The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Klatt ranks his Top 5 Pass Catchers in the 2024 NFL Draft

Episode Date: February 26, 2024

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt ranks his Top 5 Pass Catchers (Wide Receivers & Tight Ends) in the 2024 NFL Draft. Klatt reveals how he ranks the top Wide Receivers in the draft including Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison, LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze. He also makes the case for Georgia Tight End Brock Bowers to be ranked above many of the top Wide Receivers in the Draft and points out why a dominant player at his position is more valuable than a top wideout. Klatt also considers how the depth at the Wide Receiver position in this Draft class will affect teams’ decision making on Draft Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's who wins championships. Teams that have players like Brock Bowers. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. Believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football. It was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. What's up, everybody?

Welcome into the program. I'm Joel Clatt. This is the Joel Clatt Show. Before we get started, just remember you can follow us everywhere. Wherever you're listening right now, make sure to subscribe, rate and review the show, wherever you're watching, by the way. If you're on YouTube, make sure to subscribe to the show. Comment below.

I've been jumping in those comments, as you know, chopping it up a little bit. So get in there and maybe we can have a discussion down in those comments. You can also follow us on social media. And as you know, all of our stuff lives in shorts and video on demand, basically on social media. So we're out there at Joel Clatshow, wherever you. you like to social media, you can follow me personally at Joel Clatt on Twitter or at Joel underscore Clat on Instagram. We are in the middle of draft season, as you know, and today I'll be ranking my top pass catchers in this year's draft. And this year's draft is loaded

with great players. And this is one of those categories that we are loaded with great players. Now, and I've talked about this, and I talked about it last week when I was going through my top quarterbacks. We've got this confluence of a lot of things that have happened in the last couple of years in college football that have led to now this draft being as deep of a draft as we've seen in a long time. And I think that that extends outside of quarterbacks. I think that it extends to the offensive line.

I think it extends to pass catchers. We might not have the best past rushers that we've ever had. But when you look at the depth in this draft, combine COVID with NIL, the ability to stay in school longer. then what you have now is a bunch of guys that decided to stay in school longer, paired with guys that took the traditional, highly talented route of playing three years in college football and then leaving. So that leads to a greater pool of talent available in this year's draft. And I think that this category is no different in that regard.

So I will be ranking my top five pass catchers in the draft today. It's going to be difficult because there are many. more talented wide receivers than five. And I'm going to preface this like I did last week with the quarterbacks. Just because the guy that you're a fan of might be ranked behind somebody or not even on the top five, but within kind of the top 10 guys. That doesn't mean I hate them. It's my biggest pet peeve in this entire process.

Inevitably, in the comments, you're going to find somebody like, what does he hate, you know, whomever, name the player. I don't hate the player. These are all incredibly talented players. I love all of these players. And everybody here tonight likely going to get selected in the first round and should. And I will be fully in support of that because these players are terrific. But you do have to rank them in this day and age.

And in particular when you're getting ready for the draft, just as the teams will rank these players. Now, they may have them rank differently than I do, but let's get into it. My number one pass catcher in this year's draft is a really, easy one. Let's not overthink it. We've known he was going to be the best pass catcher in this draft for a long time. It's Marvin Harrison, Jr. from Ohio State. There's a reason he won the Bolitnikoff Award. Probably should have won it two years in a row. There's a reason he's a two-time All-American. By the way, the only two-time All-American

wide receiver in Ohio State history, that's saying something with the players that have come through that building. He is as good as they come. Physically, he's way bigger than you would expect. He's 6-4, all a 205, probably a little bit more. He's fast. I think he's faster than people realize. He runs terrific routes. He's a technician in a lot of ways, understands the game and is a tireless worker. And in fact, every time that I've been to Ohio State, and it's a lot. As you know, I do a lot of Michigan. I do a lot of Ohio State with our contracts at Fox. Every time that I'm there and I'm in that building, every single time he's... I should say after practice, he's on the field every time, after practice,

catching footballs off the jugs gun. Every single time. Whether he was nursing an ankle injury or he was fully healthy, whether it was spring or whether it was summer, whether it was the fall in the first week, or if it was before the Michigan game. The guy is a tireless worker. He understands that his goal is not to just be a good player

at the college level. Ever since I first met him and we sat with him in that building, ever since I first laid eyes on him. Every time I've talked to any coach or teammate of his, they all say the same thing. His standard is greatness. His standard. That's what he's chasing.

