Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 4/9/20: Unveiling WR Rankings for 2020 NFL Draft

Episode Date: April 9, 2020

On today's episode, Stampede Blue's Zach Hicks helps us take a super deep dive into the 2020 wide receiver class. From Tee Higgins and Laviska Shenault to Henry Ruggs and CeeDee Lamb, all the bases are covered in this one as we rank our top 12 WRs.Evan and Zach both unveil their lists throughout the show with a full recap at the end. Which prospects make the most sense in Indianapolis? There's a cluster of 5-7 that check plenty of Colts boxes.The Colts will be taking a wideout early in this draft. This is a must-listen episode so you can familiarize yourself with a future Colt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of Locked on Colts, probably Locked on Podcast Network. Today's host is Evan Sider and Jumaid, a very special guest on today's show. Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue. Zach, how are you doing today? Pretty good, man. Two weeks away from the draft and, you know, just kind of trying to fill, you know, time and, you know, content out there until the draft comes around these next two weeks. But we are two weeks away from, you know, one of the biggest events of the year. So I'm pretty excited. Yeah, two weeks away from Christmas and April, as I like to say, Zach, because this is definitely one of my favorite days of the year, the NFL draft.

And in prime time, especially, it's even more fun over the past couple years. But we're going to dive in on today's episode. Talk about the wide receivers for this 2020 draft class, our top 12. And I'm going to go 12 to 1 here, start off at the bottom. There might be some interesting takes here, Zach. I know you'll probably disagree on some, but maybe some listeners will agree. We'll see how it works. But number 12 on my list here, Zach, he's a very divisive prospect.

And I have T. Higgins number 12 overall. I know that might be low for some people, but his pro day scared me away really bad. I know he put up really good numbers at Clemson, of course. He had a great quarterback at Trevor Lawrence. But the athletic test numbers, the the ceiling I see for him, my player comparison for T. Higgins, Zach, was Devin Funchess. I feel like that's like a ceiling for a guy like T. Higgins. Yeah, you know, T. Higgins, I feel like if you just go off of stats

and such like that, and, you know, again, I don't want to say that he's a bad player. He's not by any means. Like I think he can be a solid number two or number three receiver in the NFL. But with me, again again these last couple years especially like for me in particular and I think a lot of people who do this kind of even as their job but also kind of as a hobby and kind of follow this stuff you know we've kind of seen a lot of these unathletic receivers either bust or go way later in drafts than we expected you know from from last year Kelvin Harmon and DeMarcus Lodge and years before that there's been plenty of guys who had just slipped

because they're just not great athletes and I'm not saying that Higgins is the same thing as Kelvin Harmon or or DeMarcus Lodge at all but I'm just saying that for me personally it's just hard for me to really bet on such a poor athlete and And I think with Higgins, you know, I'm not too concerned about the long speed. You know, four fives is fine. I have no real issue with a guy running in the four fives being my receiver. But I just think, you know, on tape, you can see the struggles with him laterally.

I mean, at his pro day, I think he tried to run the three cone five or six times and failed. He wasn't able to do it or something, or he just wasn't doing the technique right. I mean, he basically just DQ'd is what it was. So that was a concern. And then, you know, the explosiveness. I mean, you don't see much explosiveness at all on film.

And then his jumps were really, really bad at his pro day as well. And, you know, you got to take into account that those are pro day numbers, and we're seeing some very high inflated pro day numbers this year. So who knows what the real numbers would be? So, yeah, I think a lot of it is just, you know, there are definitely concerns with the testing, but to me personally, as someone who wasn't a huge fan of his film, I wasn't really too surprised by any of those numbers. You know, I kind of saw all those numbers on film. I saw a guy who can go up and those numbers. You know, I kind of saw all those numbers on film. I saw a guy who can go up and make contested catches,

and I think he plays tough. He can beat press. He's a good blocker. There's a lot of those little things, right, that you like, but I just don't really see the athlete. I don't see a guy who's going to separate a lot at the next level. And one big thing that I kind of have when it comes to receivers, especially now, is I don't want to bet on contested catch guys.

