2019 NFL Draft: 10 potential surprise first round picks

One of the most intriguing positions for this year’s NFL Draft is wide receiver. At this moment, there isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 prospect at the position, with none of the available prospects sticking out and looking like Top-10 picks. What this draft may lack in quality at the very top, however, it makes up for in the quantity of above-average prospects at the position.

Between now and the draft, there will be a mad scramble as a bevy of talented receivers scratch and claw their way toward the first round. Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf is currently my favorite receiver in the draft, but I’m not even 100% confident in saying that he’s going to be a first round pick. Take a look at five different mock drafts and you’ll see five different opinions on how this class will ultimately shake out.

One guy I could see rising up draft boards with strong showings at the combine and at Iowa State’s pro-day is Cyclones WR Hakeem Butler. At a listed 6-foot-6, Butler has the size that will have scouts drooling, particularly when you team that with surprising agility and burst with the ball in his hands.

Butler is far from a polished route-runner, but he’s a solid one already and produced big numbers at Iowa State despite mostly mediocre QB play in Ames. Butler had over 1,300 yards and 9 touchdowns during his junior season, consistently burning defenders on deep routes. He averaged an absurd 22 yards-per-reception and was an absolute nightmare for Big-12 defensive backs when they found themselves alone on an island with him in one-on-one coverage.

If you turn on the tape, you will also notice that Butler is an aggressive downfield blocker, consistently looking to help teammates spring forward for big gains. He’s often a mismatch due to his size and length producing a catch-radius far beyond most of his peers. He combines that with soft hands while flashing the ability to make highlight-reel catches look easy.

Butler’s 40-time will be of interest as he never looks to be moving all that quickly, but he has long strides and never seemed to struggle to separate from defensive backs who were in coverage. The Big 12’s defensive struggles could have masked any deficiency in that regard, however.

Look for Butler to test well throughout the pre-draft process and not only thrust his way into first round consideration, but to potentially be one of the first receivers off the board.