• Denzel Boston paces the class against man coverage: His 89.7 PFF receiving grade against man in 2025 is the best mark among the class' FBS wideouts, and 14 of his 20 career touchdowns came against man coverage.

• Indiana got the best of both worlds from Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt: Cooper thrived against zone (88.2 PFF receiving grade), while Sarratt shined against man (89.4).

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We're breaking down the 2026 NFL Draft's top receiver prospects by how they performed against man and zone in 2025. Here were the class' top five qualifying FBS players against each coverage look.

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Man Coverage

1. Denzel Boston, Washington: 89.7

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 23
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 62 catches, 881 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-4, 209 pounds/Junior

At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, Boston is one of the best in this class against man coverage. He caught 48 passes for 558 yards against man looks over the past two seasons. After recording a sixth-ranked 83.2 PFF receiving grade against the scheme in 2024, he upped that mark to 89.7 in 2025. Boston gained 23 first downs on 26 man-coverage catches and secured seven of nine contested targets. Eight of his 11 touchdown grabs this past season came against man coverages, helping him generate a second-ranked 134.1 passer rating for his quarterback.

Boston spent his entire college career at Washington (2022-2025) and particularly flourished over the past two seasons. In that span, he caught 125 passes for 1,715 yards (both top-15 marks), earning a sixth-ranked 87.5 PFF receiving grade. Of his 20 career touchdowns, 14 came against man coverage.

2. Elijah Sarratt, Indiana: 89.4

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 67
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 64 catches, 824 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-2, 213 pounds/Senior

Sarratt dealt with a hamstring injury late in the regular season but still finished the year with 64 catches for 824 yards. The national champion was targeted 46 times against man coverage (tied for first with UConn's Skyler Bell) and led the class with 391 yards and nine touchdowns across 29 catches. Sarratt picked up 22 first downs (second most) while averaging 2.42 yards per route run. He was equally dominant in 2024, catching 18 passes against single coverage for 351 yards (second most). He earned an 80.4 PFF receiving grade and brought down 11 of 15 contested targets on those plays.

Sarratt spent time at St. Francis (2022) and James Madison (2023) before transferring to Indiana in 2024. He was productive at every stop, finishing with no less than an 81.5 PFF receiving grade in a season. Sarratt ranks second in PFF receiving grade over the past two seasons (89.6), with 117 receptions for 23 touchdowns and 1,781 yards receiving (10th most).

3. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State: 89.0

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 20
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 61 catches, 711 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-2, 200 pounds/RS Junior

Hamstring injuries limited Tyson in 2025, but he still caught 23 passes against man coverage for 16 first downs (tied for fifth most). He tied for fifth in targets (41) while averaging 3.02 yards per route run. 

Tyson is another taller receiver (6-foot-2) who excelled against single coverage in college. During his breakout 2024 season, he led the class in PFF receiving grade (90.3), targets (51), catches (40), receiving yards (620) and first downs (30) against man. Tyson averaged 6.3 yards after the catch per reception and ranked second in yards per route run (4.63). His 148.7 passer rating when targeted against man coverage that season is the highest in the draft class over the past two seasons. He also racked up 13 touchdowns against the scheme in that span.

4. Chris Bell, Louisville: 87.2

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 42
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 72 catches, 917 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-2, 220 pounds/Senior

Bell’s production steadily rose in each of his four seasons at Louisville. A torn ACL in December marked the end of a breakout season that saw his PFF receiving grade jump from 67.6 in 2024 to 83.3 in 2025.

Bell was targeted 29 times against man coverage this past season and secured 19 passes for 273 yards and 16 first downs (top 10). He caught three touchdown passes and ranked in the top 10 in yards after the catch per reception (6.3) and yards per route run (3.25) while generating a third-ranked 130.4 passer rating when targeted.

Bell earned a 69.6 PFF receiving grade against man coverage in 2024 but still displayed his potential, gaining 12 first downs on 16 catches while averaging 7.9 yards after the catch per reception.

5. Jacob De Jesus, California: 84.3

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: N/A
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 107 catches, 1,030 yards
• Size/Class: 5-foot-7, 170 pounds/Senior

Although De Jesus comes in well below 6 feet, he was still difficult to cover one-on-one, ranking in the top five in targets (41), catches (28) and receiving yards (320) against man coverage in 2025. He gained 19 first downs (third most) and caught three touchdown passes against man. While he did not average as much after the catch as others on this list (2.9 yards after the catch per reception), De Jesus still ranked 10th in yards per route run (2.67).

