Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate about which wide receiver could pass an injured Trevon Grimes in our next rankings update and become the No. 1 wide receiver in the class.
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FARRELL'S VIEW: JERRY JEUDY
I could see Jerry Jeudy jumping ahead of Grimes. Many people felt Jeudy was the better receiver in Florida before Grimes suffered his injury, but we liked Grimes' size and catch radius a bit better.
But now with the injury, which of course we hope Grimes recovers from 100 percent, you have to start looking at other prospects who are still playing and if they have the talent to surpass him. Jeudy, to me, is that guy over Donovan Peoples-Jones, Joseph Lewis and Nico Collins.
Does this mean Grimes will lose his top spot? Nope. We will meet to update the 2017 rankings in about six weeks, and I know many of our analysts are still very high on Grimes’ ceiling compared to others. But when you have a top player injured, it opens the door for others to perhaps jump in their spot and that’s something that will be discussed when we meet as a team. And Jeudy, who is ranked No. 5 at wide receiver right now, will be in that discussion.
GORNEY'S VIEW: DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES
If there is an opening at the top of the wide receiver rankings, Donovan Peoples-Jones has every argument to take over the No. 1 spot.
The Detroit Cass Tech standout only has 14 receptions this season, but when you dig down further into his numbers, he has 430 receiving yards, which totals out to 30.7 yards per catch.
Every defensive back knows who Peoples-Jones is and no one can stop him from getting behind the defense to make big plays. If he’s catching short passes, the five-star has the ability to make people miss and move the ball down the field in significant chunks.
Peoples-Jones also has seven receiving touchdowns and that plays out to 50 percent of his catches have gone for scores. That’s an incredible number.
He has the chance to be a superstar at receiver in college. At Cass Tech, he’s also hugely valuable on defense and special teams.
Peoples-Jones has two interceptions this season, he returned one for a touchdown and he also 39-yard fumble recovery returned for a score. He’s returned two punt returns for 43 and 70 yards. Whenever Peoples-Jones is on the field, he makes play after play.
Stats are one thing. They can be deceiving sometimes in high school. But when you look at Peoples-Jones up close, it’s easy to tell he’s special.
The five-star is all of 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, well put together, physical and fast at the same time and a technician who’s smart in the classroom and on the field.