It’s a good time to be shopping for a wide receiver there will be a lot of good ones available in free agency. With teams also having access to another strong draft class, those who want to have add another good player or two at this position should have ample opportunity to do so.
The class of free agent pass catchers could include A.J. Green, Allen Robinson, T.Y. Hilton, Sammy Watkins, Marvin Jones, Antonio Brown, Curtis Samuel and JuJu Smith-Schuster. It’s early – some of those guys could sign extensions or be protected by tags. But there will be talent available.
And as I play around with some of the numbers, I see four other pending free agents that bubble to the surface. Will Fuller, Rashard Higgins, Nelson Agholor (pictured) and Corey Davis all averaged well over 10 yards per pass play last year (not per catch, but per play – including incompletions). If we look at all wide receivers who’ve seen at least 50 targets in the last 10 years, those guys show up near the top.
Agholor and Davis in particular helped themselves last year. They’ve both been disappointments for most of their pro careers, but they stepped things up last year. They’ll find buyers. And Higgins looks like a viable third receiving option; he played well for the Browns after Odell Beckham got hurt.
With Fuller, it’s all about durability. He’s had problems staying healthy (I would be leery of committing too much money to him) but he’s a No. 1 kind of guy when everything’s right physically.
| WIDE RECEIVERS, YARDS PER PASS PLAY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Yards | TD | YPT |
| 2018 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 70 | 57 | 965 | 10 | 13.8 |
| 2011 | Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 95 | 68 | 1,263 | 15 | 13.3 |
| 2013 | Kenny Stills, N.O. | 50 | 32 | 641 | 5 | 12.8 |
| 2019 | A.J. Brown, Ten. | 84 | 52 | 1,051 | 8 | 12.5 |
| 2014 | DeSean Jackson, Was. | 94 | 56 | 1,169 | 6 | 12.4 |
| 2011 | Malcom Floyd, S.D. | 70 | 43 | 856 | 5 | 12.2 |
| 2019 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 94 | 63 | 1,130 | 6 | 12.0 |
| 2011 | Victor Cruz, NYG | 131 | 82 | 1,536 | 9 | 11.7 |
| 2016 | Chris Hogan, N.E. | 58 | 38 | 680 | 4 | 11.7 |
| 2020 | • Will Fuller, Hou. | 75 | 53 | 879 | 8 | 11.7 |
| 2017 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 79 | 58 | 917 | 7 | 11.6 |
| 2016 | Taylor Gabriel, Atl. | 50 | 35 | 579 | 6 | 11.6 |
| 2011 | James Jones, G.B. | 55 | 38 | 635 | 7 | 11.5 |
| 2020 | • Rashard Higgins, Cle. | 52 | 37 | 599 | 4 | 11.5 |
| 2020 | • Julio Jones, Atl. | 68 | 51 | 771 | 3 | 11.3 |
| 2017 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 105 | 75 | 1,183 | 7 | 11.3 |
| 2017 | Ted Ginn, N.O. | 70 | 53 | 787 | 4 | 11.2 |
| 2020 | • Justin Jefferson, Min. | 125 | 88 | 1,400 | 7 | 11.2 |
| 2019 | Mike Williams, LAC | 90 | 49 | 1,001 | 2 | 11.1 |
| 2018 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 138 | 86 | 1,524 | 8 | 11.0 |
| 2019 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 121 | 86 | 1,333 | 9 | 11.0 |
| 2014 | Kenny Stills, N.O. | 85 | 63 | 931 | 3 | 11.0 |
| 2020 | • Marquez Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 63 | 33 | 690 | 6 | 11.0 |
| 2011 | Brandon LaFell, Car. | 56 | 36 | 613 | 3 | 10.9 |
| 2020 | • Nelson Agholor, L.V. | 82 | 48 | 896 | 8 | 10.9 |
| 2016 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 129 | 83 | 1,409 | 6 | 10.9 |
| 2015 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 96 | 60 | 1,047 | 9 | 10.9 |
| 2015 | Rishard Matthews, Mia. | 61 | 43 | 662 | 4 | 10.9 |
| 2011 | Steve Smith, Car. | 129 | 79 | 1,394 | 7 | 10.8 |
| 2018 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 137 | 87 | 1,479 | 12 | 10.8 |
| 2018 | Rashard Higgins, Cle. | 53 | 39 | 572 | 4 | 10.8 |
| 2011 | Laurent Robinson, Dall. | 80 | 54 | 858 | 11 | 10.7 |
| 2020 | • Corey Davis, Ten. | 92 | 65 | 984 | 5 | 10.7 |
| 2015 | Torrey Smith, S.F. | 62 | 33 | 663 | 4 | 10.7 |
| 2011 | Marques Colston, N.O. | 107 | 80 | 1,143 | 8 | 10.7 |
—Ian Allan