With the NFL draft around the corner, I’m releasing my pre-draft rookie ranks with in-depth analytical profiles. Below are my top five rookie wide receivers in the 2022 class. Part two covers WRs 6-10. Part three covers WRs 10-18.
These rankings are fantasy football-focused and driven by statistical metrics that I’ll explain throughout the profiles. These rankings also factor in expected NFL draft position. NFL draft position, and the scouting that drives it, plays a huge role in prospects’ success and failure. The biggest post-draft swings in my rankings will come from draft-dependent prospects locking in high draft capital and strong analytical prospects slipping more than expected in the draft. One note regarding draft position is that, as much as possible, it is my hope that NFL general managers, scouts, and evaluators are not factoring the various metrics that I rely on in my positional ranks. If they were, I could save a lot of time and just rank prospects by expected draft position. Obviously, there is overlap between what scouts are looking for and the type of stats teams tend to favor when putting their boards together. But ideally, the metrics below are adding a predictive element that we can add to draft position to better predict fantasy success.
These profiles also include statistical comps. These comps are based on key metrics for wide receivers like career production, college breakout, and underclassman status. They also factor in height and weight, but the comps won’t always be perfect stylistically. The primary purpose of the comps is to help illuminate a range of outcomes for each player and serve as a reminder that a player’s prospect profile is a helpful tool in projecting them to the next level but an imperfect one.
1) Treylon Burks, Arkansas
At a glance:
Burks is 6 foot 2, 225 pounds, and excellent after the catch. Although he played primarily from the slot at Arkansas, he will likely play on the outside in the NFL. Burks was highly efficient and productive throughout his three-year career and was successful at a variety of depths. He is likely to be selected in the mid-late first round.
Statistical Comps:
Positive Indicators:
Age - Burks finished his college career at 20 years old. He turns 21 in March, which is a strong signal for his chances of becoming a fantasy difference-maker.
Declared early - Wide receivers who turn pro when just three seasons removed from high school have excellent track records.
Underclassman breakout - Burks emerged as a true sophomore with 51 receptions for 820 yards and seven TDs in nine games. Within the context of the Arkansas offense, he was a superstar. At just 19 years old, Burks delivered a 39% yardage share, a 44% TD share, and a 42% dominator rating (average of yardage share and TD share), all of which are ultra-elite age-adjusted numbers.
Dominant final season - Burks’ 2021 season was even more impressive. He posted 67 receptions for 1,123 yards and 11 TDs in 12 games as a true junior. At 20 years old, he accounted for nearly half of Arkansas’ entire passing offense with a 42% yardage share, a 50% TD share, and a 46% dominator rating.
Career yardage share - Burks finished his college career with a 36% career yardage share--an elite mark for any player. For a three-year player, 36% is off the charts. Since 2007, Burks is one of only seven three-year wide receivers to post a 35%+ career yardage share at 210+ pounds. The other six are Calvin Johnson, Kenny Britt, Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffery, Allen Robinson, and Amari Cooper.
Yards per route run - Burks was extremely efficient in his final two seasons. He posted 3.07 YPRR as a sophomore and followed up with 3.57 YPRR as a junior. Burks didn’t have a ton of target competition, but his YPRR was over 3x higher than his teammates’ combined average in 2021. He wasn’t just a little better than his teammates. Burks was the definition of a standout player.
Versatility - Burks played 80% of his snaps in the slot as a sophomore and 68% as a junior. He was more productive and efficient in 2021 while playing less out of the slot, which is great news because he’ll likely play on the outside in the NFL. If he successfully transitions out-wide, he’ll have no trouble kicking into the slot as needed and should stay on the field at all times.
Yards after catch - Burks delivered an extremely impressive 1.97 YAC per route as a junior. This type of YAC ability is rare for a wide receiver of Burks’ size. His 2021 compares favorably to Deebo Samuel‘s 2016 (1.33 YAC per route), JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s 2015 season (1.39), and A.J. Brown‘s 2017 (1.65). Burks also delivered an absurd 4.21 YPRR on screen routes. Burks had a high percentage of schemed production, which is a red flag. But at least Arkansas was scheming for Burks because it was winning them games.
Yards per target - Burks didn’t just dominate target share; he dominated when targeted. His 11.3 YPT is very impressive and trails only Jameson Williams and Christian Watson among expected Day 1-2 receivers.
Downfield efficiency - In 2021, Burks had a 9.7 aDOT and saw only 18 20+ yard targets. But he was dominant on those downfield opportunities, delivering a 25.3 YPT, the highest mark in the 2022 class. As a result of his downfield efficiency, Burks produced 45% of his career yards on 20+ yard targets. It takes a bit of projection to envision a college slot receiver as an elite downfield weapon, but Burks has flashed the ability to be a big play outside receiver.
