Ahead of the College Football season, NFL Draft scouts have started to stack their big boards, preparing for the year ahead. When Todd McShay starts to talk about his top players, everyone should listen, as he's one of the best at projecting which star NFL scouts will fall in love with. Ahead of the season, Todd McShay has started to rank each position group, with his most recent position being the wide receivers.
The battle for the ranking as the top receiver in the NFL Draft class will be a battle this season with several great suitors. Analysts are torn between the speed threat of Carnell Tate, the explosiveness of Jordyn Tyson, and the route running of Clemson star Antonio Williams.
Todd McShay declares Antonio Williams his top wide receiver ahead of 2025
On his Monday podcast episode of "The McShay Show", Todd McShay declared that Antonio Williams is graded as his top receiver in the class.
"I want to see if Antonio Williams takes his game to another level this year, he’s an average-sized playmaker. I would give him a one as a route runner. Our position-specific grades, a one is excellent, two is above average, three is average, four is below average, and five is marginal. So I give him a one as a route runner. I thought he was outstanding on all three levels. The stats matched up, 95th percentile in separation. I thought he was crisp off the line of scrimmage. Tempos and stems his routes beautifully. I love the way he drops his weight."Todd McShay
While Todd McShay raved about the elite route running that Antonio Williams has shown over his time at Clemson, other areas caught his attention. McShay also credited Antonio Williams for his ability to attack defenses at all three levels which is a great product of his ability as a route runner as it keeps defenses off balance.
There was one issue where Todd McShay feels that Antonio Williams needs to improve his game to lock up the top ranking in this class. Last season, Williams had 8 drops which is an area where he'll need to improve his game otherwise, there will be a concern from the Draft scouts especially as this class is so talented.
At the end of the day, Antonio Williams has a better chance than any receiver except for Jordyn Tyson to go first overall. Both Williams and Tyson will be partnered up with elite quarterbacks who will only help their cases compared to some of the other receivers who have questionable quarterback play. The massive advantage Williams will have over Tyson is the fact that he'll face off against tougher defenses, which could be a determining factor.