Stats through two weeks: 11 targets, 7 receptions, 102 yards, 0 touchdownsFull-season pace: 94 targets, 60 receptions, 867 yards, zero touchdowns. When the trade took place, the belief was that the Lions were going up to get a quarterback. Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle deserve much of the credit for the Knicks success this season. While Waddle made the most of those shallow opportunities by earning a top-five grade on targets under 10 yards for the entire season, he is capable of more. Also:Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, "Long-term Fantasy managers will basically overlook Williams' torn ACL and stay fixated on his speed. Kansas City Chiefs: "Williams wouldn't have to get rushed back as the Chiefs have Mecole Hardman and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to hold down the fort as downfield threats. He suffered a fractured ankle in October and was still the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, finishing with 88 catches for 1,084 yards, and seven touchdowns in eight games. The 2023 wide receiver class seems to be just as deep as that of the 2022 NFL Draft. 1 receiver with outstanding route-running skills and playmaking ability. Wide receiver Dante Pettis has signed a one-year contract to return to the Bears, the team announced on Monday. Very good acceleration and speed created problems for opposing defensive backs Never seemed to fear an impending hit Aside from leaving a 2021 game early after taking a hit, there is no documented injury history dating back to high school. Thinking about his best traits and his size, I think of Robby Anderson a lot. Cooks' quickness has helped him get open and make plays for years. The Ohio State product is a speedy No. Beckham remains a free agent after suffering a torn ACL in the Super Bowl, but he has a chance to reestablish himself as a top NFL pass-catcher once he gets healthy. If you bet on the right rookie wide receiver over the past two seasons, you got historic production that probably made your Fantasy team a contender even if you didn't do a lot else well. Waddle got off to a slow start in his 2021 rookie campaign, but he soon looked like a reliable vet. The Allen-Diggs connection leads all QB-receiver duos with +61.0 expected points added this season, helping the Bills surge to the top spot in the AFC entering Week 15 and giving both players plenty to be thankful for. Were a little over a week away from the 2023 NFL Draft. at There's not enough of him to box out in the red zone His route running and technique needs to improve if he's going to win consistently as a No. Assuming he stays healthy, theres reason to believe his best football is still ahead of him with new quarterback Russell Wilson now in Denver. Hes a technician, evidenced by his separation rate against single coverage since 2017 that ranks top five at the position. club finished 2nd to last in 2022-23. Dotson was arguably the most impressive rookie receiver in Week 1, as two of his five targets went for touchdowns. R2-P44 | Texans, 10) Tyquan Thornton, Baylor He also ranks fourth among receivers in go-route percentage (perhaps a blessing and a curse), and ninth in team air yard share. What Else Will the Carolina Panthers Do After Selecting Bryce Young No. McLaurin has shown he can produce at a higher level than this ranking his 2019 rookie campaign when he tied for sixth in PFF grade at 85.7, for example but sustaining that is another thing. His eight explosive receptions of 15-plus yards on inaccurate targets were tied for the fifth-most last season. His answer? Throughout his three-year professional career, Brown ranks top-five in both receiving grade and yards per route run. An extension of Saban on the field, the coaches gradually added to his plate, and he was always up to the task, finishing the 2022 season as the only FBS player with Still, theres no denying that the 10th-year pro is one of the NFLs best when healthy. 11 Pick Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints. The Vikings pulled off the biggest comeback in NFL history last week, but the Next Gen Stats analytics team says it wasn't the most improbable comeback of the season. After the Chiefs traded Hill in the offseason, he presented an ideal case study for how important an elite receiver can be to an offense. Since joining Buffalo in 2020, Diggs ranks seventh or higher in separation rate against single coverage, contested-catch grade and grade versus man coverage. Bodying defensive backs in tight coverage is where Williams wins. One major reason for that success has been Lambs consistency, as the third-year wideout has posted 70-plus receiving yards in five of those seven games. To put that in perspective, he is currently the only player in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) to average over 3.3 yards per route in a season (min. Adams earned a career-high 92.7 PFF grade in 2021, his second consecutive mark above 92.0. Just because he didn't run a slew of downfield routes doesn't mean he won't at the pro level -- nobody should think of him as a giant slot receiver. Find out where your favorite wide receivers stacks up against the 2023 class and view expert mock drafts. He is an excellent complementary piece to 2021 first-round pick, His 2022 output will be something to monitor, given that he'll be going from, The 6-foot-4, 215-pound pass-catcher can make some difficult grabs over the middle of the field and use his large catch radius to reel in slightly inaccurate targets. According to PFF, three of Wilsons 14 targets were incomplete because of inaccurate passes, including one that wouldve given him a third touchdown on the day: But worry not, Jets fans. Will it translate to the NFL level? Iosivas is a natural leader and was voted team captain at Princeton in 2022. When Thielen is healthy, his advanced route running makes him a clear Tier 1 player. Vision and decision-making with the ball in his hands were good, but sometimes saw on-coming defenders and cost himself some