Pat Bryant ran only 4.61 but went in the third round anyway. That got my attention. Anytime a team takes a slower receiver early, it means they really like the way he plays.
In this case, Sean Payton says that Bryant reminds him of Michael Thomas (the slower second-round pick who worked out famously for the Saints). Payton also once struck gold with another slower receiver late in a draft – Marques Colston.
If Payton says he likes a receiver, let’s give him a look in August.
The highlight packages look good. Bryant averaged 18.2 yards per catch on his 54 receptions at Illinois last year, with 10 touchdowns. He doesn’t look slow on the field; he seems to move just fine.
At the combine, he checked in at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds.
Other receivers have been able to overcome lesser 40 times. Below see a list of the 16 other wide receivers from the last 20 years who’ve run 4.6 or slower, then gone on to be picked in the first three rounds. Of this group, five had a top-12 season (PPR scoring) at some point in their career, and another ranked 16th as a rookie before his career was derailed by a knee injury (Kelvin Benjamin).
There have been six of these receivers selected in the third round. Of that group, I see three misses, one hit (Mohamed Sanu) and two home runs (Cooper Kupp, Keenan Allen).
I will be interested in seeing Bryant catch balls from Bo Nix. If I were walking into a dynasty draft today, I would be inclined to pick this rookie before a some of those other Denver receivers, including Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele. I am not ready at this point to slot Bryant above Marvin Mims or Courtland Sutton.
In the chart below, the year shows the season the player was picked. The stats show the player’s best numbers (with most coming from other seasons). For the 40 times, they’re from the combine unless noted (pd = pro day, and e = estimate).
| BEST SEASONS BY SLOW WIDE RECEIVERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rd | Player | 40 | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2007 | 2 | Dwayne Jarrett, Car. | 4.6pd | 17 | 196 | 1 | 42.6 | 108 |
| 2009 | 1 | • Hakeem Nicks, NYG | 4.63 | 79 | 1,052 | 11 | 250.2 | 8 |
| 2009 | 1 | • Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 4.6e | 89 | 1,003 | 8 | 239.3 | 12 |
| 2009 | 2 | Mohamed Massaquoi, Cle. | 4.60 | 34 | 624 | 3 | 114.1 | 66 |
| 2009 | 3 | Derrick Williams, Det. | 4.65 | 6 | 52 | 0 | 11.6 | 139 |
| 2011 | 3 | Austin Pettis, St.L. | 4.61 | 38 | 399 | 4 | 101.9 | 70 |
| 2011 | 3 | Vincent Brown, S.D. | 4.71 | 41 | 472 | 1 | 94.2 | 78 |
| 2012 | 3 | Mohamed Sanu, Cin. | 4.62 | 66 | 838 | 4 | 184.5 | 28 |
| 2013 | 3 | • Keenan Allen, S.D. | 4.7pd | 102 | 1,393 | 6 | 284.2 | 3 |
| 2014 | 2 | • Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 4.77 | 112 | 987 | 9 | 264.0 | 4 |
| 2014 | 1 | • Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 4.61 | 73 | 1,008 | 9 | 227.8 | 16 |
| 2015 | 2 | Devin Funchess, Car. | 4.70 | 63 | 840 | 8 | 195.0 | 22 |
| 2016 | 1 | Laquon Treadwell, Min. | 4.6pd | 33 | 434 | 1 | 82.4 | 90 |
| 2017 | 3 | • Cooper Kupp, LAR | 4.62 | 145 | 1,947 | 16 | 439.5 | 1 |
| 2022 | 3 | David Bell, Cle. | 4.65 | 14 | 167 | 3 | 48.7 | 114 |
| 2024 | 2 | Keon Coleman, Buff. | 4.61 | 29 | 556 | 4 | 111.5 | 71 |
| 2025 | 3 | Pat Bryant, Den. | 4.61 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan