Ladd McConkey Scouting Report and Fantasy Football Outlook

Ladd McConkey Scouting Report

• Underdog ADP: 120.8 overall, WR56, rookie WR7
• Fantasy Life Rookie Super Model: 53%; WR7

Ladd McConkey is one of the more controversial WR prospects in this class, and your view of him depends on what you value in a prospect profile. His raw production numbers are poor. You could easily mistake his career totals with a single-season stat line of one of the top prospects. 

At the same time, when he was on the field he was very efficient and he put on a dominant performance at the Senior Bowl to give his draft stock a big boost. He also tested very well at the NFL Combine to remove any doubts about his athleticism. There are reasons to think he can excel in a full-time role at the next level, but he also profiles as the kind of receiver who could be more valuable for his NFL team than he is for fantasy managers.

He did land a spot in Daniel Jeremiah’s Top 50 Prospects and has been frequently mocked as an early second-round pick in the NFL Draft. That sort of draft capital demands attention and should guarantee he gets a real shot for his new team.

His career-best tally of 58 receptions for 762 yards (in 15 games) leaves a lot to be desired and makes it more difficult to project him as someone who can earn a ton of volume in an NFL offense.

McConkey did run the majority of his routes at Georgia from an outside receiver alignment (70.3%), but his size and quickness make it likely he plays the bulk of his NFL reps from the slot.

Pros and Cons of Ladd McConkey

Pros

Efficiency

If you value YPRR (yards per route run) then Ladd McConkey is the prospect for you. He never posted lower than 2.16 YPRR in any of the three seasons he played in. His final year mark of 3.26 YPRR ranked 8th best in the nation for all WRs in 2023 (min. 30 targets). When he was on the field running routes, McConkey absolutely balled out. He also ranks highly in passer rating when targeted, which demonstrates how QB-friendly his skill set is. 

The million-dollar question is whether McConkey can sustain this type of efficiency on greater target volume. If he lands in an offense that uses 3 WR sets regularly, he should have the potential to run a lot of routes, but whether he can continue to draw targets at a high rate when competing in an NFL WR room is open to debate.

Route running

McConkey is an absolute nightmare for defenders to try to stick with. He has elite change-of-direction skills, can separate from coverage in the blink of an eye, and has plenty of highlights where he leaves defenders all twisted up. 

As one of the most polished route runners in this class, McConkey should be able to step in and provide value to his NFL team right away. He’s the kind of WR who should be a reliable target who can move the chains and regularly win one-on-one matchups with slot corners. 

His route-running chops aren’t only limited to snatching defenders' ankles too. He shows a good understanding of zone defenses and when to sit down in an open space and give his QB a throwing lane. 

These skills should translate to the next level and make him a quality slot WR early on, but they may not lead to massive production for fantasy. He did flash some ability to stretch defenses vertically in college, which would be the path to more of a fantasy ceiling, but there’s no guarantee he’ll have that role at the next level.

Cons

Part-time college player

By far the biggest red flag in McConkey’s profile is the fact that he wasn’t a full-time player at Georgia. If we are going to invest a high pick into a player in our rookie drafts, we would expect them to have dominated at the collegiate level, but that wasn’t the case for McConkey. 

His relatively low route participation can be partially explained by Georgia’s dominance, which allowed them to frequently rest their starters in the second half of games. However, that doesn’t fully explain his reduced role. Over each of the past three seasons, McConkey and Brock Bowers have been the top two receivers in the Georgia offense. During those three seasons, McConkey played just one fewer game than Bowers (39 vs. 40 games played), but McConkey ran 296 fewer routes than Bowers did during that time. 

Dec 30, 2023; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Ladd McConkey (84) makes a catch and runs for touchdown against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half in the 2023 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia is an elite program with many talented players, but the numbers suggest that they did not view McConkey as an essential piece of their offense. They were willing to take him off the field somewhat regularly, which means he was basically a role player rather than someone they built the offense around.

Size and strength

At 6’0” and 186 lbs., McConkey isn’t exactly an intimidating presence. He relies on his quickness and route running to win against defensive backs but can struggle to separate against physical coverage. 

He has a limited track record in contested catch situations with just 19 contested targets throughout his college career according to PFF. That generally makes sense for the types of routes that McConkey is running, but it also means he needs to create separation in order to earn a target, and his QB is unlikely to trust him to win with a defender in tight coverage. 

McConkey also suffered ankle and back injuries during the 2023 season, which cost him multiple games. These may not be directly attributable to his size, but he is thin enough that there could be some durability concerns. I’m not really factoring those into his prospect profile, but if we see an unexpected drop on draft day, that could be one of the reasons why. 

Fantasy Football Outlook for Ladd McConkey

The projected draft capital, athleticism, and per-target efficiency all suggest we need to take McConkey seriously as a prospect. However, his lack of a breakout season in college and the role he is expected to play at the next level have me questioning what his ceiling outcome really is for fantasy football purposes. 

He is also an older prospect who will turn 23 during his rookie season, so I don’t love that for his ability to continue to develop as a pro. It is difficult for me to get too excited about an older slot WR who only had one college season with more than 40 targets and never hit 800 yards.

McConkey is currently the rookie WR7 in both the Fantasy Life Rookie WR Model and Underdog Fantasy ADP. I have Ladd ranked as my WR11 in this class, so I am a bit lower on him than consensus. I expect him to be an effective pro but not a super valuable fantasy asset. In my opinion, McConkey is a high-floor, low-ceiling type of play and I usually want to be swinging for more upside in my fantasy drafts.