Just if you're really your only thing as a contested catch guy, which kind of is what I would say about Higgins is his biggest thing is a contested catch guy. You know, the reason why I'm not going to bet on those guys is, you know, why are they contested catch guys? You know, you never want receivers to be great contested catch guys. Obviously it's a great trait to have, but there's a reason why you're making so many contested catches and it's because you're not getting open so uh you know I like Higgins I think he can be a good wide receiver two or three

in the NFL uh but in a really good class like this I would definitely go a lot of other options I think he's my like wide receiver 13 or 14 right now yeah when you look at I was looking at some odd sites as far as like where the colts land on some draft prospect and stuff like that and interesting enough for a fan duel t higgins is the the number one odds choice for betters right now for who would be the pick at number 34 and i would hate that pick honestly because like you went through zach very unathletic wide receiver really wouldn't offer you much outside contested catchability and you look ahead to uh when i did a mock draft

myself last night i draft network exactly two four on mock and i had t hands going in the late second early third round i just can't see him being a late first early second round guy at this point yeah you know it's tough it's a really weird year this year so it's kind of tough to say where guys are going to go outside of you know having inside knowledge and you know from, you know, from everything I've kind of heard and seen, you know, I do think he still probably goes in that second round range. But, yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting because, you know, we've seen guys who are kind of, I wouldn't say like really bad athletes, but, you know, guys like Laquan Treadwell go in the first round

and stuff like that. So we've seen it happen before. And, you know, he played for such a great school and college, had really good production, had great chemistry with one of the best quarterbacks in the country. So, I mean, if he went in the first round or if he went early second, it wouldn't shock me too much. I just personally, for me,

I think that he's not really a fit with the Colts. And I really don't see the Colts drafting a receiver with his athleticism. I just think Ballard puts so much on the athletic side of things when it comes to receivers and I just don't think he's gonna you know take a guy like T Higgins with that pick next on the list here Zach number 11 on me for my own board maybe lower I assumed than you because I know you're higher on him than I but the injuries have really scared me off the past year so I loved his tape in 2018 I still love this tape but just the the injuries have really scared me off the past year or so. I loved his tape in 2018. I still love this tape, but just the injury concerns are really bothering me. And that's why I made him down a few spots here.

That's LaVisca Chanel Colorado number 11 for me on my board. Tell me Zach on why I should maybe boost up Chanel a little bit or why I shouldn't be concerned about those injuries. Yeah. You know, I really can't turn you away from being concerned about those injuries. I mean, injuries are, are part of the game and and it really takes you know the the way that I look at it is we we aren't really the decision makers you know we are obviously grading things the way that we would do it and we're grading it based off what we see and such but you know these these teams and these coaches they they have so much more info than us when it comes to all this stuff. So, you know, Chenault might have amazing, like, you know,

results coming back about his overall injuries, and teams might still, like, just go off that tape and not think about the injuries, or they're just atrocious right now. And the thing with injuries is it's really tough just for me to kind of quantify it. You know, I try my best to, obviously, and I drop guys accordingly when I have some info. But Chenault, you know, from everything I've kind of heard and and and seen I don't know if it's like like, you know, they're not really like long term injuries. Obviously, he had the groin injury this last year and then he had surgery after the combine on a pubic bone, which I would like to say, you know, for anyone who thinks he's slow because of that combine number, I mean, he ran a 4.59 with needing surgery on his pubic bone. I mean, that's insane. I feel like

he'd be like a low 4.4s if he didn't need surgery on such a vital part to running at the combine. So that's one thing I want to throw out there. But, you know, it's hard for me to really quantify kind of injuries just because I don't have all the info. So I do the best I can. I'm still pretty high on Leviska Schindled. I think I have him at wide receiver six right now. And I just dropped him a little bit from, you know, after the combine. But yeah, you know, when you watch this film, you see a guy who is probably one of the best in the class after the catch, not only just being elusive, but also just being an absolute tank. He just runs through guys and gets down the field. And honestly, I don't think he's, you know,

