Buckeyes’ Smith heads maybe best ever WR group … One of the big story lines of this past April’s draft was the perception that 2027 was going to be much better talent-wise. That certainly appears to be the case for both of next year’s QB and DE/ER groupings that we previewed late last month. It also appears to be the case for the wide receivers which could very well end up being the top positional grouping for 2027; it could also be one of the top WR classes in draft history. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, for example, who is 6-2, 225 with projected sub-4,4 speed, is currently generally considered to be the top player in college football with the potential to get some serious consideration to be the first player selected at next April’s draft even in a year with excellent prospects at both QB and edge rusher. And Smith could be joined in the top ten by at least a couple of other wideouts in Cam Coleman of Texas and Alabama’s Ryan Williams (who now goes by Coleeman- Williams just to confuse the issue: however, for now we shall continue to refer to him as just Williams as we strongly believe that players with hyphenated names should be forced to pick one of the other!) Coleman, for one, is a toolsy 6-3, 200-pounder with projected 4.45 speed who is poised for a breakout season catching passes from Arch Manning after after transferring over from Auburn, while Williams was widely considered to be right there with OSU’s Smith during their sparkling breakout freshman campaigns a couple of years back, although he did not have the anticipated breakout year this past season.
Those three are just the tip of the iceberg of what is a very deep, talented group, although there is still a ton of sorting out to do at the position between now and April 2027. South Carolina’s Nyck Harbor, for example, has yet to put up big numbers with the Gamecocks, but literally redefines the notion of freakish athlete at the position; he’s almost 6-5, 235 and is a 100M state record holder. So is Eric Singleton of Florida, while Mario Craver of Texas A&M has the same kind of electric speed and quickness, although he is somewhat diminutive at just 5-9, 165. No such issues, though, for Duce Robinson of Florida State, who’s built more along the lines of a TE at 6-6, but has the potential to be a real physical match-up problem at the next level. And then there’s another group of just plain solid, productive WR prospects with at least top 100 physical tools including Coleman’s UT running mate Ryan Wingo, the Clemson duo of TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco, and the Indiana pairing of Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker. The one qualifying note that we would make, though, is that most of this year’s top WR prospects, including Smith, Coleman and Williams will be third-year juniors this fall with another year of college eligibility available should they wish to stay in school and take advantage of NIL money in 2027. For now, though, here is our current ranking of the two two dozen or so WR prospects for the upcoming draft.
