Pre-Draft Dynasty WR Rankings Countdown—No. 16, 15, 14 and 13
Bill Byrne, Featured Analyst, Rosterwatch.com

Photo By Tom Morris

Here are my dynasty league pre-draft rankings for 2013′s wide receiver class. The class is both talented and deep. These rankings will bear little relation to which round I might think these guys will be drafted in. They are strictly evaluations for fantasy dynasty purposes, and are subject to radical adjustments post-draft depending on the situation they are drafted into.

For Numbers 17-20 Click Here
For Numbers 16-13 Click Here
For Numbers 12-9 Click Here
Number 8
Number 7
Number 6
Number 5
Number 4
Number 3
Number 2
Number 1

16. Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech, 6’ 0”, 204 pounds, 4.53 –

Patton might be the poor man’s version of DeAndre Hopkins. He doesn’t quite have elite speed or athleticism, but his overall game is solid. Few receivers can rival Patton’s guile and precise route-running ability. He has the size, quickness and agility to be effective against press coverage. He has great short area quickness and change of direction skills with a knack for setting defenders up with crafty moves early in routes, and his sneaky burst out of the break routinely leads to adequate separation. Patton also has strong hands and outstanding concentration in traffic. Patton shows exceptional body control and is able to turn and track the ball in the air. He has just enough speed to stretch the field and is enough of an open field runner to make plays after the catch. His downfield blocking is outstanding and he is a maximum-effort player.

It’s hard for me to find what’s not to like about Patton. He is polished in everything he does, which is precisely my problem with him. I’ve seen this movie before. He leaves me with some memories of my overly optimistic evaluation of Brian Robiskie coming to the pros out of college. Robiskie’s game was so well developed that it disguised the fact that his talent was limited and his upside was already pretty much maxed out.

15. Terrance Williams, Baylor, 6’ 2”, 208 pounds, 4.52 –

Terrance Williams had a terrific senior season for the Baylor Bears with 97 receptions for 1832 yards and 12 TD’s. So his inconsistent Senior Bowl week and lackluster Combine performances were cause for considerable re-assessment.

Williams is physical, with excellent ability off the line but he was rarely pressed at Baylor. He needs to improve as a route runner. He either lacks the experience or the motivation to master the whole route tree with consistently good breaks and cuts. He has a tendency to stay too high into and out of his breaks, which slows him down and makes him easier to cover. This is an area that he should improve upon because he could be very good. While he isn’t sudden and doesn’t have the greatest lateral agility, you can see that the athleticism is there. He works well over the middle of the field as well as attacking the seams of the defense vertically. Before this last season, he was used primarily on go-routes. He was much better this year on intermediate routes working the spaces between the linebackers and the defensive backs.

While he doesn’t have elite size or speed, he is still well above-average in these categories. He is deceptively strong and can out-muscle defenders. He possesses very elite body control. He can high-point the ball with his leaping ability and long arms. He will make catches while tip-toeing the sideline. His ability to adjust his body to the ball while in the air is outstanding. Williams is dangerous after the catch. He’s physical enough to break tackles, and has the ability to outrun most opposing defenders.

Williams has good, but not great hands. He has a bad habit of often being a “body catcher” instead of reaching out and grabbing it with his hands. He struggled to consistently catch the football in 2010 and 2011, but improved greatly in this area for his senior season at Baylor.

Terrance Williams does appear to have some “Randy Moss Syndrome” in him. He gets lazy when the play isn’t designed for him. When he’s not the first option on a pass play, he gives less effort than when he expects the ball to be coming his way. He’s a pretty good blocker when he wants to be, he just doesn’t give 100 percent all the time.

While he still can be madly inconsistent in his overall play, Williams did step up his game in 2012 in virtually every facet. There are no red flags due to either injury or character. You can see flashes of the pro receiver he has the potential to become, but he does not yet appear to be ready for prime time in the NFL.

14. Marquess Wilson, Washington State, 6‘ 2 5/8”, 194 pounds, 4.51 –

Wilson is a player with great ball skills, soft hands and great playmaking ability.

He was productive during his three years at Washington State, catching 50 or more passes each season. He is not an elite prospect, but he does have enough ability to make an impact at the NFL level if he can add some muscle to his frame.

That would help in every aspect of his game, but especially in getting a clean break against a jam at the line of scrimmage. Despite his lean frame, he tries to be physical and his game has just a bit of a nasty streak. He was consistently capable of making the tough catch in traffic over the middle.
Wilson uses is long frame well to shield defenders from his body and make the catch. He will go up and bring down the ball over the defensive back. He has great body control to turn to find and adjust to the ball in the air. He also is a great red-zone threat with his long frame and good leaping ability.

Wilson is a long-strider who can run past defenders with well better than average speed. At Washington State, he ran a variety of routes but he is only average in this area. He is more smooth than quick, and he tends gear down going into his breaks and to get sloppy at the top of his routes. Both of these tendencies limit his ability to get separation. He can also get pushed off routes too easily by physical defensive backs. Still, he has the body control to run great fade routes, and vertical double moves. He will really need to improve on his route-running technique in order to be on the field at the next level. On the other hand, he is a reliable receiver with good technique catching the football with his hands. After the catch, he is not a tackle-breaker, but he is elusive and uses his downfield blockers well. He is not a good, consistent downfield blocker. All in all, Wilson has enough ability to eventually develop into a quality NFL starter if he can become a more physical presence on the field.

The biggest impediment to his NFL career is not his overall skill-set, but rather his off the field “issue.” Wilson burned bridges at Washington State when he quit the team and alleged he had suffered “physical, emotional and mental abuse” at the hands of coach Mike Leach. He later recanted his statement, and Leach was cleared of wrongdoing. When asked how he was going to explain the situation in interviews at the Combine, Wilson said,

“”I’m just going to tell the truth,” Wilson said, “and let them see my character through that. The stuff they were doing, it wasn’t right.”

13. Ryan Swope, Texas A&M, 6’ ¼”, 204 pounds, 4.34 –

Ryan Swope is an under-rated wide receiver (and yes, he’s a white guy) with a game that I’ve really come to appreciate. He was injured during Senior Bowl week, but Swope already had shown the consistency that NFL scouts covet. He really was one of the best wide receivers in A&M history, but he was getting somewhat pigeonholed as strictly a slot receiver in the NFL, in part because the Aggie offense really did not fully showcase his skills.

Ryan Swope has the potential to be much more than your typical slot reeiver. Swope’s sure hands and deceptive quickness have lead to Jordy Nelson comparisons, except that Swope is faster—and shorter. He is a good, reliable route runner who knows how to drop his hips going into his breaks and he is especially fearless over the middle of the field. He’s very good at finding the soft spots against zone defenses, and against man coverage, he is especially adept running routes with double moves. Swope has very reliable hands and adjusts well to balls thrown away from his body. He is aggressive, and capable of running through arm tackles against defensive backs, but can still use his raw speed to run by them. With the ball in his hands he plays with toughness and the willingness of a running back to fight for extra yardage after contact.

I usually give little weight to that underwear olympics called the NFL Scouting Combine, but for those who do, Swope impressed everyone with his incredible 40 time and his overall athleticism. In the NFL, Swope is likely become that team leader who will do whatever it takes to win. You can see from his game video the desire and the will to give full effort on every play. It would not surprise me if Swope winds up with as long and as productive of a career as any receiver in this draft class. There is one red flag however—according to reports, Swope has a medical history that includes multiple concussions, which is the only reason I‘ve ranked him this low.