Up until the NFL Combine, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been the consensus number 1 Wide Receiver of the 2023 NFL Draft but there have been murmurs since the NFL combine that Zay Flowers could go before him. Zay Flowers is a much lighter prospect, only coming in at 5'9 175, but he ran a 4.43 40 yard dash. JSN on the other hand, is 6'1, 200, and only ran a 4.52 at the Ohio state pro day, which they say can shave a few hundreths of a second off of the time. But, he did run the best 3 cone drill in the draft and it ranked in the 99th percentile of all receivers to run it. Other notable receivers who blew the doors off the 3 cone are Julian Edelman, and that is his pro comp. Easily getting open in small spaces but lacks the top end speed.
JSN looks like a pure slot receiver where as Zay Flowers looks more versatile and has that top end speed. Zay was originally projected to go somewhere in the low 20's but post combine has been sliding up the draft board, while JSN's stock has slid a bit after only running the slower 40 at his pro day and not running at the draft. Zay is criticized for the low competition he was up against in the ACC. JSN is criticized for his vertical route running and his tape is great, it just doesn't look special the way Zay's tape does. Zay jumps out on tape.
Right now its just rumors coming out that Zay could go above JSN. Currently this draft is heavy with Cornerbacks, Tight Ends, and Edge, If 1-13 fills up with those positions and both JSN and Zay Flowers are still on the board, we could see the Patriots take Zay over JSN. Chris Simms (😂😂😂) also has him as his #1 receiver, so that makes you think he's probably not the #1 receiver immediately. Chris Simms has the reach pro comp as Antonio brown. Poor man's Tyreek Hill has been thrown around and Jaylen Waddle and or Brandin Cooks might be the more realistic comps.
Chris Simms😂 Zay Flowers #1 WR