Denzel Boston and Caleb Douglas have been promoted to the first-team offenses by their teams, and I am reminded that wide receivers need not be first-round draft picks to make an immediate impact.
Presumably, players selected in the first round tend to be a little better. They were, after all, selected earlier. Four of the top five rookie receivers from the last 10 years were first-round picks. But there are exceptions – lots of them.
In the last 10 years, 53 wide receivers have finished with top-50 numbers (using PPR scoring). Those are guys all proved to have some value in typical fantasy leagues. And only 23 of those 53 were players picked in the first round.
So 30 (if my math is correct) were players arriving after the ballyhooed first round. That breaks down as 18 from the second round, 5 from the third (so the combined number for the second and third rounds is the same as the first). Just 2 from the 4th, 4 from the 5th, and outlier Keelan Cole (who wasn’t drafted at all).
In all 10 of the last 10 seasons, at least one receiver drafted outside the first round has finished with top-50 numbers. So stands to reason, when sketching out our draft board, that it’s reasonable to see some such receivers showing up in the top 50.
The chart below shows all rookie receivers in the last 10 years who’ve posted top-50 numbers. Guys in bold were picked outside the first round. It happens all the time.
| ROOKIE RECEIVERS WITH TOP-50 NUMBERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pk | Run | No | Rec | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2023 | Puka Nacua, LAR | 177 | 89 | 105 | 1,486 | 6 | 298.5 | 4 |
| 2024 | Brian Thomas, Jac. | 23 | 48 | 87 | 1,282 | 10 | 284.0 | 4 |
| 2021 | Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 5 | 21 | 81 | 1,455 | 13 | 306.6 | 5 |
| 2020 | Justin Jefferson, Min. | 22 | 2 | 88 | 1,400 | 7 | 274.2 | 6 |
| 2024 | Malik Nabers, NYG | 6 | 2 | 109 | 1,204 | 7 | 273.6 | 6 |
| 2016 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 47 | 0 | 92 | 1,137 | 9 | 259.7 | 7 |
| 2021 | Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 6 | 3 | 104 | 1,015 | 7 | 247.8 | 12 |
| 2024 | Ladd McConkey, LAC | 34 | 0 | 82 | 1,149 | 7 | 240.9 | 14 |
| 2025 | Tetairoa McMillan, Car. | 8 | 0 | 70 | 1,014 | 7 | 213.4 | 15 |
| 2016 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 165 | 267 | 61 | 593 | 12 | 219.0 | 18 |
| 2018 | Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 26 | 27 | 64 | 821 | 10 | 208.8 | 20 |
| 2017 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 62 | 0 | 58 | 917 | 8 | 197.7 | 20 |
| 2022 | Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 10 | 4 | 83 | 1,103 | 4 | 217.7 | 21 |
| 2021 | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 112 | 61 | 90 | 912 | 6 | 227.3 | 22 |
| 2020 | CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 17 | 82 | 74 | 935 | 7 | 219.7 | 22 |
| 2019 | A.J. Brown, Ten. | 51 | 60 | 52 | 1,051 | 9 | 217.1 | 22 |
| 2023 | Jordan Addison, Min. | 23 | 2 | 70 | 911 | 10 | 221.3 | 23 |
| 2020 | Chase Claypool, Pitt. | 49 | 16 | 62 | 873 | 11 | 216.9 | 23 |
| 2025 | Emeka Egbuka, T.B. | 19 | 9 | 63 | 938 | 6 | 195.7 | 23 |
| 2022 | Chris Olave, N.O. | 11 | 0 | 72 | 1,042 | 4 | 202.2 | 24 |
| 2023 | Jayden Reed, G.B. | 50 | 119 | 64 | 793 | 10 | 217.2 | 25 |
| 2017 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 69 | 0 | 62 | 869 | 5 | 178.9 | 25 |
| 2023 | Rashee Rice, K.C. | 55 | -3 | 79 | 938 | 7 | 214.5 | 27 |
| 2020 | Tee Higgins, Cin. | 33 | 28 | 67 | 908 | 6 | 196.6 | 28 |
| 2022 | Drake London, Atl. | 8 | 0 | 72 | 866 | 4 | 184.6 | 28 |
| 2019 | DK Metcalf, Sea. | 64 | 11 | 58 | 900 | 7 | 193.1 | 29 |
