2022 NFL Draft: Taking a look at the WRs this year and in past 10 drafts
There were 13 wide receivers selected in the first two rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft, which set a record for most receivers in the first two rounds. Last year, there were 10 in the first two rounds. This year, a big question is whether double-figure receivers come off the board in the first two rounds.
Five or even six receivers are expected to go in the first round. But there’s generally considered to be a gap between the top six and the rest of the “field,” so that is one storyline to track next Friday on the second day of the draft.
We have produced a consensus top five at the position in this draft using the rankings of draft analysts Dane Brugler of The Athletic and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com as well as the ESPN consensus (from among analysts Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Matt Miller and Jason Reid). We also take a look at the position in the past 10 drafts.
This is part 3 (well, part of part 3, anyway, along with a look at tight ends) of an eight-part draft series leading into the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is Thursday, April 28 in Las Vegas. (And given some of the horrendous picks that everyone knows will be made, there will be a bunch of GMs two and three years from now wishing that some picks made in Vegas had stayed in Vegas.) We looked at quarterbacks on Wednesday and running backs Thursday, with offensive tackles coming Saturday, interior offensive linemen Sunday, defensive linemen Monday, linebackers Tuesday and defensive backs next Wednesday.
As a refresher, here are the underclassmen who are available in the draft. And if you want to look into the recruiting rankings of those taken in the past few drafts, you can have fun with the On3 NFL Draft by Stars database.
Consensus top 5 in this draft
1. Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
The skinny: On3 Consensus five-star prospect, from Austin (Texas) Lake Travis, in the 2019 recruiting class. Wilson started for two seasons and never led the Buckeyes in receptions, but he’s still considered the top receiver in the draft. He is in the Ohio State top 10 in career receptions (143), receiving yards (2,213) and receiving TDs (23). Wilson and Chris Olave, who is No. 4 on this list, seem certain to be the first Ohio State receivers to go in the first round since 2010; coincidentally, the Buckeyes also had two receivers go in the first round of that draft (Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez).
The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from St. Louis Cardinal Ritter College Prep, in the 2019 recruiting class. Williams was part of the same Ohio State signing class in 2019 as Wilson, but he left for Alabama following the 2020 season because he was not going to be a starter with the Buckeyes. He chose his new school wisely: He had 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 TDs; those numbers rank fifth, third and third, respectively, in Alabama single-season history. If not for a torn ACL suffered in the national title game, he might be the top receiver available. Williams would be the seventh Alabama receiver to go in the first round in the past eight drafts and the fifth in the past three drafts.
3. Drake London, USC
The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from Moorpark (Calif.) High, in the 2019 recruiting class. London finished 15th nationally with 88 receptions despite playing in just eight games; he missed the final month with a fractured ankle. London was not able to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine, but still is seen as a first-rounder. He would be the first USC receiver in the first round since Nelson Agholor in 2015.
4. Chris Olave, Ohio State
The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills, in the 2018 recruiting class. Olave is one of the most productive receivers in Ohio State history, with 176 receptions (third in school history) for 2,711 yards (fifth) and 35 touchdowns (first). As noted above, he and teammate Garrett Wilson figure to be first-round selections.
5. Treylon Burks, Arkansas
The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from Warren (Ark.) High, in the 2019 recruiting class. Burks is in the top 10 in school history in receptions, yards and TDs. He would be the first Arkansas skill-position player to go in the first round since RBs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in 2008. While Arkansas’ Matt Jones was drafted in the first round as a wide receiver in 2005 by Jacksonville, he was a college quarterback. The last player who was a wide receiver at Arkansas drafted in the first round was Lance Alworth, in 1962. Two other Hogs wide receivers who played at Warren High, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright, were fourth-round picks in the 2012 draft.
First-round WRs in past 10 drafts
+ There have been 40 wide receivers selected in the first round in the past 10 drafts.
+ Six of those were On3 Consensus five-star recruits: Michael Floyd (from the 2008 signing class), Sammy Watkins (2011), Nelson Agholor (2012), Laquon Treadwell (2013), Calvin Ridley (2015) and Jerry Jeudy (2017).
