NFL Draft Stock Report: WRs/TEs

With the college football season winding down, we take a look at some of the NFL prospects who have helped or hurt their stock for April’s draft and those who remain stock steady. We continue today with the wide receivers and tight ends.

NFL STOCK REPORT: QBs | RBs

Recruiting: Burnett enrolled at USC in fall 2015 and took a blueshirt, which means he would count against the Trojans’ next recruiting class. He was a long-time Washington State commit and late in the recruiting process, Michigan, Utah and others got involved.

Stats: Burnett leads the Trojans with 69 receptions for 911 yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. He’s averaging more than 82 receiving yards per outing.

Farrell’s take: Burnett has emerged as the go-to guy Sam Darnold has needed and scouts are paying attention as he replaces Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster. He was a late blueshirt offer from USC, so he nearly wasn’t part of the Trojans' class at all. He wasn’t very big but had explosion and excellent route-running ability as a potential slot receiver. He hasn’t added much size but he’s become even more polished as a route runner, has great hands and has added speed. He continues the pipeline of Serra standouts to succeed at USC.

Recruiting: Ridley committed to Alabama in the spring prior to his senior season. Florida State received a visit from the South Florida prospect and other schools were involved but he stuck with the Crimson Tide.

Stats: The former five-star has 37 more receptions than any other Alabama receiver with 49 catches for 755 yards and two touchdowns. Jerry Jeudy is second on the team with 12 catches for 208 yards.

Farrell’s take: His speed seems to have improved a bit and his ability to gain yards after the catch is improving as well. Ridley set freshman records at Alabama as a receiver, the same place where Julio Jones and Amari Cooper dominated, so that's heady stuff. Ridley was always an elite prospect in high school and a no-brainer five-star from the start. He was an accomplished route runner, had solid size and amazing hands, and just needed to fill out and find his way into the Alabama offense. Now he is the clear No. 1 target among wide receivers for the Tide and showing similar ability to Jones and Cooper after a down year last season.

Recruiting: A three-star fullback out of high school, Samuels was offered as an H-back by NC State and committed in the summer prior to his senior season. North Carolina liked him at linebacker.

Stats: Samuels leads NC State in receptions with 62 and he has also totaled 506 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Farrell’s Take: Samuels has shown his versatility playing numerous positions and has emerged as one of the top H-Back tight end prospects in the draft. We had him ranked as a three-star fullback, but he played running back and receiver in high school, so he could have just as easily been listed as an athlete. All we knew was that he was a big kid who didn’t have the speed to be a feature back or wide receiver, but he’s turned into an excellent tight end prospect.

Recruiting: Hurst is a former baseball standout who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization before walking on at South Carolina in the summer of 2015.

Stats: Hurst is second on the Gamecocks with 35 receptions for 480 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 13.7 yards per catch.

Farrell’s take: Hurst was a pitcher out of high school and signed for baseball so he was never ranked or really evaluated for football by Rivals.com. He had zero football offers, so this is one that was way off the radar. I don’t even remember him as a football prospect and he played at a big football high school.

Recruiting: A three-star safety in high school, Sutton had BYU, Colorado and Fresno State as his three favorites just a few weeks before National Signing Day. A late visit to SMU switched up his recruitment and he signed with the Mustangs.

Stats: Sutton is second on the Mustangs with 55 catches for 875 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. He averages nearly 16 yards per reception.

Farrell’s take: Sutton has been very good as expected and is opening up opportunities for other SMU wideouts with all the attention he gets. We had Sutton projected as a defensive back, with his tall frame and good range. He also played some linebacker as well, but he has developed into an elite wide receiver. He was a big-play threat at wide receiver in high school, although not nearly as polished as he is now. Most wanted him as a defensive back, but his ball skills have transitioned well and his size, speed and hands make him one to watch in the first round of the NFL Draft.

MORE SMU: TheHillTopics.com

Recruiting: Washington picked Oklahoma State in the summer prior to his senior season as he was lightly recruited out of high school. His only other reported offer was from Texas State.

Stats: Washington leads the Cowboys with 53 receptions for 1,158 yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. He’s still averaging nearly 22 yards per catch.

Farrell’s take: His yards-per-catch is off the charts and despite battling injuries recently his stock is still as high as ever with NFL teams. Washington was a very fast, straight-line receiver from a small school who can be billed as a “diamond in the rough” recruiting find for Oklahoma State. We liked his speed enough to make him a low three-star, but he has turned into something fun to watch at the next level. Not only is he fast, but he’s elusive and sneaky strong. He’s having an excellent season, could be the best 50-50 ball receiver in the nation and is a true deep threat as well as a catch-and-run home run waiting to happen. If he was a little longer he’d probably be the top receiver in the draft.

