There are 11 draftables who are faster than Khalil Shakir’s 4.43 posted forty time, and you’ll hear about each in a moment. It is notable that none of these speedy wideouts has a posted forty time faster than Curtis Samuel (5-11, 195, 4.31), and only two are faster than K.J. Hamler (5-9, 178, 4.36), who weighs 18 pounds more than Tez Johnson.
As of this writing, some playoff players have yet to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft (Stewart, Egbuka, Bond, Saunders, Golden). Also, I have left off some draft darlings who just haven’t had any credentialed Bills scouts at their games (Tetairoa McMillan, likely out of reach, usually drafted #6 or so ) and those darlings with zero catches in 2024 vs AP-ranked teams (Xavier Restrepo, Jack Bech, Savion Williams). Finally, I left off poor interviews (Theo Wease).
Here I’m showing the speedy WRs in their draft order (my opinion; it’s early January). Their current rank on my BuffaloFAMBase Big Board is in Column 1 (approximate Bills draft picks highlighted in green), the player’s team wins in 2024 in Column 4, and my assessment of the player’s “fit” by listening to media interviews in Column 7. “ScoutSc” is Scout Score, which I explain in the second graphic below.
Below, the Speedies are shown in order of current ScoutScore. (1 Game attended by 1 Scout=1 pt., Beane=3 pts extra, Joe Brady=2 pts. extra, Posiiton Coach=2 pts., McD/Aranda/Diaz inner circle= 2 pts., TalkAtCombine=2 pt.s, Pro Day =2 pts., 30-Visit=5 pts.). It’s notable that the most-scouted schools in 2024 were (in order) Clemson, Ohio State (Egbuka), Syracuse, Michigan, Oregon (Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart):
Finally, here are the Speedies in order of posted 40 time:
What do we make of all this? (These are opinions based on my research; your opinions can be different!).
Most-Bills-Scouted=Emeka Egbuka (then tie between Stewart, Ayomanor, and Tez Johnson)
Least-Bills-Scouted=Ja’Varrius Johnson along with Mario Williams, then Tre Harris along with Ricky White and Jaylin Lane.
Tallest Fast Guy=Ayomanor-Tre Harris; then Felton-White-Lambert-Smith-Egbuka tied.
Fastest Posted 40=KeAndre Lambert-Smith, then Arian Smith, then Tez Johnson, then Jaylin Lane, then Evan Stewart).
Most Productive min. 10 catches vs AP = Tez Johnson (then KeAndre Lambert-Smith, then Luther Burden, then Matthew Golden, then Arian Smith).
Most Productive ‘X’ = Burden, then Ayomanor, then Bond.
Most Productive Slot = Tez Johnson, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Arian Smith in 2024 (Egbuka and Tez over their career).
Biggest Slot=Egbuka.
Best Downfield Blockers = Ayomanor, Ricky White, Bond.
Best Deep Threats=Harris-Burden-Tez Johnson (tie), then Ayomanor, then Ricky White.
Best vs AP-ranked in 2024=Tez Johnson, Burden, Arian Smith.
Highest Ceiling=Elic Ayomanor, Evan Stewart.
Lightest =Tez Johnson, then Stewart, then Saunders.
Heaviest=Elic Ayomanor, then Emeka Egbuka, then Burden, then Lane.
Best Interviews=Tre Harris. Second place goes to Tai Felton. Third place=Emeka Egbuka then a Stewart-Ayomanor tie for fourth –all very Billsy.
Best Speedy WR in SEC=Luther Burden.
Best Speedy in Big10=Tez Johnson.
Best Speedy in ACC=Elic Ayomanor.
Best Bets=Ayomanor in RD2#63; Bond at RD1#32, Felton or Tez in a tradedown; Stewart in RD2#64.
For Reference (fastest timed speed to slowest):
Curtis Samuel=5-11, 195, 4.31
KJ Hamler=5-9, 178, 4.36
Amari Cooper=6-1, 210, 4.35
Shakir=6-0, 196, 4.43
Ty Shavers: 6-4, 211, 4.59
Keon: 6-3, 213, 4.61
Mack Hollins=6-4, 221, 4.62
Editor’s babble: We are excited to get Dean Kindig fired up for helping us prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft. Dean’s contributions to our blog are amazing. You can also find Dean on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro.
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