I like Ben Volin, but he really missed the mark with this article. The biggest competitors for WR's in this draft are: 1. St. Louis (need multiple WR's if they let Amandola go), 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (to replace Wallace), 3. Seattle, 4. Baltimore (if they lose Boldin), 5. Minnesota (finally he got one right!), and 6. Clevland (ok two right). The Patriots are more interested in keeping/replacing Welker whether it's at the X, Y or Z, but I look for them to target a guys like Tavon Austin, Ryan Swope or Robert Woods for the slot position.
St. Louis needs all kinds of WR's, but will likely draft 2, one high and one developmental. I could see them targeting Keenan Allen to give Bradford a reliable underneath target.
The Steelers could well go for a guy like Justin Hunter to fill the deep threat role Wallace played and the big lift role that Plaxico Burress used to fill so well for them. Other targets that make sense for them would be Cobi Hamilton, Markus Wheaton, or DeAndre Hopkins.
Seattle will want to upgrade around Russel Wilson. All of their receivers/TE's are decent but not great. They really could go in any direction, but I would look for guys with speed because the deep ball is Wilson's forte. His accuracy isn't always stellar, so I would expect bigger WR's to be their preference. I would imagine they'll target Justin Hunter, Cordarrelle Patterson, Keenan Allen, Cobi Hamilton and Marcus Davis.
Baltimore will look for a possession receiver if they lose Boldin. If not, they'll look for a guy to fill Jacoby Jones' shoes in both the deep threat and return role. Guys like Cordarrelle Patterson or Keenan Allen would be ideal, but I suspect Baltimore will wait until round 2 or later for guys like Cobi Hamilton, Da'Rick Rogers, Quinton Patton or Aaron Dobson.
Minnesota will either look to complement Percy Harvin or replace him. Complements would be big guys who present a large target for their mediocre QB, like Justin Hunter, Keenan Allen, Aaron Dobson, Marquess Wilson or Aaron Mellette. Replacements would be guys like Tavon Austin, Marquise Goodwin, and Denard Robinson.
Clevland is trickier because with Chudzinski and Norv coming in, I'd expect big receivers and a vertical passing game. This seems to fit Brandon Wheedon's game ... but rumor is they're looking for a new QB and I'm not sure there are any better vertical passers coming in via FA or the draft who are head and shoulders above Wheedon to be honest. Anyway, guys like Justin Hunter, Keenan Allen, Cordarelle Patterson, DeAndre Hopkins and Cobi Hamilton fit the bill.
By now I'm sure you've noticed that certain names came up a lot in that analysis, guys like Justin Hunter and Cobi Hamilton may have surprised some people. But the reality is that I think those guys fit just about every system in the NFL, and will be high on a lot of teams' draft boards.