The 2026 NFL Combine kicks off in the final week of February, and we are exploring each position group ahead of the big event.
So far, we have already previewed which quarterbacks and running backs the Detroit Lions should be scouting, and in this article, we take a look at the wide receiver prospects who should have the Lions’ attention. All three position groups will go through on-field drills on NFL Network on Saturday, February 28.
Team need
With Amon-Ra St. Brown and Isaac TeSlaa signed through 2028, along with Jameson Williams through 2029, the Lions have their starters locked in for the foreseeable future. Veteran Kalif Raymond (WR4 and starting punt returner) is a free agent, but they drafted Dominic Lovett as a potential replacement, and retained Jackson Meeks from their practice squad for depth. Regardless of whether Raymond re-signs, there’s not a ton of room for a new acquisition to break into the roster.
Bottom line: At most, the Lions could add a single challenger for a WR4, 5, or 6 role, and a player with special teams experience—especially as a returner—could carve out a job.
What to watch for
Wide receivers come in all shapes and sizes, but there are basic skills across all roles that NFL pass catchers need to have. So when watching this group at the Combine, here are a few key things to focus on:
- How natural are their hands? Do they catch the ball away from their body, or do they fight the ball and/or let it into their body?
- How is their body control? Do they lose balance when running beyond their capabilities or weave off the line, creating looser routes?
- Do they maintain speed in and out of breaks, or do they need to throttle down?
- How are their ball-tracking skills? Do they instinctively know where to run, or are they late to pick up the ball? Can they locate the ball while maintaining speed?
- Can they maximize their speed by not reaching early?
- Do they have a clear understanding of the field boundaries, and can they stay in bounds?
Prospects
With college football’s heavy use of spread offenses, wide receiver tends to be a position that is loaded with prospects. While there are 33 receivers at this year’s Combine, 18 of them are projected to be selected in the top 100 picks (based on the rankings of The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah). With the Lions having such a low need for the position, finding the right player at the right value could prove challenging.
With that in mind, here are a few prospects that caught our eye and should be on the Lions’ radar.
If you only look at Wetjen’s offensive stats—23 receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown over the past two seasons—you’d wonder why he’s on the watchlist. However, when you get to the section on special teams, you’d quickly understand why we’re kicking things off with him. Over the last two seasons, Wetjen has returned 42 kickoffs for 1203 yards (average: 28.6 yards per return) and two touchdowns, along with 47 punt returns for 891 yards (average: 18.95 yards per return) and four touchdowns. Those stats earned him the Jet Award trophy, given to college football’s best returner in back-to-back seasons.
While Wetjen’s special teams stats alone are draftable, when you watch his route running—which should be on display at the Combine—I believe there is some unrealized potential as a slot receiver that Iowa’s offense couldn’t tap into.
Brown spent three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to LSU as a senior. While Brown played mostly WR-Z in college, it may be difficult to stay on the outside in the NFL at his size. That said, his ability to get vertical is his best asset, as he has elite game speed and can make big plays downfield. Those skills translate to gadget plays on offense and kick returns on special teams, where he returned 65 kicks for 1910 yards (average: 29.4 yards per return) and six (!) touchdowns over his career.
After three seasons at Alabama (33 receptions for 343 yards and a touchdown), Law transferred to Kentucky for his senior season, where he more than tripled his production in any one season in Tuscaloosa (53 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns). With Kentucky’s inconsistent quarterback play, the Wildcats looked for creative ways to get the ball in Law’s hands, deploying him on end-arounds, jet sweeps, pop passes, screens, snaps at running back, and more. Kentucky used extensive pre-snap motion with Law to maximize his speed, agility, and explosiveness. While he appears undersized on film, he’s deceptively tough, leading to broken tackles and extensive yards after the catch; 505 of his 540 passing yards were YAC. He’ll want to show he’s more than just a gadget player with his route running at the Combine.
Coleman is an undersized but speedy slot receiver/gadget player who has the toughness to continually go over the middle of the field. He has a varied route tree in his bag, but could use a bit more polish to consistently get separation. One reason he has a seasoned skill set is that he played at four different schools during his college career. He was originally recruited by Deion Sanders to play at Jackson State, transferred to Louisville for more opportunities, then to Mississippi State (where he had his best season), before finally landing at Missouri for his senior year.
Cameron is a thick possession wide receiver who uses his size to his advantage when making contested receptions and gaining yards after the catch. It won’t be hard for NFL man-coverage corners to mirror his routes, but he’s physical at all points, tracks the ball very well, and made a career on catching back shoulder fades at Baylor. His physicality with the ball in his hands is often too much for a single defender, making him an interesting candidate for special teams.
Lacy is a twitched-up, shifty slot receiver who can gain separation quickly in his routes and then make defenders miss in the open field with his ability to stop on a dime and change direction. Louisville used him as a gadget player and on quick routes—lots of crossers—in order to get him the ball in space and let him work. Those natural skills translate to a returner, where he has experience returning punts and kicks.
McCulley committed to Indiana as a dual-threat quarterback, only to transition to wide receiver, and earned a starting WR-X job as a junior. The following season, Indiana hired Curt Cignetti, who benched McCulley and gave the starting WR-X role to Elijah Sarratt (a likely top-100 pick). McCulley entered the transfer portal, joined Michigan for his redshirt senior season, and earned the Wolverines starting WR-X job.
While the transition from quarterback to wide receiver has been smooth, McCulley has only three years of experience and is still developing. He needs a runway to reach full speed, which leads to separation issues, and his route tree is still being fine-tuned. That said, there’s significant potential in his game. McCulley is terrific at the catch point, using his height to high point the ball and win most contested catches. He has above-average body control and a wide catch radius, making him a very QB-friendly target. For a team that can afford to let McCulley develop, they could find great value on Day 3.
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