2024 NFL Scouting Combine stars at WR sure to pique interest of Bills Mafia

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NFL Combine
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

Who boomed?

The NFL Scouting Combine causes buzz. Every year, a few players at positions of perceived need for a team’s fan base perform at the highest level during athletic testing and make entire swathes of NFL faithful to salivate over the potential of their team adding that player in the upcoming NFL Draft.

2024 was no different.

Here are a few of the wide receiver standouts from the 2024 NFL combine:

Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

The Bills need a receiver. The organization has talked about explosive plays. Vertical-threat receiver Gabe Davis is a pending free agent.

The stars were aligned for a receiver to come into the combine, demolish the Ferrari of athletic tests (the 40-yard dash), and run right into the hearts of Bills Mafia everywhere.

Enter (and exit) Xavier Worthy.

The Texas product set a new Combine record with a 4.21 official 40-yard dash and got a pop from the crowd in attendance during his final run after a 4.25 unofficial first go. Many are projecting Worthy to be a first-round pick despite his historically thin 165-pound frame, with some even opining the Bills may have to trade up from their current draft slot at 28th overall to land the Longhorn speedster.

Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas

Another Longhorn, another stellar Combine athletic testing performance.

Mitchell brings a more notable element of size to the Bills’ wide receiver corps (6’2”, 205 pounds) absent Davis, but his movement abilities are even more freakish than his Texas teammate Worthy when accounting for the increased mass he’s carrying. Mitchell comes into the NFL with a reputation for his ball skills, yards-after-catch ability, and physical gifts — with acknowledgement that his route running needs polish. His game against Alabama in 2023 opened eyes as he played well against NFL-quality cornerbacks in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia

Mistakenly thought of by some as a slot-only receiver despite playing 65% of his snaps wide for the Bulldogs in the SEC, McConkey followed up an impressive Senior Bowl week with a combine performance that proves he’s more than just a heady, gritty possession receiver. McConkey doesn’t have the explosion of Mitchell or Worthy, but showed potentially the best route-running chops in the class during his time at Georgia and again in Mobile while he competed against other NFL Draft hopefuls. Having the speed numbers that he did while showing exceptionally in the gauntlet drill has McConkey primed to be a first-round selection in April’s draft.

Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina

The rocked-up wideout from South Carolina had received plenty of buzz as one of the best high-point pass catchers in the draft coming into Indy, and with a 40” vertical and over a 10’ broad jump, Legette backed that film up with testing numbers. Concerns about his route-running nuance and release package will likely persist (specifically after scouts review the film versus Tennessee), but Legette is an athletic weapon who can be part of an offense from day one if a coordinator is willing to put him in positions to succeed.

...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Buffalo Rumblings podcast network!

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