Juniors Kelly, Manningham atop 2008 WR class

Originally Published: February 13, 2008

Malcolm Kelly and Mario Manningham are among the junior prospects who lead this year's 2008 wide receiver class.

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By Todd McShay
Scouts, Inc.
Archive

The wide receiver class of 2008 includes 14 underclassmen, six of whom could come off the board in the first two rounds. That is an indicator of how deep this class is, and it is a class that can be broken down into five categories:

Elite class
Checking in at around 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, both Malcolm Kelly and Limas Sweed look the part of a premier NFL wide receiver. There are a handful of other big receivers with solid 40 times and big-play production to match, but what separates Kelly and Sweed from the others is their ability to separate from coverage. They are exceptionally fluid for their size. Sweed is the more polished of the two, but Kelly has stronger hands. We currently give Kelly a slight edge simply because of Sweed's lingering wrist injury.

Mario Manningham, on the other hand, fits the new mold of a No. 1 receiver in the NFL. Manningham is shorter, leaner and won't generate as much fear as Kelly and Sweed on the perimeter. But it won't take long for opposing defensive coordinators to recognize his big-play potential. There isn't a savvier route-runner or more clutch receiver in this class than Manningham, who took 27 of his 137 career receptions to the end zone.

DeSean Jackson makes the cut only because of game-breaking ability on punt returns. Much like Ted Ginn a year ago, Jackson's receiving skills need polishing, but he should make an immediate impact in the return game while working out the kinks.

No. 2 wideouts
The next 10 receivers on the list -- Early Doucet, Devin Thomas, James Hardy, Lavelle Hawkins, Andre Caldwell, Donnie Avery, Earl Bennett, Jordy Nelson, Eddie Royal and Adarius Bowman -- are what I like to call the "just-misses." Each has enough skill to emerge as a NFL starter, but no one in this group is the complete package and all 10 are jockeying for position in rounds 2 and 3.

Doucet, Caldwell, Bennett and Nelson are reliable targets, but they lack home run ability. Hardy and Bowman are blessed with skills comparable to those of Kelly and Sweed, but are not as polished. Off-the-field baggage and inconsistent hands will come back to haunt Hardy and Bowman, as well.

Thomas and Hawkins are not considered vertical threats, but they can create yards after catch, making them good fits for a West Coast system.

Avery and Royal are basically second-tier versions of Jackson; both can provide the big-play element in the return game while honing their skills on offense.

Utility men
Harry Douglas, Keenan Burton, Dorien Bryant, Dexter Jackson and Darius Reynaud are mid-round, multitask receivers. They are versatile prospects who could contribute as sub-package slot receivers at the next level. Their production on special teams -- particularly in the return game -- will likely determine the length of their NFL careers.

Move-the-chains gang
There isn't much versatility or big-play potential in this group, which is why none of these receivers carries a grade higher than the fourth round. However, D.J. Hall, Josh Morgan, Marcus Smith, Adrian Arrington, Jerome Simpson and Kenneth Moore all possess the route-running skills and reliable hands to help move the chains as sub-package contributors.

Developmental projects
Paul Hubbard, William Franklin, Steve Johnson, Mario Urrutia, Marcus Monk and Maurice Purify were overshadowed and/or experienced setbacks in college, but they have enough developmental upside to warrant late-round consideration. Ironically, all six of these "projects" played for schools in BCS conferences.

Finally, no school is better represented at the wide receiver position than Hawaii. Colt Brennan's top three targets -- Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullen and Jason Rivers -- could all be drafted on Day 2.

