• The top three remain the same: Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze remain the top-three receiver prospects even if everybody in college football was eligible, showing how spectacular the 2024 receiver class is.
• A pair of 2025 prospects round out the top five: Missouri’s Luther Burden III and Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan follow them and are potential top-10 picks in next year’s draft.
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The NFL is unique to other sports leagues in that players cannot enter it until they are three years removed from high school.
What if that rule changed and players could enter the draft after playing just one year of college football? Here’s how the top-10 wide receiver prospects would shake out for the 2024 NFL Draft if everybody in college football was eligible to be selected.
(Please note: Only players eligible for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 NFL Drafts were considered. Incoming true freshmen were not eligible.)
Click below to view our other all-eligible prospect rankings
1. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State, 2024
Harrison is as complete of a wide receiver prospect as you’ll find. To start, he’s a physical marvel at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds who’s hit nearly 22 miles per hour in GPS tracking. He’s also so technically advanced for the position, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering his father is one of the greatest receivers who’s ever lived.
Harrison is a once-in-a-decade type of talent who’ll likely become an elite NFL wideout sooner rather than later.
Marvin Harrison Jr vs Will Johnson 2 pic.twitter.com/t2pdS1h7ru
— CFBLIVE247™ (@CFBLive247_) November 26, 2023
2. Malik Nabers, LSU, 2024
After reading Harrison’s write-up, it may come as a surprise that there’s a real debate in the draft community between Harrison and Nabers for the 2024 class. While I still have Harrison as the top receiver, there’s no denying that Nabers is also special.
He has ridiculous movement skills between his acceleration and change-of-direction ability. Not to mention, he was the best receiver in college football this past season. He led all FBS wideouts in PFF grade (93.0) and was second in receiving yards (1,568) to the next player on this list.
One of the best catches you'll see. The best receiver in football.
Give that man the Biletnikoff @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/9yXWBlLTmG
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 25, 2023
3. Rome Odunze, Washington, 2024
As previously mentioned, Odunze paced the nation with 1,639 receiving yards in 2023. At the combine, he said that 50/50 jump balls were actually “100/0”. And honestly, he’s not too far off. He caught 75% of his contested targets this past season and his 21 contested catches were four more than any other receiver in the country.
Odunze is an elite athlete who’d be the No. 1 wide receiver in many drafts. It just so happens that he’s in a class with two of the best receiver prospects in recent memory.
All roads lead to Rome 📈🔥@RomeOdunze highlights ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NH8Fn1QXzh
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) March 21, 2024
4. Luther Burden III, Missouri, 2025
If you’re searching for the next Deebo Samuel, look no further. Burden has similar size to the San Francisco 49ers’ star receiver (5-foot-11, 208 pounds compared to Samuel’s 6-foot, 215-pound frame), and the two are at their best with the ball in their hands. The sophomore’s 725 yards after the catch were third among all FBS receivers this past season while his 314 receiving yards after contact were the fourth-most.
Burden also displayed impressive hands and body control this past season, dropping just four of his 94 catchable targets while coming down with 56.5% of his contested targets. The former five-star recruit was targeted on 32.7% of his receiving snaps this past season, the highest rate among Power Five receivers. If Burden can clean up some route-running issues, he can overtake the three above him. For now, he’ll have to settle for being the early WR1 favorite for the 2025 draft.
Luther Burden III leads all Power Five WRs in:
???? Yards after the catch (340)
???? Receiving yards after contact (146)
???? Missed tackles forced (14)
???? Yards per route run (5.27)Making a strong case for the Biletnikoff.
Deebo Samuel-like. WR1 in 2025.pic.twitter.com/H0pPDoBzoR
— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) September 28, 2023
5. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona, 2025
If you throw it McMillan’s way, there’s a very good chance he’ll come down with it. There are two main reasons for that. The first is that he presents a massive target to throw to at 6-foot-5, giving him a larger catch radius than anyone on this list. His 17 contested catches in 2023 were second among FBS receivers to only Rome Odunze. The second is that he also has excellent hands, finishing with the lowest drop rate among Power Five receivers with at least 100 targets this past season (2.1%).
Only Malik Nabers and Odunze finished with more receiving yards than McMillan this year in the Power Five (1,396), and those two were the only FBS receivers who had more receiving first downs/touchdowns than the Arizona sophomore (63). Both Nabers and Odunze are projected top-10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, a feat McMillan should accomplish in 2025 if he maintains this pace.
