NFL Draft Overflowing with Wide Receivers

The top of the NFL Draft is likely to go 1-2-3 to quarterbacks. In fact, if you want to bet on the Top 3 Exact Order, the top six betting favorites all feature nothing but QBs.

The seventh-most likely outcome, according to the bookmakers, involves wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. If the Ohio State superstar goes third, after the last two Heisman Trophy winners, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, the payout is +2500.

And Harrison Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, is just the first in a great class of wideouts.

Wide Receivers Selected in First Round

The current over/under on the number of wide receivers selected in the first round is 6.5. But with the over paying +230, the under for this bet is the favorite. 

Even as great as this class is, seven receivers would be a lot. Last year, four were taken, and all four were taken in succession with the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd picks. In 2022, there were six wide receivers drafted in the first round, beginning with Drake London at No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons, and ending with Treylon Burks at No. 18 to the Tennessee Titans.

There were six in 2020, six in 2015, six in 2009, six in 2007, and six in 2005. You have to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time seven wide receivers were selected in the first round. Larry Fitzgerald was the star of that class, selected third by the Arizona Cardinals.

NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks only has four wide receivers selected in his latest mock draft, while Pro Football Focus’s (PFF) most recent mock draft predicts that six wide receivers will be taken in the first round, including three in the first six picks.

Wide Receiver Draft Position

PFF’s mock draft has Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell going to the Buffalo Bills with the 28th pick. That is right in line with the odds on his draft position, which set the line at 27.5. The over is paying -165.

Brian Thomas Jr. is the forgotten wide receiver from LSU, with Malik Nabers as the star who is most talked-about. But Thomas Jr. has not been forgotten by NFL general managers and scouts. His over/under on draft position is 19.5, and he’s being mocked as high as 13.

Rome Odunze would be the first wide receiver selected in most drafts. Instead the Washington Huskies product has a draft position over/under of 8.5. The under is the favorite at -150, which is in line with most of the mock drafts. He could go as high as sixth to the New York Giants.

Other First Round Possibilities

Harrison, Nabers, and Odunze are likely off the board by the time we reach the 10th pick. But there are first-round odds on a number of other very good wide receiving prospects.

Mitchell’s over/under is close to the end of the first round, but he’s a long shot to make it to the second round. He’s paying -550 to be a first-rounder. Xavier Worthy is his Texas teammate, and he ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the history of the Draft Combine. He’s at -200 to go in the first round, with the Kansas City Chiefs at 32 as a strong possibility.

Ladd McConkey from Georgia is -105 to be a first-round pick, which makes him the seventh player with odds predicting that he’ll go on the draft’s first night.

Which takes us back to the wager at the top. Harrison Jr., Nabers, Odunze, and Thomas Jr. are first-round givens. Add in Mitchell, Worthy, and McConkey, and you have your over.

And that is just the first round. Troy Franklin of Oregon, Keon Coleman from Florida State, Roman Wilson from Michigan, Ricky Pearsall from Florida, Ja’Lynn Polk of Washington, Xavier Legette from South Carolina, and Malachi Corley from Western Kentucky could all find their way into the second round.

If your team is in need of a wide receiver, this is a great draft.