Rushing ability - Burks has 222 career rushing yards and 5.8 yards per carry. He has upside to be a special player with the ball in his hands.
Hands - Burks committed 13 drops over his career, so he’ll occasionally commit an error. But Burks’ hands measure 9.88 inches, which are large by NFL standards. Blair Andrews has shown that hand size appears to make an impact for wide receivers beyond what we’d expect based on draft position alone.
Red Flags:
Target competition - Burks dominated Arkansas’ receiving production, but his target competition was soft. Tyson Morris finished second in receiving yards for Arkansas in 2021. At that point, Morris was six years removed from his high school graduation and was just a two-star recruit. Warren Thompson finished third in receiving yards. Thompson was a four-star recruit, but the redshirt junior managed just 304 yards and is unlikely to generate much NFL interest in 2023. Plenty of NFL stars have emerged from college programs with weak target competition. But Burks’ teammates still make his incredible market share less awe-inspiring.
Athleticism - Burks’ 4.55 40 isn’t a red flag for a 6-foot-2, 225-pound receiver. In fact, hidden within it is a bullish signal. Burks had an elite weight-adjusted 10-yard split per Kevin Cole’s Combine model. And Burks can fly once up to full speed.
Nobody had more 20+ yard plays in the SEC last season than Burks. Average start, but his "flying 20" is outstanding. https://t.co/FKj9htc5wt
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 3, 2022
Still, Burks’ 33-inch vertical jump and 7.28 3-cone at the Combine are not good for a player projected to be explosive and elusive after the catch. Dane Brugler mentioned on The Athletic Football show that Burks was cutting down from a 2021 playing weight of 240 pounds (!), which may have affected his training somewhat. Burks has since had his pro day and improved his vertical to 35.5 inches, which is much closer to upside comps like A.J. Brown (36.5 inches) and Alshon Jeffery (36.5 inches).
Schemed production - In 2021, Burks produced 20% of his receiving total on screens. This isn’t quite Laviska Shenault‘s 31% in 2018, Curtis Samuel‘s 41% in 2014, or Rondale Moore‘s 41% in 2020, but it’s still a significant chunk of his production. Burks is frequently comped to A.J. Brown because both are excellent after the catch and played in the slot in college. But Brown never topped 8% of his receiving yards on screen passes. Concerningly, there is a different big-bodied receiver from the 2019 class who feasted on designed targets--N’Keal Harry--who also produced 20% of his receiving yards on screens. Although, with 3.04 YPRR on screen routes, Harry was far less efficient on his schemed touches than Burks (4.21).
Burks also produced 21% of his receiving yards on targets behind the line of scrimmage. Some of that production overlaps with his screen usage, but not all. After our wide receiver deep dive podcast, Anthony Amico noted that college offenses have started incorporating more flips on jet sweeps. This is turning what used to be rushing yards into receiving yards. And while rushing yards are a positive peripheral, flip passes can inflate receiving lines. To that point, Burks produced 48% of his YAC on behind the line of scrimmage targets in 2021, somewhat inflating his after-catch reputation.
But it’s worth pointing out that Burks was incredible on these plays. Among players at all positions with 15+ behind the LOS targets, Burks was fourth in the nation in YPT in 2021. And he was 25th in the nation in 2020.
Burks also has plenty of yards to spare in his receiving line. If we strip out his behind the line of scrimmage production in 2021 (235 yards), he would still have had a 36% yardage share. As it stands, Burks had a 42% yardage share in 2021, with 112 rushing yards. If he instead had a 36% yardage share and 347 hyper-efficient rushing yards, we’d probably be just as excited about Burks as we currently are.
Moreover, Burks produced 35% of his YAC on targets 10+ yards downfield, which is in line with Brandon Aiyuk (34%), A.J. Brown (36%), and Jaylen Waddle (40%)--players who have flashed NFL YAC ability in a non-gadget role.
Given his somewhat non-traditional skillset, Burks could be misused at the NFL level. But his ability to produce YAC on schemed touches is not a bad thing. We’ll only find this frustrating if it’s the only thing Burks can reliably do well. As long as he can operate as a traditional receiver, it’s actually ideal if his NFL team schemes extra opportunities. But if Burks doesn’t develop into a conventional NFL receiver, he could depend on schemed touches for production.
