Mel Kiper, Todd McShay discuss top wide receivers in 2023 NFL Draft class

Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN have their eyes on the top wide receivers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Kiper made waves on Wednesday, releasing his first 2023 NFL Mock Draft, where four wide receivers were selected in the first round. One of the top options out there is Quentin Johnston of TCU, who McShay couldn’t praise enough on First Draft.

“He’s a pterodactyl. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. He’s 6-4, over 220 pounds. His arm length is down to his ankles. The best part about Quentin Johnston is his after the catch ability. Most guys who are that height, that weight, they’re late-catch, back-off-a-defender-and-go-up-and-get-it contest it. When he catches the ball with a little bit of space, he’s always making the first guy miss and a lot of times, making the second guy miss with twitch. That’s a rarity,” raved McShay. “I can’t give him a really good NFL comparison, and that’s hard to do. … But he is different. He is different than any other receiver i”ve ever evaluated.

“Maybe he doesn’t go in the top five, maybe it’s not even top 10. But a team is going to get a special player and he’s going to show up and he’s going to provide something different than any other receiver on that team.”

Meanwhile, while Kiper is confident in Johnston — he projected him to go No. 22 overall to the Baltimore Ravens — his No. 1 wide receiver is Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“I’m with Jaxon Smith-Njigba still. My attitude is if I loved him in August, I’m not going to get off of him during a year where he had a hamstring that lingered throughout the entire season,” added Kiper. “Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2021 was outstanding. Todd talks about the tape, go back to 2021. It doesn’t lie. I always say, ‘The eye in the sky doesn’t lie.’ What he did against Utah was pretty amazing in that Rose Bowl Game.

“I’m with you, though, Quentin Johnston. He gets to my Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson would love to be able to throw it up to Quentin Johnston. He needs that big receiver. Would love to see him there. And, of course, Jordan Addison with his ability downfield to make plays vertically … what he did at Pitt with Kenny Pickett speaks volumes, he goes out with Caleb Williams and he does the exact same thing.”

Mel Kiper, Todd McShay praise Zay Flowers: ‘Going to be a heck of a pick’

Continuing, there’s one underrated player that caught the attention of both ESPN draft experts, and that’s Zay Flowers of Boston College.

“I think we both agree Zay Flowers is going to be a heck of a pick. I put him at the end of the first [round], love the kid. Love everything about this guy. I’m amazed that somebody maybe mid-first wouldn’t even jump at him. But if he gets into the late first, early second round, I think Zay Flowers — three to four years from now, when we look back and say, ‘Why wasn’t he the first receiver off the board?’ This kid is outstanding,” added Kiper. “Todd talked about character with … the quarterbacks and all that. This guy really gets it. I think he’s NFL ready. What he did up there at BC speaks volumes about character.

“He could’ve left. Jordan Addison left Pitt to go to USC. Others are leaving every day [in] the transfer portal, right? He didn’t leave Boston College, and that team, Todd, that he thought was going to e able to get him the ball. The quarterback, Jurkovec, gets hurt. Now, he’s transferred. The o-line had injuries from August all through the season. And yet, he was out there competing, getting it done. electric with the ball in his hands after the catch. he can reverses, jet sweeps. You can do so many things with Zay Flowers. Imagine him in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes.”

McShay had no qualms about Kiper’s projection of Flowers as a late first-round pick, agreeing that he could be special in an offense like Kansas City’s.

“That’s where he belongs. One of those offenses. He’s a slot receiver who can do a lot of different things,” McShay stated. “Jeff Hafley, when I talked to him during camp before the season started, he couldn’t rave enough about this guy. Everyone knows that Zay’s getting the ball. We don’t have anyone else, we have three offensive linemen that are down. I don’t know what we’re going to do offensively because … we’ve got the X’s and O’s, not the Jimmy’s and Joe’s. But Zay would always be there in the building working as hard or harder than anyone there, and everyone knew the ball was coming to him and he still found a way.

“You’ve got to have a little dawg in you as a wide receiver, and he’s got that energy and that dog that you look for. He’s going to be a great slot receiver in the NFL.”

As you can see, there’s plenty of tremendous wide receiving talent coming into the NFL in 2023. It’ll be fascinating to see which NFL teams fall in love with which wide receivers come April.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.