The Top 3 Wide Receivers for the 2017 NFL draft

1. Mike Williams, Clemson.

Imagine how tough Clemson would have been in 2015 if Williams hadn’t fractured his neck early in the season? Williams might be the real deal as an NFL split end wideout. In Clemson’s offensive system, he’s asked not to play to his strengths. He’s at his best when he plays on the outside and uses the threat of him going deep to force the defense to play deeper then runs deep ins and outs to take advantage of being behind the flat zones. The Clemson offense, at least in 2015, was a lot of deep routes outside of the hashmarks and short routes off of play action/options.

He has amazing size and speed, but his game in the NFL should look a lot like his former teammate Martavis Bryant’s: his speed and size make him an absolute terror to safeties and his size makes him tough for corners to tackle but they both struggle to accelerate relative to their speed so on the short routes they won’t be as effective.

Right now, I have a first round grade on Williams. And he could easily jump into the top 12 of the 2017 NFL draft if he develops his skills in 2016.

2. Adoree’ Jackson, Southern Cal.

One has to understand that with Jackson, all that one is drafting is his amazing physical gifts and raw potential. He really hasn’t shown it yet as a developed wideout. However, his physical gifts are truly staggering. His speed and acceleration are so amazing that he has a realistic chance to make the US Olympic team in track and field. He’s one of the few players who’s had a touchdown reception, a kick return touchdown and an interception for a touchdown in a college career.

The flip side of this is that he’s going to miss Spring and Summer practices to chase his olympic dreams. So, he’s going to miss a lot of time to develop his receiving skills. Assuming that he’s going to declare for the draft, teams have to realize what they’re actually getting.

More from With the First Pick

All that said: it’s hard to ignore his physical tools. But he needs to show that he can run some routes successfully to get drafted as high as he’s hoping. If he can do that, he could be a top 10 pick. Right now I have a 2nd round grade on him, but that could rise quickly. As for a pro comparison, he strikes me as a much rawer TY Hilton but he hasn’t shown that he has Hilton’s receiving skills.

3. Travin Dural, LSU.

Dural is almost the polar opposite of Jackson. Where Jackson is sheer athleticism, Dural is all about using intangibles to overcome his lack of great physical tools. In a weird way, since LSU has such poor quarterbacking play and is almost completely focused on their running game, Dural doesn’t have the experience much like Jackson doesn’t.

The difference is that Dural’s hands, route running, body control and leaping ability are all really strong. What he’ll have to overcome is that he hasn’t posted great receiving numbers and almost certainly won’t in 2016. This shouldn’t fool teams or scouts: he’s a very pro ready wideout and could make a difference to a team much like someone like Michael Thomas or Laquon Treadwell could in 2016.

I have a 2nd round grade on Dural right now and as a pro comparison I would compare him to Michael Crabtree.