{"numbering":"no_numbering","slides":[{"index":"","title":"Ja’Marr Chase, LSU","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/article/hero/Chase_J_USATSI_13904785.jpg","caption":"

Size: 6-foot-1, 220 pounds

Birthdate: March 1, 2000

Chase opted out of the 2020 season which means his last in-game action will have been the 2019 season when he was 19 years old and playing with a Joe Burrow-led wagon at LSU. That in-game action yielded 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns. Given Chase was viewed as the superior player to teammate Justin Jefferson, who just had an electric rookie season with the Vikings, expectations are high.

Chase is very solidly built, is a hands-catcher with great timing and body control. He’s smart at playing the ball in the air and when he gets into the open field, he’s tough to catch. He’s not exceptionally quick or inventive after the catch and while he’s strong, plays where he makes the first defender miss after a catch are only occasional. He’s probably going to be a top-10 pick.

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","credit":"USA TODAY Sports photo"},{"index":"1","title":"Jaylen Waddle, Alabama","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/boston/2021/02/13/Waddle_J_Getty_122887451.jpg","caption":"

Size: 5-10, 182 pounds

Birthdate: November 25, 1998

A little Tyler Lockett, a little Tyreek Hill. If he ends up being as good as either, obviously, he’s going to easily be worth the top-15 pick that’s going to be spent on him. The misgiving, of course, is his size. He’s a little fella. He also missed a pile of time this season with a bad ankle. He finished his junior season with 28 catches for 591 yards and four touchdowns.

As a sophomore it was 33-560-6 and as a freshman he was 45-848-7. He’s a talented returner as well, taking back 37 punts for 720 yards as a freshman and sophomore. So that’s just a little under 20 yards per return.

","credit":"Getty Images"},{"index":2,"title":"Devonta Smith, Alabama","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/slide/image/smith_devonta_USATSI_13884972.png","caption":"

Size: 6-foot-1, 175 pounds

Birthdate: November 14, 1998

Smith had an obscene, Heisman Trophy-winning senior season with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. That followed up a junior year where he had 68 receptions for 1,256 yards with 14 touchdowns. So he’s productive.

He’s also built like a wire hanger. But he’s a route technician and such a smooth athlete, he will be a first-year difference maker IF … if he’s with a very good quarterback and doesn’t have to be a player defenses are keying on. He will not stand up to the punishment. D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown would use him as a toothpick. All that said, he’s going top-10 as well.

","credit":"USA TODAY Sports photo"},{"index":3,"title":"Rondale Moore, Purdue","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/slide/image/moore_rondale_usati.jpg","caption":"

Size: 5-foot-9, 180 pounds

Birthdate: June 9, 2000

We got another little fella for ya. Rondale Moore plays like Wes Welker with breakaway speed. How’s that. That comp comes courtesy of the blocky package Moore comes in. Unlike Alabama’s Waddle and Smith, Moore has some meat on his bones and seems better suited to take a pounding. Even though he’s undersized, he tracks the ball well deep and is a threat there. He’s inventive after the catch, can be used on jet-sweep work.

He may not be a Round 1 prospect. He only played seven total games in 2019 and 2020 because of COVID issues at Purdue and a hamstring injury. But as a freshman, he had 114 catches for 1,258 yards and 12 scores with another 21 carries for 213 yards and a touchdown. A lot of projections need to be made in 2021. Moore is one of them.

","credit":"USA TODAY Sports photo"},{"index":4,"title":"Rashod Bateman, Minnesota","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/slide/image/bateman_r_USATSI_15110384.png","caption":"

Size: 6-foot-2, 210 pound

Birthdate: November 29, 1999

Bateman opted out of Minnesota’s 2020 season in November because of COVID concerns. He wrapped it up when he was leading the team in receiving yards with 472. His big season came as a sophomore when he had 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 60 catches.

He’s one of the bigger receivers in the Draft and plays with a bit of physicality and attitude, but this whole crop of wideouts is lacking in bully-ball wide receivers. Little Rondale Moore and Jaylen Waddles seem to have more after-the-catch fight than the others at the top of the wideout rankings. Bateman is seen as a borderline Round 1 prospect who could slip to Round 2.

","credit":"USA TODAY Sports photo"}]}

Ranking the top five wide receiver prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft