By: John Toth · 6mo
Photo: Sports Illustrated
The 2024 college football season is right around the corner, so you know what that means? The 2025 NFL draft is coming soon, as well. Draft Nation is here to guide you through the prospects and how they can help NFL teams.
Here is a three pack of wide receivers who are looking to get selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
Bru McCoy has smooth hands and catches the ball away from his body, adjusting to throws and making plays that should be outside of his catch radius. He is a graceful athlete with long arms to extend his reception window. He is an aggressive runner and easily breaks through arm tackles, picking up yards after the catch.
McCoy does not have elite speed, and has issues separating from tight man to man coverage. A checkered past will always follow him and when you mix in the injuries he has sustained, teams will be doing their due diligence on him. He has trouble at times finding the soft spots in zone coverage and will need to improve on that as he transitions from the Vols gimmicky offense into an NFL pro style of play. He sometimes lacks effort when it comes to blocking and he gives up on plays earlier than he should.
Player comp: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Sixth-Seventh round pick
Harris is a smooth route runner, who has the speed to gain separation from defensive backs. His combination of speed and size will make it hard on the back end defensive backs and he is comfortable fighting for 50/50 balls. He is precise on his route running and comes out of breaks as good as anyone. He does a good job of changing gears in his routes and is tough to mirror. On deep passes, Harris does an effective job of tracking the ball and more times than not will high point the passes. His explosion off the snap and his twitchiness make him a handful to cover and helps him beat press coverage right away.
Tre Harris has issues with letting passes get into his body, and does not use his hands efficiently. He makes most of his plays over his shoulder on the outside, and has struggles with routes where he has to gear down to square up with the quarterback, running himself out of routes. He is another prospect who struggles with zone coverage, and is more comfortable out in space, needing to find the soft spots in defenses to be successful in the NFL. He lacks balance after a ball is caught and can easily be brought down with an arm tackle.
Player comp: Terrance Marshall Jr.
Second round pick
Lambert-Smith is a quick-twitch receiver capable of making big plays. He runs routes well with a tempered, deliberate pace and has a “stop and go'' ability that keeps defenders guessing. He’s a smooth and fluid runner who doesn’t appear as quick as he is, excelling in the open field once he receives the ball. He is a willing and effective run blocker, and does a good job of getting off the line of scrimmage against press coverage.
Lambert-Smith has had some consistency issues, which led to him not starting every game in 2022. Better opponents have stopped him, taking him out of games, and he needs to work on his route tree. At the next level, he will need to become more efficient on quick hitters and double moves and show more of a compete level for combat catches. He has had drop issues in the past and tends to lose focus on quick hitters. At times, he is too much “all-or-nothing.”
Player comp: Van Jefferson
Sixth-round pick
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