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Hey all, I'm back with part three (WR22-27) of my 2024 receiver evaluations and rankings on our way to my top 50 receivers. If you want to check out my previous rankings, you can find them with the links below:
Ryan Flournoy, Southeast Missouri State (WR22)
Height: 6’1”; Weight: 202 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 24 years and 6 months
Class: RS Fifth-Year Senior
Overall Grade: 2.79/4 (Good Role Player)
Comp: Cody Latimer
- Hands: A-
- Route Running: C-
- Release: D
- Yards After Catch Potential: B
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: A-
- Future role: B-
- RAS: A
Strengths
I don’t want to surprise anyone, but I didn’t watch any Southeast Missouri State games during the season. So, I was a bit surprised to see that one of their receivers earned an invite to the Senior Bowl in this loaded receiver class. After finally getting a chance to watch Ryan Flournoy, I realized that he absolutely deserved that invite.
The first thing that stands out when watching Ryan Flournoy is his reliable hands with only a 1.7% drop rate this past year per PFF. Flournoy catches the ball away from his body and uses good hand technique. Flournoy plays with late hands but can also snatch heaters out of the air.
Flournoy’s ball skills signed with the ball in the air, showing that he can track lofted balls, including back shoulder throws. Flourney does a good job establishing position in 50/50 ball situations and consistently high-points the ball. Flournoy has good timing with his adjustments to give defenders with their backs turned to the quarterback little time to react. In general, he has some really nice adjustment skills for misplaced throws. Flourney also has really great foot awareness around the sidelines and does a good job working back to the quarterback to make himself an easier target.
Flournoy also brings decent tempo to his routes and consistently gets leverage against his defender. Flournoy has a decent transition from receiver to runner with the ball in his hands and some nice shiftiness to make guys miss. When Flournoy isn’t able to make guys miss, he brings grit and good contact balance to survive weaker tackle attempts. Finally, he is a willing and very effective blocker, which he proved even against better competition, such as Kansas State, this year.
Areas of Improvement
With all of these strengths, Flournoy could be in contention for a top 10 receiver and should absolutely be a top 20 receiver. However, Flournoy is a massive project starting with his release. Flournoy really struggles to disengage from press and doesn’t seem to have many moves to win against press at this time and uses his arms very minimally. Flournoy’s struggles with press carry into his route, where he can struggle to get defenders out of his hip pocket and create separation.
Flournoy’s struggles with separation aren’t helped by his route running. Flournoy seemed to have run a limited route tree that had a lot of sloppiness and little to no nuance that hampered his separation. Flournoy’s cuts were also pretty rounded, and he could benefit from breaking down a bit more for sharper, more explosive cuts. There were also times when Flournoy used improper hand technique when going up for balls which he will need to clean up if he will need to survive with limited separation to start his career.
Conclusion
Flournoy is a pretty big project but one that I think could pay off for a patient team. If you want an example of how to put him in a good position to succeed, I would look at a team using him like the Chiefs did with Rashee Rice with lower usage to start his career. With Rice, the Chiefs worked to get him clean releases and had him run for specific routes to create a foundation for him while also helping the offense.
Due to both being projects entering the league, I have Cody Latimer as Ryan Flournoy’s comp. Both Latimer and Flournoy were very limited route runners and struggled against press which created separation issues. However, they both were great at jump ball situations and were great athletes. Denver didn’t seem to have a great plan to develop Latimer, but if a team puts together a development plan for Flournoy, they may be able to get a strong contributor late in the draft.
Bub Means, Pitt (WR23)
Height: 6’1”; Weight: 212 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 23 years and 3 months
Class: RS Senior
Overall Grade: 2.75/4 (Future Role Player)
Comp: Josh Doctson
- Hands: B+
- Route Running: D+
- Release: C
- Yards After Catch Potential: C+
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B+
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B+
- Future role: C+
- RAS: A
Strengths
Pitt was a hard team to watch all year, so I didn’t watch much of Bub Means. But man, I’m a fan now. Means is one of the better receivers in this class at snatching the ball consistently high pointing the ball with good timing to almost always get to the ball first. Means also has some extremely tough hands, good hand technique, and the strength to hold onto balls even when consistently extending his arms away from his body.
Speaking of extending his arms, Means can extend and finish catches at the very end of his frame. Means also showed the ability to make some crazy adjustments to balls, which were often necessary with the quarterback play at Pitt. Means was also able to display good foot awareness around the sidelines to keep his feet in bounds.
