Chris Strauss

USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — Sammy Watkins already made his first splash in Manhattan.

One of 30 NFL draft prospects attending a Play 60 Youth Football event on Wednesday morning, the former Clemson receiver mimicked the kids in attendance by jumping feet first into a giant plastic ball pit for a photo op, spilling half of its contents onto the turf at the Chelsea Waterside Park.

Widely ranked as the top wideout in the draft, the 2014 Orange Bowl MVP looks to make just as much of an impact Thursday night, possibly as early as the fourth pick to the Cleveland Browns.

"To be paired up with Josh Gordon would be great," Watkins said. "To learn from him and be behind him and see how he got 1,700 yards last year. He'll get double guarded a little bit. That would put a little pressure on me to make the plays."

The 20-year-old, who left Clemson after his junior season, claims he hasn't heard from any teams recently regarding their interest, but he's certainly not the only wideout who is being targeted in the first round.

Six other receivers will be in attendance at Radio City, with 6-5 Texas A&M standout Mike Evans likely next on many draft boards. In addition to Watkins and Evans, LSU's Odell Beckham, Jr., Oregon State's Brandin Cooks, USC's Marqise Lee, Indiana's Cody Latimer, Penn State's Allen Robinson and Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews all figure to get picked in the first two rounds.

"There's very little (dropoff.) I call it distance to the top," longtime Dallas Cowboys scout Gil Brandt said. "The difference between Evans and Watkins is like 1½ percent. Cooks and the LSU guy (Beckham) are dead even. I think people are going to look at the draft and bypass wide receivers in the middle of the draft. Guys who are good players are not going to get picked where they should by ability because people will look at the (first round)of the draft and say 'We've got to take a tackle or this because the player we get in the second round at that position isn't going to be as good as the wide receiver we get.'"

Brandt sees that abundance of wideouts as a result of high school and college offenses shifting from a primarily run dominated schemes to ones favoring a pass-oriented approach over the past decade.

"In colleges, as an example, Oklahoma three years ago passed 619 times," he said. "They used to win the Big 8 for ten years in a row and didn't pass 100 times."

The depth of talent could give receiver-hungry teams a little more flexibility in catering their pick towards not just a gifted player, but one whose style best fits their needs.

Florida State's Kelvin Benjamin, like Evans, is 6-5, while Matthews is another big receiver at 6-3, 205 pounds. Beckham Jr. is more of a slot/speed guy while the 5-10, 189-pound Cooks, who clocked the second fastest 40 time (4.33) at February's combine, lined up as Oregon State's primary outside target.

"I didn't go back to college to grow, Cooks said regarding his stature. "I'm done growing so that's that. (Baltimore Ravens receiver) Steve Smith is probably a future Hall of Famer who isn't your typical six-foot guy. DeSean Jackson is killing it. I could go down the list. When (people) criticize my size, if that's the only thing they can criticize, I'm happy with that."