Consensus board vs. draft day: the full WR class, charted.
The Steal
Seth Williams was ranked WR16 on the consensus board (#120 overall) but lasted until pick 219, where the Denver Broncos took him in Round 6. A 99-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any WR in the class. Behind him, Tylan Wallace (+61) and Demetric Felton (+61) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Los Angeles Rams took Jacob Harris at pick 141, 116 spots ahead of his #257 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Dez Fitzpatrick (103 spots) and Josh Palmer (72 spots).
The Cliff
After Ihmir Smith-Marsette went at pick 157, the next WR didn't come off the board for 22 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 36 picks on WR, 10 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 32.4 since 2018.
The Bet
The Cincinnati Bengals spent more draft capital on WR than any other club: pick 5, 30% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Cade Johnson, ranked #134 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 259 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Ja'Marr Chase | WR1 | #4 | +1 | LSU | Cincinnati |
| 6 | Jaylen Waddle | WR2 | #7 | −1 | Alabama | Miami |
| 10 | DeVonta Smith | WR3 | #8 | +2 | Alabama | Philadelphia |
| 20 | Kadarius Toney | WR5 | #31 | −11 | Florida | NY Giants |
| 27 | Rashod Bateman | WR4 | #28 | −1 | Minnesota | Baltimore |
| 34 | Elijah Moore | WR6 | #34 | 0 | Mississippi | NY Jets |
| 49 | Rondale Moore | WR8 | #39 | +10 | Purdue | Arizona |
| 56 | D'Wayne Eskridge | WR12 | #75 | −19 | Western Michigan | Seattle |
| 57 | Tutu Atwell | WR15 | #107 | −50 | Louisville | LA Rams |
| 59 | Terrace Marshall Jr. | WR7 | #35 | +24 | LSU | Carolina |
| 77 | Josh Palmer | WR22 | #149 | −72 | Tennessee | LA Chargers |
| 82 | Dyami Brown | WR9 | #62 | +20 | North Carolina | Washington |
| 85 | Amari Rodgers | WR13 | #76 | +9 | Clemson | Green Bay |
| 89 | Nico Collins | WR14 | #77 | +12 | Michigan | Houston |
| 91 | Anthony Schwartz | WR17 | #125 | −34 | Auburn | Cleveland |
| 109 | Dez Fitzpatrick | WR33 | #212 | −103 | Louisville | Tennessee |
| 112 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | WR10 | #69 | +43 | USC | Detroit |
| 129 | Jaelon Darden | WR18 | #133 | −4 | North Texas | Tampa Bay |
| 131 | Tylan Wallace | WR11 | #70 | +61 | Oklahoma State | Baltimore |
| 141 | Jacob Harris | WR38 | #257 | −116 | UCF | LA Rams |
| 157 | Ihmir Smith-Marsette | WR28 | #171 | −14 | Iowa | Minnesota |
| 179 | Simi Fehoko | WR20 | #145 | +34 | Stanford | Dallas |
| 181 | Cornell Powell | WR24 | #151 | +30 | Clemson | Kansas City |
| 187 | Frank Darby | WR31 | #202 | −15 | Arizona State | Atlanta |
| 203 | Marquez Stevenson | WR30 | #182 | +21 | Houston | Buffalo |
| 204 | Shi Smith | WR21 | #147 | +57 | South Carolina | Carolina |
| 205 | Racey McMath | WR | — | — | LSU | Tennessee |
| 209 | Jalen Camp | WR45 | #300 | −91 | Georgia Tech | Jacksonville |
| 211 | Demetric Felton | WR23 | #150 | +61 | UCLA | Cleveland |
| 219 | Seth Williams | WR16 | #120 | +99 | Auburn | Denver |
| 221 | Dazz Newsome | WR27 | #170 | +51 | North Carolina | Chicago |
| 229 | Mike Strachan | WR40 | #272 | −43 | Charleston (WV) | Indianapolis |
| 242 | Tre Nixon | WR | — | — | UCF | New England |
| 249 | Ben Skowronek | WR | — | — | Notre Dame | LA Rams |
| 255 | Kawaan Baker | WR | — | — | South Alabama | New Orleans |
| 258 | Dax Milne | WR35 | #231 | +27 | BYU | Washington |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Cade Johnson | WR19 | #134 | — | — | — |
| — | Sage Surratt | WR25 | #152 | — | Wake Forest | — |
| — | Tamorrion Terry | WR26 | #161 | — | Florida State | — |
| — | Austin Watkins | WR29 | #178 | — | — | — |
| — | Trevon Grimes | WR32 | #209 | — | Florida | — |
| — | Josh Imatorbhebhe | WR34 | #221 | — | Illinois | — |
| — | Jonathan Adams Jr. | WR36 | #238 | — | Arkansas State | — |
| — | Marlon Williams | WR37 | #250 | — | UCF | — |
| — | Whop Philyor | WR39 | #267 | — | Indiana | — |
| — | Tyler Vaughns | WR41 | #276 | — | USC | — |
| — | Damonte Coxie | WR42 | #277 | — | Memphis | — |
| — | Brandon Smith | WR43 | #283 | — | Iowa | — |
| — | Warren Jackson | WR44 | #295 | — | Colorado State | — |
| — | Antonio Nunn | WR | — | — | Buffalo | — |
| — | Bailey Gaither | WR | — | — | San Jose State | — |
| — | Brennan Eagles | WR | — | — | Texas | — |
| — | Isaiah McKoy | WR | — | — | Kent St. | — |
| — | Javon McKinley | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Jhamon Ausbon | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Josh Johnson | WR | — | — | La-Monroe | — |
| — | KJ Stepherson | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Michael Strachan | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Myron Mitchell | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Osirus Mitchell | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Rico Bussey Jr. | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Savon Scarver | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | T.J. Vasher | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Tim Jones | WR | — | — | — | — |
| — | Tre Walker | WR | — | — | San Jose State | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.