When we headed into the 2022 college football season, most NFL draft evaluators and scouts saw a 2023 wide receiver class loaded with talent that could once again dominate the first round. Then the season began.
Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba was coming off a record-setting performance in last year's Rose Bowl but caught just five passes this season while battling a hamstring injury. LSU's Kayshon Boutte was viewed as perhaps the most explosive receiver in the country but wasn't healthy to start the year (ankle surgery in the spring) and posted just two 100-yard games all season.