yards by cutting back. Stats through two weeks: 19 targets, 13 receptions, 160 yards, 1 touchdownFull-season pace: 162 targets, 111 receptions, 1,360 yards, 9 touchdowns. Riley Moss, CB, Iowa | NFL Draft Scouting Report, Steve Avila, G, TCU | NFL Draft Scouting Report, Top 10 DTs in the 2023 NFL Draft: Jalen Carter Stands Tall on the Interior. Justin Jefferson put up 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie two years ago, and then got one-upped by Ja'Marr Chase last season, who had 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. STEFON DIGGS, BUFFALO BILLS. is the biggest boom-or-bust receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft. Stats through two weeks: 16 Apr 18, 2023. Those were the two best rookie wide receiver seasons of all time, of course, so it's probably asking a lot for anyone to replicate that -- there aren't any wide receivers left from that Joe Burrow-led LSU offense, are there? No. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound receiver was mostly force-fed underneath targets just to get the ball in his hands as opposed to the team relying on his elite speed down the field. He has elite A big, physical target with an ideal blend of size, athleticism, and good speed, Burks has locked himself in as a first-round prospect in Dotson's athletic ability and impressive season at Penn State have NFL scouts paying attention and even thinking he could become the next Pickens could easily be the biggest boom-bust prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft class. Savvy when it comes to impromptu plays Can contribute on special teams as a punt returner Aside from a concussion in late October 2021, Wilson has not had a documented injury. Here are PFF's wide receiver rankings ahead of the 2022 season, starting with Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp at the top. Sutton may not have the speed of D.K. R3-P88 | Cowboys, 18) Erik Ezukanma, Texas Tech Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) catches a touchdown pass over Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple (20) in the 4th quarter in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. After producing at an elite level with the, After being cut midway through 2021, Beckham landed with the Rams and was a vital piece to their Super Bowl run. 2022 NFL season's top 10 wide receivers: Justin Jefferson reels in No. club finished Among qualified rookie receivers, Burks ranks first in PFF offensive grading and yards per route run, and hes been about as effective as Robert Woods as a run blocker, which is saying something considering Woods is one of the best run-blocking receivers in football. Intriguingly, despite the flurry of activity on Day 1, that is tied for the lowest number of receivers Godwin has still been at a WR1 level, ranking 21st in PFF WAR since 2020, but his 0.60 mark in that metric over those two years is less than what he accrued in 2019 alone. He earned more volume as time went on, but he never quite hit the ceiling he could have. Very few pundits saw it coming, but Dotsons early-season usage is off the charts in Washington, where the former Nittany Lion is part of a three-pronged receiver corps with Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel that looks like one of the best in football. Burks doesnt have the counting stats of the other four guys on this list, but theres a strong argument that hes fitting into his offense as well as any of them. Today: wide receivers. If the Packers make him their first wide receiver drafted, I would go in with the expectation that Pickens would beat out Sammy Watkins and Allen Lazard to be Aaron Rodgers' No. Who tops the list? 1 WR taken if not for a torn ACL suffered in the national championship game, and reporting of late indicates he may end up there anyway. The Rams are simply not the same team when Kupp is off the field. Thielen came back to form in 2020 with the sixth-highest PFF grade but took another tumble in grading in 2021, some of which can be attributed to injury down the stretch. From Week 9 on in 2021, he ranked 11th in receiving grade (81.9) while not dropping a single one of his 56 targets. The 2018 first-round pick earned a top-30 PFF grade in each of the past three seasons, with his best being an 82.2 mark in 2019. Pro Football Focus said Olave avoided two tackles all of 2021 and 10 for his entire career. For now, we should celebrate the Jets drafting of a really good receiver whos merely scratching the surface of his potential. We will lean on this formula to inform our rankings when applicable. Since joining Arizona in 2020, his 1.8% drop rate is the second-best in the NFL. Stats through two weeks: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 99 yards, 3 touchdownsFull-season pace: 85 targets, 60 receptions, 842 yards, 26 touchdowns (LOL!). St. Brown has also provided a safety blanket for Goff when teams blitz (which they often do). Here Jefferson has been incredibly productive against press-man, averaging 3.55 yards per route run (second) and 21 explosive receptions of 15 or more yards (tied for first). Is this the new normal in the NFL? He is also surprisingly effective on quick in-breaking routes. So, who are the top dogs at the position in the early goings of the 2022 season? The former Ohio State star broke out in a big way in Cleveland last weekend, showcasing the field-tilting speed and route-running chops that made him Danny Kellys top receiver heading into the 2022 draft. Early in the process it might have seemed superstar top-heavy, but through all He recorded a 72.3 receiving grade in his time with the team while battling constant miscommunication with quarterback Baker Mayfield. Its this type of savvy, subtle playmakingagainst a strong defensethat makes London look like a future star. Before the down season, Allen was on a four-year run of producing an 80.0-plus PFF grade, all ranking inside the top 15 at the position. This seasons run has delighted a long-suffering and devoted fan base, but the Kings arent satisfied. 