Wide receivers are supposed to create separation, not separation anxiety. But separating the college receivers who can play in the NFL from those who aren't capable can be an angst-ridden decision for teams using an early pick on a pass catcher.
Some of the draft's biggest disappointments have come at wide receiver. Just ask former Lions president Matt Millen, who drafted two this decade in Charles Rogers (second overall in 2003) and Mike Williams (10th in 2005).
However, Millen is not alone. Other than quarterback, no position seems to have more misses on a consistent basis than wide receiver.
"I've made my biggest mistakes at wide receiver," said ESPN draft analyst and Scouts Inc. director of college scouting Todd McShay. "Peter Warrick. Mike Williams. Each time you learn a little bit more. To me, the most important thing is separation skills. Do they know how to and are they capable of separating? It's a hard thing to evaluate. It's part physical, part mental, and part competitive."
Perhaps because teams are aware - or wary - of the risk of taking receivers, no wideout was selected in the first round last year, the first time that has happened since 1990.
This year there are two receivers, Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech and Jeremy Maclin of Missouri, who could go in the top 10. There are four other first-round talents - Percy Harvin of Florida, Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, and Kenny Britt of Rutgers.
All come with some caveat.
Crabtree, a two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver, had surgery March 4 to repair a stress fracture in his left foot that was discovered at the NFL Combine. He never ran the 40-yard dash for scouts.
Maclin and Harvin played in spread offenses in which they were used as ball carriers and lined up as "Wildcat" quarterbacks, and played less traditional wide receiver. Harvin has the added burden of a FoxSports.com report that cited sources saying he tested positive for marijuana at the combine in February. Neither Harvin nor his agent, Joel Segal, has commented on the report.
Heyward-Bey has blazing speed (4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash) but questionable technique. Nicks ballooned to almost 230 pounds after suffering an injury at the combine, and Britt is big (6 feet 2 1/2 inches, 218 pounds) but lacks elite speed.
An AFC scout said it's an art trying to project a college receiver to the NFL. It's gotten harder with the proliferation of spread offenses at the college level, even pass-happy ones like Texas Tech.
"The spread offense, like Texas Tech, they come up to the line and they'll do a bubble screen if it doesn't look how they want it to look," said the scout. "In the NFL, you're in a route running and you have to read the defense and that will tell you what other route to switch to. There are multiple routes and it depends on the defense. It's a different game."
If the stigma of playing in the spread and a possible positive drug test weren't enough for Harvin, who helped Florida win two national titles, he has history against him as well.
While the receiver position as a whole has seen its share of flops, Florida has a long list of flameouts who were picked in the first two rounds. Even the Patriots, who traded up 16 spots in the second round in 2006 to draft Florida wide receiver Chad Jackson, have been burned by Gators-gone-wrong.
Jackson, who was cut by the Patriots last year out of training camp and is with the Broncos, is joined by former Gators Travis Taylor, Jacquez Green, Reidel Anthony, and Taylor Jacobs, all of whom failed to fulfill their NFL promise.
At the combine, Harvin claimed he wasn't aware of the disappointing precedent set by previous Florida products.
The AFC scout said it's not fair to hold history against Harvin.
"Just like a lot of these guys, it can depend on where he goes, who takes him, and how he's used," said the scout. "He's a dynamic player and can do a lot with the ball in his hands. He has to fit into the system because if you just try to use him and get the ball in his hands as much as possible like at Florida, it's not going to work because he's just one player. You win as a team. He's quick, explosive, fast. He enjoys the game of football. It's just one of those things, can you fit him in the system being run? Can he adapt and be a good person in the locker room and with his teammates?"
Any team that takes Harvin is taking a gamble, but it likely won't be the only team playing receiver roulette.
