If you like rookie receivers who can get downfield, this is your draft class. Phillip Dorsett, Breshad Perriman and DeVante Parker all averaged over 19.8 yards per catch in their final college season. In the last 10 years, only other receivers have reached that mark.
And getting downfield, notice, seems to be a contributing indicator to NFL success. If guys can get downfield in college, they tend to also have some success in the pros.
On the list below, all of the players who’ve averaged over 17 yards per catch have had some success in the pros except Troy Williamson, who was plagued by drops and eyesight issues (is it a drop if you misjudge a ball and it doesn’t even hit your hands?). And Robert Meachem I would call neutral at best – had some long catches and sort-of productive but overall he’s more of a disappointment than a success. If we’re allowing do-overs, no way would any team select Meachem in the first round.
And let’s not bang this yards-per-catch drum too loudly. I know that Ashley Lelie had a really high average coming out of Hawaii.
FIRST-ROUNDERS, YARDS-PER-CATCH | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
2010 | Demaryius Thomas | 46 | 1,154 | 25.09 | 8 |
2015 | Phillip Dorsett | 36 | 871 | 24.19 | 10 |
2015 | Breshad Perriman | 50 | 1,044 | 20.88 | 9 |
2005 | Roddy White | 71 | 1,452 | 20.45 | 14 |
2014 | Mike Evans | 69 | 1,394 | 20.20 | 12 |
2015 | DeVante Parker | 43 | 855 | 19.88 | 5 |
2014 | Odell Beckham Jr. | 59 | 1,152 | 19.53 | 9 |
2005 | Troy Williamson | 43 | 835 | 19.42 | 7 |
2010 | Dez Bryant | 17 | 323 | 19.00 | 4 |
2014 | Kelvin Benjamin | 54 | 1,011 | 18.72 | 15 |
2006 | Santonio Holmes | 53 | 977 | 18.43 | 11 |
2007 | Robert Meachem | 71 | 1,298 | 18.28 | 11 |
2009 | Hakeem Nicks | 68 | 1,222 | 17.97 | 12 |
2013 | DeAndre Hopkins | 82 | 1,405 | 17.13 | 18 |
2013 | Cordarrelle Patterson | 46 | 778 | 16.91 | 5 |
2009 | Percy Harvin | 40 | 644 | 16.10 | 7 |
2007 | Calvin Johnson | 76 | 1,202 | 15.82 | 15 |
2009 | Kenny Britt | 87 | 1,371 | 15.76 | 7 |
2011 | Jon Baldwin | 53 | 822 | 15.51 | 5 |
2012 | Kendall Wright | 108 | 1,663 | 15.40 | 14 |
2007 | Dwayne Bowe | 65 | 990 | 15.23 | 12 |
2007 | Craig Davis | 56 | 836 | 14.93 | 4 |
2011 | A.J. Green | 57 | 848 | 14.88 | 9 |
2011 | Julio Jones | 78 | 1,133 | 14.53 | 7 |
2009 | Darrius Heyward-Bey | 42 | 609 | 14.50 | 5 |
2014 | Sammy Watkins | 101 | 1,464 | 14.50 | 12 |
2007 | Anthony Gonzalez | 51 | 734 | 14.39 | 8 |
2012 | A.J. Jenkins | 90 | 1,276 | 14.18 | 8 |
2015 | Amari Cooper | 124 | 1,727 | 13.93 | 16 |
2005 | Mike Williams | 95 | 1,314 | 13.83 | 16 |
2005 | Braylon Edwards | 97 | 1,330 | 13.71 | 15 |
2014 | Brandin Cooks | 128 | 1,730 | 13.52 | 18 |
2015 | Kevin White | 109 | 1,447 | 13.28 | 10 |
2005 | Mark Clayton | 66 | 876 | 13.27 | 8 |
2007 | Ted Ginn Jr. | 59 | 781 | 13.24 | 9 |
2015 | Nelson Agholor | 104 | 1,313 | 12.63 | 12 |
2012 | Justin Blackmon | 121 | 1,522 | 12.58 | 18 |
2009 | Jeremy Maclin | 102 | 1,260 | 12.35 | 13 |
2009 | Michael Crabtree | 97 | 1,165 | 12.01 | 19 |
2012 | Michael Floyd | 100 | 1,147 | 11.47 | 9 |
2013 | Tavon Austin | 114 | 1,289 | 11.31 | 12 |
2005 | Matt Jones | 0 | 0 | --- | 0 |
—Ian Allan