The Cowboys need to make sure to grab some help at receiver during the draft.
As we get closer to the draft and finally finding out who the Dallas Cowboys take at pick 12, we continue our top-10 series, this time looking at the top wide receivers in the class, naming their best and worst attribute, and the reasons why.
Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)
Best – Ball Skills
McMillan’s combination of height, length, physicality, and body control allows him to make tough, jump ball catches look easy, making him a dangerous deep ball, red-zone and contested catch specialist.
Worst – Speed
While he’s a great route runner with strong hands, he lacks the elite burst and acceleration to consistently separate from faster defensive backs, limiting his ability to be a true deep threat.
Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State)
Best – Route Running
Egbuka’s elite trait is easily his route running and spatial awareness. He clearly demonstrates in every game that he has an advanced understanding of leverage, pacing, and how to manipulate defenders within his routes. His ability to find those soft spots in zone coverage and separate with crisp, sharp breaks makes him a highly reliable target. His polished technique and football IQ is what sets him apart and makes him a valuable Day 1 receiver.
Worst – Speed
His top end speed isn’t great but also not bad. His acceleration is fine and quickness is average, but all combined means he doesn’t have the same breakaway speed and skills as some of the faster receivers in this draft. That will limit his ability to hit big, splash plays.
Luther Burden III (Missouri)
Best – Explosiveness
Burden’s real elite trait is his explosiveness, especially after the catch. He has incredible short-area quickness, balance, and strength, making him a nightmare for defenders in open space. His ability to turn short passes into big gains with his combination of speed, agility and power is what makes him special. Some scouting services have dropped Burden in recent weeks down their rankings, don’t let that fool you, he is one of the best receivers in this class.
Worst – Route Tree
His worst trait comes in the form of his route refinement. While he’s explosive and dangerous with the ball in his hands, his route running can be best described as inconsistent. It’s lacking sharpness and deception at times and he likes to stick with what’s worked for him in the past. He relies more on athleticism than precise technique, which could limit his effectiveness against disciplined NFL defenders.
Tre Harris (Ole Miss)
Best – Ball Tracking
Harris absolutely excels when it comes to adjusting to deep throws. He makes difficult contested catches, and positions himself well against defenders thanks to his fantastic sixth sense of knowing where the ball is coming from. His ability to high-point the ball and make acrobatic grabs makes him a dangerous downfield target thanks to his positioning to the ball and elite body control.
Worst – Separation
While he has issues with his straight-line speed, Harris’ biggest weakness is how he doesn’t always create consistent separation out of his breaks. This is seen especially against quicker, more physical defenders. This will undoubtedly limit his effectiveness against top-tier NFL cornerbacks if he doesn’t refine his route-running and explosiveness out of his cuts.
Elic Ayomanor (Stanford)
Best – Strength
Ayomanor has the best combination of size, strength, and physicality after the catch. He’s an absolute beast and at 6’2” and 210 pounds, he plays like a power runner once he has the ball, breaking tackles and fighting for extra yards. His frame and toughness make him a dangerous threat on slants, screens, and contested catches. He completely dominates the intermediate range and bosses the middle of the field thanks to his size and strength.
Worst – Quickness
While Ayomanor is strong and physical at the catch point and with the ball, he doesn’t have the explosive burst or elite long speed to consistently separate from defenders, especially on deep routes. This will limit his utilization in the NFL and restricting him from ever being a true WR1.
Matthew Golden (Texas)
Best – Speed/Burst
Golden has elite acceleration and speed, we’re talking real track speed. This allows him to separate quickly, especially on short and intermediate routes. His ability to gain ground rapidly makes him a dangerous threat on quick throws and slants. His speed also lends itself to assist him as a dynamic return specialist. His ability to make plays in multiple ways, whether as a receiver or in the return game, makes him a dangerous weapon.
Worst – Hands
While Golden has the athletic ability to make impressive catches, unfortunately he struggles with drops, especially in contested situations. This inconsistency has led to him failing at ever reaching 1,000 receiving yards in a season and leaving college with 14 career drops, seven contested catches that went for interceptions, and a career drop rate of nearly 10%. This is a monumental concern that not only begs the question on whether scouts have over-corrected his rankings after the combine, but also whether he should go in the first round.
Jack Bech (TCU)
Best – Intelligence
Bech shows a crazy ability at understanding defenses, find the soft spots in coverage, and positioning himself for an easy reception. Thanks to Bech’s high football I.Q., he has a unique ability to play multiple roles, functioning as both a slot receiver and on the outside. His ability to read the field and adjust to the game flow makes him a reliable option in various schemes and plays, making him a receiving Swiss Army knife.
Worst – Speed
While he’s smart and has good hands, he doesn’t possess the top-end speed or burst to separate from defenders, particularly in man coverage. This can limit his effectiveness on deep routes and in situations requiring quick acceleration or explosiveness. His lack of speed and elusiveness is seen with the ball in hands where he averages only 5.5 YAC per reception, that ranks 76th among this year’s draft eligible wide receivers.
Jayden Higgins (Iowa State)
Best – Catch Radius and Hands
At 6’4” and with a massive 80” wingspan, Higgins is a huge target to throw to. He has great length and body control, allowing him to high-point the ball and make difficult grabs in traffic. His size and strong hands make him a reliable target, especially in jump-ball situations and red-zone opportunities.
Worst – Suddenness
His Pro Day really highlighted his quickness and suddenness issues with a 4.28s shuttle and 7.05s three-cone. While Higgins is a big-bodied receiver with very reliable hands, he doesn’t have the explosiveness to consistently separate from defenders, especially against the faster and twitchier cornerbacks. This raises issues on his effectiveness on timing routes, and that he requires of a lot of coaching with his release packages when he gets to the NFL. This could spell an extremely steep learning curve in his rookie year.
Isaiah Bond (Texas)
Best – Separation
Bond’s best trait is his ability to create separation from defenders. He utilizes precise, well-timed route-running and sharp cuts to consistently gain space against coverage, making him a dependable deep-threat option and a reliable red-zone target. With his use of speed, agility and positional versatility, Bond is a nightmare for defensive backs to stay in his hip pocket.
Worst – Size
At 5’11” and barely 180 pounds when soaking wet, Bond has a real issue with his size at the next level. His size limits the amount of punishment he can take without running the risk of injury, but it also hinders him against physical cornerbacks that can press and jam him at the line. The issue goes further when thinking he can just throw some healthy weight on when he gets to the NFL. It’s his lightness and fluidity that helps him separate so easily, if he’s made to put the weight on, that could bog him down and the very thing teams drafted him for would be lost.
Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)
Best – Footwork
Noel has some of the best footwork and agility you’ll see in this class. On the field, he demonstrates exceptional lateral quickness and balance, which allows him to make sharp, sudden changes in direction. This agility enables him to navigate through tight coverage and quickly create space from defenders. His ability to adjust his body position with precision not only helps him lose defenders but also enhances his overall route-running, allowing him to get open in both one-on-one matchups and crowded areas.
Worst – Dropped Passes
Despite his impressive agility and ability to create separation, he sometimes struggles with dropped passes, particularly in high-pressure situations. This inconsistency in catching can disrupt offensive momentum and reduce his overall reliability as a target. In his four years playing at Iowa State, Noel has registered more dropped passes (19), than he’s scored touchdowns (18).
