Should Les Snead dip into the deep wide receiver draft pool?

With a bevy of prospects, 2024 would be the year to stockpile talent

When it comes to identifying and drafting wide receivers, Los Angeles Rams General Manager and his college scouts have had varied results. To be fair, since his paring up with current Head Coach Sean McVay in 2017, players selected have been far more productive.

Snead has drafted 11 wide outs in his 12 drafts since taking over in 2012 and been all over the board. Under the Jeff Fisher regime, it was Brian Quick #33, Tavon Austin #8, Bud Sasser #201, Pharoh Cooper #117, and Mike Thomas #206. With McVay, it’s been Cooper Kupp #69, Josh Reynolds #117, Van Jefferson #57, Tutu Atwell #57, Bennett Skowronek #249, and Puka Nacua #177.

L.A. has five receivers under contract for 2024; steady, productive Kupp; precocious phenom Nacua; speedy, but diminutive Atwell; versatile, special teamer Skowronek; and potential return man Xavier Smith. Atwell and Skowronek are unrestricted free agents in 2025. The Rams usually carry 11 or 12 receivers in camp, so the deep 2024 draft class should easily supply enough varied talent to fill that number.

Way too many good prospects to cover in 2000 words. Here’s a round-by-round look at some of my favorites. Let us know yours.

Round 1

Brian Thomas- LSU 6’ 4” 204 lb. @ Tigers official site

With a reported six QB’s now in consideration of Day 1 status, the odds of a highly-rated talent falling to the Rams at #19 are rising. Brian Thomas is the kind of playmaking weapon that Round 1 positional value is all about.

A true wide out that can create his own separation. Fast enough to run right by college football’s top cornerbacks and at the catch point, has the physicality, flexibility and hand/eye coordination to be a contested catch target near the end zone. We’ll have to wait for the Combine to see his GPS and forty times, but you can easily see his length, burst and long speed on film. Ferragamo15 has a thourough review in the FanPost section.

Drafting a prospect like Thomas would give the Rams offense tremendous advantage in matchups right now and at the same time, allow them to sew up a couple of loose ends. The Tutu Atwell experiment can be finalized and the transition to a future without Cooper Kupp can begin.

Round 2

Xavier Legette- South Carolina 6’ 1” 223 lb., 31 5/8” arms, 8 7/8” hands, and 77 1/4” span @ Senior Bowl

Bit of a rag-to-riches story. Legette was a running quarterback in high school. Fought through nagging injuries in his first three seasons and finally settled in as the primary kickoff returner and half-time starter in 2022. He put it all together for a superb 5th year finale.

Stellar speed/size/power prospect that plays a physical brand of football. Looks like an old-school power forward. Very good at going up to get contested catches, knows how to use his frame to shield defenders and aggressively goes after the ball. Understands how to high-point and is very physical at the catch point. Good open-field runner with a history of kickoff returns

Has the potential to be a big -time playmaker, but there are some legitimate bust flags with Legette. Only one season of college production and at times, he looked indifferent in his execution when the ball was away. But the South Carolina offensive line was so bad and the QB running for his life so often that it’s hard to believe that Legette was able to show anything at all.

Round 3

Jalen McMillan- Washington 6’ 1” 192 lb. @ Huskies official site

I think this prospect is hiding in the bushes. Recency bias is a real thing amongst draftniks and McMillan struggled with a knee injury for six games and didn’t get to latch onto the shining star that was the 2024 Washington Huskies passing offense.

Ran a varied route tree. Just as comfortable underneath as going deep. Has a smooth, fluid gait that belies his speed. Can set up corners and run past them outside and when facing the QB, he transitions from catch to run quickly. Overall, has very good hands, many of his drops come from those transitions, taking off too early before tucking it away.

McMillan seems like he’s always open, he really has an ability to recognize the soft areas of a zone and is both competitive and fast enough to beat man. The Rams love those long crossing patterns and McMillan does it very well.

Round 4

Jermaine Burton- Alabama 6’ 194 lb. @ Crimson Tide official site

Spent his first two college seasons at Georgia. If you looked strictly at his numbers, 132 career catches at 18 yards per catch, you would rightly surmise he’s a deep threat specialist. But he also boasts a strong short/mid range game.

Burton can catch and create separation, the two most important aspects in grading wide outs. He catches with his hands and has the wingspan and body control to corral off-target passes. Plays very fast with stellar straight-line speed. Lines up both wide and in the slot. Doesn’t offer much blocking at this point. Does a lot of work outside the hashes, it may be scheme, or just coincidence, but watching many games, not a lot of production in the middle of the field.

