For all the hand-wringing about the number of underclassmen who entered the 2014 NFL Draft, those teams in need of a wide receiver will not be complaining. NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes early-entrant wide receivers could account for up to 15 percent of the players selected in the first two rounds.
"When you talk about the underclassmen, that's where the guts of this draft is. Last year was more senior-heavy. This year we're talking about 9-10 underclass wide receivers that are first, second-round players in my opinion," Jeremiah told "Super Bowl Live" on NFL.com on Thursday.
Jeremiah has a staggering seven wide receivers in his first most draft, a tally that includes Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Mike Evans of Texas A&M, Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State, Marqise Lee of USC, Paul Richardson of Colorado, Jarvis Landry of LSU and Davante Adams of Fresno State.
Others who could draw similar top marks include Oregon State's Brandin Cooks, Penn State's Allen Robinson and LSU's Odell Beckham Jr.
If Jeremiah's mock draft turns out to be on the money, the 2014 draft would have the most wide receivers selected in the first round since 2004, when seven came off the board within the first 32 picks.
A total of seven wide receivers were taken in the first round of the 2012-13 drafts combined.
With the quarterback and offensive tackle positions similarly bolstered by players who still had eligibility remaining, it is going to take a similar influx from the ranks of the underclassmen to stock the 2015 draft.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
