It’s been a quiet beginning for the heralded rookie wide receivers. Of the three selected in the top 10, none have actually gotten on a field yet in a preseason game. The second-rounders haven’t been much better. But some of the later-round choices look pretty good.
Back at the draft in April, 32 were selected. At the halfway point of the preseason, their numbers look like this …
| ROOKIE WIDE RECEIVERS, PRESEASON STATS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | (Rd-Pk) | No | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Corey Davis, Tenn. | (1-5) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | (1-7) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| John Ross, Cin. | (1-9) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | (2-37) | 3 | 42 | 14 | 22 | 0 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | (2-40) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | (2-62) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| • Cooper Kupp, LAR | (3-69) | 8 | 105 | 13.1 | 23t | 2 |
| • Taywan Taylor, Tenn. | (3-72) | 7 | 97 | 13.9 | 42 | 0 |
| ArDarius Stewart, NYJ | (3-79) | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Carlos Henderson, Den. | (3-82) | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | (3-84) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| • Kenny Golladay, Det. | (3-96) | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 23t | 2 |
| Chad Williams, Ariz. | (3-98) | 2 | 34 | 17 | 19 | 0 |
| Amara Darboh, Sea. | (3-106) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| • Dede Westbrook, Jac. | (4-110) | 7 | 173 | 24.7 | 42t | 1 |
| Josh Reynolds, LAR | (4-117) | 1 | 20 | 20 | 20t | 1 |
| • Mack Hollins, Phil. | (4-118) | 5 | 70 | 14 | 38t | 1 |
| Josh Malone, Cin. | (4-128) | 5 | 47 | 9.4 | 15 | 1 |
| Ryan Switzer, Dall. | (4-133) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| Jehu Chesson, K.C. | (4-139) | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 10 | 0 |
| Chad Hansen, NYJ | (4-141) | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 10 | 0 |
| Shelton Gibson, Phil. | (5-166) | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Rodney Adams, Minn. | (5-170) | 6 | 38 | 6.3 | 14 | 1 |
| Isaiah McKenzie, Den. | (5-172) | 1 | 47 | 47 | 47t | 1 |
| DeAngelo Yancey, G.B. | (5-175) | 3 | 67 | 22.3 | 46 | 0 |
| Trent Taylor, S.F. | (5-177) | 3 | 33 | 11 | 19 | 0 |
| Robert Davis, Wash. | (6-209) | 5 | 67 | 13.4 | 31 | 0 |
| Stacy Coley, Minn. | (7-219) | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 38 | 0 |
| David Moore, Sea. | (7-226) | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Isaiah Ford, Mia. | (7-237) | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| Noah Brown, Dall. | (7-239) | 4 | 60 | 15 | 19t | 1 |
| Malachi Dupre, G.B. | (7-247) | 2 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
To me, only five of these wide receivers have jumped out. I’ve got them tagged with black dots. I’m not saying these will be the best five (those three chosen in the top 10 might all end up being really good). But these less-heralded five all look like they should have been drafted sooner.
Cooper Kupp: He ran a 4.62 at the combine, contributing to him falling into the third round, but he seems to just have a great sense of how to play. He gets open and catches the ball, and you can see there’s a rapport there between him and Jared Goff. He’s started and played with the first-unit offense in both practice games, and he looks like he belongs. Goff has thrown to him 10 times, and Kupp has caught 8 of them. He abused T.J. Carrie the Raiders game, with 6 catches. In the Dallas game, there was an end zone fumble and he figured it out before the defensive backs in the area, diving on the fumble. Strange to say, but I think he’s going to catch more passes than the three veteran wide receivers on his team (Sammy Watkins, Tavon Austin, Robert Woods).
Taywan Taylor: The Titans selected Corey Davis 5th overall. They also have Rishard Matthews and Tajae Sharpe (and later signed Eric Decker). So when they used another high draft pick on a wide receiver – Taylor in the third round – you’ve got to figure they really liked him. He looks the part; had a 42-yard reception in his first game. I think they’ll play him in the slot, and I think Taylor will be in the league for years and years.
Kenny Golladay: They’ve been raving about his work in practices, and then he went out and showed it on the field, catching a pair of touchdowns at Indianapolis – both on contested balls. He’s big (6-4, 218) and seems to have a great feel for coming down with passes even when he’s covered. They might utilize him extensively in the red zone. Marvin Jones and Golden Tate will start for the Lions, but they use three receivers on most downs. T.J. Jones (who’s been playing in the slot) is down for a bit with a hamstring injury, and that could help lift Golladay into more of a full-time role.
Dede Westbrook: He slipped to the fourth round because of off-field concerns. He should have gone a couple of rounds earlier. Looks like he could be another DeSean Jackson – small, but an explosive playmaker. He caught a 42-yard touchdown at New England, and he caught 6 passes for 131 yards against Tampa Bay, all in the fourth quarter (though, as revealed on HARD KNOCKS last night, he was working against a defensive back with a knee injury). Jaguars have Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee, but I expect they’ll mix in Westbrook in sets with multiple receivers, and he’ll hit some plays. Would be nice if they had a quarterback.
Mack Hollins: He’s huge (6-4, 221) and he caught a nice touchdown early in the Green Bay game, stiff-arming a defensive back to the ground. The first time I saw the play, I thought it was Jordan Matthews – same sort of body type. Hollins’ development no doubt contributed to the team being comfortable dishing Matthews off to the Bills. The Eagles also have Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Torrey Smith, but I’m sure they’ll mix Hollins plenty.
—Ian Allan