All that said, why Round 4? He could easily go earlier. There’s a strong argument to be made that he’s in the Top 100 college players, but it is a deep wide receiver class. With all his stellar tools, he’s never been “the guy” and there are many questions about his maturity and excessive taunting/roughing after plays.

Round 5

Luke McCaffrey- Rice 6’ 1 3/4” 202 lb., 29 7/8” arms, 9 1/2” hands, and 74 5/8” span @ Senior Bowl

Spent his first three college seasons playing quarterback, originally for Nebraska, then a quick stop in Louisville, and finally at Rice. Transitioned to wide receiver in 2022 and over 288 plays (receiving and running), averaged over 12 yards per touch and scored 20 touchdowns.

Primarily a slot player, but worked out wide and had reps out of the backfield. Good hands and tracks well. Not afraid to go across the middle and strong enough to capture contested balls. Has open field running skills, very good speed and burst, not elite. Plenty of work to do on release technique and moves, but appears to have the feet for it.

McCaffrey offers the Rams another versatile piece who can line up anywhere in the formation and can be dangerous either receiving or running the ball. Drafting on potential to a certain extent, he didn’t run varied routes and is still learning how to play wide receiver, who better to learn the subtleties from than Cooper Kupp.

Round 6

Cornelius Johnson- Michigan 6’ 2 1/4” 213 lb., 31 3/8” arms, 8 1/2” hands, and 76 7/8” span @ Senior Bowl

Although Johnson primarily lined up wide, he works the middle very well out of the slot in limited opportunities. Stellar hands, catches with arms extended and also vey good with palm’s up (basket catches). Not a varied route tree, but appears to have enough technique to easily expand. Good runner in space and showed very good top speed and acceleration numbers at the Senior Bowl. Used to plugging away, doing the little things for an offense with lots of different playmakers.

Johnson is a sneaky good prospect. Been a regular starter at wide receiver since 2020, but never had a “blow out” season in Michigan’s run-centric offense. Johnson has been a special teams contributor in all five years at Ann Arbor. Can you really be considered “under the radar” if you’re a starter on a team that competes for the NCAA National Championship every season?

Round 7

Jordan Whittington- Texas 6’ 1” 204 lb. @ Longhorns official site

Good, not great hands, but catches away from his body and is athletic enough to get throws that are not within his frame. Fearless on slants and in the middle of field. He has an excellent feel finding soft areas in zones and working back to QB when flushed from pocket, Not a dynamic runner, but strong enough to break arm tackles and fall forward. Play speed appears adequate, not a burner or bursty. We’ll see his GPS and 40-yard dash numbers at the NFL Combine.

He fits the Rams WR mold, position/formation versatile, good hands, physical, and a willing blocker. His football IQ and motor made him a team captain although not an every-game starter. Add a history on special teams, including returns and you have a fine candidate for WR#5.

Undrafted

David White- Western Carolina 6’ 2 1/8” 195 lb., 31 1/2” arms, 9 3/8” hands, and 76 1/8” span @ East-West Shrine Bowl

Expecting some super long and fast physical freak with a sky-high ceiling? Just the opposite, a route running all-around prospect with a good floor.

Great feet, was shouted out for his route running skills at Shrine Bowl. Few small school receivers have this ability. Good hands, although he should concentrate on becoming a hands catcher. Tracks the ball in the air and reacts well. Can snare the off-target pass, low or high, and has the hand/eye coordination and catch-point physicality. Lines up both outside and from the slot, plenty of work over the middle. Good, not great speed and burst. Has the size and willingness to block.

Never “the guy”, even at small schools, but had a stellar Hula Bowl and was promoted up to East-West Shrine Classic. He was called “unguardable” in workouts at both. White has tackles in his career statistics, so it appears he’s done some special teams work, a must for the open positions in the Rams wide receiver room.

Not much room in the Rams receiving room

When building out a receiver unit, having Kupp and Nacua as Numbers 1 and 2, you’re off to a stellar start. It’a great year to draft wide receivers, no matter your needs. Should the Rans take a top-rated talent if one falls to #19? Grab a couple of the dozen or so “second tier” value prospects? Or should they fill up with talented support players in later rounds?

If I was in charge, I wouldn’t miss out on this draft class, and would double-dip on receivers. Trying very hard to be a best player available draftnik, if any of the Top 5 receivers fell to #19, it would be strongly considered. Brian Thomas or any of that ilk, would create a game-changing triumvirate when added to Kupp and Nacua. A matchup nightmare.

Closer to reality, I like grabbing Jalen McMillan a #83 and Cornelius Johnson at #212. Size/speed prospects from well-coached teams that can create both their own space and settle into soft areas of zones. And I would certainly get two or three more as priority free agents, there is a bevy of mid-range talent that could slip through the cracks.

How high of a priority should the Rams place on drafting a wide receiver?