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“We’re happy with our wide receiver group,” Lynch continued. “Actually, more than happy. We’re thrilled with it. And thrilled to add Ricky (Pearsall) to it to make it stronger.” Ok, now that’s really laying it on thick. One of the league’s worst-kept secrets is that the Niners know they can’t pay both Deebo Samuel and contract-year wideout Brandon Aiyuk, but the right trade offers just never materialized. It would now appear both will remain on the roster for 2024, but perhaps the Niners will move on to “entertaining” 2025 selections.

McMillan (6’1/197) is one of the bigger slot receivers in this year’s draft and brings two solid years of production to the table. After breaking out for 79-1098-9 in 2022, He underwhelmed with a line of 45-553-5 in 2023 and hit a four-week stretch where he drew just three targets while dealing with injury. For his career, McMillan caught just five of 25 contested targets and dropped more than eight percent of his targets over his final two years. The offensive scheme run at Washington made life easy for McMillan at times. He’ll need to prove that he can compete at the next level, where he’ll face much tighter coverage and less room to get open.

And just like that, the Packers have re-crowded their remade, Josh Jacobs-led backfield. Spending all but one of his college seasons at South Carolina, Lloyd (5’9/220) redshirted his freshman season due to a torn ACL and transferred to USC for an efficient 2023. He rushed for 820 yards and nine touchdowns on 116 carries, adding 13 receptions for 232 yards. Lloyd was the lead back for Lincoln Riley, complementing Caleb Williams’ quarterback play with chunk gains and pass-catching utility. He ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at the combine, showcasing above-average speed for a back of his size. Lloyd’s athleticism and ability to make tacklers miss in the open field should make him a contributor as both a rusher and a pass-catcher, though, with fewer than 300 carries to his name in college, he may be viewed as a committee back at the NFL level. Third downs will undoubtedly be where he begins his NFL career.

A native of the Island of Oahu, Liufau (6'2/234) is the latest in a long line of Hawaiian-born players who went onto the NFL. He redshirted as a freshman in 2019 but managed to draw three starts in 10 games during the pandemic shortened season. He was set for a full-time starting role in 2021 when he sustained an ankle injury that cost him the entire campaign. Fortunately Liufau returned better than ever in 2022, racking up 95 tackles with 4 PBU with just 102 receiving yards allowed in coverage over the last two seasons. An 85.4 PFF cover grade ranked sixth overall among all Power Five linebackers while his 25 pressures ranked 15th among his P5 contemporaries. While he ran a solid 4.64s 40-yard dash (81st%) and 4.18s shuttle run (92nd%), his jumping and bench portions of Combine testing were sub-25th percentile marks for a 5.64 RAS. Liufau plays with a frenetic pace and is hungry to make plays, but is often left out of position in his run fits as a result. He profiles as a core special-teamer who rotates in defensively on passing downs.

It’s not a landing spot that will produce a ton of target volume for Wilson, but the departure of Diontae Johnson to Carolina this offseason opens up a potential WR2 role in Arthur Smith’s run-first offense. Wilson (5’11/185) played 59.6 percent of his career snaps from the slot while with Michigan, and will likely see a similar role at the NFL. Playing in a run-heavy offense led by Jim Harbaugh, opportunities in the passing game were sparse for Wilson, who totaled just 107 catches for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns in his four-year career. The efficiency metrics of 5.5 YAC/REC and 2.29 YPRR he posted for his career are more than passable for NFL prospects. Showing off 4.39 speed at the NFL Scouting Combine, Wilson has the explosiveness and athleticism to flourish at the next level. Prior to last season, he never saw more than 37 targets come his way. It’s possible there’s still some untapped potential for Wilson to display once he’s operating in a more traditional offense. Wilson could be relevant right away in Pittsburgh.