+ The other 34 were ranked thusly: Tavon Austin, Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr., Kelvin Benjamin, Ja’Marr Chase, Corey Coleman, Brandin Cooks, Amari Cooper, Phillip Dorsett, N’Keal Harry, DeAndre Hopkins, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Reagor, John Ross, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Mike Williams and Kendall Wright were On3 Consensus four-star prospects. Justin Blackmon, Mike Evans, Will Fuller, Justin Jefferson, D.J. Moore, Devante Parker, Breshad Perriman and Kadarius Toney were three-star prospects; Brandon Aiyuk, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Cordarrelle Patterson and Kevin White were three-star junior college prospects. Corey Davis and Josh Doctson were two-star recruits. And A.J. Jenkins was an unranked prospect.
+ The conference breakdown of the 40: Thirteen were from the SEC, nine from the Big 12, six from the ACC, five from the Pac-12, three from the Big Ten, two from the independent ranks and one each from the AAC and MAC.
+ Twelve wide receivers have been selected in the top 10. And four times in the past 10 drafts, two receivers have gone in the top 10.
+ Four times in the past 10 drafts – 2014, ’16, ’20 and 21 – at least five receivers have gone in the first round; six were drafted in the first round in 2015 and ’20. There were two first-rounders in 2017 and ’18, three in 2013 and ’17, and four in 2012 and ’16.
+ Twenty-five percent of the receivers to go in the first round (10 of 40) went in the top 10, while a bit more than half (21) went 20th or later in the round.
+ Alabama has had six first-round wide receivers in the past 10 drafts, including three in the top 10. Clemson and LSU each has had three receivers in the first round; Clemson and West Virginia have had two receivers each go in the top 10. Arizona State, Baylor, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and TCU are the other schools with two first-round receivers.
Total WRs selected in past 10 drafts
+ There have been 326 wide receivers selected in the past 10 drafts; the high was 37 in 2020 and the low 28 in 2013.
+ There have been exactly 100 more wide receivers drafted in the past 10 years than running backs.
+ Almost 60 percent of the wide receivers selected in the past 10 drafts (194) have gone on the third day (rounds four through seven).
+ Clemson and LSU have had 11 wide receivers selected in the past 10 drafts, the most of any school. Ohio State has had 10, while Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Oklahoma have had eight.
+ Some surprisingly low totals: Syracuse with none; Kentucky and Utah with one; Oregon, Pitt and Washington with two each; and Florida State and Texas with three – as many as Wisconsin.
The 5-star wide receivers
We looked at the five-star wide receivers in the 2009-19 recruiting classes (those in the ’09 class were eligible for the first time in the 2012 draft and those in the ’19 class are eligible for this draft).
+ There were 51 five-star wide receivers in those 11 classes: four in 2009, seven in 2010, five in ’11, five in ’12, three in ’13, five in ’14, six in ’15, two in ’16, four in ’17, four in ’18 and six in ’19.
+ One five-star receiver from 2018 (Florida’s Justin Shorter) and four from 2019 (USC’s Kyle Ford, Arkansas’ Jadon Haselwood, Oklahoma’s Theo Wease and Bru McCoy, who does not have a school yet) will be playing this fall. Shorter, Haselwood and McCoy transferred from their original schools.
+ We mentioned the five first-rounders earlier. Another 19 former five-stars have been drafted. From the 2009 class: Reuben Randle (second round) and Andre Debose (seventh). From 2010: Robert Woods (second) and Keenan Allen (third). From 2011: Jarvis Landry (second) and Malcolm Mitchell (fourth). From 2012: Dorial Green-Beckham (second), Stefon Diggs (fifth) and Devin Fuller (seventh). From 2014: JuJu Smith-Schuster (second) and Malachi Dupre (seventh). From 2015: Christian Kirk (second), Deon Cain (sixth) and Terry Godwin (seventh). From 2016: Mecole Hardman (second). From 2017: Tee Higgins (second) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (sixth). From 2018: Terrace Marshall (second) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (fourth).
+ The 17 five-star wide receivers who completed their eligibility and weren’t drafted: Marlon Brown and Russell Shepard from the 2009 class; Markeith Ambles, Mike Davis, Kyle Prater, Da’Rick Rogers and Darius White from the 2010 class; Devon Blackmon and Trey Metoyer from 2011 class; Chris Black from 2012; Robert Foster and Robbie Rhodes from 2013; Ermon Lane, Speedy Noil and Travis Rudolph from 2014; and George Campbell and Tyron Johnson from 2015.
+ Former five-star receivers Demetris Robertson (2016 class), Devon Williams (2018) and George Pickens and Garrett Wilson (2019 class; Wilson is mentioned above) are in this draft. We’re not sure what has happened to Joseph Lewis; he was in the 2017 recruiting class, but was dismissed from USC in 2018 and never resurfaced at an FBS school.