I don't think he's a terrible route runner. Obviously it's not his strength right now and he has some development to go. But I think with his size, you know, his height, weight, speed, and also with his ability to kind of navigate in space and find openings, even when his routes aren't super precise, I think there's a lot of potential there to be a good route runner. So I just see a lot of high potential with him. And obviously we've seen good film from him before, you know,

without the injuries and, and with, you know, the offense and the quarterback play being a little bit better. So I'm kind of willing to bet on that upside with him compared to some other guys in this class. So I think I still have quite a bit higher and I really like what he could eventually be in the NFL. Number 10 for me, Zach, K.J. Hamler, Penn State. He is a very small receiver, of course, almost like T.Y. Hilton in size,

maybe even a little smaller than that. I compared him to Dante Hall, the former Chiefs wide receiver back in the day who was so explosive and a very good returner as well back in the day. And I think K.J. Hamler could definitely do that in the NFL, be a Dante Hall type of player. But what's your thoughts on Hamler as a prospect? Yeah, Hamler's great. I mean, when you watch his film – so the thing is I want Hall type of player, but what's your thoughts on Hamler as a prospect? Yeah, Hamler's great. I mean, when you watch his film,

so the thing is I want to kind of preface this by saying I'm not as high on Hamler as a lot of other people, but to talk about his strengths, I mean, first and foremost, he is an elite athlete. And again, we're talking about a class that has guys like Jalen Rager, Henry Ruggs, you know, Brandon Ayuk, Devin Duvernay. I mean, these are some elite athletes in this class. And Hamler, you know, outside of Ruggs, Brandon Ayuk, Devin Duvernay. I mean, these are some elite athletes in this class.

And Hamler, outside of Ruggs, might be the best one just because, I mean, the way he accelerates and the way he gets vertical and the way that he can just create separation naturally without being an elite route runner or anything like that, I just think that's so valuable. And his speed is not just flat speed. It's also quickness. It's also agility. It's also quickness. It's also agility.

It's also explosiveness. So I think all around, he's just such a great athlete. And, you know, he's actually a pretty developed route runner. You know, I'm not going to say he's an elite route runner, but he's a pretty developed route runner. So when you have a really developed route runner and you have a guy with his kind of athleticism, I think you have a really good floor for what he is. The big issue that I have with him and probably the reason why you have him at number 10 and the reason why I have him at number eight and maybe not as high as others is, you know, he's a small receiver that kind of plays small. And that's not something I absolutely love in my receiver. You know, I want to see guys who

can go up and catch the ball. I want to see guys with consistent hands. I want to see kind of that kind of ability to catch the ball in traffic. And when it comes to Hamler, I don't think he's really much of a guy who can catch in traffic. I don't think his hands are very consistent. I don't think, you know, if you're going to throw any kind of jump ball

or you're going to throw anything and kind of that's going to be somewhat contested, I think he's going to struggle. So, you know, I like what you can do with him. I think you can move him around and do a lot of good things and get him the ball and, you know, have a really fun offense with him involved. But if you're looking for this complete receiver who's going to come in and just kind of do everything for you from contested catches to

being steady and reliable, I don't know if that's what he's going to be right away. But the potential is sky high with him. I really like what he can bring to the team. This one, I don't know if Zach, he's on your list in your top 12 or top 15, but this is a player I'm really falling in love with the more I watch him just because what he does on special teams, does the dirty work a lot. Contested catch guy. He reminds me a lot of Vincent Jackson from back in the day where if you just throw vertical routes his way,