Intermediate production - Only 18% of Burks’ career yardage came on targets 10-19 yards downfield. This is a lower percentage than converted running back Wan’Dale Robinson (19%), and the third-lowest mark among likely Day 1-2 receivers. This could go one of two ways. We’ve seen paltry intermediate production from players like Christian Kirk (19%) and Rondale Moore (19%), which reinforces the concern that Burks could have trouble translating to the outside. But we’ve also seen low intermediate production from big deep threats like Michael Pittman (22%), Terry McLaurin (20%), DK Metcalf (19%), and Chase Claypool (18%). The critical factor will be how well Burks can immediately contribute downfield while working on his intermediate game.
Translatable downfield ability - Burks was outstanding on his downfield targets in college, but there are some red flags in terms of how his game may translate to the NFL level. Of Burks’ 18 deep targets in 2021, eight of them were contested. He posted a very strong 63% contested catch rate, but he could land with a quarterback who prefers not to throw the jump ball. It’s also possible that Burks has more difficulty bullying NFL cornerbacks. And the fact that Burks only saw 18 deep targets in the first place is a minor red flag. But, again, Burks was outstanding as a downfield receiver at Arkansas, with 45% of his career yardage coming on targets 20+ yards downfield. The red flag here is primarily that if Burks can’t translate as a deep threat, it could severely limit his overall NFL impact.
Outlook:
Burks’ career production is truly rare for a three-year prospect, and his production was off the charts over his final two seasons. Arkansas got him the ball constantly but in ways that may not perfectly translate to the NFL game. Still, he was wildly efficient throughout his career, regardless of where he was targeted. This makes it hard to believe that he is a middling talent who was fed opportunities because of poor target competition or that he will be dependent on schemed targets for production.
Burks is not a prototypical outside wide receiver. He played primarily out of the slot and did most of his damage on shallow targets while also flashing elite downfield ability. As a result, he’s probably more landing spot dependent than most receivers in this class. He doesn’t need a genius to unlock him, but the wrong offensive coordinator could hide what he does best. For now, his potential to emerge as an NFL target dominator with elite big-play ability is simply too enticing not to rank him WR1.
Rookie Pick Prospect Grade: Early 1st
2) Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
At a glance:
Wilson is slightly built at 6 foot, 183 pounds, but he should still be able to play on the outside. If so, he offers inside/outside versatility. Wilson lacks elite career production but broke out as a true sophomore and played alongside elite target competition. Wilson is a lock for the first round of the NFL draft and could go top 10-15.
Statistical Comps:
Positive Indicators:
Declared early.
Underclassman breakout - Wilson broke out with a 34% yardage share, a 27% TD share, and a 31% dominator rating as a sophomore. He nearly delivered another breakout season in 2021 with a 29% DR.
Played with other talented wide receivers - Wilson was playing alongside Chris Olave, who is expected to be a first-round pick. Olave is older than Wilson and was a year ahead of him in school, yet as a junior, Wilson had a 27% yardage share to Olave’s 22% and a 29% dominator rating to Olave’s 28%. Wilson was also competing for targets with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a five-star prospect who emerged as a highly efficient weapon in 2021 and posted a 32% yardage share, with an absurdly impressive receiving line of 95-1,605-9 in 13 games.
Competing for targets with another highly drafted receiver has been a strong signal for combos like Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb and Marquise Brown, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf, Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, and DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins (among others). Wilson was in the unusual position of playing alongside a very talented upperclassman while competing with a very talented true sophomore in Smith-Njibba. If Olave and Smith-Njiba are what we expect them to be in the NFL, Wilson will almost certainly be a high-quality NFL starter.
On the other hand, Terrace Marshall flopped badly as a rookie, despite playing well as a sophomore alongside Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, and the Tennessee duo of Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter (who went in the first and second round of the 2013 draft) is a reminder that correlation works both positively and negatively.
Yards per route run - Wilson posted 3.04 YPRR as a sophomore with the rest of Ohio State combining for just 1.43. He then posted 3.0 YPRR as a junior, far more efficient than Olave’s 2.29. Although, admittedly, nowhere near Smith-Njigba’s ultra-elite 4.01 YPRR. Wilson competed with top-tier college talent, but we don’t need to make excuses for him. He was still extremely efficient.
Versatility - Wilson played 73% of his snaps in the slot in 2020 and then 83% of his snaps out wide in 2021. He was exceptional in both roles, which is an excellent sign for his ability to succeed in a variety of NFL offenses.
Downfield ability - While operating primarily as a slot receiver in 2021, Wilson had a 13.4 aDOT. He may not have been playing on the outside, but he was still beating defenses deep. In 2021, Wilson had an 11.6 aDOT, operating as more of an intermediate option. Wilson is not a pure deep threat with a solid but not off-the-charts 35% of his career yards coming on deep targets. But he should be a capable downfield option with the ability to challenge NFL defense at multiple levels.
