch of questions for Henry Ruggs. I don’t have questions about Edwards. My player comp for him is James Jones. 9 Year NFL vet. Edwards at 6’3” 215 plays mean. Plays strong. Violent. He has twitch.. I think plays with good speed

A coach of his told me they have to tell him to chill out because he goes so hard in practice. That’s my kind of player. Idk how fast his 40 is because he hurt his foot and couldn’t test but I’m told he MPH’s he notched matched Deebo Samuels when he was there

And it showed on the field. So him get behind Trevon Diggs.. saw him catch a deep ball on CJ Henderson. The dude plays as fast as he needs to. Runs routes fast. Runs routes well. At 6’3” 215 runs the end arounds several times a game. Fights for yards after contact

He has good feet and hands at the LOS. Showed strong hands. I don’t have a lot of questions for him and I see exactly how his game translates to the NFL.

I recently asked an NFL receiver coach “Whats the number 1 reason talented players end up bust?” His response “They aren’t dogs.. they aren’t willing to do that extra work.. can’t fight through hard times.”

Teams won’t have that issue with Edwards

WR4 Michael Pittman Jr

University of Southern California

Pittman was originally my WR6. But as I watched more of some guys he was able to jump up a couple spots. 6’4”. I know his name has been getting love as of late.. but it’s not just hype. Dudes legit

I was watching Pittman and I’m like damn this dude reminds me of someone.. couldn’t put my finger on it..I think I’ve settled in at Vincent Jackson. Pittman is a big dog on the field. Soft hands. Fluid mover. Really has a lot of the same traits as Isaiah Hodgins but tested better

He’s a terrific contested catch guy. Has speed to threaten corners vertically. Has nice consistent possession catch ability. I don’t know if he does one thing ELITE. But he does EVERYTHING well. I wish he had a little more nastiness on the field.

But at 6’4” 220 with his movement skills and ability.. with that good speed.. he’s another guy who’s game I think translates to the NFL extremely well and will be an 8-10 year guy if he wants it

Before I get to my top 3.. again I want to mention how I dropped the ball and left Brandon Aiyuk off the list. He was supposed to be pegged in there right between Reagor and Hodgins. Moving guys around and got to excited lol

So Aiyuk is supposed to be WR8 with high upside

WR3 Justin Jefferson

Louisiana State University

I like Jefferson’s game.. like the rest of twitter I was a little shocked to see the 4.43 40 at the combine but it’s good to see he has that tucked in the bag. For a guy who was primarily slot in 2019.. played outside 2018.. showed nice versatility.. but why WR3?

I think he has a few elite traits that translate well into the NFL. Hands. Strong mitts needed to play over the middle like he does. Fearless over the middle. Solid route runner over the middle. Set up defenders well over the middle

I think outside of the Georgia game where they took away something and ran to something, he had no issue being able to lose guys in space. And then I factored in the ability to be able to lose guys at the top of routes. Smooth mover. Has suddenness tucked away but it’s in there

And then his contested catch ability downfield.. I factored that in. Tracks in balls extremely well downfield. Tough as nails. I talked about Ruggs standing in there blocking.. Jefferson was front line lol played like every snap in the run game like a TE. And did very well

He reminded me of Kendrick Bourne. But if Bourne ran 4.43 instead of 4.7 lol and I think that added speed helps him win more vertically.. i think he has a little more explosiveness.

I have a very clear picture of who he is at the next level. I think he’d work well with any team that does a lot of tight splits and uses their slot receiver a ton. Almost like a Juju Smith-Schuster. I think that’s a better comp than Bourne.. a faster Juju lol

OK.. top 2. This was tough for me.. I’ve been beating a drum for a certain guy while being very critical of the other. I took a step back and asked myself “Crocky.. what do you want your WR1 to do?”

Myself answered and said “EVERYTHING 😈”

So I’ll go WR1 first.. and then WR2

WR1 Ceedee Lamb

Boomer Sooner

What changed?

I changed how I watched him. I was looking at Lamb through the lens of how I watch Jeudy.. and Ruggs. Instead of watching Lamb for who he is now.. and if he has the ability to improve in areas I felt like I didn’t care for.

The obvious. Tremendous contested catch guy. Strong hands. Doesn’t care who’s around him. Run after catch while in the big 12 was still exceptional. Plays extremely strong. “Just throw it up to me I got you” type guy. Alpha on the field

Things I appreciated that might’ve gone un noticed.. his willingness to block. Dude try to kill DB’s. Man I love that attitude. I watched him come down and pin an end on the edge so Hurts could come off his ass #Pause and run in for a touchdown..

Things I had to look for that I was encouraged to see:

He played fast when he wanted to. So I was like ok.. can you always play fast? I think he can.. showed twitch.. showed good feet and quickness. I said ok.. he has it. I’m seeing it.. now can you do it all the time?

Obviously he did it enough to dominate the Big12 and really have explosive plays no matter who he played against. But what it told me was.. if he really worked at THAT.. he can be great. He has everything else. He had all the tools. I’m a believer.. WR1

WR2 Jerry Jeudy

Crimson Tide 🐘

Jeudy has been my GUY! He’s electric. I heard Chris Simms talk about him. I think he downplayed Jeudy’s run after catch and speed. I’m not going to to do that. And this has been a long ass thread so I’m going to get straight to the point.

I need to see more dog! And not just when he has the ball. I felt like when bodies were around him his hands were a little iffy. And I saw the PFF numbers.. too many drops... for the last month I’ve been going back and forth with myself like “is this a big red flag I’m ignoring?”

Watching him block he turned his body because he didnt want to take on the impact.. just kinda let me know he’s dog.. but is he a DOG DOG?!? Idk.. I know he’s a terrific route runner but game on the line vs tight cover is he gonna fight through contact and catch the ball?

I know he’s a great route runner.. I know he can stretch the field.. I know where Lamb can improve.. he has it.. it’s consistency.. do it all the time.. but the dog in lamb doesn’t turn off. Can I count on Jeudy in tough times? Just enough to have him WR2

Shout out to my guy @smullanjr for all the graphics.. Dude did an amzing job. Does fast quick work.. yall holla at him if you need work done. He's editing my top 20 list right now and adding Aiyuk lol

My final Top 20 rankings 2.0

I’ll show my original top 10 so you can see the difference when I really dug in.