It looks like a good year for rookie wideouts. There were 15 drafted in the first three rounds; five in each. One of the more intriguing ones was selected by the New York Jets, who grabbed Elijah Moore just 2 picks into the second round.
Moore wouldn't have been surprising as a first-rounder, and he's been drawing praise at OTAs thus far. The Athletic's Connor Hughes calls him the team's most impressive player thus far.
Currently New York has Corey Davis and Jamison Crowder atop the depth chart, with Denzel Mims fitting in there somewhere, as well as free agent signing Keelan Cole. But the team is looking for Crowder to take a pay cut, and these stories often end with the veteran being released. Could very well be Moore starting in the slot right away.
Moore, as Ian noted in a recent factoid, is just the latest standout receiver from Ole Miss (A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf) to enter the league. He had a big year last season, with his 86 receptions trailing only Heisman-winner DeVonta Smith. Considering Ole Miss played only 8 games, Moore actually led all of college football in receptions per game (minimum of 5 games). Stats via sports-reference.com/cfb. Wide receivers drafted in the first four rounds this year in bold.
| COLLEGE RECEIVING, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | School | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec/G |
| Elijah Moore | Ole Miss | 8 | 86 | 1193 | 13.9 | 8 | 10.8 |
| DeVonta Smith | Alabama | 13 | 117 | 1856 | 15.9 | 23 | 9.0 |
| Marlon Williams | UCF | 8 | 71 | 1039 | 14.6 | 10 | 8.9 |
| David Bell | Purdue | 6 | 53 | 625 | 11.8 | 8 | 8.8 |
| Tyrice Richie | Northern Illinois | 6 | 53 | 597 | 11.3 | 4 | 8.8 |
| Jaelon Darden | North Texas | 9 | 74 | 1190 | 16.1 | 19 | 8.2 |
| Hassan Beydoun | Eastern Michigan | 5 | 40 | 508 | 12.7 | 0 | 8.0 |
| Jonathan Adams Jr. | Arkansas State | 10 | 79 | 1111 | 14.1 | 12 | 7.9 |
| Khalil Shakir | Boise State | 7 | 52 | 719 | 13.8 | 6 | 7.4 |
| Rashod Bateman | Minnesota | 5 | 36 | 472 | 13.1 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Chris Olave | Ohio State | 7 | 50 | 729 | 14.6 | 7 | 7.1 |
| Justin Hall | Ball State | 7 | 49 | 665 | 13.6 | 4 | 7.0 |
| Jaquarii Roberson | Wake Forest | 9 | 62 | 926 | 14.9 | 8 | 6.9 |
| Terrace Marshall Jr. | LSU | 7 | 48 | 731 | 15.2 | 10 | 6.9 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | USC | 6 | 41 | 478 | 11.7 | 7 | 6.8 |
| Jadan Blue | Temple | 6 | 41 | 381 | 9.3 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Whop Philyor | Indiana | 8 | 54 | 495 | 9.2 | 3 | 6.8 |
| Billy Kemp | Virginia | 10 | 67 | 644 | 9.6 | 1 | 6.7 |
| Jarrin Pierce | Middle Tennessee State | 9 | 59 | 584 | 9.9 | 3 | 6.6 |
| Romeo Doubs | Nevada | 9 | 58 | 1002 | 17.3 | 9 | 6.4 |
| Amari Rodgers | Clemson | 12 | 77 | 1020 | 13.2 | 7 | 6.4 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson | Nebraska | 8 | 51 | 461 | 9 | 1 | 6.4 |
| Kadarius Toney | Florida | 11 | 70 | 984 | 14.1 | 10 | 6.4 |
| Shi Smith | South Carolina | 9 | 57 | 633 | 11.1 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Cam Johnson | Vanderbilt | 9 | 56 | 545 | 9.7 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Randle Jones | Temple | 5 | 31 | 370 | 11.9 | 2 | 6.2 |
| Simi Fehoko | Stanford | 6 | 37 | 574 | 15.5 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Jalen Cropper | Fresno State | 6 | 37 | 520 | 14.1 | 5 | 6.2 |
| Jordan Addison | Pitt | 10 | 60 | 666 | 11.1 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Jaivon Heiligh | Coastal Carolina | 11 | 65 | 998 | 15.4 | 10 | 5.9 |
| Tylan Wallace | Oklahoma State | 10 | 59 | 922 | 15.6 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Tyler Snead | East Carolina | 9 | 53 | 530 | 10 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Bailey Gaither | San Jose State | 7 | 41 | 725 | 17.7 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Dax Milne | Brigham Young | 12 | 70 | 1188 | 17 | 8 | 5.8 |
| Kyle Williams | UNLV | 6 | 35 | 426 | 12.2 | 2 | 5.8 |
| Jalen Tolbert | South Alabama | 11 | 64 | 1085 | 17 | 8 | 5.8 |
| Kaylon Geiger | Troy | 11 | 64 | 752 | 11.8 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Taj Harris | Syracuse | 10 | 58 | 733 | 12.6 | 5 | 5.8 |
| Jahan Dotson | Penn State | 9 | 52 | 884 | 17 | 8 | 5.8 |
| Calvin Austin III | Memphis | 11 | 63 | 1053 | 16.7 | 11 | 5.7 |
| Treylon Burks | Arkansas | 9 | 51 | 820 | 16.1 | 7 | 5.7 |
| Tre Walker | San Jose State | 8 | 45 | 627 | 13.9 | 4 | 5.6 |
| Jaylon Robinson | UCF | 10 | 55 | 979 | 17.8 | 6 | 5.5 |
| D'Wayne Eskridge | Western Michigan | 6 | 33 | 768 | 23.3 | 8 | 5.5 |
| Drake London | USC | 6 | 33 | 502 | 15.2 | 3 | 5.5 |
| Tyler Vaughns | USC | 6 | 33 | 406 | 12.3 | 3 | 5.5 |
| Jo'quavious Marks | Mississippi State | 11 | 60 | 268 | 4.5 | 0 | 5.5 |
Lots of incoming rookies show up well on this list, including Giants first-rounder Kadarius Toney, Baltimore first-rounder Rashod Bateman, Carolina second-rounder Terrace Marshall, Green Bay third-rounder Amari Rodgers and Detroit fourth-rounder Amon-Ra St. Brown, among others.
Maybe Crowder agrees to a paycut and sticks around, but we'll see. Moore makes a lot of sense as a late-round pick in drafts. Who's probably rising up boards these days.
--Andy Richardson