ATLANTA -- More than 100 of the top players in the nation participated in the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday. The Rivals analyst team is breaking down the status of a majority of the players at the marquee event based on their performance against elite competition. Today, we move to wide receiver.
MORE #RIVALSCHALLENGE: Peers predictions | The Farrell Awards | Simmons' surprises | Mind of Mike after early sessions | MVPs | Teams that should be pleased | Coverage from throughout the day
FIVE-STAR CHALLENGE POSITION RANKINGS: QB | RB
1. MARCUS ROSEMY, GEORGIA COMMIT
Rosemy staked his claim as arguably one of the best wide receivers in this class by dominating during one-on-ones and then taking over during 7-on-7, especially in the red zone where he caught numerous touchdown passes. The Georgia commit has tremendous length, great hands and he’s an outstanding route runner. Currently rated as the No. 12 receiver in the class, Rosemy was so dominant early on that he asked the Rivals analysts what route he should run and what we’d like to see. We joked that he should catch one with his feet - and Rosemy said he could do that, too.
2. LV BUNKLEY-SHELTON
The highlight catch of the day came from Bunkley-Shelton when he one-handed a pass across the middle that drew the attention of everybody, but it was far from his only impressive grab during the event. Time and again, the four-star receiver used his quickness, his timing and then his playmaking ability to go up and catch passes. He was absolutely fantastic all day and was definitely in the running for wide receiver MVP. Washington is getting more involved, Texas is now in the picture and others could get in the mix soon as well.
3. JOSH DOWNS, NORTH CAROLINA COMMIT
North Carolina is getting a serious playmaker in Downs, who is definitely tiny at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds but he uses it to his advantage because bigger cornerbacks cannot keep up with him throughout his routes. The four-star receiver consistently got wide open against some of the best cornerbacks in the country, caught every pass thrown his way and then quickly turned upfield for more yardage. He can take short passes and make people miss or he can beat corners deep. Downs had a fantastic showing all day.
4. JAVON BAKER, ALABAMA COMMIT
Baker was impactful in numerous ways, whether the cornerback was giving him cushion or trying to press him at the line, catching short passes or going deep and the Alabama commit also made some tough catches when the ball was thrown behind him. There was at least one rep where Major Burns would have clearly been flagged for pass interference and the four-star still made the catch, showing off toughness and great hands.
5. BRYCE GOWDY
Gowdy had an impressive performance in various ways throughout the event and the four-star showed he could stretch the field to make plays or use his excellent hands with corners draped all over him on shorter routes. A back-end Rivals250 member, Gowdy made a statement for moving up because he was consistently one of the best receivers all over the field and his route running is really sharp.
6. MOOKIE COOPER
If there’s a Rondale Moore-type receiver in this class, it’s Cooper because he’s undersized but has the physical makeup to outmuscle cornerbacks and the speed to blow by them. College coaches will figure out ways to get the former Texas commit who’s looking at Illinois, Ohio State and others the ball in his hands and then he should be able to pick up big chunks of yardage. All Cooper needs is a little space and he can make big things happen.
7. KOY MOORE
The first thing that Moore does really well is he can set up cornerbacks whether with a move at the line of scrimmage to create separation or later in his route to catch the ball and make a big play. He has excellent hands and can kick his speed into a second gear to really make something happen. The former USC commit has to do a better job of catching passes when corners are tugging and holding on him but he made plays all day and had a good showing. LSU and others are involved.
8. JORDAN JOHNSON, NOTRE DAME COMMIT
Johnson would have been much higher on this list, but after a while, the five-star Notre Dame commit dialed it back and didn’t take as many reps as some other receivers. When he was out there, though, Johnson did his thing - which means he ran really crisp, precise routes, showed off really strong hands and gave some of the best corners in this class a lot of headaches. When he was competing, Johnson was one of the best receivers in the group, but he didn’t take as many reps as some others.
9. JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA, OHIO STATE COMMIT
The scouting report on Smith-Njigba must have been to respect his speed because cornerbacks were giving him plenty of cushion early in his routes. Those that tried to press him either got turned around quickly or the Ohio State commit shed them late in the route to make some easy catches. The four-star receiver has great hands but even better footwork and route-running ability and it showed throughout the camp.
10. TROY OMEIRE, TEXAS A&M COMMIT
The first thing that stands out about Omeire is just his size, easily at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, the four-star is a pure outside receiver who could use his length to beat cornerbacks. He needs to work on getting better balance especially when corners are trying to drive him off his route, but the Texas A&M commit made some really nice grabs. Since he has such a huge target radius, Omeire is going to be a weapon in the coming years.