It would appear Kyren Williams is not going to lead the NFL in rushing yards per game this season. Corum is the third RB off the board in this weak class. Arguably the draft class’ most famous runner, Corum (5’8/205) is far from 2024’s best back. You could argue it was Michigan’s “cloud of dust” system, but Corum was a genuine plodder in Ann Arbor. Of the 40 1,000-yard rushers in FBS football last season, Corum’s 4.7 yards per carry was the lowest. He also had the lowest broken tackle rate amongst the 35 highest usage backs. His 2.47 average yards after contact ranked 137-of-152 amongst backs with at least 100 carries. Corum just isn’t an explosive player. He is ridiculously strong, staying low to the ground as a runner and as artillery waiting to go off as a pass blocker. You simply cannot get lower than Corum on the blitz. As powerful and savvy as it gets in short-yardage situations, Corum can also move the chains and finish drives as a role player. He just doesn’t profile as a feature back for the modern era, especially since he’s below-average as a pass catcher. It’s a worrisome situation for Williams, as Corum’s initial calling card figures to be short-yardage work.

Burton (6’0/196) doesn’t have the kind of production profile we’ve become accustomed to seeing from recent Alabama receivers, but he’s proven to be explosive and accustomed to finding the end zone. Despite amassing more than 2,300 yards in his four-year career, Burton’s career-high in receiving yards (798) came in 2023, when he caught 39 balls for eight scores. He was targeted on 18.1 percent of his routes run during his career and has been treated primarily as a deep threat, as evidenced by his 16.8 career ADOT. A physical receiver who is capable of beating the press and hauling in contested targets (52.6 percent contested catch rate), Burton could earn early playing time on the right roster and with a solid offseason.

Redshirting as a freshman at Oregon in 2020, Benson (6’0/216) suffered a devastating knee tear — ACL and much, much more — in December practice and ended up handling the ball just six times the following season. An FSU transfer ensued, and Benson was finally allowed to fly in 2022, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and dodging tackles at an elite rate. A Jonathan Taylor-ian 6-foot-0, 216 pounds, Benson also has Taylor-type speed at 4.39. A plus pass catcher, Benson averaged a ridiculous 11.2 yards per grab for his career, including 12.3 on true “backfield” catches. The knocks are that Benson needs to be more physical and never handled bell-cow-level workloads in Tallahassee, just once reaching 20 carries in a contest. He nevertheless comes with breakaway ability on the ground and three-down upside in a modern offense. Benson is exceptionally intriguing in dynasty.

Corley (5’11/215) has a strong, compact frame that helped him slip 70 tackles throughout his college career. Corley played 91.6 percent of his college snaps from the slot and was often tasked with creating yards after the catch. A career 6.3 ADOT is paired with an 8.2 YAC/REC, but Corely did catch 35-of-71 intermediate and deep targets over his final two collegiate seasons while totaling 870 yards and 10 touchdowns on those targets. He was the beneficiary of manufactured touches during his days at Western Kentucky and could thrive as an outlet option for Aaron Rodgers. He won’t see an overwhelming number of targets as a rookie, but the presence of Garrett Wilson will open up space for him to beat defenses with the ball in his hands.

While Suamataia (6'5/326) faced just five P5 programs in 2022, BYU transitioned to the Big 12 in 2023 which resulted in the hulking left tackle facing P5 teams in 9-of-11 contests. Despite the jump in competition he excelled in pass protection, giving up two sacks and 13 pressures for an 86.1 PFF pass block grade that ranked ninth-best in FBS. Suamataia struggled in the run game with a troubling 3.1% blown run block rate which fueled his 52.9 run block grade. For perspective, 52.9 was the lowest run grade for any of the top-50 graded pass protectors this year. He moves with a coordination that belies his massive body, recording a 1.73s 10-yard split that ranked in the 93rd%. Suamataia’s 9'02" broad jump charted in the 87th percentile, while his impressive 31 bench reps ranks third amongst his 2024 OL counterparts and in the 94th percentile of historical NFL Combine tackles. His 9.38 RAS verifies the BYU bookend’s athletic credibility, as the thickly built tackle has the requisite mean streak to go with seamless feet/hands coordination to disrupt most pass rushers. He has plenty of core and grip strength to hold the point of attack against stout IDLs and stay centered. Can knock edge rushers off their line with a well-timed punch and is malleable enough to play the left or right side when called upon. His 34 ¼” arms are acceptable but not ideal, and his feet can drag in recovery. Overall, Suamataia is a thickly built swing-tackle who can offer above average pass protection on both left or right side, albeit with somewhat limited range on run plays.