Means has good transition from receiver to runner and does a good job following his blocks with the ball in his hands. Means also routinely delivers downfield with long strides to eat a cushion quickly and the ability to stack his defender. Finally, Means wasn’t great against press as his grade indicates, but he did improve as the season went on.
Areas of Improvement
While Means’ highlights can be really exciting, his play with a more in-depth watch becomes more concerning, especially when it comes to his route running and limited route tree. Means’ route running is filled with some really rough, rounded cuts and needs a lot of extra steps when trying to make tight cuts due to not breaking down enough. Means also could use a better tempo to help create more consistency on his vertical routes instead of moving at one speed. On that note, Means can also do a better slowing down against zone as he tends to drift towards defenders.
As I noted above, Means did have struggles against press, which hurt his ability to play outside as consistently as he did in college. Means’ hands are often too slow, allowing defenders to get to his pads and disrupting the rhythm of the pass play. Means can usually withstand the contact and get back on path but has a hard time peeling away from the defender.
While Means has good athleticism, he doesn’t seem like he will be a big play in YAC opportunities. Also, while Means has solid contact balance to not be taken down by the initial hit from a defender, that initial defender is usually able to still take him down eventually due to Means being unable to fully shake the tackle. Finally, Means’ effort seemed to be inconsistent in both his routes and blocking, so that might be something teams will need to dig into more.
Conclusion
Means is a project but has a lot of traits that can be hard to find and harder to coach. His range of outcomes is as low as becoming a gunner on a team or developing his route running and release skills to become a George Pickens-lite player with Means’ ability to snatch the ball and some effort concerns. Due to both being great ball attackers with good vertical ability, I have Josh Doctson as Means’ comp.
Josh Doctson and Bub Means looked like alphas in the highlights at times with the ability to pluck the ball out of the air and beat defenders deep downfield. Doctson and Means also struggled with press and were really lacking as route runners. Doctson never reached anything close to his ceiling due to never improving but Means could get closer to that ceiling if he improves either his route running or his release.
Devontez Walker, UNC (WR24)
Height: 6’1”; Weight: 193 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 22 years and 10 months
Class: RS Junior
Overall Grade: 2.75/4 (Good Role Player)
Comp: Darius Slayton
- Hands: B+
- Route Running: C-
- Release: B-
- Yards After Catch Potential: C
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B
- Future role: C+
- RAS: A
Strengths
Devontez Walker is a fast, athletic field stretcher who made a killing ahead of the sticks with Drake Maye flinging him the ball. Walker can show some really good ball-tracking skills on deep balls and is capable of catching underthrown balls and balls away from his frame. Walker generally catches the ball well and typically extends his arms towards the ball. Walker can stretch out and make catches at the very end of his frame.
Walker also showed some strong hands to finish catches through hits. At the start of plays, Walker has a very quick off and quick feet to help get his defender off balance. On his vertical routes, Walker does a great job stacking corners and getting leverage to make himself an easier target.
Areas of Improvement
However, I still have a lot of problems that Walker needs to work on. Walker’s route running is really sloppy and practically limited to vertical routes right now. If you need a go route, Walker will do great. But if you need anything else, you might be in trouble.
Walker doesn’t really possess much nuance or technique to make the most out of each route, and he seems to be mostly a one-speed runner rather than using tempo in his routes. Walker doesn’t sell his fakes enough and his cuts are slow and lack precision and explosion to be effective and create serious separation. Walker also will often need several unnecessary steps to gather himself making some routes really ineffective.
Also, though Walker has great speed and is a long strider, he can be a bit slower to eat the cushion. Walker also can just get really bothered with physical coverage, not only from a standpoint of getting off path but also literally getting bothered and seeming, at times, to have less effort. Walker has a few moves with his release, but the limited moves and lack of wiggle leads to inconsistent success. With the lack of wiggle and quick twitch, Walker is also more of a straight-line runner in the open field and doesn’t have great change-of-direction skills to make him dynamic as a runner.
Also, at times, Walker seems to have trouble tracking the ball with it sneaking up on him, or he tries to make adjustments too late to the ball, which makes the catch more difficult for himself. There were also a few times when Walker had trouble adjusting to the ball through contact and also struggled to finish catches over his shoulder. Walker’s hands are relatively dependable, but he did make a few sloppy attempts with some suboptimal techniques that reduced his success rate.
