NFL Mock Draft 2016: 1st-Round Projections and Receiving Prospects on the Rise

Gone are the days one could look at the 2016 NFL draft, call Laquon Treadwell the top wideout and move on to looking at more interesting positions.

As the draft process has surged forward, no position has become more interesting than wide receiver. There’s pro-ready guys, players who didn’t get enough film attention at first, boom-or-bust projects and role players who can terrorize the league right away.

Not that Treadwell and Baylor’s Corey Coleman aren’t still up there in terms of stock. But they’re flanked by a relatively new cast of names and it wouldn’t be a shock to see any of them come off the board first—when wideouts rank this closely, team desires for roles needing filled act as a tiebreaker.

Here’s a look at an updated mock with a few days to go and a deeper dive on some of the rising pass-catching threats set to take the next level by storm.

2016 NFL Mock Draft

Receiving Prospects on the Rise 23. Minnesota Vikings: Josh Doctson, WR, TCU

Josh Doctson out of TCU is the most recognizable name after Treadwell and Coleman, though the longer the process lasts, the more it looks like he could become the first wideout off the board. 

He isn’t in this scenario, but it’s not hard to see why. Doctson pops off the page at 6’2″ and 202 pounds, though what should really stand out is his 41-inch vertical jump and 131-inch broad jump from the combine.

Those silly numbers pop up on film all the time with Doctson, who doesn’t have the fastest straight-line speed but can climb the ladder and beat smaller defensive backs to the ball at its highest point for some slick highlight-worthy grabs.

Such an ability changes an NFL offense right out of the gates. One that immediately comes to mind as a fit is the Minnesota Vikings, a notion many seem to concur with, as does NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci:

Teddy Bridgewater gets a new weapon from TCU.@SteveMariucci picks Josh Doctson for the Vikings. pic.twitter.com/pYiRNe4eXj

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) April 25, 2016

It’s not a bad spot for Doctson, who would probably become the No. 1 wideout right away …

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