The NFL Draft takes place this week, offering sports fans a much-needed distraction during the coronavirus shutdown.
However, the annual event has certainly not been immune to the current crisis, with this year's edition - which was originally supposed to take place on the Las Vegas Strip - becoming a fully virtual affair conducted with from remote locations outside of team facilities.
As we build up to the draft, Standard Sport is taking a look at some of the key first-round prospects.
Here, we analyse a talented wide receiver class led by CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III that is being hailed as one of the best for many years...
What's the hype about?
The general consensus is that this is the strongest and deepest wide receiver class the NFL has seen for some time and it is headlined by three standout prospects in particular.
All-American CeeDee Lamb is seen as perhaps the most complete of the trio after three excellent seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners.
A constant big-play threat, he broke the school’s freshman record for receiving yards in his first year and comfortably surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of the next two, leaving scouts purring with his ability to make gains after the catch.
Jerry Jeudy played a bit-part role in Alabama’s National Championship win in 2018 as a freshman, but a standout campaign the following season saw the Crimson Tide reach college football’s biggest game again.
Jeudy earned the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the best college wide receiver in the country, following in the footsteps of current NFL stars such as Amari Cooper and Brandin Cooks.
The output fell a little last season, but analysts have been happy enough to attribute that to the absence of star Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa through injury and his stock as a premier route-runner remains sky high.
Jeudy’s Alabama team-mate, Henry Ruggs III, can’t quite match the other two in pure numbers but outstrips both in terms of sheer speed.
His 4.27s 40-metre dash is among the fastest in the history of the NFL Combine - level with Olympian Marquise Goodwin - and it is no wonder the pro player he draws most comparisons with is Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill.
And sure, there are loads of stellar athletes on the board, but not many of them have hands like glue to boot – Ruggs dropped just one catch all season last year.
What they've been saying
"I just can’t imagine this guy not being a fit for everybody. That’s just the kind of player he is.” - Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley on CeeDee Lamb.
“I think this draft class of receivers is Jerry Jeudy and everybody else,” - NFL analyst Greg Cosell.
"He’s got a little of Steve Smith toughness, Hines Ward … to me, that type of mentality." - Former Alabama wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Michael Locksley.
Which other receivers could go in the first round?
Incredibly, some analysts have as many as six or seven receivers being selected on the first night.
That would trump even the heralded 2014 class that included the likes of Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, Davante Adams, Jarvis Landry, Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins and John Brown.
Louisiana State's speedy, versatile and productive wideout Justin Jefferson is generating lots of draft buzz after helping LSU to win a National Championship title alongside sure-fire no1 overall pick Joe Burrow, while Clemson's red-zone threat and touchdown magnet Tee Higgins is also highly regarded.
Then there is Arizona State playmaker Brandon Aiyuk, who had an excellent final season in college but missed the Senior Bowl due to injury, Baylor's Denzel Mims, Michael Pittman Jr out of Southern California (USC), Texas Christian's (TCU) Jalen Reagor, Laviska Shenault Jr from Colorado and Penn State's KJ Hamler.
Who needs a wide receiver in this draft?
In all honesty, whose offense would not be immediately boosted by the addition of another quality receiver?
But in particular, the New York Jets at pick no11 have a huge need at the position after Robby Anderson joined the Carolina Panthers, while the newly-moved Las Vegas Raiders - currently scheduled to pick after the Jets at 12 - will surely look to upgrade on their current crop headlined by Tyrell Williams.
Losing Super Bowl finalists the San Francisco 49ers are next on the board at no13 and, having lost Emmanuel Sanders to the New Orleans Saints and now looking to shop Goodwin, are also expected to re-tool their receiving corps, leading to the very real possibility that Lamb, Jeudy and Ruggs are selected one after the other between 11-13.
The Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars are among the other teams that could certainly use receiver help heading into next season.
Luckily for them, there is no shortage of options available.