Conclusion
I wasn’t a fan of Walker in the summer, and I still can’t bring myself to be one now. The early buzz of Walker potentially being a first-rounder was weird to me, but I think people have calmed down on this and are being a bit more reasonable with him. I think he’s capable of serving a role in getting downfield and making catches over the defense, but I wouldn’t expect much else. Due to both being able to serve the purpose of running downfield and finishing deep completions, I have Darius Slayton as Walker’s comp.
Both Darius Slayton and Devontez Walker have great athleticism and thinner frames, but they also struggled with some hand technique from time to time. Both Slayton and Walker are also limited route runners but are very good at running the vertical and stacking the corner. I think if a team looks at Walker with mild expectations, I think they will be pleased with the result. But I think they will be disappointed if they go after him, hoping to get a guy who will make plays on every down.
Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky (WR25)
Height: 5’11”; Weight: 215 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 23 years and 1 month
Class: RS Junior
Overall Grade: 2.71/4 (May Have a Future Role)
Comp: Laviska Shenault
- Hands: B
- Route Running: C-
- Release: D+
- Yards After Catch Potential: A-
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B-
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B+
- Future role: B-
- RAS: B+*
Strengths
Malachi Corley has a lot of fans and it’s easy to get excited about Corley as probably one of the best, if not the best YAC receiver in this class. Corley has a sturdy frame with great contact balance and seems to always fall forward which is rare for a receiver. Corley also has great vision and patience with the ball in his hands and a fast transition from receiver to runner to maximize his opportunities. Corley’s late hands also give crashing defenders limited time to identify the ball’s route.
Corley also has surprising body control and ball tracking skills that you wouldn’t expect from a screen/YAC specialist. Corley has a good eye to follow the ball and track it through defenders while also showing the ability to finish catches over his head. Corley definitely will not be routinely winning jump balls, but he did show the ability to rise up for balls and also dive to attempt catches. Corley also seemed to have decent awareness of his positioning on 50/50 balls, which gave him a better chance to finish the catch.
As a route runner, Corley has a fast get-off from the line and does a pretty solid job maintaining his leverage despite his limited route opportunities and experience. Corley also seemed to be fairly competent at recognizing zone coverage and finding openings when given the opportunity. Finally, Corley isn’t just one to use his blockers; he also returns the favor with some quality blocking.
Areas of Improvement
So, if a team is planning to use Corley exclusively as a screen/YAC guy, they won’t be disappointed. Outside of that, I have some concerns. Corley’s route running is incredibly limited, primarily consisting of bubbles, outs, curls, slants, and verticals. I saw a route tree where 16.3% of his routes were screens/bubbles, 11.8% were slants, 5.5% were flats, 14.7% were curls, and 20.7% were vertical routes. Also, he had about a third of his career receiving yards just from screens (credit to @JordanVanekDFS on Twitter/X).
Corley’s production also showed this issue, with about 75% of his receptions this year coming from under 10 yards from the line of scrimmage per PFF. Corley did show more versatility in his route running at the Senior Bowl. However, it’s hard to trust a few practices over several seasons of play.
For the routes Corley did run, his cuts were pretty rounded, and cuts that needed to be more crisp like hitches often had a number of extra steps needed to cut back to the quarterback. Corley also doesn’t use enough deception or nuance in his routes and they are very one speed making them easier for defenders to get a handle on. Corley also struggles to run his routes through contact despite his strength and balance and will too often allow defenders to cut off his path on routes.
Corley’s hands can also be pretty inconsistent, sometimes using underhand technique when going up for balls or just not securing the catch before going upfield. Corley’s 7.1% drop rate this year isn’t bad by any means, but a little disappointing with the high number of straightforward screen targets he got. Corley also can do a better job extending his arms to help finish contested catches as he has struggled throughout his career, converting only 23.5% this year and 26.5% in his career. I feel that this number is likely lower than it would be if Corley ran standard routes due to corners getting running starts and likely crashing down on him in some scenarios, but it is still a pretty low mark.
Corley’s release is also rough and part of the reason he was hidden from press in the slot. In the rare times Corley faced press, he didn’t do a good job keeping defenders’ arms away from his pads, altering his timing. It seemed like Corley didn’t use his hands effectively enough and didn’t use his quickness to help keep himself clean and in general struggled to get defenders off of him. With those issues and nearly all of Corley’s snaps in his career from the slot, he will need to be a slot-only player.
