Discussing our favorite wide receiver draft prospects with PFF

We all have our favorites (don’t tell the kids). Each year there’s a certain group of players each draft analyst is enamored by, and the fellas at Pro Football Focus are no different.

I recently spoke with Austin Gayle of PFF about his favorites in the 2020 NFL Draft. The following are quotes from Austin Gayle about “his guys” at the receiver position during “2020 BGN Draft #9”, you can listen to the full episode here to get the full breakdown and the rest of the players we spoke about from other positions...

DENZEL MIMS - WR, Baylor

“It’s this meteoric rise with Denzel Mims that we’ve seen at the Senior Bowl, then he goes the Combine, practically tests in a similar vein of Julio Jones from a size and athleticism standpoint...

Why he was a late riser is because of the Baylor route tree... very limited in terms of what they asked me to do. I brought that up when I talked with him and he said, ‘honestly, they didn’t have me doing a ton of things, when I went to the Senior Bowl I did everything they asked and blew it up’...

I think Denzel Mims, between the ears, fantastic... He’s a top 35 player for me.”

I asked Gayle about the debate between Mims and LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson, he felt “more comfortable” with Mims because...

“If I’m drafting a receiver early in this class, I need a guy that can consistently separate on intermediate and deep routes at outside reciever... That’s winning the valuable routes...”

JALEN REAGOR - WR, TCU

“What’s interesting with Jalen Reagor is he was used almost exlusively at X-receiver at TCU... but he told me, ‘one of the best things about my game is versatility’... I think Jalen Reagor with improved usage, improved accuracy at the quarterback position, is one of the better receivers in this class...

I do think it comes back to, can you win these valuable routes, can you be a threat down the football field at outside receiver and Jalen Reagor can do exactly that.”

I asked Gayle where he’d value Reagor’s game in terms of draft capital...

“Back end of the first round is where I really feel comfortable with him. Top of round two is a steal in my opinion.”

MICHAEL PITTMAN JR. - WR, USC

Pittman was a prospect that was left out of my top 10 wide receivers, but that was due to an incomplete evaluation on my end. I also noted he had the best chance of the others to crack my top 10, so I asked Gayle what to look for when returning to his film...

“Watch the UCLA game. He goes against Darnay Holmes... and puts this dude in a blender a handful of times...

Michael Pittman catches everything thrown his way... and he can separate better than expected when you consider this size... This guy’s a good athlete, in addition to the ball skills and sure-handedness...”

Looking at the new big board from PFF that released today, Pittman checked in as their WR5 and 22nd overall. They’re definitely high on the Trojan.

You can hear the full show and a breakdown of the other players discussed from both sides of the ball by listening to the 2020 BGN Draft #9 special! Listen on the media player below or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts?! Check out our guide on how to listen and subscribe to BGN! FLY EAGLES FLY!