The Sporting News' online edition looks at the wide receiver draft class in advance of next week's 2011 NFL Draft and ranks them in order according to what is obviously their opinion. The first two wideouts are the same ones that pretty much every other draft analyst has without any argument from anyone, including even this writer. Both A.J. Green (Georgia) and Julio Jones (Alabama) are at the top of everyone's list as the best two receivers in this class.
However, that's where the similarities end, as the rest of the receivers are valued so many different ways and their rankings are as different as any you have seen so far. Their top two of course are Green and Jones, but then they have Leonard Hankerson (Miami), Randall Cobb (Kentucky) and Jerrel Jernigan (Troy) rounding out their top five. Maryland's Torrey Smith, Boise State's Titus Young, Pittsburgh's Jon Baldwin follow in 6th through 8th place, respectively.
Relative unknowns Jeremy Kerley (TCU) and Ronald Johnson (USC) finish the top ten, as North Carolina's Greg Little only rates the 11th best WR according to this ranking, although many a fan here on Baltimore Beatdown would rank him a lot higher. Speedsters such as Edmond Gates (Abilene Christian) and Ricardo Lockette (Fort Valley State) barely made the list, coming in at numbers 38 and 45.