Rounding out day three of the 2023 NFL Combine, we had the wide receivers showing out for the scouts and fans in Indianapolis. As a result of going to the Combine, being able to see these guys up close and hear the buzz surrounding them is incredibly beneficial. This wide receiver class is up in the air, with red flags surrounding each of the top prospects. I was able to attend the Combine in person and get a close look at this 2023 rookie class. 

This class doesn’t have a ton of alpha X wide receivers. However, there is no shortage of slot receiver options. That being said, it was fascinating to see who separated themselves from the pack. Without further due, here are the biggest risers and fallers at the wide receiver position from the 2023 rookie class. 

Risers

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

In the press conference room when Jaxon Smith-Njigba announced that he wouldn’t be running the 40-yard dash, there was definitely some negative buzz around him. However, all that completely disappeared when Smith-Njigba dominated his agility drills. Starting off with the three-cone drill, Smith-Njigba dominated with a time of 6.57. This was 0.28 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, which is ridiculous. 

To follow that up Smith-Njigba posted the number one shuttle score for the wide receivers in this class with a 3.93. In terms of testing numbers, Smith-Njigba was phenomenal in what he chose to do. Overall, he showed that even though he may not have elite-level speed, he is an excellent athlete. When combining all of Smith-Njigba’s testing measurements, he had a Raw Athletic Score of 9.39, which is very good. 

During the drill section of the Combine, Smith-Njigba looked incredible. He looked smooth in all these drills and showed off his elite hands and route running. After a few unbelievable sideline catches, there was a ton of talk about how good his all-around Combine performance was.

 After this performance, I wouldn’t be shocked if Smith-Njigba shot up as high as pick 10. The consensus with him is that he’ll go around the 20th overall pick range. There were questions about if Smith-Njigba would fall to the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but after the Combine, it looks like he’s a 1st Round lock. 

Zay Flowers

Zay Flowers has been one of the most hyped-up players this off-season. Now, with a great showing down at the Combine, this hype has just continued to grow. Flowers started his day off by measuring in at 5’9″ and 182 pounds. This isn’t huge by any means, but Flowers was reported to be only 169 pounds a few months ago.

In my Pre-Combine process, I was looking for Flowers to have a BMI of 26-27, which he did, with 26.9. In the testing and drills, Flowers was also fantastic, running a 4.42 40. He did great in all his other measurables, but his overall size is still not incredible. This bumped his RAS down to 7.69.

In the workout portion, Flowers popped. During these drills, he looked phenomenal, showing off his quick cuts, hands, and speed. It seemed obvious that Flowers was one of the best guys out there and showed that explosiveness you saw on his college tape. 

All in all, Flowers really stood out in Indianapolis. That being said, I believe his draft capital is on the rise. Previously I had Flowers as a projected 2nd Round pick, but after his Combine performance, it looks as if he’ll go in the late 1st Round.

Fallers

Jordan Addison

One of the biggest fallers of the wide receivers had to have been Jordan Addison. There have been concerns about Addison’s size coming in, and measuring at 5′ 11″ and 173 pounds was quite underwhelming. The issue with this is that you need to be fast if you’re an undersized wide receiver. Unfortunately for Addison, he didn’t perform as well as you’d like in the athleticism drills. 

Addison posted a 4.49 40, which is nothing special. In all of his other athleticism drills, Addison didn’t post great measurements either. He ended up with a 5.82 RAS. This is by far the lowest of any of these notable wide receivers.

During his workout, Addison didn’t show out either. He showed good hands and solid route running, but that was the main issue. That being said, can’t just be average for a guy who is supposed to be the WR1 or WR2 overall in this class, depending on where you have him in your rookie rankings. 

Addison was the projected 12th overall pick in Daniel Jeremiah’s latest mock draft. Now, I don’t see any way this will happen. It’s much more likely that Addison will be drafted in the late 1st to early 2nd Round. 

Jalin Hyatt

While many will disagree with this take on Jalin Hyatt, his Combine performance was rather underwhelming. Despite running a 4.40 40, I fully expected Hyatt to run near the record, or at least near the mid to low 4.3s. While this may be unfair to Hyatt, this was what the buzz at the Combine was like. 

Don’t get me wrong, running a 4.40 is still very good. However, with the hype surrounding Hyatt’s speed, running a 4.40 instead of nearly 4.3 slightly dropped him down my rankings. On the other hand, Hyatt had great all-around testing numbers and posted a 9.46 RAS. This shows that while he might be a faller from his Combine performance, he still exudes athleticism. 

When Hyatt was working out and running routes, I wasn’t partially impressed by him. He had a rough start, not being able to haul in a few balls. In his defense, he was given some of the worst balls of any of the wide receivers. In addition, Hyatt didn’t look fantastic running other routes, which was one of his main goals coming into the events.  

In the route running, Hyatt wasn’t bad, but once again, he wasn’t amazing either. All things considered, he didn’t have a terrible performance. That being said, he was less than impressive for a guy I was looking to see shoot up draft boards if he could light up the Combine. Even though Hyatt likely won’t fall much, I don’t see him getting drafted before the 20th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

NFL Combine Risers and Fallers: Quarterbacks

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