Top 40 WR Prospects in 2008 NFL Draft
Prospect	School	Height	Weight	Speed
1. Malcolm Kelly	Oklahoma	6-4	217	4.40
2. Mario Manningham	Michigan	6-0	188	4.45
3. DeSean Jackson	California	6-0 1/4	179	4.33
4. Limas Sweed	Texas	6-4	212	4.45
5. Devin Thomas	Michigan State	6-2 1/4	217	4.51
6. Early Doucet	LSU	5-11 7/8	211	4.56
7. James Hardy	Indiana	6-5 1/2	218	4.58
8. Lavelle Hawkins	California	5-11 1/8	187	4.48
9. Andre Caldwell	Florida	6-0 1/2	207	4.45
10. Donnie Avery	Houston	5-11	183	4.29
11. Earl Bennett	Vanderbilt	6-1 1/4	207	4.51
12. Jordy Nelson	Kansas State	6-2 5/8	215	4.51
13. Eddie Royal	Virginia Tech	5-9 5/8	182	4.37
14. Adarius Bowman	Oklahoma State	6-2 7/8	220	4.48
15. Harry Douglas	Louisville	5-11 1/8	170	4.38
16. Keenan Burton	Kentucky	6-0	202	4.52
17. Jerome Simpson	Coastal Carolina	6-1 1/2	193	4.60
18. Paul Hubbard	Wisconsin	6-2 7/8	214	4.50
19. Dorien Bryant	Purdue	5-9 5/8	169	4.40
20. D.J. Hall	Alabama	6-2 1/4	219	4.49
21. Josh Morgan	Virginia Tech	6-0	218	4.46
22. Dexter Jackson	Appalachian State	5-9 7/8	179	4.35
23. Marcus Smith	New Mexico	6-0 7/8	214	4.50
24. Adrian Arrington	Michigan	6-3 1/4	192	4.52
25. William Franklin	Missouri	6-0 1/4	203	4.38
26. Steve Johnson	Kentucky	6-2	197	4.48
27. Davon Bess	Hawaii	5-10 1/4	197	4.55
28. Darius Reynaud	West Virginia	5-9	200	4.50
29. Ryan Grice-Mullen	Hawaii	5-11 1/4	185	4.51
30. Mark Bradford	Stanford	6-0 3/8	210	4.60
31. Kevin Robinson	Utah State	5-11 3/4	197	4.55
32. Travis Brown	New Mexico	6-2 1/4	183	4.60
33. Marcus Monk	Arkansas	6-5 1/4	214	4.55
34. Jason Rivers	Hawaii	6-1 1/8	187	4.55
35. Mario Urrutia	Louisville	6-5 1/2	227	4.62
36. Justin Harper	Virginia Tech	6-3 3/8	205	4.43
37. Kenneth Moore	Wake Forest	5-10 7/8	200	4.50
38. Maurice Purify	Nebraska	6-2 7/8	229	4.55
39. Michael Henderson	Georgia	5-10	150	4.35
40. Taj Smith	Syracuse	6-1 1/4	187	4.43

Day 1 WRs in 2007 NFL Draft
Player	College	Drafted By	Round (Overall)
1. Calvin Johnson	Georgia Tech	Detroit Lions	1 (2)
2. Ted Ginn Jr.	Ohio State	Miami Dolphins	1 (9)
3. Dwayne Bowe	LSU	Kansas City Chiefs	1 (23)
4. Robert Meachem	Tennessee	New Orleans Saints	1 (27)
5. Craig Davis	LSU	San Diego Chargers	1 (30)
6. Anthony Gonzalez	Ohio State	Indianapolis Colts	1 (32)
7. Sidney Rice	South Carolina	Minnesota Vikings	2 (44)
8. Dwayne Jarrett	USC	Carolina Panthers	2 (45)
9. Steve Smith	USC	New York Giants	2 (51)
10. Jacoby Jones	Lane	Houston Texans	3 (73)
11. Yamon Figurs	Kansas State	Baltimore Ravens	3 (74)
12. Laurent Robinson	Illinois State	Atlanta Falcons	3 (75)
13. Jason Hill	Washington State	San Francisco 49ers	3 (76)
14. James Jones	San Jose State	Green Bay Packers	3 (78)
15. Mike Walker	Central Florida	Jacksonville Jaguars	3 (79)
16. Paul Williams	Fresno State	Tennessee Titans	3 (80)
17. Johnnie Lee Huggins	UTEP	Oakland Raiders	3 (99)

The following is a graphic representation of the number of wide receivers selected in each round of the previous three NFL drafts. Most NFL teams use this type of chart to study position trends when setting up their respective draft boards each year.