That's what he's chasing. And granted, I mean, that's where he comes from. That's where he comes from. He's as good as they come. He's the best wide receiver in the draft. He's the best pass catcher in the draft, and we've known that for quite some time. I just don't buy this conversation that this list needs to change because we've known this for a long time. I said this last week when talking about the quarterbacks, in particular with Caleb Williams at the top.

Let's not get bored with these guys that we've known for a long time are going to be in this position. Just because they've been in this position for a long time doesn't mean that we've got to start poking holes and chasing ghosts about their game. All right. And Harrison is one of those guys. This guy, he is, he's going to be a great player. He's going to be an all pro. He's going to be a 10-time pro bowler. If he stays healthy, he goes to the right spot and it's on. It's on. Now, I've got him to Arizona early in this draft. Is that a great spot? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. But one thing I do know is that this guy is a great player. Let's go to number two. And I think this one's more interesting. and it goes right in line with what I was just talking about, about not getting bored and not chasing ghosts.

And I sense a lot of people in this industry and around this draft chasing ghosts as it relates to this particular pass catcher. And you will understand why I named this the past catcher list and not a wide receiver list because of number two, Brock Bowers. Brock Bowers is a phenomenal player, and he plays a position that is highly valuable. And I know that's not all that of a popular take. It's not that popular of a take. In fact, I think what you're going to hear a lot during this process is about the devaluing of the tight-end position, about like, this is why Bowers shouldn't be this or that as it relates to his ranking on a big board or where he goes in the first round. Brock Bowers impacts the game every time he's on the field, whether it's third down, whether it's red zone.

This guy is an impact player. He's fast. He's a matchup nightmare. And he plays a position that is highly valuable. Do not let anybody tell you that the tide end is a devalued position. How do I know this? Well, one, I was on the field. I know what it feels like when you've got a tight end that can occupy the middle of the field. It's an important role. And it's an important role even at the top end in football. Look at the teams that have won Super Bowls in the last, I don't know, eight years.

Look at the last eight Super Bowl winners. Here's what you'll see. you're going to see teams that had somebody that was an incredible middle-of-the-field player, occupier, playmaker, production player in that space. You go back. Here's the last eight Super Bowl. Kelsey twice, best tied in football. Cooper Cup for the Rams.

You had Gronk in there. Kelsey again, Gronk again. Zach Ertz led the Eagles in receiving that year and Gronk again. here's what you don't see. And this is not a devaluing of the wide receiver position either, but you don't see like C.D. Lamb and Des Brian and Jamar Chase and O'Dell Beckham. You don't see that. Now, there is a place for great wide receivers, certainly,

because they can turn an 11-and-11 matchup into a one-on-one very quickly. And if they can beat and win and be efficient in that one-on-one, they are incredibly valuable, which we all know. And I think that that's kind of inherent to how we understand football. What we don't inherently understand, I think, on average, is the value of the tied end. But when you look at it like that, look at the Super Bowl winners. What do they all have? Someone that can occupy the middle of the field.

And not just occupy the middle of the field. I'm not talking about just routes, running people off. I'm talking about great production players, high production players. Kelsey might be one of the best tied ends ever. Gronk may be one of the best postseason tied ends ever. One of the great matchup, mismatch players in history. Ertz led the Eagles in receiving. Cup was a production savant in a lot of ways.

And the reason why it's so important is that when you get into critical situations in this sport, it can't always just be a one-on-one because that can be a 50-50 proposition. You hear like, well, he wins the 50-50 situation. Well, as an offense, I don't want to be in a 50-50 situation. I don't. What do I want to do? I want to put the odds in my favor. And I can do that by having a player that can occupy the middle of the field.

It changes and manipulates coverage. And it also, in a tight-ins case, forces the defense to make a decision about how they're going to match up from a personnel standpoint and a schematic standpoint, depending on how many tight ends you have on the field. There's a reason why Andy Reefi-Ree. in the last year's Super Bowl, this last Super Bowl, went to 12 personnel to win the game down low. And there's been some great social media about the actual play call and the personnel group. He went to two tight ends because he was inviting a very certain look

from the San Francisco 49ers so that they would be thinking about this condensed formation where the chiefs like to run middle screens, shuttle passes, all of these different things. So you get the focus of a deal. defense in one area, and then you can move into another. So then they have the little yo-yo motion, and they run the corn dog right there, and guess what? Guess why that works?

Guess why that works? It's not just because of the motion. It's not just the schematics. It's also because the guy that was now the number one player on that right side was Travis Kelsey, a great tight end, a great tight end. So Brock Bowers has high value as a tied end. Okay? Don't let people tell you otherwise.