12 pick Jameson Williams, who is perhaps this years most talented rookie receiver but will be on IR through at least Week 4 as he recovers from an ACL tear) is averaging just under eight targets, five receptions, and 64 receiving yards per game, while showcasing the preternatural talent that led Ringer staff writer Ben Solak to conclude in April that thered never be a weak draft class at the receiver position again.. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! He's emerged as the premier deep threat in college football and compares favorably London has had a totally dominating 2021 season where he showcased his immense talent. Some of these receiversnamely Justin Jefferson, JaMarr Chase, and Jaylen Waddledebuted with historic, record-breaking campaigns and ascended to the top tier of the position by the end of their first years. Stats through two weeks: 22 targets, 12 receptions, 154 yards, 2 touchdownsFull-season pace: 187 targets, 102 receptions, 1,309 yards, 17 touchdowns. The Raiders have faced Cover 6 at an outlier rate this season (17 percent, the only team over 13 percent), as defenses "cloud" Adams' side of the field, drawing a safety farther away from the ball. Incredible, albeit fairly inexperienced, kick-returner. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Adjusting as a rookie could be tricky since he'd see every opponent's No. Theres no quit he finds a way to get open and gives quarterback, However, Hill showed that he was more than a deep threat this past year, serving as a high-quality possession receiver for quarterback. Play man, get dusted. Its no secret Robinson was stuck in a bad situation last year and didnt look like his normal self. You'll find the 40 time on the Y-axis and on the X-axis the weight in pounds. His 75 combined first downs and touchdowns tied for the third-most among wide receivers in the regular season, but his average depth of target dipped to 11.0 yards, his lowest since his rookie campaign. Right now, hes looking like the better half of Atlantas Twin Towers and every bit as talented as the other receivers in this class. His rate of catchable targets over the past three seasons, in particular, ranks 62nd of 78 qualifying wide receivers. This week, we've assembled a list of the top 10 wide receivers heading into Week 15. The score is calculated by scaling each metric to a percentile (from 0 to 100) relative to all wide receivers who have played at least 150 offensive snaps through Week 14 of the 2022 season. He got off to a strong start to the season thanks to his dominance in the short game, as his 457 receiving yards on passes of fewer than 10 air yards from Weeks 1 to 9 were 68 more than any other player recorded in that span. Thomas missed over half of 2020 and all of 2021 due to a lingering ankle injury. The 2020 season was the worst campaign of his career from both a grading (78.9 receiving grade) and production standpoint (1.93 yards per route run), aided in part by him seemingly rushing back onto the field following an injury. But Robby Anderson seems good for an expectation, at least. He finished the year as the 18th-most valuable wide receiver in the NFL, according to PFF WAR. His PFF grade dropped just a few points year-over-year to 77.4, a top-30 mark in the NFL. Diggs is one of the best route-runners in the game, but By Eddie Brown. After trading back, the Commanders secured Jahan Dotson out of Penn State with the 16th pick. 61, 180 pounds; JR. A top-100 overall recruit for Ohio State in 2019, Williams transferred over to Alabama two years later, due to having to play While the attention is on the young teammates, Sutton broke out in his second-year 2019 season with a top-10 PFF grade. That gives him potential to be the top Fantasy wideout in the draft class, but he would get there sooner if a team drafted him and did opt to use him similarly to his 2021 campaign (lots of targets, lots of touchdown chances) while also grooming him for a big role. Please enter a valid email and try again. He finished his career at Ohio State with 2,213 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns. -- Mike Band, Keegan Abdoo and Cole Jacobson contributed to this piece. He had three touchdown catches. NFL Draft Buzz is on the lookout for new contributors who would like a chance showcase their perspectives on the NFL draft. The Jaguars really aren't in need of a wide receiver. Their Run Is Just Beginning. Even, Allen is coming off the second-lowest-graded season of his nine-year NFL career, ahead of only his 2014 sophomore campaign. While opinions are all over the place with this year's wide receiver draft class, Matt and Charles agree WR1 is Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. ", "Wilson has a nearly identical skill-set as T.Y. ", "Olave is a fast, savvy receiver who can run great routes but doesn't play with a lot of physicality. ", Weaknesses "Can he improve his physicality and play strength? Beckham is a vertical route specialist, and a large chunk of his production came from such concepts. Atlantas new X receiver currently leads all rookie wideouts in Pro Football Focuss receiving grade, receptions, and receiving yards, and according to TruMedia hes also commanding 33 percent of his teams total targets, the highest rate through two weeks by any rookie wide receiver since Larry Fitzgerald in 2004. Brown from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles. There isnt a lot of top end talent this year, especially when you consider last year had six guys taken in the top-18 picks. The Next Gen Stats analytics team reveals its ranking of the 10 best edge rushers entering Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season, with the Browns' Myles Garrett leading a list of star defenders. And now theyre guaranteed not to have him for a minimum of six games due to an offseason suspension for a positive PED test. You can also find Heath's updated Dynasty rankings -- including rookie-only drafts. 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