| 2024 | Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 4 | 0 | 62 | 885 | 8 | 198.5 | 30 |
| 2019 | Terry McLaurin, Was. | 76 | 0 | 58 | 919 | 7 | 191.9 | 30 |
| 2021 | DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 10 | 0 | 64 | 916 | 5 | 187.6 | 30 |
| 2023 | Zay Flowers, Balt. | 22 | 56 | 77 | 858 | 6 | 206.4 | 31 |
| 2019 | Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 36 | 159 | 57 | 802 | 6 | 191.1 | 31 |
| 2024 | Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 28 | 104 | 59 | 638 | 9 | 187.2 | 33 |
| 2020 | Brandon Aiyuk, S.F. | 25 | 77 | 60 | 748 | 7 | 184.5 | 35 |
| 2016 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 40 | 31 | 65 | 683 | 8 | 184.4 | 36 |
| 2018 | DJ Moore, Car. | 24 | 172 | 55 | 788 | 2 | 163.0 | 36 |
| 2019 | Darius Slayton, NYG | 171 | 0 | 48 | 740 | 8 | 170.0 | 37 |
| 2019 | Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 66 | 41 | 59 | 680 | 6 | 167.1 | 39 |
| 2023 | Tank Dell, Hou. | 69 | 51 | 47 | 709 | 7 | 165.0 | 39 |
| 2022 | George Pickens, Pitt. | 52 | 24 | 52 | 801 | 5 | 166.5 | 40 |
| 2022 | Christian Watson, G.B. | 34 | 80 | 41 | 611 | 9 | 164.1 | 42 |
| 2023 | Josh Downs, Ind. | 79 | 0 | 68 | 771 | 2 | 157.1 | 44 |
| 2020 | Jerry Jeudy, Den. | 15 | 0 | 52 | 856 | 3 | 157.6 | 45 |
| 2020 | Laviska Shenault, Jac. | 42 | 91 | 58 | 600 | 5 | 157.1 | 46 |
| 2019 | Hollywood Brown, Balt. | 25 | 0 | 46 | 584 | 7 | 146.4 | 46 |
| 2025 | Jayden Higgins, Hou. | 34 | 0 | 41 | 525 | 6 | 129.5 | 47 |
| 2023 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 20 | 0 | 63 | 628 | 4 | 149.8 | 48 |
| 2017 | Keelan Cole, Jac. | FA | 0 | 42 | 748 | 3 | 134.8 | 48 |
| 2025 | Chimere Dike, Ten. | 103 | 18 | 48 | 423 | 6 | 128.1 | 48 |
| 2024 | Rome Odunze, Chi. | 9 | 15 | 54 | 734 | 3 | 146.9 | 49 |
| 2025 | Luther Burden, Chi. | 39 | 37 | 47 | 652 | 2 | 127.9 | 49 |
| 2020 | Darnell Mooney, Chi. | 173 | 20 | 61 | 631 | 4 | 152.1 | 50 |
| 2021 | Elijah Moore, NYJ | 34 | 54 | 43 | 538 | 6 | 138.2 | 50 |
| 2018 | Courtland Sutton, Den. | 40 | -1 | 42 | 704 | 4 | 136.3 | 50 |
Boston and Douglas are looking like a couple of decent possibilities.
Boston (the 39th pick of the draft) has been ripping it up in camp for the Browns, causing Todd Monken to elevate him to the top of the depth chart. “He’s made a bunch of plays. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it,” Monken said. “He’s made a bunch of plays. We want to move Jerry (Jeudy) around; I think Jerry is at his best when he’s on the move. He’s elite, he can separate. And I think Denzel has shown that when he’s in the boundary, and make contested catches, a lot of our three-by-one stuff may go to there.”
Jeudy and first-rounder KC Concepcion are the other two wide receivers listed as starters by the Browns.
Similarly, the Dolphins have adjusted their depth chart, elevating Douglas (the 11th pick of the third round). “He’s been really consistent,” says their first-year coach, Jeff Hafley. “He’s made some flash plays, and then he’s made some plays where he needs to catch the ball, but he’s probably been one of our most consistent guys, and he’s showed up every day. So that’s where he deserves to be at this point.”
Both Boston and Douglas are big receivers, and both made plenty of downfield catches at the college level. Boston is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. Douglas is the same height but 7 pounds lighter.
Both of these players come from what should be lesser offenses. I think there’s a good chance both the Dolphins and Browns will finish in the bottom 5 in scoring and in total offense. But both players right now are looking like they’ll at least have the opportunity to see the ball a bunch.
—Ian Allan
