In the first full week of the preseason, Preston Williams was the player who surprised me the most. He wasn’t even drafted, but he looks like he might be Miami’s most productive wide receiver.
Williams’ first preseason catch came on a pass that never should have been thrown – a desperation heave on third-and-long that easily could have been intercepted. Williams was able to make the catch despite interference. He drew another PI flag later on the drive, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run.
Late in the second quarter, Williams made a 1-yard catch on a 36-yard bomb down the left sideline. Three plays later, he picked 18 on a toe-tapping grab on the sideline. Josh Rosen and Williams connected again in the third quarter for a 27-yard gain.
Pretty impressive stuff, and Williams appears to have enough talent that he should have been selected in the second or third round. He’s huge (6-4, 210) and has decent enough speed for a jumbo-sized pass catcher; he ran a 4.53 at his pro day.
Williams was productive at Colorado State, catching 96 passes for 1,345 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. Teams were scared off, apparently, by a domestic abuse incident that resulted in him not being invited to the combine.
I can’t speak to the off-field character, but if Williams has those issues resolved, it seems possible he might develop into Miami’s leading wide receiver. What he did against Atlanta was more impressive than anything DeVante Parker has done in four years with the team. They still have Kenny Stills, and I am still projecting him to be the most productive wide receiver on that team.
If Williams is productive this year, however, he’ll be bucking some long odds. In the last 20 years, only 68 rookie receivers that put up top-50 numbers in their first year. (That’s using PPR scoring). Only eight of those players were drafted after the fourth round. I see five undrafted players, but Tyreek Hill (5th round), Stefon Diggs (5th round) and Marques Colston (7th).
Typically when a rookie receiver has some success early, it’s a player who was selected in the first three rounds. On the chart, I’ve tagged with black dots the three who were drafted in the fourth round. In bold are the eight not drafted before the fifth round.
| ROOKIE RECEIVERS POSTING TOP-50 NUMBERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player (drafted) | No | Yards | TD | Points | Rk |
| 2014 | Odell Beckham, NYG (1st) | 91 | 1,305 | 12 | 297.0 | 8 |
| 2003 | Anquan Boldin, Ariz. (2nd) | 101 | 1,377 | 8 | 290.7 | 3 |
| 2016 | Michael Thomas, N.O. (2nd) | 92 | 1,137 | 9 | 259.7 | 7 |
| 2014 | Mike Evans, T.B. (1st) | 68 | 1,051 | 12 | 245.1 | 13 |
| 2004 | Michael Clayton, T.B. (1st) | 80 | 1,193 | 7 | 244.3 | 14 |
| 2008 | Eddie Royal, Den. (2nd) | 91 | 980 | 5 | 231.9 | 14 |
| 2014 | Kelvin Benjamin, Car. (1st) | 73 | 1,008 | 9 | 227.8 | 16 |
| 2010 | • Mike Williams, T.B. (4th) | 65 | 964 | 11 | 227.4 | 16 |
| 2013 | Keenan Allen, S.D. (3rd) | 71 | 1,046 | 8 | 223.6 | 18 |
| 2006 | Marques Colston, N.O. (7th) | 70 | 1,038 | 8 | 221.8 | 16 |
| 2016 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. (5th) | 61 | 593 | 12 | 219.0 | 18 |
| 2011 | A.J. Green, Cin. (1st) | 65 | 1,057 | 7 | 218.0 | 17 |
| 2015 | Amari Cooper, Oak. (1st) | 72 | 1,070 | 6 | 214.7 | 21 |
| 1999 | Kevin Johnson, Clev. (2nd) | 66 | 986 | 8 | 212.0 | 22 |
| 2018 | Calvin Ridley, Atl. (1st) | 64 | 821 | 10 | 208.8 | 20 |
| 2011 | Julio Jones, Atl. (1st) | 54 | 959 | 8 | 203.5 | 21 |
| 2014 | Jordan Matthews, Phil. (2nd) | 67 | 872 | 8 | 202.2 | 25 |