Recruiting: In the summer before his senior season, Andrews committed to Oklahoma during a trip to Norman. A bunch of Pac-12 schools along with Alabama, Ohio State and others were involved.

Stats: In an offense that averages more than 44 points per game, Andrews leads the Sooners with 43 receptions for 745 yards and four touchdowns. The former four-star is averaging more than 17 yards per catch.

Farrell’s take: Andrews is a massive target and has shown more athleticism than he did last year and better footwork. A tight end with size but wide receiver skills, he was always right up there when it comes to athleticism at the position and he’s taken his game to the next level this year and is my No. 1 tight end. He slid in the final rankings because he was a bit underwhelming at the US Army Bowl week and didn’t use his size properly, but he has clearly learned to do that as he transitioned from wide receiver to tight end in college. He’s a big target and can get downfield, so he could land in round one.

Recruiting: Gesicki took official visits to both Penn State and Ohio State and he ended up picking the Nittany Lions. Duke and many others were also involved in his recruitment.

Stats: Gesicki leads the Nittany Lions with 42 catches for 419 yards and five touchdowns this season. He’s averaging only 10 yards per catch, good for seventh on the team.

Farrell’s take: Gesicki is a freaky athlete and has had a solid season but hasn’t scored as much as expected or been as dominant in the red zone. We liked Gesicki, especially his athleticism, out of high school enough to make him a four-star, but we had questions about how physical he was willing to be and how he would fare as a blocker. We underestimated his athleticism and he’s obviously done well in other aspects of the game as well. He started off in our database as a wide receiver and he played a lot from the flex position and even outside. The NFL loves tight ends that can stretch the field and he can do that as well as anyone.

Recruiting: Kirk committed to Texas A&M over Arizona State, UCLA and others in December of his senior season. Arizona’s top prospect in the previous recruiting cycle, five-star QB Kyle Allen, also committed to the Aggies but he has since transferred to Houston.

Stats: By far, Kirk leads the Aggies in receiving categories with 46 catches for 575 yards and six touchdowns. The former five-star also has punt and kick returns for scores.

Farrell’s Take: Size will always be a question and his numbers being down, poor quarterback play or not, doesn’t help. Kirk’s size was always the only question mark, but we pushed beyond that and made him the rare 5-foot-10 five-star wide receiver and he’s living up to that billing despite the down year. We expected him to hit the ground running with his route-running and ability to separate, but he was way ahead of schedule with two great seasons and now having a solid season this year with a true freshman quarterback. His performance at our Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Chicago is what sealed the deal for us as he was simply unstoppable.

Recruiting: Cain, who mainly played quarterback in high school, was considered an early lean to Florida State but he signed with Clemson. Florida and many others were also involved.

Stats: Cain is either first or second in many receiving categories for the Tigers with 41 receptions for 457 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Farrell’s take: Cain has been good but hasn’t broken out as much as expected this season, some of that due to average quarterback play. Cain was an elite talent out of high school, a guy who didn’t play wide receiver on a full-time basis but picked it up like a natural. While at first we had questions about his ability to get off the line of scrimmage and be an effective route-runner, those were easily answered each time we saw him. He’s a dynamic athlete who is still a major factor for Clemson’s pursuit of a national title this year. His size and speed could push him up this list regardless of production.

Recruiting: Wilson was rated as a two-star quarterback in high school and then walked-on as a tight end at USC. After one season, Wilson transferred to UCLA. Old Dominion and others had offered him out of high school.

Stats: Wilson has only played in five games this season and he totaled 38 receptions for 490 yards and one touchdown. The former Serra prospect sustained a foot injury against Colorado and will miss the rest of the season.

Farrell’s take: Wilson hasn’t been bad but missing the rest of the season hurts and he struggled when Josh Rosen wasn’t in there. Talk about an interesting route to stardom, huh? His dad was the defensive line coach at USC and he had no big offers as a quarterback, so he headed to become a Trojan. His transfer across town is rare and his knowledge as a former quarterback has helped him greatly. He’s a tall and versatile target who wasn’t high on many boards coming in but rose early in the season. Missing the rest of the season will hurt him.

Recruiting: Goolsby committed to Florida over Arkansas, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Kansas State. The three-star was the second tight end to join Florida’s 2014 recruiting class, joining C’yontai Lewis.

Stats: Fifth on the Gators in receptions, Goolsby has 12 catches for 92 yards and no touchdowns this season. He’s averaging about 10 receiving yards per game as the Florida passing game continues to struggle.

Farrell’s take: Goolsby emerged as one of our top three tight ends in his class after a great performance at our Rivals Camp Series in Phoenix, but after a down senior year and not being nearly as physical as we hoped, he lost that fourth star and dropped quite a bit. When you watch him now, you can see how fluid he can be and how he can get separation, but he’s a bit underutilized and underwhelming in that awful Florida offense and it’s hurting his stock a bit.