Ladd McConkey among top WR prospects for 2024 NFL Draft per PFF

When discussing Georgia’s passing game, Brock Bowers deserves and receives a lot of love. He has been the team’s best offensive weapon for the past two seasons. But the Bulldogs will enter the 2023 seasons with more than just Bowers as a bonafide threat in the passing game. Junior wideout Ladd McConkey has made quite the name for himself.

After a sophomore season that saw him catch 58 passes for 762 yards and seven touchdowns, McConkey has earned the respect talent evaluators all over the country. That includes Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus.

“As I began my deep dive into McConkey’s film, I wondered if I’d just see a player who was a product of the system and a high volume of targets. But, to quote the well-known Shaq meme, ‘I owe you an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game.’

“McConkey is the ideal smaller slot receiver. His quickness and acceleration are elite, as is his footwork out of his release at the line of scrimmage. This makes for an already polished and deadly route runner. But it’s not like he’s just quick, either. His long speed and ability to threaten vertically might not be top-tier, but it’s nothing to sleep on. Almost 50% of his yards in 2022 came after the catch, which only adds to how dangerous he is as a slot receiver when you give him space. On top of all that, he’s as willing a blocker as you’ll find for a player who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.”

The damage McConkey did in 2022 is even more impressive when you consider two other factors. First of all, McConkey wasn’t healthy for the second half of the season. The former three-star prospect battled knee tendonitis from early November on.

He also had a stretch through the middle of the season where he battled drops. The run saw him drop a couple of punts, losing one of those. McConkey also failed to catch some passes that he made look easy later on in the season.

In addition to his exploits as a pass catcher, McConkey was dynamic on the ground. Georgia’s first touchdown of the season was an end around to the speedy wideout. He finished the year with seven carries for 134 yards and two scores. His longest was a 70-yard scamper at Mississippi State in November.

He also finished the 2022 season with a bang, catching five passes for 88 yards and two scores in a 65-7 blowout of TCU in the National Championship game.

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