If he falls into the middle of the first round, that's a mistake. That is a mistake. I will be pounding the table on night one as I'm covering the draft for the NFL network. I'll be there with Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis, night one, night two in Detroit, and I'll be pounding the table. Somebody take Brock Bowers. I don't think he gets past Jim Harbaugh at five. I think the Chargers, and in particular, Jim Harbaugh, understand the value of not just the tight end, but of this tight end.

So it's not just about being the best tight end in the draft. It's about being this guy. And Brock Bowers is that guy. This is one of the best college tight ends that I've seen in a long time. 175 catches and over 2,500 yards with 26 touchdowns in his three seasons at Georgia. He went 10 for 139 against Alabama as a freshman in the SEC. championship game. He had the huge play against Ohio State. They don't beat Ohio State in their second national championship year in the, what was that? The Peach Bowl, I believe it was. In the semi-final,

unless he makes that incredible extension for the first down along the sidelines. His ability after the catch rivals any of these wide receivers on the outside. This guy is phenomenal. Phenomenal. He also, by the way, also had 7 for 152 in a touchdown against TCU. He's 6'4, 240 pounds. He's physical. He's fast. He catches the ball beautifully and smooth. And he plays a position that I value very much. Why? Because that's who wins championships. Teams that have players like Brock Bowers, the last eight Super Bowl winners, had a highly productive mainstay in the middle of the field, a great tight end or a great slot receiver. And only one of them was a receiver, Cooper Cup.

All the others had a great tight end. A great tight end. A lot of them all-time tight ends. A lot of them pro-tidens. Kelsey, Gronk, Ertz. How is Bowers being undervalued right now? This guy is insanely talented and he should be taken early in this draft. First tied in to win the Mackey twice and he deserved it.

He deserved it. This guy is phenomenal. Pounding the table right now for Brock Bowers. My number three is Roma Dunezay. Rome is phenomenal. Led the country in receiving last year over 1,600 yards. One of the things I loved about Roma Dunezay is that when they needed big performances against some of the stiffest competition that they played, he was at his best.

Now, you can also credit Pinnock for that because Pinnock was terrific in a lot of games. Now, in the national championship game, was Pinnix his best? No, but that didn't mean Adonze wasn't good. He went 5 for 87 against Michigan and drew a couple of those flags. You know, like he was terrific. But check out what he did against Oregon. 8 for 128 and 2 touchdowns in that first game against the Ducks. 7 for 106 and 2 touches in the rain against Oregon State.

8 for 102 in the Pac-12 title game in the second matchup against Oregon. six for 125 against Texas in the national semifinal. This dude showed up, okay? He is a terrific route runner. He's very confident once the ball is in the air. He's terrific down the field, all right? And he's got great hands. Adonze is going to be a number one.

I think that he is going to be a mainstay in the National Football League. This is another guy that I could see being an all pro, being a pro bowler right away. Now, one of the things that I would just say, as we get past three here and we get to the last couple of guys on the list, wide receiver to me and past catchers more generally, although not necessarily tight ends, but more specifically wide receivers, they do play a dependent position. And I think that people understand this, but it is a dependent position. You've got to depend on the offensive line and the quarterback, and I think people understand that. But it's also philosophy of the organization and the schematics of that specific offense. the quality of the quarterback play. Let me give you just quick evidence of that.

You get drafted as a guy that really understands football, runs clean routes, and is a good wide receiver, and you get drafted by the Los Angeles Rams with Matt Stafford as your quarterback, and Sean McVeigh as your play caller and head coach. Well, guess what? You're Pooka Nakua, and you went out there and set rookie records as a wide receiver.

And he should because he was a great player, and he is a great player. And now, let's say you're a terrific route runner, amazing with the ball in your hands, can occupy the middle of the field, can play on the outside, can do a lot of different things, and maybe you didn't have the year that everyone was expected. And why? Well, because you played for Seattle. And that's Jackson Smith and Jigba.

