Pre-NFL Draft Dynasty WR Rankings Countdown—No. 5
Bill Byrne, Featured Analyst, Rosterwatch.com

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

5. Stedman Bailey, West Virginia – 5′ 10 1⁄4”, 193 pounds, 4.52 –

Stedman Bailey is the unnoticed gem of this draft class. He gets overlooked because he shares the field with Geno Smith and Tavon Austin. I know, because until I took a second and then a third look at his games, I was guilty of overlooking his talent myself.

But Stedman Bailey should be nicknamed “Steady Stedman” because his game is so consistent and he just does everything well. He has extremely soft, sure and natural hands. He’s as reliable of a pass-catcher as there is in this draft. He makes all the easy catches, but he also makes the difficult catches look easy. He will make the diving catch of a low thrown ball on one play, and go up and pluck a ball thrown high the very next play. He also tracks and catches balls over his shoulder extremely well. He is the type of receiver who will be make his quarterback look better than he is.

Bailey’s speed and explosiveness may be less than that of his college teammate, Tavon Austin, but he is much stronger. He is a fluid athlete who uses deception and his outstanding body control to make up for this lack of explosiveness. He is a polished and savvy route runner who almost always finds a way to get open. He has the moves and enough strength get good release off the line. He gets out of his cuts and changes speed effortlessly.

After the catch, he will get the tough yards and break tackles with more strength than a defender suspected he ever had. He was used as Austin’s lead blocker in the return game and he gives great effort and sustains his blocks very well. He’s a perfectionist who does the important little things well in every part of his game. He is not ever satisfied with the “now” but has shown a strong desire to continue to improve his game at every level of his development.

Bailey can master all of the wide receiver positions, but until his NFL team fully realizes what he is capable of, his size will likely limit him initially to playing from the slot. Bailey has been outstandingly productive at West Virginia and I believe he will continue to do the same in the pros. He’s the rare athlete who at 5’ 10” is plenty big enough, because he has the desire and the talent to play much bigger than his size. Shhhh. Don‘t tell anyone. I have him higher on my personal dynasty draft list than his teammate, Tavon Austin.