Top Five Wide Receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft
By John Blair
2021 NFL Draft wide receiver rankings
4. Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
The 2020 season was a strange one for Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman. It started off with him not planning on playing football this year, due to the fact the Big Ten could not settle on when to start the season.
When the Big Ten announced it would indeed play football this fall Bateman decided to play this season, which he did for five games before opting out of the season again. While his time with the Gophers was limited he did put up solid production catching 36 passes for 472 yards and two touchdowns.
Now that Bateman has decided to focus on the NFL it is time to look at how his skills translate to the NFL. The first trait he has working in his favor is his outstanding ball skills. He does a great job of tracking the ball with his eyes, and also is one of the better receivers when it comes to going and getting the ball in a jump ball situation.
Bateman also is a refined route runner, who despite lacking great speed is consistently able to gain separation on his routes. He has good NFL size coming in at 6-foot-2, as well.
The one deficiency in Bateman’s game is a lack of game-breaking speed. He is not going to be much of a home run threat in the NFL due to a lack of blazing speed. I would also like to see him do a better job of going and getting the ball with his hands, instead of letting the ball get to his body when making the catch.
The two teams that seem to be the best fit for Bateman both play in the NFC North, in the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Even if he is not selected by one of these teams I would expect to hear his name in the last half of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.