he's not going to do much outside of running vertical, but he's very good at what he does. And Chase Claypool of Notre Dame, I know many see him as a tight end, but I see him, if he runs a 4-4-2-40 and has a good three count like he showed at the combine, I think that he could be a tight end, but I see him, if he runs a 4-4-2-40 and has a good three-count like he showed at the Combine, I think that he could be a vertical wide on the NFL, Zach, with separation ability, a lot faster than T. Higgins. I have a number nine overall on my board, probably higher than you, Zach,

but what's your thoughts on Claypool? Yeah, so Claypool I actually personally have as a tight end. And before I get into that, I will say the positives that I saw with him as a receiver at Notre Dame is I do like that I will say the positives that I saw with him as a receiver you know at Notre Dame is I do like that he can get vertical and I like that he can not that it's really super consistent but I like that he has shown the ability to go up there and get the ball in traffic I like that you know he's a tough guy I mean I like that he throws some blocks out there definitely had a better senior bowl than I expected going down there

but the reason why I have him at tight end is you know as a receiver I don't really see the locks out there. Definitely had a better senior bowl than I expected going down there. But the reason why I have him at tight end is, you know, as a receiver, I don't really see the nuance of route running. I don't see great releases. I don't see extremely consistent hands, you know, from the ability to kind of like go up there and be consistent with timing his jumps and such like that. I really like the potential though, kind of having him in like an Evan Ingram role that the Giants have, you know, obviously with Evan Ingram, I really like to see though of kind of having him in like an Evan Ingram role that the Giants have you know obviously with Evan Ingram I really like to see him in that kind of role where you can kind of flex him out into the slot have him as a matchup type of guy you can even put him in line every now and then and kind of give him some seams and vertical routes I just really like

the ability of using that speed and that size because I think he came in at like near 240 at the combine so he definitely has the size for it as well. But just kind of using all that as a more of a mismatch kind of in line and on in the slot, rather than trying to put them outside. I just don't think, you know, despite his size, you would think he'd be a great release receiver and, and, you know, with that, with his athleticism, you would think that he'd be a better route runner,

but I just don't see that really on film. But I think, you know, if you put him in the slot or you put him kind of in line, you force linebackers and safeties to cover him. I think that's really intriguing. And honestly, with how weak this tight end class is, I mean, the top tight end that I have on my board, I mean, I know we're not talking tight ends, but the top guy I have is from like division two and I have him as a late day two grade and pretty much everyone else is, is day three grades. So when you're, when you're talking about such a weak tight end class, and then you have a guy like Claypool who has the size and can be a mismatch guy, you know, he might be the 15th,

16th receiver in this class to some teams, but he might be the number one tight end. So, you know, I'm sure some teams do view him as a tight end. I view him as a tight end personally, But I really like him in that role. I think that he can be just better suited to kind of be a mismatched weapon as a tight end. Doesn't it kind of feel like, Zach, if the Colts, let's just say they go Claypool 44, he can kind of fill that Ebron role perfectly for Frank, right?

Yeah. No, I definitely think so. I mean, I think with Ebron, the issues just were with his consistency, and I think that's where that role kind of was struggling a little bit last year. But, yeah, I think Claypool can kind of step in that right away. I would say there's going to be some development. You know, he's not going to be a finished product coming right in just because he's never played tight end before.

But I think that, you know, from what he can do with his athleticism and the base traits he brings, and also everything I've heard about him, he's, you know, high work ethic, you know, from what he can do with his athleticism and the base traits he brings, and also everything I've heard about him, his, you know, high work ethic, you know, really tough kid. I definitely think, you know, bring him in for that role he'd be open for, and I think he'd be a really good fit with the Colts. Number eight on my list, Zach, and this is a person who I was anything of a rating higher because the more I watch him, just the more I've fallen in love with him,

and also the off-field aspects of the Colts really value, the character, the team captain, senior bowl success. This guy checks every single box for what the Colts really desire and prioritize, and that's Michael Pittman Jr. of USC and someone who I'm really warming up to as a possible at 44, even at 34 too, because if there's wire series that go that early, maybe they do reach for a guy like Pittman. But what's your thoughts on Michael Pittman here, Zach?