De Jesus started his college career at Modesto Junior College (2021-2022) before transferring to UNLV for two seasons (2023-2024). He then transferred to California for his senior season. De Jesus is not ranked on the PFF Predictive Big Board, but earned PFF receiving grades of 76.3 and higher in each season against FBS competition. His production skyrocketed at California, where he went from 36 catches in 2024 to 107 catches in 2025. De Jesus is also an experienced returner, racking up 585 combined return yards in 2025.

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Zone Coverage

1. Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana: 88.2

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 45
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 69 catches, 937 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-even, 204 pounds/RS Junior

Cooper is another breakout player who raised his PFF receiving grade in every season before declaring. He went from 28 catches for 594 yards in 2024 to 69 catches for 937 yards in 2025 (top 15 in both) while earning the sixth-best PFF receiving grade in the class (86.0).

Indiana featured a versatile receiver duo in Elijah Sarratt and Cooper during its championship run. Whereas Sarratt dominated man coverage, Cooper excelled against zone, ranking in the top two in the class in several categories. He caught 48 of 53 targets for 620 yards (seventh most) and averaged 3.15 yards per route run against zone. He forced 18 missed tackles, gained 29 first downs (tied for third most, and averaged 7.4 yards after the catch per reception. Finally, he caught six touchdown passes and generated a top-ranked 153.1 passer rating when targeted.

2. Makai Lemon, USC: 88.1

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 10
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 79 catches, 1,156 yards
• Size/Class: 5-foot-11, 195 pounds/Junior

Lemon spent all three of his college seasons at USC, where he averaged 3.09 yards per route run (first in the class) and notched a career 92.4 PFF receiving grade (first). He made 137 career catches for 2,008 yards and 14 touchdowns, with all but six of those receptions coming over the past two seasons.

Lemon knows how to navigate zone coverage, bringing in 74 such passes for 1,119 yards over the past two seasons. He also ranks in the top two in zone PFF receiving grade over the span.

Lemon averaged 3.09 yards per route run (third most) across 45 zone catches in 2025 while picking up 27 first downs (sixth most). He forced 12 missed tackles and averaged 5.5 yards after the catch per reception. He was also strong at the catch point, hauling in four of six contested targets.

3. Junior Vandeross III, Toledo: 83.5

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: N/A
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 83 catches, 1008 yards
• Size/Class: 5-foot-8, 182 pounds/Senior

Vandeross may be undersized, but the 5-foot-8 senior still generated a 138.4 passer rating when targeted against zone (second) across 53 catches (fourth) in 2025. He gained 711 receiving yards (third most) and moved the chains 29 times (tied for third most) and leads the draft class with nine touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards after the catch per reception and forced 13 missed tackles against zone, too (both top-four marks). 

In 2024, Vandeross led the class with 54 catches against zone and ranked in the top five in first downs (28) and PFF receiving grade (79.7).

Vandeross spent his entire career at Toledo and amassed 217 catches for 2,651 yards across four seasons. He ended his tenure with two consecutive seasons of 80-plus catches and 82.0-plus PFF receiving grades.

4. Eric McAlister, TCU: 80.7

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 147
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 71 catches, 1,173 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds/Senior

Unlike the first three players in this section, McAlister stands over 6 feet tall and does not line up extensively in the slot (185 career snaps). Across two seasons at TCU (2024 and 2025), he ranks in the top five in the class in receiving yards (1,935) and the top three in missed tackles forced (40), yards after the catch (908) and yards after contact (644).

He was excellent against zone coverage in 2024 (78.6 PFF receiving grade, eighth best), gaining 19 first downs on 22 catches while averaging 8.5 yards after the catch per reception (tied for fourth best).

McAlister was even better in 2025 on increased volume, catching 47 of 73 zone targets (fourth most) while leading the class in receiving yards (755) and first downs (34). He tied with Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. in forcing 18 missed tackles. His 2.74 yards per route run average against zone this past season ranks sixth in the class.

5. Ted Hurst, Georgia State: 80.6

• PFF Predictive Big Board Rank: 169
• 2025 Receptions and Yards: 71 catches, 999 yards
• Size/Class: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds/Senior

Hurst spends most of his time out wide (1,168 snaps in two seasons at Georgia State). He improved his PFF receiving grade against zone looks from 71.1 in 2024 to 80.6 in 2025 on the same volume (60-plus targets each season) and averaged more yards after the catch. After tallying 2.38 yards per route run against zone in 2024, Hurst produced 2.99 in 2025. He also went from 4.8 yards per reception in 2024 to a ninth-ranked 6.2 yards after the catch per reception in 2025.

Hurst began his career at Valdosta State (2022 and 2023) before transferring to Georgia State for his final two seasons (2024 and 2025). He produced consecutive 900-yard seasons with the Panthers, with 15 touchdowns across that span. His 82.1 PFF receiving grade this past season is a top-15 mark in the class.