Consensus board vs. draft day: the full WR class, charted.
The Steal
Seth Williams was ranked WR18 on the consensus board (#116 overall) but lasted until pick 219, where the Denver Broncos took him in Round 6. A 103-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any WR in the class. Behind him, Demetric Felton (+72) and Tylan Wallace (+64) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Los Angeles Chargers took Josh Palmer at pick 77, 48 spots ahead of his #125 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Tutu Atwell (42 spots) and D'Wayne Eskridge (27 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 #115 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 259 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Ja'Marr Chase | WR1 | #3 | +2 | LSU | Cincinnati |
| 6 | Jaylen Waddle | WR3 | #8 | −2 | Alabama | Miami |
| 10 | DeVonta Smith | WR2 | #7 | +3 | Alabama | Philadelphia |
| 20 | Kadarius Toney | WR5 | #31 | −11 | Florida | NY Giants |
| 27 | Rashod Bateman | WR4 | #27 | 0 | Minnesota | Baltimore |
| 34 | Elijah Moore | WR7 | #33 | +1 | Mississippi | NY Jets |
| 49 | Rondale Moore | WR8 | #40 | +9 | Purdue | Arizona |
| 56 | D'Wayne Eskridge | WR12 | #83 | −27 | Western Michigan | Seattle |
| 57 | Tutu Atwell | WR15 | #99 | −42 | Louisville | LA Rams |
| 59 | Terrace Marshall Jr. | WR6 | #32 | +27 | LSU | Carolina |
| 77 | Josh Palmer | WR19 | #125 | −48 | Tennessee | LA Chargers |
| 82 | Dyami Brown | WR10 | #69 | +13 | North Carolina | Washington |
| 85 | Amari Rodgers | WR14 | #92 | −7 | Clemson | Green Bay |
| 89 | Nico Collins | WR13 | #88 | +1 | Michigan | Houston |
| 91 | Anthony Schwartz | WR16 | #109 | −18 | Auburn | Cleveland |
| 109 | Dez Fitzpatrick | WR38 | #264 | −155 | Louisville | Tennessee |
| 112 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | WR11 | #74 | +38 | USC | Detroit |
| 129 | Jaelon Darden | WR23 | #152 | −23 | North Texas | Tampa Bay |
| 131 | Tylan Wallace | WR9 | #67 | +64 | Oklahoma State | Baltimore |
| 141 | Jacob Harris | WR40 | #271 | −130 | UCF | LA Rams |
| 157 | Ihmir Smith-Marsette | WR20 | #136 | +21 | Iowa | Minnesota |
| 179 | Simi Fehoko | WR26 | #159 | +20 | Stanford | Dallas |
| 181 | Cornell Powell | WR28 | #165 | +16 | Clemson | Kansas City |
| 187 | Frank Darby | WR30 | #178 | +9 | Arizona State | Atlanta |
| 203 | Marquez Stevenson | WR27 | #164 | +39 | Houston | Buffalo |
| 204 | Shi Smith | WR22 | #141 | +63 | South Carolina | Carolina |
| 205 | Racey McMath | WR53 | #333 | −128 | LSU | Tennessee |
| 209 | Jalen Camp | WR51 | #331 | −122 | Georgia Tech | Jacksonville |
| 211 | Demetric Felton | WR21 | #139 | +72 | UCLA | Cleveland |
| 219 | Seth Williams | WR18 | #116 | +103 | Auburn | Denver |
| 221 | Dazz Newsome | WR31 | #202 | +19 | North Carolina | Chicago |
| 229 | Mike Strachan | WR43 | #300 | −71 | Charleston (WV) | Indianapolis |
| 242 | Tre Nixon | WR39 | #267 | −25 | UCF | New England |
| 249 | Ben Skowronek | WR50 | #328 | −79 | Notre Dame | LA Rams |
| 255 | Kawaan Baker | WR60 | #370 | −115 | South Alabama | New Orleans |
| 258 | Dax Milne | WR33 | #240 | +18 | BYU | Washington |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Cade Johnson | WR17 | #115 | — | — | — |
| — | Tamorrion Terry | WR24 | #153 | — | Florida State | — |
| — | Sage Surratt | WR25 | #155 | — | Wake Forest | — |
| — | Austin Watkins | WR29 | #170 | — | — | — |
| — | Trevon Grimes | WR32 | #222 | — | Florida | — |
| — | Marlon Williams | WR34 | #252 | — | UCF | — |
| — | Whop Philyor | WR35 | #253 | — | Indiana | — |
| — | Jonathan Adams Jr. | WR36 | #255 | — | Arkansas State | — |
| — | Tyler Vaughns | WR37 | #257 | — | USC | — |
| — | Josh Imatorbhebhe | WR41 | #284 | — | Illinois | — |
| — | Tim Jones | WR42 | #299 | — | — | — |
| — | Brandon Smith | WR44 | #310 | — | Iowa | — |
| — | KJ Stepherson | WR45 | #312 | — | — | — |
| — | Warren Jackson | WR46 | #314 | — | Colorado State | — |
| — | Jhamon Ausbon | WR47 | #317 | — | — | — |
| — | Javon McKinley | WR48 | #324 | — | — | — |
| — | Damonte Coxie | WR49 | #325 | — | Memphis | — |
| — | Brennan Eagles | WR52 | #332 | — | Texas | — |
| — | T.J. Vasher | WR54 | #337 | — | — | — |
| — | Isaiah McKoy | WR55 | #341 | — | Kent St. | — |
| — | Osirus Mitchell | WR56 | #351 | — | — | — |
| — | Tre Walker | WR57 | #358 | — | San Jose State | — |
| — | Antonio Nunn | WR58 | #363 | — | Buffalo | — |
| — | Rico Bussey Jr. | WR59 | #369 | — | — | — |
| — | Michael Strachan | WR61 | #376 | — | — | — |
| — | Bailey Gaither | WR62 | #387 | — | San Jose State | — |
| — | Josh Johnson | WR63 | #425 | — | La-Monroe | — |
| — | Savon Scarver | WR64 | #427 | — | — | — |
| — | Myron Mitchell | WR65 | #431 | — | — | — |