NFL draft: Sorting through latest receiving class riches – San Jose Mercury News

In his search for a great young receiver a year ago, New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese grew to love the self-assurance of Odell Beckham Jr.

It seemed that even Beckham’s hands had a big head.

“We call it ‘arrogant hands,’ ” Reese recalled. “That caught our attention.”

The confidence was justified. Beckham went on to rack up 1,305 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, serving as the poster boy for a receiving class that made a brash landing. In all, nine rookie receivers last year had at least 500 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

The 49ers and Raiders missed out on the fun, but they’re getting a second chance. Analysts say the receiver talent available in the NFL draft that runs Thursday through Saturday is a worthy sequel to the Beckham-led crop of a year ago.

The talent runs so deep that the even the offense-starved Bay Area teams could opt to address other needs in the first round and still find a top receiving target later. (The Raiders pick at No. 4 overall, and the 49ers pick 15th.)

Can we get a show of hands?

“I think this has a chance to be the best (receiver) draft class that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been studying it,” said Cris Collinsworth, a three-time Pro Bowl receiver who now is an NBC Sports analyst.

“I like this group: You could really say there are nine or 10 receivers that could be considered in the first round,” said Jon Gruden, ESPN analyst and former Raiders coach.

“It’s the strongest position in the draft,” said ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

The consensus top receiver this time is Amari Cooper of Alabama, who made big catches in big games and solidified his draft stock by catching everything during his NFL scouting combine workout.

Collinsworth, though, cast his vote for Kevin White of West Virginia, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder known to fight for the ball in traffic.

“I personally think Kevin White is the best receiver in this draft — a Julio Jones-looking guy,” Collinsworth said. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if we had two or three guys in the Pro Bowl next year out of this rookie class.”

After the top two, the order gets murky. The third receiver off the board probably will be DeVante Parker of Louisville, but teams could also look hard at the risk/reward ratio of Breshad Perriman of Central Florida.

The son of former Detroit Lions standout Brett Perriman has been clocked as fast as 4.24 in the 40-yard dash and averaged 20.9 yards per catch last season.

But he also dropped a lot of passes. Kiper said he reviewed the lapses — “I saw every drop” — and concluded that most of them were breakdowns in concentration. Perriman looked upfield before watching the ball into his grasp, which is to say it’s a lesser concern than having bad hands.

Kiper thinks Perriman will be gone by the 20th pick and could go as high as 10th.

“You hope he has more of a concentration level when the ball is thrown his way. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a frustrating receiver,” Kiper said. “If he does, he’ll be a big-time Dez Bryant-type receiver.”

Mike Mayock, who analyzes the draft for the NFL Network, said Perriman’s blazing 40 time will be wasted until the rest of his game matures.

“Does he play to that speed? No,” Mayock said. “That’s one of the things he’ll have to learn to do is to play faster. Most of us thought that he was about a 4.5, 4.48 kind of player off the tape. Once he learns how to use his speed to set up corners, I think his upside is as dramatic as any wide receiver in this draft.”

In contrast, Parker drew raves for his elite concentration. He has just three drops since 2012. Kiper doesn’t see him lasting longer than 12th, meaning the 49ers would have to trade up to get him.

“Great catch radius. Great kid. A hard worker. He’s a team guy. Great after the catch,” Kiper said. “I think he could go as high as 7.”

Other highly rated prospects include Jaelen Strong of Arizona State, Phillip Dorsett of Miami, Dorial Green-Beckham of Missouri, Devin Smith of Ohio State and Nelson Agholor of USC.

Of Agholor, Collinsworth said: “If he plays with Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, he’ll have a hundred catches. He’s as good a catch-and-run guy, as tough a guy as I’ve seen.”

Why the back-to-back bounties at the position? Several NFL coaches and general managers credited the popularity of spread offenses at the college level.

“We’re seeing more receivers at this level that are much more polished,” San Diego Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said at the scouting combine. “Most of these kids, starting in high school, have seven-on-seven camps in the summer time.

“And in college, these receivers have been running routes — and a lot of routes — for a long time. It’s a repetition game. So maybe we’re starting to see some of that at this level.”

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that it’s not just a matter of more routes. He said college receivers are getting experience in more complex systems, which eases the learning curve when they reach the NFL.

“I think the college game has really helped, because they’re throwing the football more and these guys are having more opportunity to run the routes that we run,” Reid said. “They go against these different coverages that are a bit more sophisticated, and they have to make adjustments.”

In past years, it has been tough for rookie receivers to make an impact. But in 2014, three of the first five receivers taken — Mike Evans (seventh), Beckham (12th) and Kelvin Benjamin (28th) — topped 1,000 yards. Another, Sammy Watkins (fourth), just missed, with 982.

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said the NFL’s crackdown on defensive contact after 5 yards has also helped accelerate the transition.

“It allows young receivers to come in and play quicker, because the physicality part has always been holding them back as rookies,” Arians said.

“And they are players. You see these guys 6-4, 6-5, they used to play basketball. Now they are playing wideout. There are a great number of talented guys coming out.”

Staff writer Jerry McDonald contributed to this report.

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