Because I feel like he is a very realistic chance to be a Colt in a couple weeks. Yeah, no, I really like Michael Pittman. He's definitely a guy who, you know, the more you watch film on him, just the more he grows on you, because you just kind of go in thinking, okay, bigger guy, he's going to be much like a very, just a very contested catch type of guy. I mean, you kind of just expect those things, but when you turn it on, you see this really silky smooth guy who can move fairly well. He can, you know, run those short to intermediate routes as well as getting vertical and closing

on defensive backs that have space on them. So yeah, I really like Michael Pittman. You know, I don't absolutely love him just because I think his release game is not great. But there's definitely a lot to work with there. And I think that he brings a, you know, ability to be valuable to an offense especially one like the Colts where Phillip Rivers likes those kind of bigger receivers you can catch the ball in traffic so yeah Michael Pittman I have higher than a guy like T Higgins because I think as well as being a contested catch guy he can also be a smooth route runner and he definitely has a potential for it so I personally have him at my number 10 receiver

and and honestly I you know I've moved him up and down so much this offseason. But I just came away thinking, you know, watching his film again recently, it's hard not to like this guy. I think he's going to be a good pro. Yeah, I try my best, Zach, to put comps on all these players here on this list. And for Pittman, I went with Cortland Sutton. I might be a little bit of a reach there, but I just see like a big wide out who can move a lot better than I thought

and can actually do the short intermediate routes like you said there. It feels like he could step into Indy, like you said, and be a WR2 right away. Him and Zach Poulsen can be a really good combo for this Colts team, but number seven on my list, Zach, is going to be Jalen Rager of TCU. The more I watch him, the more I put for my compass, Stephon Diggs for a guy like Jalen Rager, even though the drops worry me a little bit, but his quarterback play at TCU was atrocious to work with. I think he'd probably be an even higher rated wide out amongst national people if he had a better quarterback this year at TCU. So what's your thoughts on Rager? Yeah, so I really like Rager. I think the potential is just so high with him,

just from his speed, his athleticism, his quickness. I think he's a pretty good route runner. I don't think he's a super nuanced, developed route runner, but I think he's a pretty good route runner. I don't think he's a super nuanced, developed route runner, but I think he's better than what people really give him credit for. And, yeah, especially in a league where guys like Debo Samuel have just had so much success last year, I think a guy like Rager could succeed in that kind of role where you give him a lot of scheme touches, you get that ball in his hand, but he can also get down the field and win vertically and win across the middle.

So, yeah, I really like Jalen Rager. I mean, there's obviously some some concerns with him, you know, the effort level is not always there. The combine was a little weird, just from the agilities and also the 40 time. So how much is that? You know, was it just that combine just being a weird event this year? Or was it something with his training something with him adding weight, you know, there's definitely some questions to be asked about that stuff. But, you know, overall, I think you're just going to be getting a super athletic receiver who can do a lot of things with the ball in his hand. And, you know, he also shows some ability to be more of a complete receiver.

You know, we've seen him go up and catch the ball in traffic. We've seen him be a pretty solid route runner. So I think there's a lot of potential with him. And I think the base floor, as long as, you know, the effort issues don't really show up in the NFL and you can get some answers in that combine, I think the base floor is pretty good for him. So I have him at wide receiver five right now. And yeah, I don't see that changing at all by the time the draft rolls around.

Number six for me, Zach, and a player, I think everyone's falling in love with recently and a comp for him, I put his Chris Godwin, a bigger version of Chris God Godwin just because I see a such a fluid route runner a guy who can do everything and his combine he really blew up too and that was Denzel Mims at Baylor I think he's a best case scenario for the Colts he's there at 34 he's with other guys in the system in front of him too who qualify for that but Mims really I think for me I think there's a very low chance he makes the 34 now Zach but what but what's your thoughts on Mims maybe as possibly of slipping the 34? Yeah, so Denzel Mims is a guy I'm going to be a lot lower on than most people.

