Sammy Watkins. He's the best WR in the draft, right? I mean, "everybody" says so, majority rules, right? Then call me an outsider. I watched Watkins several times, unfortunately, right after watching another player: Odell Beckham, Jr. I came away thinking, "This is the best WR in the draft? The best since AJ Green, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson??"
I just wasn't blown away. He's really good at a number of things, but doesn't make my jaw drop. I'd argue that Beckham is actually the best WR in this class, or will be, and here's why:
Positives:
He's explosive. Like I said, watch OBJ first, then any other WR. You'll likely be disappointed with the others. OBJ moves laterally like none other, IMO, and he get's up to speed in a hurry. You'll see that in the return game as well, where he'd instantly be one of the better return men in the NFL in my opinion, as well setting up his routes and after the catch.
Remember the Kyle Williams slant route that turned into a foot-race TD a few years ago? He caught the ball and squirted past the DB, GONE! OBJ makes plays like that with impressive regularity. He also has excellent vision in the open field to find the creases. Oh, and he can hurdle defenders in the most natural way, it's almost like he doesn't even lose speed doing so.
He tracks the football well in the air, too, making the right adjustments to get in position for the catch. While he's not an amazing high-point rebounder type, he has made a few of those catches, too. His hands are pretty good, though he had a drop here and there, predominantly plucking the ball off his frame.
His quickness helps him get open, but he also has good size at just under six feet and a solid 198 lbs., plus he has long 32 3/4" arms for his height.
Negatives:
As mentioned, he had a few drops. Not nearly the level of a Donte Moncrief, but something he can work on. While he has a decent frame, he could stand to get stronger so as to make more contested catches in a crowd, as well as improve his blocking, which needs some fine-tuning.
He has good speed, but not great. A 4.43 forty and the tape show that it's his quicks that get him open most-often, but he's not slow in the least bit.
He could stand to refine his route running, but you can say that about any draft prospect. Something he'll get coaching on.
Conclusion:
I won't say OBJ is the best WR since XYZ came out, because I don't see any one in this class that looks to immediately join the NFL's elite at the position, but I think Beckham has the value, especially with his return skills, to be the best overall WR in this class.
He may need to play flanker at first, learning how to defeat NFL coverages and getting stronger physically, too, but I think he can develop into a legit #1 receiver, threatening defenses all over the field. He has the athletic ability (also a 38.5" vertical to go with the speed and a 3.94 short shuttle), he just needs the coaching.