I've been doing a lot with incoming college player sizes lately. I'm not sizeist; I will admit I've been known to be ageist. But in this case, a common theme is that a lot of the top prospects are smaller than what teams have typically favored, so I can't really ignore it.
Bryce Young will be the smallest first-round quarterback ever drafted; that's a given. (He's a little smaller than Kyler Murray.) And several of the top wide receiver prospects are also smallish. Boston College's Zay Flowers is 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds; I wrote about him last week. And three others that will be selected in the early rounds weighed less than 180 pounds at the combine. Southern Cal's Jordan Addison (5-11, 173), North Carolina's Josh Downs (5-9, 171) and Tennessee's Jalin Hyatt (6-0, 176).
I'm singling out Addison because he doesn't fit the profile typically associated with Southern California wideouts. (Also he's been invited to the NFL Draft, which suggests he's expected to be a first-round pick.) Many will remember Keyshawn Johnson (a 6-4, 211-pounder) going No. 1 overall back in 1996. Recent years have also typically seen larger wideouts coming out of the school: Drake London, Michael Pittman and JuJu Smith-Schuster, all at least 6-2 and 220ish pounds, are the last three early selections. None of the ones drafted in the last 10 years (including Amon-Ra St. Brown most recently) are under 6 feet or 190 pounds. So Addison is a bit of an anomaly.
I took a look at all the significant wide receivers -- I went with top-40 finishes at the position -- who've weighed 180 pounds or less this century. There aren't a lot, but the trend looks favorable.
Since 2000, I came up with 13 different wide receivers who weighed 180 or less, that finished in the top 40 (PPR) at the position. Just over half (7) of those guys did it multiple times, with 175-pound DeSean Jackson the headliner. He had six top-40 (top-30, actually) finishes at the position. Emmanuel Sanders (180 pounds) was next best, with five.
But what's interesting to me is it's been a lot more common recently, either because offenses are using these guys better, or there's just been a lot more talented lightweights. Three quarters of those seasons (20 of 27) have come in the last 10 years (just 7 between 2000 and 2012). Three different guys have done it in the last two seasons: DeVonta Smith (twice, with probably more to come), Darnell Mooney and Marquise Brown.
| 180-POUND WIDE RECEIVERS WITH TOP-40 SEASONS, 2000-PRESENT | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Rk |
| 2022 | DeVonta Smith | 136 | 95 | 1196 | 12.6 | 7 | 9th |
| 2021 | Darnell Mooney | 140 | 81 | 1055 | 13.0 | 5 | 24th |
| 2021 | Marquise Brown | 146 | 91 | 1008 | 11.1 | 6 | 21st |
| 2021 | DeVonta Smith | 104 | 64 | 916 | 14.3 | 5 | 30th |
| 2020 | Cole Beasley | 107 | 82 | 967 | 11.8 | 4 | 27th |
| 2019 | John Brown | 115 | 72 | 1060 | 14.7 | 6 | 20th |
| 2019 | Emmanuel Sanders | 97 | 66 | 869 | 13.2 | 5 | 32nd |
| 2019 | Jamison Crowder | 122 | 78 | 833 | 10.7 | 6 | 26th |
| 2018 | Emmanuel Sanders | 98 | 71 | 868 | 12.2 | 4 | 23rd |
| 2017 | Marquise Goodwin | 105 | 56 | 962 | 17.2 | 2 | 31st |
| 2016 | Emmanuel Sanders | 137 | 79 | 1032 | 13.1 | 5 | 21nd |
| 2016 | Jamison Crowder | 99 | 67 | 847 | 12.6 | 7 | 25th |
| 2016 | Cole Beasley | 98 | 75 | 833 | 11.1 | 5 | 33rd |
| 2015 | Emmanuel Sanders | 136 | 76 | 1135 | 14.9 | 6 | 18th |
| 2015 | John Brown | 101 | 65 | 1003 | 15.4 | 7 | 25th |
| 2015 | Travis Benjamin | 125 | 68 | 966 | 14.2 | 5 | 28th |
| 2014 | Emmanuel Sanders | 141 | 101 | 1404 | 13.9 | 9 | 5th |
| 2014 | DeSean Jackson | 95 | 56 | 1169 | 20.9 | 6 | 23rd |
| 2013 | DeSean Jackson | 126 | 82 | 1332 | 16.2 | 9 | 12th |
| 2013 | Brian Hartline | 133 | 76 | 1016 | 13.4 | 4 | 24th |
| 2012 | Brian Hartline | 131 | 74 | 1083 | 14.6 | 1 | 27th |
| 2011 | DeSean Jackson | 104 | 58 | 961 | 16.6 | 4 | 29th |
| 2010 | DeSean Jackson | 95 | 47 | 1056 | 22.5 | 8 | 20th |
| 2009 | DeSean Jackson | 117 | 62 | 1156 | 18.6 | 12 | 10th |
| 2008 | Steve Breaston | 113 | 77 | 1006 | 13.1 | 3 | 25th |
| 2008 | DeSean Jackson | 120 | 62 | 912 | 14.7 | 4 | 30th |
| 2001 | Rocket Ismail | 93 | 53 | 834 | 15.7 | 2 | 39th |
Only three of those smaller players have had a top-12 season -- Jackson, Sanders and Smith. So maybe the, er, ceiling isn't as high for these players. But no reason to think guys like Addison can't be strong starters, even if they don't have the size measurements NFL teams typically prefer.
--Andy Richardson