| 2009 | Percy Harvin, Min. (1st) | 60 | 790 | 8 | 200.5 | 23 |
| 2014 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. (1st) | 65 | 982 | 6 | 200.0 | 27 |
| 2007 | Dwayne Bowe, K.C. (1st) | 70 | 995 | 5 | 199.5 | 22 |
| 2017 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. (2nd) | 58 | 917 | 8 | 197.7 | 20 |
| 2004 | Lee Evans, Buff. (1st) | 48 | 843 | 9 | 194.8 | 29 |
| 2014 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. (2nd) | 84 | 758 | 5 | 189.4 | 30 |
| 2012 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. (3rd) | 50 | 861 | 8 | 187.0 | 28 |
| 2008 | DeSean Jackson, Phil. (2nd) | 62 | 912 | 4 | 186.8 | 30 |
| 2003 | Andre Johnson, Hou. (1st) | 66 | 976 | 4 | 186.6 | 22 |
| 2004 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. (1st) | 58 | 780 | 8 | 185.4 | 31 |
| 2012 | Justin Blackmon, Jac. (1st) | 64 | 865 | 5 | 184.8 | 29 |
| 2016 | Sterling Shepard, NYG (2nd) | 65 | 683 | 8 | 184.4 | 36 |
| 2004 | Roy Williams, Det. (1st) | 54 | 817 | 8 | 183.8 | 32 |
| 2011 | Torrey Smith, Balt. (2nd) | 50 | 841 | 7 | 180.0 | 30 |
| 2017 | Cooper Kupp, LAR (3rd) | 62 | 869 | 5 | 178.9 | 25 |
| 2001 | Chris Chambers, Mia. (2nd) | 48 | 883 | 7 | 177.2 | 33 |
| 2009 | • Austin Collie, Ind. (4th) | 60 | 676 | 7 | 169.7 | 29 |
| 1999 | Torry Holt, St.L. (1st) | 52 | 788 | 6 | 169.3 | 36 |
| 2015 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. (3rd) | 51 | 664 | 8 | 167.4 | 41 |
| 2000 | Peter Warrick, Cin. (1st) | 51 | 592 | 7 | 167.0 | 30 |
| 2018 | DJ Moore, Car. (1st) | 55 | 788 | 2 | 163.0 | 36 |
| 2009 | Hakeem Nicks, NYG (1st) | 47 | 790 | 6 | 162.8 | 33 |
| 1999 | Troy Edwards, Pitt. (1st) | 61 | 714 | 5 | 162.4 | 42 |
| 2013 | Cordarrelle Patterson, Min. (1st) | 45 | 469 | 9 | 161.7 | 38 |
| 2012 | Josh Gordon, Clev. (2nd) | 50 | 805 | 5 | 160.5 | 41 |
| 2000 | Darrell Jackson, Sea. (3rd) | 53 | 713 | 6 | 160.2 | 35 |
| 2007 | Calvin Johnson, Det. (1st) | 48 | 756 | 5 | 158.8 | 38 |
| 2002 | Antonio Bryant, Dall. (2nd) | 44 | 733 | 6 | 157.3 | 45 |
| 2009 | Jeremy Maclin, Phil. (1st) | 56 | 773 | 4 | 156.6 | 35 |
| 2009 | Mike Wallace, Pitt. (3rd) | 39 | 756 | 6 | 155.4 | 36 |
| 2014 | Allen Hurns, Jac. (undrafted) | 51 | 677 | 6 | 154.7 | 49 |
| 2004 | Keary Colbert, Car. (2nd) | 47 | 754 | 5 | 154.4 | 41 |
| 2011 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. (undrafted) | 51 | 788 | 4 | 153.6 | 42 |
| 2008 | Donnie Avery, St.L. (2nd) | 53 | 674 | 4 | 151.3 | 39 |
| 2012 | Kendall Wright, Ten. (1st) | 64 | 626 | 4 | 151.0 | 45 |
| 2006 | Santonio Holmes, Pitt. (1st) | 49 | 824 | 3 | 150.7 | 38 |
| 2013 | Terrance Williams, Dall. (3rd) | 44 | 736 | 5 | 150.0 | 45 |
| 2002 | Donte Stallworth, N.O. (1st) | 42 | 594 | 8 | 149.6 | 50 |
| 2015 | Stefon Diggs, Min. (5th) | 52 | 720 | 4 | 149.3 | 47 |
| 2010 | Dez Bryant, Dall. (1st) | 45 | 561 | 8 | 149.1 | 42 |
| 2011 | Titus Young, Det. (2nd) | 48 | 607 | 6 | 148.2 | 45 |
| 2001 | Rod Gardner, Was. (1st) | 46 | 741 | 4 | 145.7 | 43 |
| 2011 | Greg Little, Clev. (2nd) | 61 | 709 | 2 | 145.4 | 47 |
| 2013 | Marlon Brown, Balt. (undrafted) | 49 | 524 | 7 | 145.2 | 48 |
| 2013 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. (1st) | 52 | 802 | 2 | 144.2 | 49 |
| 1999 | Terrence Wilkins, Ind. (undrafted) | 42 | 565 | 7 | 140.7 | 50 |
| 2018 | Courtland Sutton, Den. (2nd) | 42 | 704 | 4 | 136.3 | 50 |
| 2000 | Sylvester Morris, K.C. (1st) | 48 | 678 | 3 | 135.4 | 49 |
| 2017 | Keelan Cole, Jac. (undrafted) | 42 | 748 | 3 | 134.8 | 48 |
| 2005 | Reggie Brown, Phil. (2nd) | 43 | 571 | 4 | 124.6 | 49 |
| 2016 | • Malcolm Mitchell, N.E. (4th) | 32 | 401 | 4 | 96.1 | 50 |
—Ian Allan