6. Brian Thomas Jr., LSU, 2024
Nabers wasn’t the only LSU receiver who made waves in 2023. His running mate, Thomas, led the country with 17 receiving touchdowns this past season.
Thomas has absurd speed for his size, running a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3, 209 pounds. When you combine that with his explosiveness, Thomas has the ideal traits for an excellent vertical threat in the NFL.
Brian Thomas Jr. cutup
A team in need of a player that can stretch the field vertically is going to fall in love with Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas has blazing top speed that he can hit in a few strides. Paired with his deceleration ability making him a nightmare to guard. pic.twitter.com/guzvbm6qXv
— NTB_43 (@NTB_43) March 4, 2024
7. Adonai Mitchell, Texas, 2024
Speaking of receivers with freakish athletic traits, that’s precisely the way to describe Adonai Mitchell. He runs a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds while his 11-foot-4 broad jump is in the 98th percentile for wide receivers.
He’s a fluid route-runner at that size as well and led the Big 12 with 11 receiving touchdowns this past season. Mitchell has some work to do to fully realize his potential, but there’s no denying his high ceiling.
Adonai Mitchell feels like the ultimate do you know ball test
Sometimes you just need to trust the eyes, the talent speaks 🎯#NFLDraft2024 pic.twitter.com/kXS4RZaKb4
— Snoog’s Dynasty Society (@FFSnoog) March 21, 2024
8. Ladd McConkey, Georgia, 2024
Perhaps the most important trait for a receiver is his ability to create separation. McConkey is one of the best in this class at doing exactly that. He was charted as being open on 86.5% of his targets in 2023, which places him in the 93rd percentile for wide receivers.
He has very good long speed and quickness for the position whose intelligence helps him find the soft spots in zone coverage.
Ladd McConkey knows what he's doing and how to get there. Tactician. Changes tempo. Excellent quickness coming in and out of breaks. Not going to throw too many slot fades his way, but he's going to make someone very happy in round 2. pic.twitter.com/D6a7qVzYH7
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 23, 2024
9. Troy Franklin, Oregon, 2024
Franklin is a vertical threat at 6-foot-2 with 4.41 speed. He’s also led the Pac-12 with 14 receiving touchdowns this past season.
He does need to add some strength, as he’s only 176 pounds. That shows up in his ability to win jump balls, going just 7-for-19 in contested situations in 2023. Still, his athletic profile combined with his production could make him a WR2 in a vertical-based offense.
Troy Franklin is #good. pic.twitter.com/Wp1Gvjz7hH https://t.co/9LI1Di68U0
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) March 16, 2024
10. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State, 2025
Once upon a time, Egbuka was seen as a first-round prospect in the 2024 class. He entered 2023 as my No. 2 wide receiver in college football, trailing only his teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. While Harrison continued to shine and is now off to the NFL, Egbuka is returning for his senior season after missing three games due to an ankle injury as a junior. The year before, he finished as the second-most-valuable receiver in the Power Five according to PFF’s wins above-average metric, trailing only Harrison. He was fifth in that same group in receiving yards (1,151) and tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns (10) in 2022.
Egbuka is a smooth route-runner who routinely finds the soft spots in zone coverage. His 86.1% open-target rate puts him in the 96th percentile of wide receivers over the last couple of seasons while the junior’s 97.7 PFF receiving grade since 2022 against zone/underneath/top coverage places him in the 90th percentile. If he bounces back in his senior campaign, Egbuka can reestablish himself as a first-round caliber receiver.
Just some Emeka Egbuka highlight to cap off the weekend
pic.twitter.com/x91uYqzMZ1— The Victory Bell (@VictoryBellOSU) April 24, 2023
2026 Prospect to Know: Zachariah Branch, USC
Branch was only USC’s No. 4 receiver this past season, but you still saw glimpses of why he was a top-five recruit coming out of high school. He has elite speed, acceleration and change-of-direction ability.
Those athletic traits also make him a dangerous player in the return game. The true freshman was named a PFF first-team All-American as a return specialist as he was the only player in the country with both a kickoff-return touchdown and a punt-return touchdown. Branch must continue to get stronger as he’s only 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, but that should come with another couple years in a college weight room.
With both Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice off to the NFL draft, expect Branch to become much more of a household name as a sophomore.
He's only a freshman 😱
Zachariah Branch had himself a night! pic.twitter.com/PQuhJruX24
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) August 27, 2023
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