And by a lot, I mean, I have him on my wide receiver seven. I'm going to have like a mid to late round two gray on him. So not really, you know, super low, like I dislike his game. But starting with the positives, I mean, with him, you're getting just a pure athlete. And you can see it on every ounce of his film. You know, he's an elite athlete. And also, you know, you're getting just a pure athlete and you can see it on every ounce of his film. You know, he's an elite athlete and also, you know, his ability to go up and catch the ball and not just catch it, but also be able to contort and twist his body and do whatever to

come down with that ball. I think it's just incredible. So he does a really good job with that. And, you know, he just absolutely killed the all season circuit. I mean, from the senior bowl to the combine to interviews, he just killed all of that. And then another thing I really love about him is, is, is his blocking. I mean, he is a tenacious blocker. I mean, he gets in it and guys faces and he tosses them. And I think coaches are going to absolutely love that. The main reason why I'm a little bit lower on him the most and,

and why I'm I'd be really hesitant to take him in round one. I do think he's really raw. I think that, you know, we kind of saw last year he struggled a lot with drops. And it's not just really the drops, you know, going up and getting the ball. It's drops like over the middle and very easy routine catches. They just kind of bounce off his hands. And he definitely struggled to kind of be consistent with his hands. And, you know, Colts fans hated Eric Ebron for that the last two years. I imagine

they wouldn't like that too much and Denzel Mims either but that's that's one major concern I also don't think he's a great route runner right now maybe he can be better with with more development more coaching you know obviously at Baylor they don't run too many routes so he's definitely have to improve in that area as well and honestly I really didn't see much of a separator despite the great speed at Baylor you know kind of like what we said earlier with Tee Higgins it's concerning when receivers are such like so good at contested catches in college because like why are you getting so many contested catch opportunities and I just saw too many of those opportunities with with Mims and you know

that might go back to some of the route running concerns and stuff like that but you know overall I mean you're getting a big receiver a guy who killed the offseason circuit a great interview who does a lot of the little things like run blocking and such so it's really hard to dislike him as a prospect I just think he's a little bit too raw for me to take him in round one but you know again whatever team's going to get him they're going to get some guy that can definitely mold and turn into a really good NFL player. Number five on my list here is Brandon Ayuk of Arizona State. The more I watch him, the more I see.

I know you mentioned Debo for Jillian Rigger. I see Debo and Brandon Ayuk, a guy who just never drops the ball. He's a yards after catch king, gets like 20 yards after catch a lot. Just such an explosive player and a former returner. He knows how to use his wiggle. He knows how to separate, too, which I love. And a guy like Ayuk, I think he's a great throw to the Colts at 34. He's there at 44.

Just knows how to get open a lot. And like you said, separation is key. And I feel like Ayuk can do that a lot and never really drops the ball. So what do you think about Ayuk? Because I imagine you're a little lower on him than I, but what do you see as his ceiling? Yeah, so I am definitely a little bit lower on him. I think I'm at my wide receiver nine.

But everything you kind of said, and, you know, we've talked about him a lot on this podcast this offseason, and he's the guy who I identified in my Build a Ballard series as, like, the number one Colts guy in this draft. I mean, I think when it comes to wide receivers, I think Ayuk just fits every single thing they like to a T. And, you know, going to the positives, like kind of what you were mentioning there, I think that he is really good with the ball in his hands.

He's really good in space. He's lightning quick when he's making his cuts in and out of, like, routes and off breaks. I think, you know, like I don't necessarily think he's a great route runner, but I think his ability to naturally make cuts with his athleticism puts that ceiling that he can be as a route runner like really really high he's got super long arms he can get vertical and we've seen him get vertical a lot in college so there is definitely like ton to like in his game kind of another issue I have

with him though like going back to Michael Pittman as well as I don't really see much of a release game on him he doesn't really have a plan of attack uh when he's facing press and he kind of really struggles uh to get off the line and and kind of what i was saying with with route running uh i think he has a natural ability to be a route runner but as of right now i just don't think the nuance and and you know knowledge of when to cough his routes against zone or or nuance of when to make certain cuts and stuff in his routes uh against certain coverage i don't think that's really there yet uh but i mean when you're talking about potential or nuance of when to make certain cuts and stuff in his routes against certain coverage. I don't think that's really there yet. But, I mean, when you're talking about potential, he's got sky high.