Rushing ability - Wilson produced 143 yards and a TD as a rusher over the last two seasons. With that in mind... it may surprise you to learn that Wilson has just six career rushing attempts. Wilson’s YAC numbers aren’t as good as some other receivers in this class, but with a career YPC of 23.8, he’ll likely be just fine with the ball in his hands.
Athleticism - Wilson checked the necessary boxes at the Combine, running a 4.38 40 and turning in a broad jump of 123 inches and a 36-inch vertical. Teams shouldn’t have any issues targeting him in the mid-first round or earlier.
Hands - Wilson’s hands measure 9.88 inches, which gives him larger hands than 6-foot-4 Drake London.
Red Flags:
Weight - Wilson is unexpectedly light at 6 foot, 183 pounds. This puts statistical comps like Sammy Watkins (6 foot 1, 211 pounds) out of reach and makes him look closer to a taller Jaylen Waddle (5 foot 10, 180 pounds). Wilson’s 4.38 speed keeps his weight from being a major red flag, but it’s still harder to see him becoming a fantasy superstar. His weight creates the possibility for him to fall into the mold of Will Fuller or Brandin Cooks and provide more real-life value than fantasy value in most of his NFL seasons. Then again, Wilson weighs just six pounds less than Calvin Ridley did as a prospect. And Wilson (4.38 40, 123-inch broad, 36-inch vertical) is far more athletic than Ridley (4.43 40, 110-inch broad, 31-inch vertical). And at 6 foot, Wilson could easily play at closer to 190 and emerge as a more athletic Ridley, which would come with more than enough fantasy upside.
Outlook:
Wilson has a nearly spotless statistical profile. He doesn’t crush production metrics like Treylon Burks or Skyy Moore (who we’ll get to soon), but Wilson’s target competition at Ohio State was orders of magnitude more talented. Of course, target competition isn’t everything. Terrace Marshall reminded us that not every wide receiver who plays alongside star receivers in college will become an immediate star. But with Wilson, the fact that he played with Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn’t an excuse. Wilson was highly productive and efficient over his final two seasons. His talented teammates may have prevented him from delivering a scorched earth campaign, but they didn’t stop him from checking every analytical box. In that sense, Wilson has a very similar profile to Sammy Watkins (who played with DeAndre Hopkins at Clemson), Odell Beckham (who played with Jarvis Landry at LSU), and Justin Jefferson (Ja’Marr Chase at LSU). Or, put differently, he looks like a more productive version of Jaylen Waddle (Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith, John Metchie at Alabama).
Rookie Pick Prospect Grade: Early 1st
3) Drake London, USC
At a glance:
London is 6 foot 4, 219 pounds, and turned in a dominant true junior season. Unfortunately, his breakout 2021 was cut short by a fractured ankle. He has a chance to be the first wide receiver off the board if he shows well at his April pro day.
Statistical Comps:
Positive Indicators:
Age - London finished his college career at just 20 years old. He turns 21 in July.
Declared early.
Dominant breakout season - London broke out as a junior, combining for over 30% of his team’s receiving yardage and TDs. London didn’t just clear the 30% breakout threshold... he delivered a 42% dominator rating in his final season, going for 1,084 receiving yards and seven TDs in eight games.
Career yardage share - London wasn’t nearly as dominant in his first two seasons, but he also wasn’t bad. He finished his three-year career with a 29% yardage share, which is a strong mark for an underclassman.
Final season yards per route run - London delivered 3.52 YPRR as a junior. That is a wildly efficient showing and far more efficient than his USC teammates, who combined for just 1.16 YPRR.
Versatility - London emerged as a dominant wide receiver while playing 86% of his snaps on the outside as an X-WR. Before that, however, he was a slot receiver. He played 98% of his snaps in the slot as a freshman and 92% as a sophomore. He’ll likely play on the outside in the NFL, but he could potentially operate in a big slot role as needed.
Yards after catch - London delivered 460 YAC in 2021--46 more than Garrett Wilson, despite playing three fewer games, and 184 more than Chris Olave, despite playing four fewer games. London should be an explosive option at the NFL level even if he gets used as a possession wide receiver at times.
Contested catch ability - In 2021, London had a 68% contested catch rate and 19 contested receptions, the second-highest single-season mark in the class. He would pair very well with a quarterback willing to throw jump balls.
