Consensus board vs. draft day — the full WR class, charted.
The Steal
Deion Burks was ranked WR17 on the consensus board — #98 overall — but lasted until pick 254, where the Indianapolis Colts took him in Round 7. A 156-spot fall, the largest gap between expectation and draft day of any WR in the class. Behind him, Bryce Lance (+59) and Skyler Bell (+35) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Miami Dolphins took Caleb Douglas at pick 75 — 160 spots ahead of his #235 consensus rank. The league's biggest vote of confidence against the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on De'Zhaun Stribling (66 spots) and Colbie Young (55 spots).
The Cliff
After Anthony Smith went at pick 218, the next WR didn't come off the board for 36 picks. The sharpest drop in the class — teams that waited paid for it.
The Spend
Teams spent 36 picks on WR — 8 in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 32.4 since 2018.
The Bet
The New Orleans Saints spent more draft capital on WR than any other club — picks 8, 136 and 190 — 48% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Jeff Caldwell, ranked #170 on the consensus board, heard 257 names called — and not his.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Carnell Tate | WR1 | #10 | −6 | Ohio State | Tennessee |
| 8 | Jordyn Tyson | WR2 | #13 | −5 | Arizona State | New Orleans |
| 20 | Makai Lemon | WR3 | #14 | +6 | USC | Philadelphia |
| 24 | KC Concepcion | WR4 | #23 | +1 | Texas A&M | Cleveland |
| 30 | Omar Cooper Jr. | WR6 | #29 | +1 | Indiana | New York Jets |
| 33 | De'Zhaun Stribling | WR18 | #99 | −66 | Ole Miss | San Fransisco |
| 39 | Denzel Boston | WR5 | #24 | +15 | Washington | Cleveland |
| 47 | Germie Bernard | WR7 | #45 | +2 | Alabama | Pittsburgh |
| 71 | Antonio Williams | WR11 | #64 | +7 | Clemson | Washington |
| 74 | Malachi Fields | WR13 | #73 | +1 | Notre Dame | Miami |
| 75 | Caleb Douglas | WR33 | #235 | −160 | Texas Tech | Miami |
| 79 | Zachariah Branch | WR9 | #60 | +19 | Georgia | Atlanta |
| 80 | Ja'Kobi Lane | WR19 | #100 | −20 | USC | Baltimore |
| 83 | Chris Brazzell II | WR8 | #57 | +26 | Tennessee | Carolina |
| 84 | Ted Hurst | WR12 | #70 | +14 | Georgia State | Tampa Bay |
| 89 | Zavion Thomas | WR35 | #265 | −176 | LSU | Chicago |
| 94 | Chris Bell | WR10 | #63 | +31 | Louisville | Miami |
| 105 | Brenen Thompson | WR20 | #118 | −13 | Mississippi State | LA Chargers |
| 115 | Elijah Sarratt | WR15 | #84 | +31 | Indiana | Baltimore |
| 121 | Kaden Wetjen | WR38 | #294 | −173 | Iowa | Pittsburgh |
| 125 | Skyler Bell | WR16 | #90 | +35 | UConn | Buffalo |
| 136 | Bryce Lance | WR14 | #77 | +59 | North Dakota State | New Orleans |
| 140 | Colbie Young | WR28 | #195 | −55 | Georgia | Cincinnati |
| 143 | Reggie Virgil | WR23 | #164 | −21 | Texas Tech | Arizona |
| 168 | Kendrick Law | WR27 | #185 | −17 | Kentucky | Detroit |
| 176 | Cyrus Allen | WR22 | #163 | +13 | Cincinnati | Kansas City |
| 177 | Kevin Coleman Jr. | WR21 | #152 | +25 | Missouri | Miami |
| 190 | Barion Brown | WR42 | #341 | −151 | LSU | New Orleans |
| 191 | Josh Cameron | WR26 | #184 | +7 | Baylor | Jacksonville |
| 195 | Malik Benson | WR29 | #199 | −4 | Oregon | Las Vegas |
| 197 | CJ Daniels | WR25 | #181 | +16 | Miami | LA Rams |
| 199 | Emmanuel Henderson Jr. | WR44 | #388 | −189 | Kansas | Seattle |
| 203 | CJ Williams | WR | — | — | Stanford | Jacksonville |
| 204 | Lewis Bond | WR41 | #315 | −111 | Boston College | Houston |
| 218 | Anthony Smith | WR48 | #488 | −270 | East Carolina | Dallas |
| 254 | Deion Burks | WR17 | #98 | +156 | Oklahoma | Indianapolis |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Jeff Caldwell | WR24 | #170 | — | Cincinnati | — |
| — | Eric Rivers | WR30 | #211 | — | Georgia Tech | — |
| — | J. Michael Sturdivant | WR31 | #228 | — | Florida | — |
| — | Eric McAlister | WR32 | #231 | — | TCU | — |
| — | Harrison Wallace III | WR34 | #257 | — | Ole Miss | — |
| — | Aaron Anderson | WR36 | #266 | — | LSU | — |
| — | Dillon Bell | WR37 | #283 | — | Georgia | — |
| — | Jordan Hudson | WR39 | #301 | — | SMU | — |
| — | Vinny Anthony II | WR40 | #312 | — | Wisconsin | — |
| — | Chase Roberts | WR43 | #343 | — | BYU | — |
| — | Caullin Lacy | WR45 | #396 | — | Louisville | — |
| — | Chris Hilton Jr. | WR46 | #432 | — | LSU | — |
| — | Jalen Walthall | WR47 | #450 | — | Incarnate Word | — |
| — | Donaven McCulley | WR | — | — | Michigan | — |