And like I said, with his length, with his athleticism, with his ability after the catch, and, you know, kind of what we were saying with Devo Samuel, I mean, those type of receivers are big right now in the NFL. And, yeah, if Iuk was to pick at 34 or 44 for the Colts, I'd absolutely love it. Even though I'm going to have like an early third round rate on him. Last one we can go into detail on, on this list. Number four is Justin Jefferson of LSU. Chris Bauer went and saw Oklahoma LSU play and Justin Jefferson just lit up the whole arena.

I think I had four touchdowns in the first half of that game as Joe Burrow went off, they scored 60 plus points. Justin Jefferson, the more I watch him, I put my comp here, Devontae Adams for him. I think he gets open so much. I think he's going to be a very, very good NFL wire zero, a wire zero one eventually in the NFL. I think there's maybe a 1% or 2% chance he's there at 34, Zach,

but if he somehow is there at 34, I think the power is going to run up that card for him. Yeah, yeah. No, I definitely agree on that last part there. And I will say, I think Devontae Adams is a little bit optimistic of a comparison. And that's nothing bad to say about your comparison there. I think Adams is just a different animal than when it comes to Jefferson. But I will say, Jefferson is one of my favorite overall players in this draft.

And I do think he's a little bit more limited than what you were kind of saying there. I think that he's mostly going to be a slot guy in the NFL but I don't think there's really any issue with being mostly a slot guy and we've seen guys like Juju Smith-Schuster dominate in that type of role and I think that's a guy he compares really favorably to is Juju Smith-Schuster I love his quickness I love his ability to run routes I love you know when he gets those iso routes in the slot and when he gets the ability to kind of create for himself, just how creative he is and how savvy he is to get open. I think he has great ability to go up and catch the ball. I think that he's really good after the catch, despite not being like an elite athlete. So yeah, there's

a ton to like with him. And I think, you know, whoever drafts him, I imagine it's going to be in like the late round one, you know, a team like the Packers or a team like the Saints maybe the Patriots whoever drafts him kind of there in that late round one is going to just plug him in the slot and he's going to be that guy for you know a decade plus because I really think that his traits are not only good for right now but I think even when the athleticism kind of goes a little bit later in his career just his ability to get open and go up and get the ball, I think that's going to translate for a long time. So I think a team that drafts him in the first round, or maybe even early second, if he falls

to the Colts, I think wherever he goes, they're going to get a long-time producer for their team. Top three on my list here, Zach. I'm just going to rank them off here because there's no chance they'll be there for the Colts 34, so we don't have to go into much detail about these guys. They're probably already well- they're they are the top wire series in this class and for me it's number one CeeDee Lamb Oklahoma two Henry Ruggs of Alabama he went ahead of Jerry Judy his teammate of Alabama who comes in at three what do you think

of these three guys and what's your overall ranking I guess for these three if you want to go through that quickly yeah so going through quickly I go Ruggs one CeeDee Lamb two and then Judy number three and then kind of quick analysis on each you know go Ruggs one, CeeDee Lamb two, and then Judy number three. And then kind of quick analysis on each. You know, Henry Ruggs, I think, is a guy who can kind of do everything. You know, big hands. I think he catches the ball really well in traffic. He's great after the catch.

