It used to be rare for a rookie wide receiver to make a big impact, but that paradigm is changing. A rookie receiver with 1,000 receiving yards could become a perennial occurrence. Every draft since 2019 has had at least one wideout hit 1,000 yards in his rookie season. Wide receivers are no longer just a long-term investment, they can make an immediate impact on a team's passing game.
So what can we expect from the 2024 NFL draft? This is a strong class of wide receivers. It's not as strong as 2014, the year that brought us Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr., among others, but this year we have four receivers projected with more than 650 yards per season. Last year, we had none projected that high. Last year's Playmaker Score had Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jordan Addison on top, but around where our No. 5 receiver is for this draft. Quentin Johnson came in lower than expected and Tank Dell was our big sleeper.
Playmaker Score analyzes the player's peak college season along with other variables to project a player's receiving yards per season in his first five seasons. Below, we take a look at some of Playmaker's top prospects in the 2024 draft, along with Scouts Inc.'s draft rankings and similar prospects from previous drafts. Similar historical prospects are based on players who were comparable in their Playmaker statistics, so you might see me compare two physically dissimilar players because they were statistically similar.
1. Malik Nabers, LSU
Playmaker Score projection: 779 yards/season
Scouts Inc. ranking: 4
Similar historical prospects: Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb