We made it! The last of our formal receiver breakdowns are here, which will round out the first half of all of our film breakdowns encapsulating the top 8 tight ends and top 15 wide receivers currently by ADP. We’ll start after on quarterbacks and running backs, and will touch on more rookies and everybody’s landing spots following the draft. Keep your eyes on your inbox.
K.C. Concepcion - WR Texas A&M
Concepcion is absolutely electric. There’s no doubt about it. With the ball in his hand he is a grade A weapon, hence why A&M put him in return situations as well as scheming him open on offense. But just how good did things look, and will they translate?
The Great Stuff:
Route tree was everything you’d want, and he is just so athletic and savvy that he can win almost at will
Handles press well with elite footwork and pretty decent hand-fighting, but can also gash DBs in man and zone
Can absolutely fly with some build up, but has good initial burst too
Can make guys miss often after the catch
Age
The Good Stuff:
Can get open in the red zone but he’s not a special threat in tighter situations like the red zone
High effort blocker with ability to block DBs but doesn’t always win, especially versus stronger opponents
Concerns:
Hands aren’t the safest of the safe but not terrible, and his contested catch ability isn’t a strength by any means
Even if you’re leaving your tape breakdowns to us here at Dynasty Detour, you should at least throw on some K.C. Concepcion highlights, if not watch full games. He is so lethal with the ball in his hands. Now, he doesn’t make everyone miss, and once he has hands on him he’s usually not able to thrash out of it, but he does a lot well enough that that hardly stopped him from being effective. He’ll have a tougher time being as untouchable again NFL level tacklers and defensive backs, but he could be the top receiver in an offense if even just 75% of his traits translate. His comp for me goes back a bit, but I think Doug Baldwin is the greatest capture of his skill set. He handles bigger, more physical corners well enough that he can gash them with his explosiveness and elite changes of direction. He officially rounds out my top 5 receivers from this class (behind Tate, Lemon, Tyson, and Cooper), and he feels pretty safe with a pretty high ceiling.
Denzel Boston - WR Washington
Boston has put two great seasons on tape, and looking at his film the numbers didn’t lie. Boston looks to me like an NFL ready Z-receiver already, but just how good can he get? Let’s look into it:
The Great Stuff:
Elite size and uses it well, combining physicality and smart body positioning to win contested catches
Really nice catch radius and super strong and reliable hands
Not a super elusive or speedy YAC receiver but brings a ton of effort and is a tough tackle for one DB to handle alone
Super willing blocker with frequently good technique
The Good Stuff:
Can get behind a defense but needs to track deep stuff a little bit better before he becomes bonafide deep threat
Route tree is not crazy and can’t cut on a dime but runs a good amount of route concepts really well
Concerns:
Limited to outside receiver duties for the most part, but does it well so not a major concern
Boston wins. It’s just that simple. That said, his archetype makes him limited in just how great he can be as a fantasy asset. I think he definitely has best receiver on a team potential, which means I expect a good floor for him from just about the minute he steps in the league, given the right situation. He gets open, and even when he’s not, he’s still kind of open. His exact comp for me is Courtland Sutton, and it is my favorite comp in the whole class. He just will be Courtland Sutton. Now Sutton didn’t have much of a floor off rip, due to some growth he needed in certain areas and a terrible situation. I think Boston is fine on the first front, but we’ll just have to wait and see on the latter. Even in weaker offenses, he has the potential to be decent, he just will live and die on whether he has a quarterback willing and able to give him the jump ball opportunities.
Zachariah Branch - WR Georgia
Zay Flowers is a name I see frequently attached to Branch, and I could definitely see why. Now, I have historically never been the hugest Flowers guy, but he certainly showed us this year he did have a higher ceiling than he demonstrated in his first few years. Does Branch have the same?
The Great Stuff:
Elite YAC threat that combines speed, burst, and contact balance to punish defenses
Handles physicality on routes decently well and makes an attempt to use some of his own
Very quick off the line and can accelerate like crazy too
The Good Stuff:
Pretty decent route tree and can be a tough cover but not much nuance. He relies solely on his ability to cut quick and outrun guys, which worked decently in college.
Won some contested catches despite limitations in size and poor catch form
Concerns:
Frequent body catcher, which can be addressed at the next level but can definitely lead to drops and limit his catch radius
Willing blocker but often just too undersized to get a ton of push
Not great in the red zone due to size and limitations as a true receiver
I’ll be honest after all I heard about Branch before I dove into the tape thought he would be the kind of guy I wouldn’t like all that much as a prospect, but there is a lot to love. He is so quick with the ball in his hands, super elusive and can bounce off hits really impressively. Now, if someone gets their hands on him, it’s just about wraps, but he has a lot of moves at his disposal to try and minimize how often that’s the case. His releases are very explosive, a trait that translates into his breaks in and out of routes as well. His route tree was actually somewhat limited, I think due to the limitations of Georgia’s quarterback and offense. In particular, I would’ve loved to see him be used as a deep threat more, as I think he really could give defenses problems when paired with a quarterback with a big arm. He has his own limitations too, though. His biggest red flag, and something I find to be a massive turn off in receivers in general, is that he rarely makes hands catches. Because this is something that makes it way easier for good defensive backs to break up passes, they will likely make him switch this at the next level, but we don’t know how successful and time consuming that process will be. Even still, he was able to make a few difficult grabs around defenders and transitions into a YAC threat incredibly quickly, which is where he really does his damage. He reminds me of Zay Flowers for sure, but my comp for him is Luther Burden. I was not the biggest fan of Burden coming out, and I think Branch has similar question marks around just how effective he can be in getting the ball, but once he has it, things get really interesting. We’ll see just how much the Bears can get out of Burden next year, and what kind of situation Branch lands in, but I’m not writing either off until we see if their question marks are really that much of a problem.
Ja’Kobi Lane - WR USC
Lane was never the focal point of any passing offense he was a part of, but he was a great number two option and red zone threat since his breakout sophomore season. His size is immediately intriguing, but how’d the tape look?
The Great Stuff:
An absolute asset in the red zone. Wins in a variety of ways on the goal line and as a fade option.
Elite timing going from receiver to ball carrier and frequently puts a good move on his primary defender
Great height and arm/hand size
Age
The Good Stuff:
Pretty good hands, very strong, usually reliable. Can win jump balls but loses some too.
Route tree is decent but not totally complete
Route running isn’t surgical but he uses leverage well and gets separation frequently
Willing and able blocker
Concerns:
Let physicality throw off his routes a lot more than you’d like, especially at his size
Play speed wasn’t crazy at the college level, might look worse in the NFL
Never the highest performing receiver on his team
I definitely came away from the tape a bit concerned that even with his size Lane was letting college cornerbacks push him around on routes. He displayed very little in the way of hand fighting, letting guys bring the fight to him and losing. That said, he had enough footwork and get-off in his releases to beat press enough and if he succeeds in running his route the right way he was a valuable option to all teams he was a part of. He is especially valuable in the red zone, where his size and hands make him a threat outside and but can use his patented spin move to get open over the middle too. My comp for him is Cedric Tillman, who still has some potential to improve both as a receiver and would certainly be turning in better numbers in a better situation. I think Lane certainly has a reception ceiling and will never be the top receiver on a team, but he certainly can be productive in the right situation.
There you have it. My official top wide receiver prospects are as follows:
Carnell Tate
Makai Lemon
Jordyn Tyson
Omar Cooper
K.C. Concepcion
Denzel Boston
Antonio Williams
Chris Brazzell
Malachi Fields
Ja’Kobi Lane
Germie Bernard
Zachariah Branch
Elijah Sarratt
Skyler Bell
Landing spot can change everything, so stick with us through the whole draft process, and get excited about quarterbacks and running backs!
-- Dynasty Detour Ryan
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