The first year that I looked in depth at the NFL draft was 2014. That year was one of the best ever for wide receiver prospects. The next year also had a lot of impressive players.
The current era of football is seeing the passing game explode, making wide receivers more important for teams. With an influx of elite wide receivers, combined with an increased emphasis on passing. It was obvious that the trend I saw when I started seriously evaluating prospects would only continue.
While the trend towards pass-first offense has continued even further than expected, the same can’t be said of the progression of college receivers. Let’s take a look at the past 5 drafts, and preview the top wide receivers in the 2019 NFL draft.
2014:
Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Jordan Matthews, Brandin Cooks, Marqise Lee, Donte Moncrief, Martavis Bryant, Kelvin Benjamin, Cody Latimer, Davante Adams, Paul Richardson, Allen Robinson, Jarvis Landry, John Brown, Allen Hurns, Quincy Enunwa, Albert Wilson
That is a lot of starting caliber wide receivers. 12 wide receivers were taken in the first 2 rounds, which is incredibly high.
2015:
Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Breshad Perriman, Nelson Agholor, Jaelen Strong, Dorial Green-Beckham, Stefon Diggs, Phillip Dorsett, Sammie Coates, Tyler Lockett, Devin Smith, Chris Conley, Devin Funchess, Ty Montgomery, Justin Hardy, Jamison Crowder
While there were certainly some busts in this draft class, there was a lot of hype surround this group. Six players were taken in the first round, and 35 total were drafted. It is possible that the busts (Perriman, Green-Beckham, and Devin Smith being the biggest) made teams more hesitant to take receivers early.
2016:
Laquon Treadwell, Corey Coleman, Josh Docton, Will Fuller, Michael Thomas, Tyler Boyd, Sterling Sheperd, Pharoh Cooper, Braxton Miller, Leonte Carroo, Malcolm Mitchell, Tajae Sharpe, Ricardo Louis, Robby Anderson, Tyreek Hill, Geronimo Allison, Alex Erickson.
The number of receivers taken in the first two rounds fell to 7, with 4 going in the first round. It’s too early to call someone a bust from this class, but a few guys certainly seem to be trending that direction, and there haven’t been many players emerging late.
2017:
Mike Williams, Corey Davis, John Ross, Curtis Samuel, Zay Jones, Juju Smith-Schuster, Ardarius Stewart, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp, Kenny Golladay, Carlos Henderson, Chad Hansen, Dede Westbrook, Chad Williams, Ricky Seals-Jones
The number of receivers taken in the first two rounds fell to 6, with 3 going in the first round. There were some decent players available on day 2, but the top of the draft wasn’t nearly as strong as some thought, and there was little depth.
2018:
DJ Moore, Calvin Ridley, Courtland Sutton, Christian Kirk, Anthony Miller, James Washington, Dante Pettis, DJ Chark, Michael Gallup, DaeSean Hamilton, TreQuan Smith, Keke Coutee, Deon Cain, Marcell Ateman, Javon Wims, Antonio Callaway, Equanimeous St. Brown, Allen Lazard, Trey Quinn, Jaleel Scott, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jordan Lasley, J’Mon Moore
The number of receivers taken in the first two rounds went up to 8, but only 2 of them were first round picks, with the top receiver going 24th overall.
2019:
The upcoming draft has some good depth, but it doesn’t appear to be much better at the top.
The upcoming draft doesn’t appear to be much better, but there are a few interesting underclassmen with a lot of potential. Regardless, most analysts, myself included, don’t have a wide receiver ranked in our top 15 overall. In fact, I only have 1 wide receiver with a first round grade right now (AJ Brown).
A couple of noteworthy receivers with big potential: AJ Brown, Ole Miss; Collin Johnson, Texas; N’Keal Harry, Arizona State; Marquise Brown, Oklahoma; Kelvin Harmon, NC State; DK Metcalf, Ole Miss.
AJ Brown, N’Keal Harry, and Marquise Brown are the top 3 as of now, but they all have their weaknesses. Brown works out of the slot which hurts his versatility, Harry doesn’t have elite separation ability, and “Hollywood” Brown is rail thin. The sleeper to watch is DK Metcalf, a redshirt sophomore from Ole Miss who is a freak athlete. He’s currently dealing with an injury however, so I don’t expect him to enter the draft. If he gets healthy and improves his hands, he might end up rising into the top-15 conversation for the first time in a while.
Until that happens, we’ll have another draft approaching without a definite first round talent at wide receiver, so we’re left asking ourselves “where have all the good WRs gone?!”
