You might have missed this, but did you know that only one wide receiver went in the first-round in the 2018 draft? That’s low. There hadn’t been that few wide receivers taken since in round one since 2008, when none were taken.
Overall, 31 wide receivers were drafted this year and that’s about the average, but here’s the crazy part. Almost all of them, if not all of them, will have zero fantasy impact in 2018.
Look at last year’s draft. Three receivers were drafted in the first round (Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross). Two of those players were drafted in our fantasy league. Yet, it proved to be a wasted pick. Those three finished ranked #107 (Davis), #89 (Williams) and unranked (Ross) among wide receivers last year.
No rookie wideout from last season finished among the top-30. JuJu Smith-Schuster had his moments and certainly earned some starts, but it was Cooper Cupp who led all rookie receivers last year, finishing 31st.
Now 2017’s group proved to be pretty worthless, but it’s not that uncommon. On average, usually only one or two receivers step up and manage to be starter-worthy. That’s it. Let’s look back…
2017 Cooper Cupp – Sat on Bob’s bench JuJu Smith-Schuster – Started a handful of games
2016 Michael Thomas – Finished 16th Tyreek Hill – Started for Bob down the stretch, but still finished high 30s.
2015 Amari Cooper – Finished #14 among all receivers Stefon Diggs – Saw a little action towards the end of the year
2014 Mike Evans – Finished as a low-end WR1 (#12) Odell Beckham – Officially finished #23, but was the best WR at the end. Kelvin Benjamin – He actually peaked as a rookie (#15)
2013 Keenan Allen – Ended the regular season as the 23rd best wideout
2012 Nobody. Not a single receiver was a starter that year. T.Y. Hilton was the closest thing finishing ranked #36.
2011 A.J. Green – One of the best rookie receivers ever; finished 10th. Note: This was the year Julio Jones was drafted, but he finished just 38th.
2010 Again, nobody. Dez Bryant was the best, but he barely cracked the top-40. Antonio Brown was draft in 2010 in the sixth round, but he had just 16 catches.
I think you get my point. Outside of 2014, you have about the same chance of drafting a fantasy rookie WR that will have a positive impact on your fantasy team, as Jeff will have of making a positive impact on a starving African child’s life.
THIS SEASON’S ROOKIE WIDE RECEIVERS
Here is my top-five receiver prospects…
D.J. Moore, Carolina The top receiver taken couldn’t have asked for a better home. To say the Panthers are in desperate need for a WR1 may be the greatest understatement since Colby’s former boss said, “We pay this guy this much?”
Although not a burner and length isn’t really his thing (that’s what she said), this kid knows how to run routes and Newton will like his fight when he tosses up balls into the end zone.
Michael Gallup, Cowboys Perhaps this is more wishful thinking, but this is the guy I wanted Dallas to take. He’s not going to outrun many folks, but he’s got great hands and is especially dangerous facing a zone, which explains the Michael Thomas comparisons. The good news is, the only pair of hands in front of him belong to Allen Hurns and Terrance Williams.
Dante Pettis, 49ers I don’t know much about this kid; as I don’t watch a lot of Huskie football, but word is, he’s fast and can stretch the field. Still, he barely weighs 180 and it’s hard to see him lasting long if he’s running any routes between the hash marks. Having said that, he found a perfect landing spot. Marquise Goodwin was Jimmy G’s favorite and the team still has Garcon, but that’s not really that impressive of a duo. I’m not saying that Pettis will be anything more than a special teams guy…well, since he’s on this list, I guess I am saying that.
Calvin Ridley, Atlanta First, he’s no Julio Jones. He’s also like 23 years old, which is ancient for rookie. The Falcons nabbed him because this was a team incapable of scoring during their final eight games last year. He’s a speedster with good hands, who should real soon take over the Z receiver spot from Sanu. For now, he’s a slot guy who will never see double-coverage, thanks to Julio.
D.J. Clark, Jaguars With Allen Robinson taking his talents to the Windy City, Jacksonville went out and got a burner. Clark actually has some size (6’3), but he’s not a physical presence on the field. The question is, can Bortles get him the ball? He’s been one of the worst deep ball passers since joining the league, although he wasn’t too bad in 2017.
Courtland Sutton I didn’t want the Cowboys to use a first-round pick on a wide receiver, but if they did, I wanted this guy. He reminds me of a young DeAndre Hopkins, with his long arms and ability to battle and box out smaller corners.
Unfortunately for him, I don’t see a lot of balls coming his way in Denver. He’s not really a slot receiver and he’s not jumping ahead of either Thomas or Sanders on the depth chart.
DEEP, DEEP SLEEPER
My guess is, the popular sleepers will be Antonio Callaway (Browns) and Jaleel Scott (Ravens), only because there are starter spots open on those wide receiver-challenged teams. However, I’m going with…
Equanimeous St. Brown, Packers With Jordy Nelson gone, the Packers receiving core is pretty shallow. Davante Adams is the clear go-to receiver for Aaron Rodgers. On the other side, we have Randall Cobb. He obviously showed flashes in his first four seasons in the league, led by his 1,287 yards in 2014. Yet, since then he’s been just okay. He hasn’t sniffed 80 receptions in a season since and has cracked 700 yards just once. Total, he’s scored only 14 touchdowns. Outside of that, the rest of the backup wideouts have combined for 68 career catches. That’s not a lot.
Coming from Notre Dame, St. Brown is a speedy guy, not afraid to mix it up in the middle. His length stands out. At 6’5, he’ll remind some of a young, non-gun toting Plaxico Burress. He also has a German mother and those bitches know how to breed.
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