2024 NFL Draft Rookie Profile: WR Ladd McConkey (Fantasy Football)
The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner – that means it’s officially rookie time and prospect season! For this article series, our writing staff will be covering many of the top prospects in this class by taking a look at each player’s production profile, their measurables and their film in order to give an outlook for fantasy football in 2024 and beyond.
Georgia’s Ladd McConkey is a really intriguing prospect who shines on tape. However, the analytical profile is lacking when compared to other WR prospects in this class. Can he overcome a lack of elite production in college and hit for our fantasy lineups? If you’re looking for a more detailed discussion on Ladd and other WR prospects, be sure to check out the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of our Rookie Profile series going on until the 2024 NFL Draft. For more on each rookie, check out Andy, Mike, and Jason’s exclusive rookie rankings and the production profiles found only in the Dynasty Pass, part of the UDK+ for 2024.
College Production Profile
When you look at the raw stats from McConkey compared to the other prospects in this class, his numbers are certainly lacking. Ladd played three years at Georgia in the SEC (we like that!), and in those three seasons, he posted a career-best 1.85 yards per team pass attempt while failing to ever reach a 20% Dominator Rating (we don’t like that). In other words, he never actually had a breakout season, at least using the thresholds that we value in our Production Profiles.
In fact, his best season reception share at Georgia was just a 17% market share of the team’s catches and 17% market share of the team’s yards. For context, NFL WR1s in college generally average a 30+% share of their team’s receptions and yards, according to our Prospect Database in the Dynasty Pass. To say that McConkey’s produced like a stud in college would be a complete fallacy. Scott Barrett’s tweet below highlights that…
Here's a list of all WRs drafted Rounds 1-2 with fewer than 4 career 100-yard games in college (since 2014)
Dorial Green-Beckham (3)
George Pickens (3)
Kelvin Benjamin (3)
Adonai Mitchell (3)*
Ladd McConkey (2)*
Roman Wilson (2)*
Van Jefferson (1)
Mecole Hardman (1)…— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) February 26, 2024
From a pure analytical profile, McConkey’s numbers are lacking. The reason (at least to some degree) his overall production profile is lacking is because Ladd averaged just 17 routes per game in his college career. Granted, some of that is affected by back, knee and ankle injuries in 2023 when he was limited to just nine games, so he wasn’t really a full-time player. However, when you look at him on a per route run basis, he does pop in a major way.
As highlighted above, McConkey didn’t run a ton of routes on a per game basis, but when he was out there, he produced, specifically against zone where he shined with a 4.27 yards per route run in 2023. We’ll touch on the tape here in a bit, but there are definitely reps on tape where he dominates against zone coverage. With the NFL moving to zone-heavy schemes, this does bode well for his ability to translate to the next level if given the opportunity. Don’t get it twisted, though, McConkey isn’t just a ‘zone WR’ who sits down for 5-yard catches or little whip routes on the boundary. He ran real NFL routes during his time in college, and he performed well when doing so – More on that in a minute.
Measurables
| Height | Weight | Age | Breakout Age | 40-Yard Dash | Vertical |
| 5′, 11.5″ | 186 lbs. | 22.2 | No Breakout | 4.39 | 36″ |
We labeled McConkey as a winner at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Not only did he flash some speed with his 4.39 40-yard dash (Tied for 6th best among those who ran in Indy), he also looked natural in the receiving drills, particularly the Gauntlet drill:
.@GeorgiaFootball WR Ladd McConkey looking so smooth in the gauntlet.
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1ehj5MwTxI— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2024
From a size standpoint, Ladd frame is not that of a typical X WR1. However, there are no red flags here in terms of his size and bodyweight. We’ve seen plenty of NFL WRs succeed at around 6′ tall and 185-190 lbs. Ladd definitely checked the boxes at the Combine.
What’s on Tape
Games viewed: Auburn (2023), Florida State (2023), Ole Miss (2023), Vandy (2023), Alabama (2023), TCU (2022), Florida (2022), LSU (2022)
1. A fantastic understanding of how to find the soft spot in zone coverage.
As highlighted above when discussing McConkey’s profile, he crushed against zone coverage in his collegiate career. Plays like this one against Florida aren’t sexy and won’t land you on SportsCenter’s Top 10, but plays like this will earn you playing time at the next level and make you a reliable target for your QB. On this 3rd & 6 play, Ladd finds the soft spot, makes the catch, forces a missed tackle and gets up field for a first down to move the chains.
2. A complex route tree all over the field.
As mentioned above, Ladd is a bit undersized at 6 feet tall and 185 lbs. When you think of that body type, you might think that McConkey can only play in the slot. While he does have plenty of experience in the slot, he actually lined up primarily as a perimeter WR over his final two years in Athens. Per PFF, he lined up on the perimeter 77% of the time over the last two years. He’s a versatile pass catcher who won in all three levels of the field in college.
3. The route running ability is there, and he can win against man coverage.
By now, you’re well aware of Ladd’s ability to beat zone coverage. So, you might think he’s just a smaller WR who will only be getting short area targets at the next level. However, McConkey was a strong prospect when getting targets down the field, and that’s thanks to his great hands and his ability to run routes at a high level. He completely puts this DB on skates with this double move. If only the QB actually made a good throw…
What’s Not on Tape
1. Where are the slants?
It sounds so simple, right? It is, after all, one of the most common routes in the NFL and one that he will certainly be asked to run in the NFL. In 2023 specifically, McConkey saw just two targets on slant routes according to PFF.
2. Contested catches on the boundary.
While I do think McConkey can win on the outside thanks to his route running, he’s not necessarily the type of WR who’s going to body defenders and make contested catches, especially on the sidelines. We can’t really expect him to win on 50-50 jump balls in tight spaces. It’s simply not his game.
2024 Fantasy and Dynasty Outlook
McConkey’s outlook for fantasy is likely tied largely to how his NFL team views his skillset. If he’s a slot-only player at the next level due to being a bit undersized, it obviously caps his fantasy upside as we generally need our WRs to play in 2WR sets in order to be a top-24 option. As mentioned above, he can win on the perimeter, but it’s a whole different ball game in the NFL, so that will be something to watch when we find out his landing spot in late April.
Ladd McConkey on how every team he’s met with has made note of his ability to win both inside and outside at WR.
Says his #SeniorBowl performance was special, meeting guys like Coach Mike Tomlin, and mentioned that week opened up eyes on his abilities. pic.twitter.com/fC22CDTY1I
— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) March 1, 2024
From a dynasty perspective, McConkey should hear his name called in Round 2 of the NFL Draft based on mock draft resources like GrindingTheMocks and NFL Mock Draft Database. That type of draft capital has him on our radar for dynasty leagues as a guy who will have an opportunity as early as year one. The film is great, but there are some concerns about McConkey’s lack of elite production while in school. Historically, WR1s produce at a high level in college, and McConkey was nowhere close to the thresholds we like to see. He could absolutely turn into a starter for our dynasty lineups in the next year or two, but expecting top-12 numbers from this prospect isn’t realistic.