2024 Senior Bowl Position Preview: Wide Receivers

The Reese’s Senior Bowl arrives next week, with practices starting Tuesday and running until Saturday’s game. Over the past few seasons, we have seen some of the best talents in the draft go through Mobile, this year they gave juniors eligibility to attend the game opening up the talent pool. This will allow them to get one-on-one time with NFL coaching staff and personnel to help boost their draft stock. Over the next few days, I’ll preview some of the top names at the skill positions at this year’s event, continuing below with wide receivers.

Much like the running back position, we are lacking top-tier assets in the Senior Bowl, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some talented players. This year the group of receivers has some intriguing names in it and who knows me may find ourselves this year’s Tank Dell or Puka Nacua.

(Check out the other Senior Bowl position previews: QB | RB | TE)

Devontez Walker, UNC

6-foot-1, 197 pounds

It has been a roller coaster for Devontez Walker throughout his college career. He started at Kent State after transferring from NC Central after they did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19. This transfer ended up costing him in the end though — after two seasons at Kent State where he posted over 1,000 combined receiving yards and 12 touchdowns — he attempted to transfer to UNC, the NCAA put up a fight, costing Walker five games this season. In the eight games he ultimately did get to play, he posted a modest 699 yards and 7 scores.

Walker is a true downfield playmaker. He is tremendous in vertical routes that allow him to showcase his fluidity and speed. He has a lengthy frame giving him a significant catch radius, which he pairs with strong hands to help win in tough catch situations. He has tremendous ball-tracking skills and a good adjustment ability to get to any ball even if poorly placed. The main issue with Walker is that his route exposure is limited, and he struggles with lateral movement, which limited his overall route tree to begin with. He will need time to develop into a true three-level weapon at the NFL level.

Jacob Cowing, Arizona

5-foot-8, 157 pounds

Jacob Cowing is a fifth-year senior who started his career at UTEP, where he set a career-high 1,354 receiving yards in 2021 just before transferring to Arizona. In his first season in Arizona, he also topped 1,000 receiving yards and found the end zone 7 times. This year he managed to find the end zone an impressive 13 times, fifth in the Pac-12, but we did see his yardage production drop off some to 848 yards.

Cowing has displayed great speed and acceleration in his routes and with the ball in his hands. His manipulation of this speed is where he makes his dough as he lacks a ton of twitch to his game. This pairs nicely with his ball-tracking and adjustment skills, making him a player who can threaten every level of the field. He also hasn’t shown a ton of physicality either, which is no surprise considering his smaller frame. Even though he is a solid hands catcher who has displayed an ability to catch outside his frame, there are some cases of concentration drops on his film.

Xavier Legette, South Carolina

6-foot, 219 pounds

It was a slow start to Xavier Legette’s career, as he failed to post over 500 combined receiving yards total across his first four seasons. This all changed this season when we saw him explode for 1,255 yards, second in the SEC behind only Malik Nabers. He also managed to set a career-high in touchdowns with 7, more than the previous four years combined.

Legette is a physical freak, standing 6-foot and a muscular 219 pounds. He uses this strength to win at the catch point often as he pairs it with a good ability to high-point the ball. His lengthy frame allows him to dig balls off the turf as well displaying a significant catch radius. He is not the most fluid mover and appears clunky at times, especially in the transition from receiver to runner. On the flip side, he is very physical after the catch and often initiates contact to pick up a few extra yards or force missed tackles. I wouldn’t say he is a polished route runner either, so hopefully we some nice improvement this week in this area.

Ladd McConkey, Georgia

5-foot-11, 185 pounds

Ladd McConkey’s numbers will not pop off the screen — he only had 1,687 career receiving yards, but there is much more to the story. He does have an impressive 18 scrimmage touchdowns, 14 via the air. He also added 216 yards on the ground, showing some ability to be used in the run game.

McConkey is an advanced route runner who is a natural when it comes to weaponizing leverage and making defensive backs look silly. His fluidity and short-area acceleration help him create separation with ease. Many will pigeonhole him as a short to intermediate player, but he has the speed and ball-tracking ability to test a defense vertically as well. Although he is not the biggest guy on the field you wouldn’t know it when the ball is in the air, he attacks it with ferocity and will often be on the winning side of the battle. He does lack twitch or suddenness to his routes to create separation on hard-breaking routes, but we could see that develop — potentially starting this week.

Jamari Thrash, Louisville

6-foot, 185 pounds

Jamari Thrash is one of my favorites of this group. He started his career at Georgia State, where he played four seasons, totaling over 1,700 receiving yards and 12 scores. Most of this came in 2022 when he led the Sun Belt Conference with 1,122 receiving yards. In his only season at Louisville, he caught a career-high 63 balls for 858 yards and six scores.

Thrash is an excellent three-level threat at the receiver position. He displays great ball tracking and adjustment skills to test the defense downfield. He pairs this with a quick release and the ability to stack defenders with ease, then loses them with his precise routes. This quickness makes him a tough cover underneath as well, he can start and stop on a dime which helps him create separation with ease. Thrash displays strong hands and an ability to catch outside his frame but does struggle in contested situations at times.

Additional Wide Receivers

After these five, we will also see:

Michigan’s Roman Wilson, who had an impressive 700-plus-yard season for the first time in his career while posting 12 receiving touchdowns, second in the Big Ten.
YAC monster Malachi Corley out of Western Kentucky, coming off back-to-back 11-touchdown seasons.
Son of Jerry Rice, Brenden Rice out of USC, who has been steadily improving each year.
Johnny Wilson, who is coming off a disappointing year at Florida State where he only produced 617 yards and 2 scores.
Jha’Quan Jackson, Tulane
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Georgia
Luke McCaffrey, Rice
Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
Javon Baker, UCF
Jordan Whittington, Texas
Ricky Pearsall, Florida
Ryan Flournoy, Southeast Missouri State