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Wide receiver is the deepest, most-talented position on the draft board. How deep? Purdue's Dorian Bryant caught 292 passes, returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and has 4.49 speed. He'll be available in the second day.

DeSean Jackson became destined for the NFL when he was named Mr. Football for California at Long Beach Poly High School in 2004.

If you succeed at Long Beach Poly, college football becomes just a brief stop on the way to the NFL. Current NFLers Willie McGinest, Marcedes Lewis, Omar Stoutmire and Winston Justice all prepped at Poly. So did former NFL first-round draft picks Mark Carrier, Leonard Russell, Gene Washington and Earl McCullouch.

"When I was a freshman, Marcedes Lewis, Manny Wright and Winston Justice came back and gave me the motivation to get where I'm at today," Jackson said.

Jackson scored 15 touchdowns as a senior, including eight of 60 yards or more on receptions and punt returns. It was more of the same in college at Cal. He scored a touchdown on a 31-yard reception the first time he touched the ball as a freshman. He also took his first career punt return 49 yards for a touchdown in the same game against Sacramento State.

Jackson scored 28 touchdowns in 38 career college games. He averaged 15 yards on 162 career receptions with 22 touchdowns, 16.7 yards on 38 career punt returns with six TDs and 8.3 yards on 24 career rushes with one TD.

"I've been blessed," Jackson said. "I have a lot of skills and work hard at what I do."

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Devin Thomas (5) played two seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before transferring to Michigan State.

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Devin Thomas, Michigan State: Thomas is a one-year wonder, but what a season it was. He set a Michigan State record for catches in a season (79) and became the fourth receiver in school history to post a 1,000-yard season (1,260). His size (6-1½, 216 pounds) and speed (4.40 in the 40) make him difficult to tackle.

Patrick Carter, Louisville: He sat out 2005 in his transfer from Georgia Tech to Louisville, missed four games in 2006 with a sprained ankle and only caught 26 passes in 2007. But he has the size (6-2, 199), speed (4.33 in the 40) and blood lines (brother of former first-round draft pick CB Tom Carter) to play in the NFL.

1. Limas Sweed, Texas: The Brenham product was the No. 1 NFL draft prospect at wide receiver heading into last fall. But a wrist injury sidelined him for the last seven games, and lingering medical concerns have impacted his draft stock. Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.

2. Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma (and Longview): Draft projection: Rounds 1-2.

3. Donnie Avery, Houston: Draft projection: Rounds 2-3.Notable

Long distance: The NFL wants pass catchers, but the league covets players who can stretch the field. That's why the NFL is scrutinizing Pierre Garcon of Mount Union. Rarely is an NCAA Division III receiver invited to the NFL scouting combine. His numbers were Jerry Rice-like at 246 career catches, 60 touchdowns and a 17.8-yard average. "I know what I can do," Garcon said. "Now I've got to let everyone else know what I can do. We don't get much media coverage, so people don't know much about me." The wideouts on this draft board with the best career per-catch averages:

Downsizing: DeSean Jackson also has the speed to excel in the NFL with a 4.35 clocking in the 40-yard dash. But he may not have the size to survive long term. He's 169 pounds. Of the 1,696 players who finished the season on NFL rosters in 2007, only 11 weighed 175 or less. There were four cornerbacks, three wide receivers, two kick returners and two kickers. Not one weighed less than 170, and that group combined to start only 19 games last season.

On the short side: Lavalle Hawkins of California is a tad short on size (5-11, 187), speed (4.51 in the 40) and publicity, having spent his college career on the opposite side of DeSean Jackson. But one thing Hawkins is not short on is confidence in this draft process. "I'm like a Terrell Owens/Anquan Boldin/Chad Johnson/Steve Smith," Hawkins said. "I pretty much can do it all."

Student-athlete: Marcus Monk set Arkansas records for touchdown receptions in a season (11 in 2006) and career (27). But as good a player as he was, Monk was an even better student. Monk made the dean's list each of his four seasons at Arkansas and earned academic All-SEC in his final two seasons. He graduated in 3½ years with a degree in marketing. In high school, Monk finished became the first African-American valedictorian in the history of East Poinsett County High School in Lepanto, Ark.

Learning the ropes: Cornerback Ellis Hobbs intercepted passes for the New England Patriots in the AFC title game and Super Bowl. He also broke in Todd Blythe as a wide receiver when the two were teammates at Iowa State in 2003-04. "He was always fun to go against in practice," said Blythe, who left Iowa State with 176 career catches. "He wanted to talk to everybody out there, let everyone know how good he was. I'd love to be out there on the practice field with him again. He kind of welcomed me to college football, and I'm sure he'd welcome me to the NFL also. But tell him I'm not 185 pounds any more."

Legendary hands: Wide receivers leaving campus as their school's all-time leading receiver include Jabari Arthur (Akron), Earl Bennett (Vanderbilt), Davone Bess (Hawaii), Todd Blythe (Iowa State), Andre Caldwell (Florida), Pierre Garcon (Mt. Union), D.J. Hall (Alabama), James Hardy (Indiana), Shaheer McBride (Delaware State), Kevin Robinson (Utah State) and Jerome Simpson (Coastal Carolina). "I beat out Ozzie Newsome, one of the greatest players ever in college football and in the NFL," Hall said. "I take a lot of pride in that."

All in the family: Andre Caldwell surpassed the college career of his brother Reche, becoming Florida's all-time leading receiver with 185 catches. Reche became a second-round draft pick of San Diego in 2002 and has started games for the Chargers, Patriots and Redskins, catching 152 career passes. Andre hopes to surpass the pro career of his brother as well. "I think I'm a better player than he is," Andre said. "He's going to say he is, but I'm going to say I am. He's a great athlete. He went high in the draft. But I think you can put me above him."

Bum rap: The rap on Hawaii's Colt Brennan is he's a system quarterback. Must be a pretty good system, because Brennan passed for 14,193 and 131 career touchdowns. But what works against against Brennan on draft day should work for Hawaii wide receivers Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullen and Jason Rivers. "From Day 1 in this offense, you don't see the field unless you can read defenses," Grice-Mullen said. "Most routes are based on our reads. They can call one play but there may be five different routes you run based on your reads. You have to learn to read pre-coverages, then read them again when the ball is snapped and all the defenders are moving around." NFL offenses, particularly of the West Coast variety, function on the reads of the receivers. The Hawaii receivers must be pretty good readers – Bess caught 108 passes last season, Grice-Mullen 106 and Rivers 92.