It really is a passing league.
For the second straight year, the NFL draft is practically overflowing with talented wide receiver prospects. One of the most enticing of the group is Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker, whose stock is soaring as the draft gets closer.
"The receiver who I hear scouts gush quietly about the most is Louisville's DeVante Parker," Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com wrote . "A year ago around the combine I wrote what several evaluators I really trusted were telling me - that Odell Beckham Jr. was to them the top receiver in the draft and would be a steal. I'm hearing some similar buzz about Parker and I am sure the Pats are on him, but if so it would likely take a considerable trade up to land him.
"I'm not sure he gets past the 10/11 range, where the Rams are looking long and hard at him and, at 11, the Vikings have spent considerable time scouting him in the regular season (their top personnel people attended several games), and, with Vikins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a Louisville product, there are too many obvious connections to ignore."
Parker may still be on Minnesota's radar even after the team traded for Mike Wallace this offseason. But if he does get past the Rams and Vikings, the Browns would be sure to scoop him up.
"The Browns have added Dwayne Bowe, but he'll be 31 in September and is more name value than anything close to a No. 1 receiver at this point in his career," ESPN NFL Draft Insider Mel Kiper wrote in his Mock Draft 4.0. "I expect the Browns to pick more than one pass-catcher, and getting Parker here is a good place to start. I do think he has a chance to be as good as any of the three guys already off the board if he cans tay healthy. Parker will beat defenders to the ball on high-point catches with his size, leaping ability and catch radius, and he's underrated as a threat to add yards after the catch on short throws. He'll help a QB look better. The Browns could also look at a pass-rusher here, or Waynes if he's still on the board, but Parker makes sense."