Weight - USC listed London at 6 foot 5, 210 pounds, which created concern that he would be too slender to adapt his contested catch skill set to the NFL game. London’s Combine weigh-in of 6 foot 4, 219 pounds keeps big-bodied downfield receiving comps like Vincent Jackson (6 foot 5, 241 pounds), Calvin Johnson (6 foot 5, 239 pounds), and Mike Evans (6 foot 5, 231 pounds) out of reach. But he profiles similarly to players like Josh Gordon (6 foot 3, 225 pounds), Alshon Jeffery (6 foot 3, 216 pounds), and Tee Higgins (6 foot 4, 216 pounds). It’s still possible that he ends up as the next Stephen Hill (6 foot 4, 215 pounds), but London’s skill set looks more likely to translate with his heavier than expected weight.
Red Flags:
Only one dominant season - London wasn’t bad in his first two seasons, but his 19% dominator rating as a freshman and 22% DR as a sophomore were nowhere near as impressive as his junior season.
London did at least have a decent excuse for starting his career slow.
Good stuff, Pat. But why no mention of the fact that London played his 1st season alongside Pittman and St. Brown and his 2nd with St. Brown?
— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) March 29, 2022
As a freshman, London competed with senior and future second-round pick Michael Pittman and sophomore and future fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown. Pittman graduated the following year, but St. Brown had a breakout season with a 33% dominator rating. London’s strong teammate competition helps explain why we have just one breakout season from him. Still, given that his final season consisted of only eight games, London is riskier than if we had a multi-year sample of him playing at an elite level.
Schemed production - London saw 28 screen passes in 2021, the 16th most in the FBS, and London’s 3.5 screen targets per game are the most in the 2022 draft class. He also produced 17% of his receiving yards on screens, which may not translate at his size unless he is an elite athlete.
In 2021, London also produced 17% of his receiving yards on targets behind the line of scrimmage, and 54% of London’s YAC came on behind the line of scrimmage targets. If he’s used as a more traditional NFL wide receiver, his college YAC ability may not translate.
However, it’s also important to note that London was extremely efficient when used on schemed touches. London had 4.02 YPRR on screen passes and a 6.5 YPT on behind the LOS passes. So it’s not like USC was force-feeding him inefficient touches.
London was also used differently in his first two seasons. As a freshman, 0% of his yards came on behind the line of scrimmage targets. As a sophomore, only 4% of his yards and 12% of his YAC came on behind the LOS targets.
If London only produced because of schemed touches, that’s very bad. But if he can produce as a traditional receiver and his team will be interested in feeding him additional touches, fantasy managers will be delighted. Like with Burks, there’s both upside and downside in his schemed touch profile.
Intermediate production - London did very little in his career in the intermediate area. Only 16% of London’s career yards came between 10-19 yards downfield, the lowest among likely Day 1-2 receivers.
This fits with an analysis by Dwain McFarland that shows that London ranked 19th in the class in YPRR on NFL staple routes. Only Jahn Dotson was lower among likely Day 1-2 receivers.
65% of NFL wide receiver targets come on crossing, go, hitch, in, out and slant routes.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) February 9, 2022
YPRR ranks for many of the FBS draft-eligible receivers by route over the last four seasons (staples = all six combined)
Chris Olave 👀
Jaivon Heligh 👀
Justyn Ross 👀
Jameson Williams 👀 pic.twitter.com/PdHJC7QWfM
Like with Burks, Drake’s raw intermediate game places more weight on his ability as a deep threat.
Translatable downfield ability - London had an aDOT of just 9.2 in 2021. That’s not much higher than Laviska Shenault‘s 8.7 career aDOT and quite a bit lower than N’Keal Harry‘s 11.1 career aDOT. London will probably be asked to win on the outside, but it’s possible that his contested catch success doesn’t translate against NFL corners--as we saw with Harry, who like London, had 19 contested catches as a junior. In London’s defense, only nine of his 23 deep targets were contested. By comparison, Harry had 13 of 18 deep targets contested in his final season. Drake could have separation issues in the intermediate areas of the field, but if he can get open deep that may not matter.
London produced a respectable 38% of his career yards on deep targets. But like Burks, he has a thin downfield resume, with just 40 career deep targets, 19% of his target total. As a raw player on intermediate routes, London’s ability to threaten deep will be critical for his early career success.
Unknown athleticism - For the time being, we don’t have any measurables on London’s athleticism. But he is expected to work out at his pro day. London’s timed speed will have a meaningful impact on his profile because he had a lot of success on underneath throws and has a limited downfield sample.
His leaping ability, however, is not in question.