Now, do I think Jackson Smith and Jigba is a worse player than Puka Nakua? No. but the fit in Seattle wasn't proper for Jackson Smith and Jigba to produce on a level that Nakuwa produced. That's not to take anything away from Pooka Nakua. He was phenomenal. But fit is going to really matter how these guys progress, how they play, and how they produce early in their careers in the National Football League. I'm hoping that they all go to places where they can really flourish. Number four for me is LSU's Malik Neighbors. Neighbors is sensational. He finished his career as LSU's all-time leader in catches and receiving yards. He's really explosive down the field. And that's something that is,

I think that is becoming more and more common in college football. It was the short passing game for a long time, but you're starting to see guys push the ball a little bit. And the reason is, is that these guys on the outside, they are big and they're athletic. Neighbors is six foot. 200 pounds. You know, O'Donze is 6-3-215. You know, these guys present issues for defensive backs. Neighbors was, I mean, I would say maybe the most explosive guy in the country. They led the country with 17 catches of over 30 yards. He had 9,100-yard games, and he was a big reason why Jaden Daniels had such a productive season and ultimately won the Heisman trophy. Another guy that I really liked from Florida State, Keon Coleman. So he's going to be number

five. Now, Keon Coleman transferred from Michigan State and came down there and made some splash plays for the Seminoles. He was terrific. He was terrific. And I'm thinking about the catch against Syracuse was insane. He led the ACC with 11 receiving touchdowns. First team, all-ACC. I mean, he was a big reason why that team was so good. Undefathing. feed it all the way through the regular season. That transfer was huge. And again, he's huge. He's 6.4, 215 pounds.

So you've got a lot of guys in my top five right now that are coming in with some serious size. Harrison, 64205. Bowers, 64-240. Adonze, 6-3-215. Neighbors, the smallest one, 6'200 pounds. That used to be huge. You're the only one guy that would be in there. 6'2-200 pounds.

Keon Coleman, 6-4-215. These guys have size, they have speed, they've got great ability. I think you can't go wrong with a lot of these guys. Now, there's some really good players that aren't listed right now. And I mean really good players. And that's where the value of these five is going to be hurt. I don't think it's going to touch Marvin. or Brock or Rome.

And maybe it won't touch Malik neighbors. But there's a chance that these NFL organizations look at the crop of pass catchers. And they think to themselves, you know what? Maybe we don't have to do this now. Maybe we take a great defensive player because that stable isn't quite as deep. And wait for a wide receiver later in the draft. Because check out some of these guys that are, are still left.

Brian Thomas Jr. 6-4 led the country with 17 touchdowns. Troy Franklin from Oregon. Phenomenal player. A phenomenal player. And a lot of the season, I thought he was the second best wide receiver in the country to Marvin Harrison.

Ladd-McConkie. Remember when Bowers went down, Ladd-McConkey was terrific for Georgia. And he has been terrific for them for a long time. Adnye Mitchell for Texas. he's one of those guys that I know he transferred and maybe he got lost

because he transferred a little bit. You could look up in a couple of years and be like, man, Adonai Mitchell is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Tess Walker from UNC. And that's just the next five. There are more.

You can go to, I haven't even mentioned Xavier Worthy from Texas. Roman Wilson from Michigan who had an exquisite senior bowl week down in Mobile. Like, there are a lot of pass catchers available in this draft. And this is one of those drafts where you could see the value of guys in the second half of the

first round impacted by teams knowing that all of these really good players will be available in the middle and late second round or even third round. That's something interesting for me in this draft. Very interesting. But those are the past catchers. That's how I see them so far this year. And I think that it's a really deep and a really good group of past catchers. And again, And again, I'll just land on this because I want to reiterate this. If you hear somebody devaluing Brock Bowers because he plays tight end, I just argue with him. argue with him.

Go to what I told you about occupying the middle of the field. You don't win the Super Bowl without somebody that can really do that at a high level. And that's exactly what Bowers can do. It's exactly what Bowers can do. I'll say this again, you don't win the Super Bowl because your best offensive players, your wide receiver. You don't. In fact, I don't think that there's been one. I don't think that there's been one. That doesn't demean the value of some of these wide receivers. It just means that when you get the right fit,

those guys can be great complementary players to assist them with other great players like a Jerry Rice. All right? But you do have to have always, at least in modern NFL football, a guy that can occupy the middle. And that's why Bowers should not be devalued as a tight end in this draft. That's why he's number two. That'll do it for this episode. We'll have more draft content coming up through the weeks. Remember to follow the show at Joel Clat Show on social media. Remember to send us mailbag questions, draft college football, life, whatever you want to send us at Joel Clatshow, mailbag at gmail.com.

You can follow the show and subscribe, please, if you would, on YouTube. Leave a comment below. I'll jump in those comments. then also subscribe, rate review us wherever you get your podcast. We'll be back with more draft content next week. Enjoy your week, everybody.