The historic wide receiver draft of 2014 created more than instant production for teams that hit it big that year. It generated hope that the proliferation of passing attacks, 7-on-7 camps and intense focus on aerial football below the college level were producing athletes that would be primed and ready when they reached the NFL.
Many wide receivers from that year remain elite or, at minimum, highly productive and a few likely will reach free agency so the Bears might be able to take advantage of that draft class four years after the fact. As for the idea colleges and spread offenses are producing more NFL-prepared wide receivers, well, you can forget about that.
Five wide receivers were taken in the first round in 2014 (Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks and Kelvin Benjamin) and all have had at least one 1,000-yard season, and they have combined for 12. Second-round picks include Marqise Lee, Jordan Matthews, Paul Richardson, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson and Jarvis Landry. Add in Donte Moncrief and John Brown from Round 3 and Martavis Bryant from Round 4 with Allen Hurns an undrafted free agent and there's a reason it stands as the best draft class for the position in two decades.
The first round has been more miss than hit the last three years at wide receiver. Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross were selected in the top nine last April and they combined for 24 games, 45 catches, 465 yards and no touchdowns as rookies. The Bengals are considering shifting Ross to defensive back. Corey Coleman, Will Fuller, Josh Doctson and Laquon Treadwell were taken in the first round in 2016 after six went in Round 1 in 2015 — Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Breshad Perriman and Phillip Dorsett. Of those 13, there's probably not a true No. 1 in the bunch.
That brings us to the Senior Bowl, where Oklahoma State's James Washington looks like the best of a group that isn't wowing scouts. After a strong opening practice Tuesday, Washington was less impressive Wednesday when he put a couple of balls on the ground. Washington averaged 66 catches for 1,339 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last three seasons, crazy production in the Cowboys' wide-open offense.
"I have to expand my route tree because that was the thing most scouts talked about coming into this week — I have a limited route tree," said Washington, the winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver this year. "I just want to prove I can do more."
Reality is the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Washington was asked to run about three, maybe four routes at Oklahoma State. Same thing goes for Jaleel Scott, the 6-foot-5, 216-pounder from New Mexico State who has an 81 1/2-inch wingspan that makes you think of Calvin Johnson. Scott had 76 catches for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns, including one of the highlight grabs of the year vs. Arizona State, but scouts wonder if he can make the transition after running basically four routes — go, post, fade and dig.
"That's the biggest thing," Scott said. "If you want to last in the NFL, you have to perfect the route tree. I didn't have any option routes in school. It's a huge adjustment. I'm just trying to pick it up."
White faced the same adjustments when the Bears drafted him at No. 7 in 2015. He had a limited route tree at West Virginia and guys like White (6-3, 216) and Scott are bigger than every defensive back on the field and can rely on elite athleticism to put up big-time statistics in college. It doesn't work that way in the NFL.
As one college scouting director said, the problem facing teams as they sort through potential wide receivers is the same one they battle when it comes to identifying quarterbacks. A guy who runs three routes in college could be asked to run dozens with options off of most of them as a pro. His playbook goes from being thin to a stuffed binder and there's a ton of information that must be assimilated. The spread offense is simple reads for quarterbacks and simple routes for receivers.
"We're getting fundamentally unsound players," one general manager said Wednesday between the North and South practices. "Thirty years ago, you picked a wide receiver high in the draft and most of the time you just had to polish him up."
The GM said the majority of wide receivers are going against zone coverages in college and things get much more complicated and varied in the NFL. As Washington said, Oklahoma State saw almost exclusively zone coverage in 2017 when he still managed to take the top off defenses regularly with seven catches of 50 yards or more.
Before times and measurements from the scouting combine, Alabama's Calvin Ridley looks like the best prospect. He had 63 receptions for 967 yards and five touchdowns, and that was without a top quarterback to deliver the ball.
Washington said he would put himself in the top five for the position group come April and a little modesty from a position so known for brash behavior actually is refreshing. He predicted a 40-yard dash time in the mid to low 4.4's at the combine, which would match the big-play ability he has in highlight films.
"There is a sense that you should be the best but at the same time you have to be humble and remember that those guys are just as good as you because if not they wouldn't be here," Washington said.
The Bears will have to project which receivers they believe are suited best to the NFL adjustment, a decision that likely comes after they wade into the free-agent pool and look at some options from that 2014 class.
