It was a strong class of wide receivers coming out of college, as evidenced by seven being selected in the first round. But the negative (for some players) is that the wealth of talent available probably factored into some guys falling out of the top 3 rounds.
Oregon star Troy Franklin (pictured) is one example, slipping to the Broncos in the fourth round. Central Florida's Javon Baker went to the Patriots a few picks later, and he was steamed about it having to wait that long, calling to mind Terrell Owens as he delivered one of the more memorable quotes from the weekend: "As I like to tell y’all. Bring your popcorn. I make people in wheelchairs stand up."
The explosive Franklin put up big numbers for the Ducks in college's top passing offense, seemingly on track to be at least a second-round pick. But he fell to the fourth, perhaps a combination of being on the lean side (6-2 but just 176 pounds) and -- according to NFL Network chat during the draft -- not impressing with his route-running at the combine. But he goes to a Broncos team with nothing much established behind contract-year veteran Courtland Sutton, and he'll be working with his college quarterback, Bo Nix.
Baker wasn't as highly regarded but last season was awfully impressive. He put up 1,139 yards on just 52 receptions -- that's nearly 22 yards per catch. But he was mostly a straight-line route-runner in UCF's offense and then ran a 4.54 at the combine. The Patriots drafted him two full rounds after Ja'Lynn Polk. I watch his highlights, though, and I see a competitive guy who will take balls away from defenders; he's got some dog in him, as they say (as his post-draft quotes suggest). We can find plenty of examples of guys drafted later by the same team outperforming the one drafted first, and perhaps this will be another one.
Regardless of these specific players, a reminder that falling to the fourth or fifth round is hardly evidence that a player can't emerge as a top wideout. It's happened plenty in recent years.
Fourteen different wide receivers drafted in the fourth or fifth rounds in the past decade have had at least one top-40 fantasy season. Two of those guys have been among the league's very best wideouts since entering the league: Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. Amon-Ra St. Brown has entered that class in his three seasons, and after setting a couple of long-standing rookie records, Puka Nacua might join him. No reason to think that guys like Franklin and Baker couldn't be next.
Table shows all the top-40 seasons (PPR) from wide receivers selected in the fourth and fifth rounds since 2014.
| 4TH- AND 5TH-ROUND WRS IN TOP 40, 2014-2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rd | Year | Player | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Rk |
| 5 | 2023 | Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 171 | 119 | 1799 | 13 | 2 |
| 5 | 2022 | Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 170 | 119 | 1710 | 9 | 2 |
| 5 | 2020 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 135 | 87 | 1276 | 17 | 2 |
| 5 | 2018 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 137 | 87 | 1479 | 14 | 2 |
| 5 | 2020 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 166 | 127 | 1535 | 8 | 3 |
| 4 | 2023 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 164 | 119 | 1515 | 10 | 3 |
| 5 | 2023 | Puka Nacua, LAR | 160 | 105 | 1486 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | 2022 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 154 | 108 | 1429 | 11 | 4 |
| 5 | 2021 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 159 | 111 | 1239 | 9 | 6 |
| 5 | 2021 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 164 | 103 | 1225 | 10 | 7 |
| 4 | 2022 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 146 | 106 | 1161 | 6 | 7 |
| 5 | 2017 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 105 | 75 | 1183 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | 2023 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 160 | 107 | 1183 | 8 | 9 |
| 5 | 2021 | Hunter Renfrow, L.V. | 128 | 103 | 1038 | 9 | 10 |
| 5 | 2018 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 149 | 102 | 1021 | 9 | 10 |
| 5 | 2016 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 83 | 61 | 593 | 12 | 18 |
| 5 | 2017 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 95 | 64 | 849 | 8 | 19 |
| 5 | 2019 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 94 | 63 | 1130 | 6 | 21 |
| 4 | 2021 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 119 | 90 | 912 | 6 | 22 |
| 5 | 2021 | Darnell Mooney, Chi. | 140 | 81 | 1055 | 5 | 24 |
| 4 | 2016 | Jamison Crowder, Was. | 99 | 67 | 847 | 8 | 25 |
| 4 | 2019 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 122 | 78 | 833 | 6 | 26 |
| 4 | 2018 | Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 101 | 66 | 717 | 6 | 30 |
| 5 | 2016 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 112 | 84 | 903 | 3 | 31 |
| 4 | 2017 | Jamison Crowder, Was. | 103 | 66 | 789 | 3 | 32 |
| 5 | 2019 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 89 | 58 | 860 | 7 | 33 |
| 4 | 2022 | Gabe Davis, Buff. | 93 | 48 | 836 | 7 | 35 |
| 5 | 2019 | Darius Slayton, NYG | 84 | 48 | 740 | 8 | 37 |
| 4 | 2023 | Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 96 | 59 | 674 | 8 | 37 |
| 4 | 2020 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 89 | 59 | 699 | 6 | 39 |
| 4 | 2015 | Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 92 | 50 | 765 | 7 | 39 |
| 5 | 2021 | K.J. Osborn, Min. | 82 | 50 | 655 | 7 | 40 |
I've got my rookie draft coming up at the end of this week, and I'll preview it (and post results) later. But my initial thought is that the depth of talent at wide receiver makes me as content to have more picks rather than higher ones. If I can't get one of the three guys selected in the top 10 on Thursday night, I'd rather have more bites of the apple of the other first- and second-rounders. And third-, fourth- and fifth-rounders, too.
--Andy Richardson