March 2019 -BTI alum/ Moorpark HS & USC Guard Drake London w/ a sick dunk in The Valley Slam Dunk Competition. London played on our BTI Select 2018 team, defeated The Truth EYBL led by Josh Christopher & Jaime Jaquez Jr. and West Coast Elite UAA led by Nico Mannion & Josh Green. pic.twitter.com/KuKL2zmfuE
— BTI Basketball Club (@BTIHoops) September 2, 2020
Outlook:
London looks on track for at least a mid-first round selection in the NFL draft, and he could be the first wide receiver off the board. His 2021 breakout season was very impressive in many ways, but it was also built on short passes and contested catches. If those skills translate to the NFL, he could be the next Josh Gordon. However, his lack of intermediate production creates a lower than ideal floor if he’s used as a traditional outside wide receiver and isn’t dominant downfield.
Rookie Pick Prospect Grade: Early 1st
4) Jameson Williams, Alabama
At a glance:
Williams is a 6-foot-1.5, 179-pound deep threat with the ability to mix into the slot. After transferring from Ohio State to Alabama, he blew up as a true junior but then suffered an ACL tear in the National Title game. He would have been a locked-in first-round pick before his injury. He now looks like a lock for Day 2 with a shot to still go in the late first.
Statistical Comps:
Positive Indicators:
Age - Williams finished his college career at 20 years old and will play his entire rookie season at 21.
Declared early.
Dominant final season - Williams operated as Alabama’s WR1 in his first year in the program, posting 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 TDs in 15 games. He accounted for 31% of Alabama’s receiving yards and 31% of their TDs, producing a breakout season.
Played with other talented wide receivers - Williams played alongside John Metchie in 2021, who looked like a locked-in Day 2 pick before tearing his ACL. Williams’ lack of production at Ohio State is also easier to understand given that he was competing with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave for targets with Jaxon Smith-Njigba waiting in the wings.
Yards per route run - Williams delivered 3.12 YPRR in 2021, which was significantly better than his teammates. Williams wasn’t Alabama’s top option by default; he was earning his targets. And although he wasn’t a big part of the Ohio State offense, he still finished with a strong career YPRR of 2.51.
Yards per target - Williams also made the most of his targets, delivering an absurd 13.05 YPT, the highest mark in the class. Williams is one of just five drafted wide receivers since 2019 with a career YPT of 13+. The other four are Marquise Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase, and Jaylen Waddle.
Downfield ability - Williams has a 14.8 career aDOT. He also produced 79% of his yardage on targets 10+ yards downfield, which is the highest mark among likely Day 1-2 receivers and higher than Terry McLaurin (65%), Darius Slayton (70%), Darnell Mooney (70%), DK Metcalf (71%), Gabriel Davis (74%), Tee Higgins (76%), and Courtland Sutton (78%). Williams has a clear role waiting for him as an NFL field stretcher.
Versatility - Williams played 28% of his snaps in the slot in 2021. He profiles primarily as an outside deep threat but has the upside to be an every-down receiver.
Intermediate Production - Dedicated downfield threats aren’t always great for fantasy, but Williams can also rack up yards on intermediate routes. 38% of his career yards came on targets 10-19 yards downfield, which is the second-highest mark among likely Day 1-2 receivers. He will probably start his career as a pure outside deep threat but has the ceiling to emerge as a true No. 1 receiver.
Yards after catch - It’s generally much easier to rack up yards after the catch on short passes and screens than by operating as a deep threat, but Williams averaged 1.44 YAC per route in 2021. That’s an impressive mark in any context. The context here is that 72% of Williams’ YAC came on targets past the line of scrimmage, and screens made up just 9% of Williams’ yardage total. His college after-catch ability is a very promising sign for his potential to be an elite playmaker downfield. Williams will likely see a lot of intermediate and deep targets in the NFL. If he adds YAC in a meaningful way, he will be a big-play machine.
Special Teams ability - Given his torn ACL, we won’t get measurables on Williams. Therefore, it’s helpful to know that he turned 10 college kickoff returns into 352 yards and 2 TDs. The combination of extremely efficient special teams play and his dominant downfield season at Alabama makes it hard to believe he doesn’t have the necessary on-field speed to be an NFL deep threat.
Red Flags:
Only one dominant season - Williams’ lack of production before 2021 adds some downside risk to his profile. While it’s understandable why he struggled to see the field at Ohio State, it’s still far from ideal. Fortunately, William’s breakout season was on a large 15 game sample and impressive from both a raw stats and market share perspective.
Weight - Williams weighed in at the Combine at just 179 pounds, which gives him a very slender frame at 6 foot 1.5. He could easily put on weight as a pro... which is good because he’ll probably need to. This would be a bigger red flag if Williams had a normal pre-Combine training routine. Had he not been rehabbing from an ACL tear, it’s very plausible Wiliams would have weighed in at 185+ pounds.
