You might want to re-think that old perception of the SEC being a league of exclusively 3 yards and a cloud of dust.
It’s still a physical conference that puts a premium on running the football and stopping the run, but the SEC has been churning out top-flight wide receivers in recent years who have quickly moved on to NFL stardom.
Former LSU and current New York Giant Odell Beckham, Jr., ranks at the top of the list, according to former NFL executive and current NFL Media analyst Gil Brandt.
“He’s like Secretariat,” said Brandt, according to a report on NFL.com.
“He’s run away from the pack, is what he’s done. He’s really done a great job.”
Beckham, who has been suspended for this week’s game at Minnesota after his aggressive and physical encounters with Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman on Sunday, is in just second NFL season but has already established himself as one of the league’s best.
He was among the NFL’s 12 receivers Brandt cited from the past two drafts, with the top four of Beckham, Oakland’s Amari Cooper (Alabama), Miami’s Jarvis Landry (LSU) and Philadelphia’s Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt) ranking at the top of the pecking order. Another, former Texas A&M star and current Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans was No. 9.
The NFL has selected 68 receivers over the past two drafts.
Ole Miss star Laquon Treadwell could be next on that list if, as expected, he opts to enter the 2016 NFL Draft. Alabama freshman Calvin Ridley and first-year Texas A&M receiver Christian Kirk could possibly follow suit in two years.
The influx of young talent adds to the growing list of former SEC receivers playing in the NFL, joining the likes of Atlanta’s Julio Jones, the former Alabama star who might be the best receiver in all of football right now.
Other notable former SEC receivers in the NFL include Cincinnati’s A.J. Green (Georgia), Green Bay’s Randall Cobb (Kentucky), Kansas City’s Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), Minnesota’s Mike Wallace (Ole Miss) and Chicago’s Alshon Jeffrey (South Carolina) among others.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