Conclusion
I have a hard time trusting a receiver when Corley’s biggest strengths are that he's hard to bring down and he’s quick and fast, but limited in most other areas. Corley could pan out, but I think he will be incredibly coaching staff-dependent. Personally, I don’t see the Deebo Samuel comps since Deebo had much better release skills and could consistently win in the intermediate areas of the field in college. Everyone wants the next Deebo Samuel, but unfortunately, most players end up like Laviska Shenault, Erik Ezukanma, Jalen Hurd, or Amari Rodgers.
Corley is going to need to go to a coaching staff with a clear vision for him that will be patient as he tries to develop as a route runner. Due to both being able to provide some value after the catch but needing improvement as route runners, I have Laviska Shenault as Corley’s comp. Both Shenault and Corley have good strength to help in YAC situations while also having good tracking and adjustment skills to give some hope for a player capable of more. I wasn’t high on Shenault coming out for similar reasons, but hopefully, Corley can show better improvements to be a more well-rounded player.
Brenden Rice, USC (WR26)
Height: 6’2”; Weight: 208 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 22 years and 1 month
Class: Senior
Overall Grade: 2.67/4 (May Have a Future Role)
Comp: Josh Palmer
- Hands: B+
- Route Running: B
- Release: C+
- Yards After Catch Potential: C
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B
- Future role: C+
- RAS: C+
Strengths
Is Brenden Rice as good as his father, Jerry Rice? I think we all know the answer to that by now, but that doesn’t discredit him as a player. Brenden Rice definitely learned from his father how to catch a ball using late heads and great hand technique to have reliable hands. Rice consistently catches the ball away from his body and has really strong hands when finishing these catches.
Brenden Rice’s contested catch numbers look rough this year, but I feel these are lower due to getting more 50/50 and jump ball opportunities tanking his conversion rate since he has been good in past seasons, and his technique is still solid. Speaking of 50/50 and jump balls, this is likely going to be Rice’s bread and butter in the NFL at the start of his career. Rice is fluid in moving his body to adjust to back shoulder throws and can rise up and snatch the ball out of the air while also being able to dive for low balls. Rice also does a good job working back to the QB to make himself an easier target.
Brenden Rice is also a pretty solid route runner with a pretty solid route tree and showed the capability to run most routes that will be asked of him in the NFL. Rice has nice nuance with his routes with good use of jab steps and head fakes, and generally does a good job getting leverage against his defender. Rice also has nice balance and footwork to his cuts and can make some very sharp cuts to leave defenders in the dust at times. Rice also does a good job maintaining his path on routes in the middle of the field through contact.
For Brenden Rice’s release, he uses his long arms to help free himself. Rice also uses good strength and balance with the ball in his hands to give himself a chance to pick up extra yards. Also, Rice is a very willing and effective blocker and plays with great effort on every play.
Areas of Improvement
Rice is a pretty limited athlete though which will hold him back. Rice isn’t the most explosive in space and is a slow accelerator that can seem a bit lumbering at the start of his runs. Also, when Rice did have the ball in his hands, there were too many times that he started his run going backward instead of at least sideways causing him to lose potential yards.
Rice’s release also needs some work and needs to do a better job protecting his pads from press. Rice could benefit from more creative release packages other than just relying on his long arms. Rice doesn’t have quick feet and will need to optimize his upper body release mechanics and creativity to overcome this.
Also, there were too many lapses Rice had tracking the ball downfield that will need to be minimized if he becomes a 50/50 or jump ball specialist. Though Rice’s route running is solid, he really struggled with separation and had trouble getting his man out of his hip pocket. Part of the issue is Rice’s release, but also his cuts in routes aren’t overly explosive and don’t create separation.
With this limited athleticism and explosion, Rice also lacked deep speed, and defenders were able to catch up with him a lot of times. When Rice is faking vertical, he can do a better job selling this. Rice may also need improvement in identifying holes against zone since he seemed a bit unsure at times.
Conclusion
I have a hard time seeing Rice as anything more than a solid role player. With Rice’s hands and body adjustments, I think he could be a 50/50 or jump ball specialist and will need to be this to start his career until he improves his separation to give him more of a chance to be a regular contributor. Due to both having trouble separating but good body adjustments and hands, I have Josh Palmer as Rice’s comp.
Both Rice and Palmer were solid route runners who aren’t dynamic in space. However, Rice and Palmer can bring some toughness by snatching the ball and with the ball in their hands. Like Palmer, I could see Rice providing some big plays for an offense with the right quarterback and hopefully can further develop as a route runner and press beater.