Unknown athleticism - There’s little reason to doubt Williams’ speed, but it would still be nice to have athletic measurables on the top deep specialist in the class. Williams’ weight also makes his raw speed more important. As a sub-190 pound player, it would be great to know for sure that he has sub-4.4 speed.
Injury - Williams’ late ACL tear is by far his biggest red flag. He likely won’t be 100% until late into the 2022 season. If he is mediocre in his NFL debut, the fantasy community should be more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but that’s often not how fantasy football works. Williams’ dynasty value could take a meaningful hit if he doesn’t have an impressively quick recovery from a major knee injury.
Outlook:
Williams would profile like an early first-round rookie pick if he weren’t coming off a January ACL tear. That injury could cost him most of his rookie season or lead to uninspiring results when he initially takes the field. That downside risk mars an otherwise excellent profile. Still, Williams is likely to successfully operate as an NFL deep threat, even at around 180 pounds, and he could develop into a true WR1 in year two or three once he gets back to full health. Williams will be an ideal upside bet if he falls to the late first round of rookie drafts.
Rookie Pick Prospect Grade: Mid 1st
5) Skyy Moore, Western Michigan
At a glance:
Moore is a highly productive underclassman with inside/outside versatility. He impressed at the Combine and now looks like a locked-in Day 2 pick. His profile suggests strong route-running skills with an ability to add significant yards after the catch. He’ll likely spend a lot of time in the slot, but at 5 foot 10, 195 pounds, he has the requisite size to play on the outside as well.
Statistical Comps:
Positive Indicators:
Declared early.
Dominant final season - Moore broke out as a junior in 2021 with 95 receptions for 1,288 yards and 10 TDs. His prolific raw stats are even more impressive in the context of his offense. Moore produced a 41% yardage share and 45% TD share for an extremely impressive 43% dominator rating.
Career yardage share - Moore didn’t break out in his first two seasons, but he was productive, finishing with 26% and 29% yardage shares. Over the course of his career, he produced a 33% yardage share, which is an elite mark for a three-year wide receiver.
Yards per route run - Some small school receivers benefit from a lack of target competition. But Western Michigan seems to have benefitted far more from Moore than he did from playing for a smaller program. Moore produced 2.51 YPRR as a freshman, 2.61 YPRR as a sophomore, and an elite 3.40 YPRR as a junior. He finished with an elite 2.92 career YPRR. Among three-year wide receivers drafted on Day 1 or 2 since 2017, only Marquise Brown, A.J. Brown, Tee Higgins, CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Laviska Shenault, Ja’Marr Chase, and Jaylen Waddle have a higher career YPPR.
Played with other talented wide receivers - This is a very small positive signal, but it’s worth noting that Moore played with D’Wayne Eskridge in 2020. Eskridge was a massive reach by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2021 draft, but he is still an NFL-caliber receiver. And Moore competed with Eskridge for targets as a 20-year-old sophomore when Eskridge was a 23-year-old fifth-year senior. I would argue that Moore’s 26% dominator rating is slightly more impressive in that context. That said, Moore only played five games in 2020 and actually took a medical redshirt, so his overlap with Eskridge is more interesting than actionable. His 2020 season is short enough that it shouldn’t have a huge impact on his prospect profile either way.
Versatility - Moore played 16% of his snaps in the slot in 2019. Then in 2020, he transitioned inside for 89% of his snaps. But in his breakout 2021, his slot snaps were down to 35%. Moore will likely operate out of the slot in the NFL, but he may not be limited to it. His college profile indicates upside for an every snap NFL role.
Yards after catch - With a name like Skyy, Moore’s highlight reel can be a bit disappointing...
Moore is a savvy route runner but is not a vertical player and won’t be skying for TDs at the NFL level. While that may sound boring, Moore is anything but boring with the ball in his hands. As a freshman, Moore averaged 1.08 YAC per route. He increased to 1.39 as a sophomore and 1.41 as a junior. In the PFF database, the only Day 1-2 wide receivers to average 1+ YAC per route run in all three underclassman seasons are CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, Jaylen Waddle, Rashod Bateman, Rondale Moore, and Anthony Schwartz. This class has the potential to add two more to that list in Moore and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Moore’s YAC ability also looks like the real deal rather than being a product of glorified rushing attempts. Only 18% of Moore’s career YAC came on behind the LOS targets with 47% coming on targets 10+ yards downfield. The ability to draw targets and produce after the catch is a glorious combination in fantasy football, and Moore displayed rare YAC ability for an underclassman.
