If you've been following the 2020 NFL draft, then you've likely heard pundits rave about the depth at wide receiver. Some have called it "historically" deep, expecting at least 20 wide receivers to be selected during the first four rounds.
That bodes well for the Ravens, who have don't have to use their first-round pick (No. 28) to find a wide receiver capable of making an immediate impact. Here are some wide receivers who could become Ravens on Day 2 or early Day 3 of the draft.
KJ Hamler, Penn State
Junior, 5-foot-9, 178 pounds; 56 catches, 904 yards, 8 touchdowns
His skillset resembles what the Ravens have with Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, a small speedy wideout who's a dangerous deep threat. His explosiveness makes Hamler a potential second-round pick.
"He's a legit 4.2 guy," Jeremiah said on “The Lounge” podcast. "Similar to Hollywood. I look at him, you can get him out there on the field. That would be a lot of speed. That'd be a great pick for them."
In addition to his diminutive size, some scouts have raised concern about the number of drops Hamler had in college. The team that drafts Hamler will be gambling that the risk is worth the reward.
"There's a lot of different things you can do with him," Jeremiah said on a conference call. "The downside, he's not big. That's a challenge, and then just the drops. He's another one that's got some concentration drops. He's got to find a way to clean that up a little bit."
Jalen Reagor, TCU
Junior, 5-foot-11, 206 pounds; 43 catches, 611 yards, 5 touchdowns
As another player who excelled a returner, Reagor could help the Ravens special teams immediately as he developed as a wide receiver.
"The production is not where you'd want it, but man, you can see him move and he's explosive, he's a fluid athlete," Jeremiah said. "He'll go up and make some big-time catches, contested catches, play above the rim. But then he just has a ton of drops. He's gifted as a returner but then he's got a bunch of muffed punts. There's some people that really like him and some people that are down on him. I'm kind of somewhere in the middle. He's my 56th player but he's my 10th receiver."
Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State
Senior, 6-foot-0, 203 pounds; 65 catches, 1,192 yards 8 touchdowns
Gil Brandt, a Hall of Fame executive who spent almost 30 years (1960-88) in the Dallas Cowboys front office, loves Aiyuk. Brandt ranks Aiyuk as the fourth-best receiver in the draft behind CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma, and Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs of Alabama.
Aiyuk had core muscle surgery in March, but he is expected to ready for training camp, even if it begins as scheduled in late July.
Chase Claypool, Notre Dame
Senior, 6-foot-4, 238 pounds; 66 catches, 1,037 yards, 13 touchdowns
Some view Claypool as a tight end, which could be useful to the Ravens after the trade that sent Hayden Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons. Claypool created a buzz at the Combine by running a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash, along with a 40.5-inch vertical leap. Some believe Claypool's stock has ascended into the second round.
"He had a second-round grade, at worst an early third," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said on a conference call. "The combine on the heels of a solid career allowed him to be where he is right now."
Bryan Edwards, South Carolina
Senior, 6-foot-3, 212 pounds; 71 catches, 816 yards, 6 touchdowns
Edwards missed the Scouting Combine with a broken foot, and the travel restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic have made it more difficult for teams to get prompt medical information on players. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that teams have gotten positive feedback on Edwards' recovery.
The Ravens drafted Brown last year after he missed the Combine following foot surgery, and Brown had an excellent rookie season (46 catches, 584 yards, seven touchdowns) despite not being 100 percent. Edwards was effective lining up inside or in the slot at South Carolina, and that versatility would fit well in Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman's scheme.
Tee Higgins, Clemson
Junior, 6-foot-4, 216 pounds; 59 catches, 1,167 yards, 13 touchdowns
He was a big-time playmaker in college, with excellent hands and the power to run over tacklers in the secondary. Jeremiah views Higgins as a perfect fit with the Ravens with one of their two second-round picks (No. 55 and No. 60).
"I would love to see Tee Higgins in Baltimore, just to kind of complement what they have," Jeremiah said. "I talked about last year this team building a track team around Lamar Jackson and they did a great job of that with Hollywood Brown. But to get some more size to go along with that at pick 55 or 60, if somehow Tee Higgins were still there, that would be a fun one."
Laviska Shenault, Colorado
Junior, 6-foot-1, 227 pounds; 56 catches, 764 yards, four touchdowns
Some early mocks had Shenault going to the Ravens in Round 1, and but he didn't run well at the Combine, which could delay him coming off the board in this loaded wide receiver class. The team that picks Shenault on Day 2 may get great value.
"I think Laviska Shenault would be a fascinating player to plug into that offense because of his ability to run the football as well as catch it," Jeremiah said. "He's in that second-round range and somebody who again you could line him up in the backfield and you could get very creative, which Greg Roman loves to do, so he'd be a fun player to plug into that offense."
