Ranking the top 10 wide receivers in the draft

This is my list of the top-10 wide receivers in the draft. I’d be interested to read your top-10 list, too.

WIDE RECEIVER

1. Tavon Austin, WVU. Extremely quick and fast, can play split end, flanker and in the slot, not to mention running back and punt returner.

2. Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee. Patterson is like a bigger, less-experienced version of Austin.

3. Keenan Allen, Cal. Like Austin and Patterson, Allen can play wide receiver, running back and punt returner, but Allen isn’t fast. He’s a quick, strong possession receiver, like Michael Crabtree.

4. Markus Wheaton, Oregon St. The best deep-threat in the draft, but he’s not a one-trick pony like Mike Wallace. Wheaton runs crisp short and intermediate routes as well.

5. Da’Rick Rogers, Tennessee Tech. The No.1 receiver at Tennessee before he got kicked off the team. Physically, he’s similar to Dez Bryant, who’s one of the five best wide receivers in the NFL.

6. Justin Hunter, Tennessee. He looks like A.J. Green when he runs routes – tall, slender and fast – but Hunter struggles catching the ball. If he can fix his hands, he could become a dominant No.1 receiver.

7. Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech. A very good receiver in every aspect. He’s a similar receiver to Reggie Wayne, who’s a six-time Pro Bowler.

8. Marquise Goodwin, Texas. The fastest receiver in the draft. Goodwin ran a 4.21 at the Combine. His combine numbers were almost identical to Steve Smith’s 2001 numbers. Smith is a four-time Pro Bowler.

9. Stedman Bailey, WVU. Very quick and strong. Bailey can beat the press at the line of scrimmage, he can beat you deep threat (15.3 yards per catch in his college career), and he can beat you in the red zone, too (25 TD catches in 2012). Bailey had similar Combine numbers as Greg Jennings.

10. Aaron Dobson, Marshall. He’s 6-3, 210 pounds, he has good hands and he ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. In other words, he has the talent a wide receiver needs to become a No.1 guy. He just needs good coaching.

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