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D.K. Metcalf

College wideout boasts impressive size-speed combo

I'm not sure how I feel about D.K. Metcalf. He'll be one of the first wide receivers drafted after blowing up the combine, but there's definitely some risk there. He had one full college season, and two other wiped out by injury. Will he be a future star?

Metcalf broke his foot two games into his freshman season at Mississippi. He came back the next year and went for 646 yards and 7 TDs, playing second-fiddle to another top prospect in this year's draft, A.J. Brown. He went for 569 yards and 5 TDs in just seven games last year before a neck injury cost him the rest of the season.

Brown, meanwhile, went over 1,200 yards in each of the last two seasons, so he's the somewhat more seasoned prospect. He ran a 4.49 at the combine, which is fine, but pedestrian compared to Metcalf, who ran a 4.33. For a guy who measured 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds, that's pretty rare.

In the interests of comparing apples to apples, I'm listing all wide receivers selected in the first round since 2000 who ran the 40 at the combine (leaving out Pro Day times or estimates, so no Marquise Brown or current Titan Corey Davis, for example). Of those 46 guys, only four were faster than Metcalf. Most of the wideouts in his general area were considerably smaller, or slower, or both. It's an unusual size-speed combo.

WIDE RECEIVER 40 TIMES, 1ST-ROUND PICKS (2000-PRESENT)
YearRdPlayerSchoolHtWt40 time
20171John RossWashington5.111884.22
20131Tavon AustinWest Virginia5.081764.28
20091Darrius Heyward-BeyMaryland 6.022104.30
20161Will FullerNotre Dame6.001864.32
2019?D.K. MetcalfMississippi6.032284.33
20151Phillip DorsettMiami5.101854.33
20141Brandin CooksOregon State5.101894.33
20001R. Jay SowardSouthern Cal5.101774.34
20151Kevin WhiteWest Virginia6.032154.35
20071Calvin JohnsonGeorgia Tech6.052394.35
20021Javon WalkerFlorida State6.032104.35
20041Roy WilliamsTexas6.022124.36
20121A.J. JenkinsIllinois6.002004.37
20141Odell Beckham Jr.Louisiana State5.111984.38
20051Troy WilliamsonSouth Carolina6.022034.38
20141Sammy WatkinsClemson6.012114.39
20111Julio JonesAlabama6.032204.39
20041Lee EvansWisconsin5.111974.39
20121Michael FloydNotre Dame6.032254.40
20091Percy HarvinFlorida 5.111924.41
20181D.J. MooreMaryland6.002104.42
20151Amari CooperAlabama6.012114.42
20151Nelson AgholorSouthern Cal6.001984.42
20131Cordarrelle PattersonTennessee6.022204.42
20071Robert MeachemTennessee6.022144.42
20181Calvin RidleyAlabama6.011894.43
20051Mark ClaytonOklahoma5.111934.44
20151DeVante ParkerLouisville6.032094.45
20141Mike EvansTexas A&M6.052314.46
2019?Hakeem ButlerIowa State6.052274.48
20091Jeremy MaclinMissouri 6.011984.48
20121Kendall WrightBaylor5.101914.49
20111A.J. GreenGeorgia6.042114.49
2019?A.J. BrownMississippi6.002264.49
20071Craig DavisLouisiana State6.012074.49
20161Josh DoctsonTexas Christian6.031954.50
20111Jon BaldwinPittsburgh6.042284.50
20131DeAndre HopkinsClemson6.012184.51
20041Rashaun WoodsOklahoma State6.022024.51
2019?N'Keal HarryArizona State6.022284.53
20071Dwayne BoweLouisiana State6.022214.57
20051Mike WilliamsSouthern Cal6.052294.57
2019?Kelvin HarmonNorth Carolina State6.022214.60
20001Sylvester MorrisJackson State6.032164.60
20141Kelvin BenjaminFlorida State6.052404.61
20091Hakeem NicksNorth Carolina 6.012124.63
20041Michael ClaytonLouisiana State6.032094.67

I threw in a handful of the other top prospects in the upcoming draft, not all of whom will necessarily be first-round picks.

Landing spot will be important with all of these guys, so we don't spend a lot of time ranking them pre-draft. But size and speed are certainly part of the picture, and you have to take notice of a guy like Metcalf. Will be interesting to see how many of these guys are deemed worthy of a first-round pick, and where they end up.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index