Intermediate Production - Moore is likely to do most of his damage at the intermediate level, which should translate easily to most NFL offenses. Moore produced 46% of his yardage on targets 10-19 yards downfield, the highest among 2022’s high expected draft capital prospects. Moore also led the class in YPRR on NFL staple routes, per Dwain McFarland.
If Moore earns targets heavily at the intermediate level and is competent as a deep receiver, he has potential to emerge as a PPR superstar.
Athleticism - Moore needed to show strong athleticism at the Combine, given his less than elite competition at Western Michigan. His 4.41 40, and 125-inch broad jump should convince scouts that his tape can be trusted. Moore only had a 34.5-inch vertical, which isn’t great. But given his playstyle, slightly below-average hops shouldn’t be a big issue.
Hands - Moore, at only 5 foot 10, has the biggest hands in the wide receiver class at 10.25 inches. Since 2005, the NFL has drafted just eight underclassmen who were 6 foot 1 or less and had 10-inch+ hands: Hakeem Nicks, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Henry Ruggs. Moore had just eight career drops in college, and while his hands are far less important than his production and efficiency, Moore’s large mitts leave little doubt that he will be able to translate his ball skills to the NFL.
Red Flags:
Level of competition - In the list above, Moore is the only receiver who did not play for a Power 5 school. And in fact, the list of star NFL receivers from non-Power 5 schools is fairly small. Since 2005, non-Power 5 FBS schools have produced just 11 NFL breakouts: Roddy White, Greg Jennings, Brandon Marshall, Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, Davante Adams, Kenny Golladay, Courtland Sutton, Michael Gallup, Diontae Johnson, and Darnell Mooney. None of these players broke out as a rookie (although all but White and Adams broke out in year two). Moore’s level of competition creates risk that he could get off to a slow start in the NFL as he adjusts to a big gap in competition. More importantly, it’s possible that he simply isn’t as good as he appeared to be while playing against lesser talents.
We shouldn’t get carried away here, though. Non-Power 5 schools fundamentally do not produce a lot of early declare receivers. Since 2005, only Dante Ridgeway, Antonio Brown, Davante Adams, Rashard Higgins, DeMarcus Ayers, Gabriel Davis, and Dax Milne have been drafted after just three years at a non-Power 5 FBS program. Adams is the only one of those wide receivers to go on Day 2. Moore’s level of competition keeps him from being a slam dunk prospect, but if an NFL team thinks he’s a Day 2 pick, it makes sense to trust them.
Downfield ability - Moore isn’t a field stretcher with just 19% of his career yards coming on deep targets. That’s the lowest rate among likely Day 1-2 receivers and in the gadget player danger zone. Deebo Samuel (24%), Kadarius Toney (24%), Laviska Shenault (24%), Amari Rodgers (22%), and Isaiah McKenzie (22%) all had a higher percentage of their career yards on 20+ yard targets, and Moore wasn’t far ahead of Ray-Ray McCloud (19%) and Rondale Moore (17%). This lack of downfield production could signal a lower NFL ceiling that we’d like or that Moore will be scheme-dependent.
However, Moore was extremely productive at the intermediate level and highly efficient on NFL staple routes, making it hard to believe he’ll depend on designed touches. Moore produced 46% of his yards on targets 10-19 yards downfield. Samuel (29%), McKenzie (26%), Rodgers (25%), Toney (24%), Shenault (23%), Moore (19%), and McCloud (15%) were nowhere near him. He profiles more similarly to Jakobi Meyers, who produced only 17% of his yards on deep targets and 39% on intermediate targets. And... he’s not dissimilar from Justin Jefferson (25%; 44%).
Moore’s intermediate ability should earn him targets. The question is whether he’ll be limited to targets out of the slot, operating as a Meyers type, or whether he can eventually develop enough downfield to become a complete receiver in the mold of Stefon Diggs.
Outlook:
Moore checks all the boxes from an analytical perspective. That gives him a high floor. Even if he’s a fantasy “bust,” he’s likely to provide real-life value somewhere in the spectrum of Rashard Higgins - Christian Kirk. His ceiling takes a bit more projection. With a lack of deep production in college, he may top out as a Tyler Boyd type. But if he can develop a downfield repertoire, his ceiling is on a different level entirely. While Moore might not jump off the television on Sundays, he profiles as a quarterback’s best friend at the intermediate level. If he can move around the formation and earn targets at a variety of depths, his after the catch ability sets Moore up to become a multi-year fantasy star.
Rookie Pick Prospect Grade: Mid 1st