Can get vertical, can also win underneath. And when I watch him, I think he's probably the best wide receiver prospect I've evaluated. And I've been doing this since like 2015, 2016. I just think that the potential is just so high with him. And I think the floor is even higher. Like the floor is, is higher than pretty much everyone else in this class as well. C.D. Lamb, I think he's, you know,

a great receiver that I think obviously separating a little bit is, is going to be an area where I struggle a little bit with him and his projections to the NFL. But, you know, overall, I mean, after the catch he he's outstanding. He goes up and gets the ball. He's a better route runner than most give him credit for, even though he's not really elite in that area. And he's a, he's a pretty good athlete as well. So yeah,

I think he's going to be a really good wide receiver one, the NFL. And then Jerry Judy is a guy who I'm lower on than most, not because I dislike his game at all. I just think it's, it's so predicated on his route running and being lightning quick that my issues are, you know, he's not really much of a contested catch guy. He's not much of a catch in traffic type of guy. He's not going to go up and get the ball.

Everything he kind of does is in that short to intermediate game and kind of like below the rim to put a basketball term on it. So I think those are my biggest flaws and the reason why he drops a bit. Like I would have him as my day one slot receiver and I think he'd be a star in that role in the NFL. But I think if a team's drafting him to be like their number one receiver for a decade or be like a superstar from day one, I think that they're really going to struggle with what he can do. But I think he can be a really good slot receiver from day one and definitely kill in that role. But those three guys, yeah,

I don't think there's any chance they're going to be there for the Colts and, and they're all studs and there's no reason they should be there for the Colts. I think all three of them are going to have an instant impact in the NFL. Last question I have for you Zach, appreciate the time as always, man. I'm going to run through my list one more time, one through 12. I don't know if you have your list in front of you, one through 12, but just to give you some time, I'm going to go start off here one more time, one through 12. I don't know if you have your listener for any of you, one through 12, but just to give you some time, I'm going to go start off here one

more time. C.D. Lamb, Oklahoma is my number one receiver. Number two is Henry Ruggs. Number three is Jerry Judy. Number four is Justin Jefferson. Number five is Brandon Ayuk. Number six is Denzel Mims. Number seven, Jalen Rager. Number eight, Michael Pittman Jr. Number nine, Chase Claypool. Number 10, KJ Hamler. Number 11, LaVisca Chennault, and number 12, T. Higgins. Zach, if you have the list in front of you, if you don't, you can just maybe nail some of your top guys, but what are your overall thoughts on this class on your list? Yeah, so I can actually go to my list. I have it right here, and I'm still tinkering with things a little bit, but for the most part, this is going to be my list for going into the draft, but I have

Henry Ruggs at number one, C.D. Lamb at number two, Gary Judy at number three, Justin Jefferson at number four, Jalen Rager at number five, LaVisca Schinolt at number six, Denzel Mims at seven, K.J. Hamler at eight, Brandon Ayuk at nine,

Michael Pittman Jr. at 10, Brian Edwards at 11, and Devin DuVernay at 12. And, you know, honestly, this class overall, I don't think it's this super historic class, kind of like what we were talking about, you know, going into this offseason, but I think it's, it's pretty darn good. There, there's definitely a lot of talent to be had, not only at the top, but also, you know, in that round two to round three range. And then also on day three, which, you know, I'm sure that you and I will get a chance to talk

about maybe right after the draft or even closer to the draft. But there's just so much talent in this wide receiver class, and I think it's going to be a really good group that has a lot of day one guys, like a lot of day one contributors for teams, and even provide pretty good depth for some teams as well. So I think teams like the Colts who kind of need some help at receiver could come out of this draft with two guys who are going to have an instant impact or whatever. I think it's just going to be a really good class, and I guys who are going to have an instant impact or whatever. I think it's just going to be a really good class, and I think there's going to be a lot of good return on investment when it comes to this class.

You guys can follow Zach over on Twitter at ZachHicks2. You can read his work over on Stampede Blue and Cover One. It's been a really fun episode, Zach. Appreciate the time helping us go in-depth on this wide receiver class. Yeah, of course, man. Have me on whenever.