2021 NFL Draft: Examining Ja'Marr Chase, Devonta Smith and the rest of the wide receiver class by type

The wide receiver position has different types of prospects, so we break them down into seven groups

Not every wide receiver is created the same. Some are tall, rebounder types who win with their size, leaping skills, and strong hands more than separation ability. Some are small, dynamic athletes who thrive getting open and rock after the catch. Some don't star in any specific area but excel because of well-rounded games. 

To provide a unique view of the receiver position in the 2021 draft class through this lens, I've divided the class as a whole by type. Below, we'll take a look at seven different groupings (check out our look at the quarterback position).

Explosive separators with elite speed, YAC, and contested-catch skills

Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
Ja'Marr Chase, LSU
Devonta Smith, Alabama
Josh Palmer, Tennessee
Austin Watkins, UAB

Waddle moves differently than any receiver in the class. He's remarkably sudden, has outstanding vision (as evidenced by his returning skills) and is freaky fast. Plus, he rebounds the football like he's 6-foot-5. Chase isn't as twitchy but powers through press coverage, can take the lid off the defense, and is A.J. Brown-like once the football is in his hands. 

Smith is Gumby with turbo boosters on his cleats. He finds space against zone or man thanks to special flexibility and smooth change-of-direction talent. He, too, like Waddle, has a phenomenal catch radius. 

Palmer's releases off the line are high-end, his second and top gear are above-average, and he finds the football naturally deep down the field. Watkins is one of my favorite receivers bound to go on Day Three. He catches absolutely everything -- even passes that require him to extend -- he's adequately sudden off the line and in his routes, and that athleticism translates after the catch. 

Dynamic vertical threats with limited route-running/YAC wiggle

Terrace Marshall, LSU
Dyami Brown, North Carolina
Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State
Nico Collins, Michigan
Tamorrion Terry, Florida State
Frank Darby, Arizona State

Marshall, Collins, and Terry are size/speed specimens. They're imposing, and their long strides fool defenders into thinking they aren't fast. They are. While they won't sink their hips and explode away from NFL cornerbacks on a regular basis, that trio provides decent athletic gifts to get open in some occasions. 

Brown and Wallace are around the same size with almost identical games. They're dominant vertical threats because of their serious play speed and how fantastically they track the football. Body control and hand-catching skill are keys to their game. Do they give much more than all that? Not really. Darby has the athletic gifts to be included in the first group, he just had problems producing during his Arizona State career. His movement talent is outstanding, and he was a big-play specialist for the Sun Devils. 

Ultra-quick slot wideouts who can get open and be creative after the catch

Rondale Moore, Purdue
Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
Dazz Newsome, North Carolina
Cade Johnson, South Dakota State
D'Wayne Eskridge, Western Michigan
Shi Smith, South Carolina
Tre Walker, San Jose State
Dax Milne, BYU
Whop Philyor, Indiana

Rondale Moore is a top 20 talent in this class. I don't even care about his lack of height. He's essentially a shorter, more dynamic version of Deebo Samuel, and he can lake the lid off the defense on any snap. The injuries are the only reason he'll probably fall to the later portion of Round 1 or early Round 2. Elijah Moore is the prototype slot receiver in this class. He's tiny, changes directions in a flash, flips on the afterburners down the field and catches everything. He's ready to catch 75 passes in a single NFL season right now. Newsome is the most underrated weapon in the class. He provides much of what Moore does and has magnificent YAC capabilities he honed during his illustrious career as a returner for the Tar Heels. Get him the ball, good things will happen for your offense.

Johnson is another NFL-ready slot with wiggle and shooting guard type moves to beat press coverage. He runs jagged routes and effortlessly creates after the catch. Eskridge is the standout burner in this group, yet I marvel at his ability to string footwork together to free himself off the line or weave through traffic after the catch. He's faster than he is quick, though. 

Smith and Walker are accomplished slots who play a lot larger than their size, an important facet of being a reliable slot receiver who doesn't have a big catch radius to offer their quarterbacks based on height alone. Milne is the Hunter Renfrow of this class -- NFL-veteran type route savvy and it's rare to find a drop on film, in any situation. 

Philyor is a possession slot who won't run away from people but is a menace on option routes and is a hard-nosed runner who hates going down on first contact. 

Shorter, thick contact-balance/YAC monsters with limited juice

Amari Rodgers, Clemson
Marlon Williams, UCF

I had to give these two their own group because we know this type of wideout can excel in the NFL today after witnessing how good A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel have been earlier in their careers. Rodgers and Williams have just enough athletic gifts to free themselves underneath, and then good luck bringing them to the turf. 

They're built so low to the ground and are so strong in their lower half, their contact balance is tremendous. 

Explosive gadget types with downfield appeal

Kadarius Toney, Florida
Marquez Stevenson, Houston
Tutu Atwell, Louisville
Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Iowa
Jaelon Darden, North Texas
Anthony Schwartz, Auburn

If your offense needs an electric gadget type who will eat up cushion and is leavin' if he's even, this is the draft class for you, starting with Toney, the most highly regarded prospect of this type. 

Stevenson and Atwell are graded closely on my board -- they're tiny framed burners who aren't super elusive but will immediately give defensive coordinators nightmares before games because of how easy they fly down the field. Smith-Marsette is similar to those two, just not quite as explosive. All three are serious vertical weapons, too. 

Darden is the relatively unknown sleeper in this type -- he's small but twitched up and boasts legitimate breakaway speed for go-routes or taking a swing pass to the house. He, and Schwartz routinely destroy pursuit angles and, with the right offensive coordinator, can be low-volume, huge-play creators in the NFL. 

Tall/large downfield rebounders with limited separation skill

Sage Surratt, Wake Forest
Seth Williams, Auburn
T.J. Vasher, Texas Tech
Warren Jackson, Colorado State
Trevon Grimes, Florida

Surratt is athletic in that he moves well when changing directions for his size. But he's not explosive in a straight line and will have issues generating space between himself and man corners in the NFL. When the ball is in the air -- forget about it. It's his. 

Williams provides more all-around athleticism due to a more slender frame, but his strengths and weaknesses are almost identical to Surratt's. Grimes is the slower, less dynamic version of Surratt and Williams. Vasher and Jackson are the super-spindly types with vines for arms and high-caliber leaping talent. 

Good-sized wideouts with well-rounded games

Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC
Simi Fehoko, Stanford

Bateman has a case for the most well-rounded wideout in the class. He does everything well and plays at good size to live on the outside in the NFL. St. Brown is an average athlete who runs technically sound routes and flashes outstanding catch ability away from his body. I worry about easy drops and his speed, though. 

Fehoko is the darling of the dark-horse receiver prospects. He's 6-3 and 225 pounds and checks all the athletic boxes. While fast, he's off the line in an instant and snaps in and out of his breaks to get open on a routine basis. While not Mike Evans in jump-ball scenarios, given his stature, he typically comes down with the football in traffic.