Last year's wide receiver crop set the bar almost impossibly high, but this year's rookie class also has a chance to be special. NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah ranked 10 receivers in his Top 50 players overall, and NFL general managers largely agreed.
Nine receivers flew off the board in the first two rounds, including five-first round picks. So which rookie wideout will have the most yards this season?
Amari Cooper
Cooper knows all about being the top option on a team with questionable receiving options. Kevin White has a higher ceiling long term than Cooper, but Oakland drafted the most pro-ready receiver of the bunch. Playing for Oakland will not help Cooper rack up yards, yet he would be our favorite to lead the entire group of receivers in targets. There is no question Cooper will be on the field nearly every snap and he has a smaller learning curve when it comes to defense recognition and route running at the NFL level. In short, he's the best bet to quickly adapt to his new surroundings. -- Gregg Rosenthal
Kevin White
At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds with 4.35 wheels, White can excel on the basic slants, crossers, bubble screens and go routes as a rookie while gradually learning how to read and react to NFL coverages. Unlike No. 4 overall pick Amari Cooper, White will have benefit of an established veteran quarterback as well as another dynamic wideout in Alshon Jeffery to draw coverage away. Nelson Agholor is a sleeper as the potential No. 1 receiver in Chip Kelly's offense, but White's talent edge is considerable. --Chris Wesseling
Nelson Agholor
This is all about location, location, location. Guys like Amari Cooper and Kevin White might end up having better careers, but USC wideout Nelson Agholor has the best chance to make an immediate splash. A polished route-runner with serious YAC ability, Agholor is a perfect fit for a Chip Kelly offense that's thin at wide receiver after Jeremy Maclin defected for Kansas City in free agency. Agholor's pro-ready tools should allow him to see the field quickly, and Kelly's high-volume approach will put Agholor in a great position to dwarf the production of some of his first-round contemporaries. Jordan Matthews dropped a 67/872/8 as a rookie in Philly's scheme last year. Agholor can be even better. -- Dan Hanzus
Kevin White
A ready-made NFL wideout, White will hit the ground running alongside Alshon Jeffery in Chicago. With Jeffery necessitating additional coverage weekly, White will be one of the few rookie receivers who will face a No. 2 corner and few double teams. White's speed and run-after-the-catch ability should flourish in coordinator Adam Gase's system. For all his warts, Jay Cutler can still sling the ball and won't hesitate to chuck it to his top two options. White will get the targets and production in 2015 to lead another stellar rookie class of receivers. --Kevin Patra
Breshad Perriman
All five of us could go with Kevin White, but that would leave you, the reader, to digest a whirlwind of homogenous nonsense.
I'm rolling with Breshad Perriman, the freaky athlete and raw route runner who led one league executive to say: "He's as talented as (DeVante Parker) and he's bigger and faster but I just don't trust him as much as I trust Parker as a first-round guy."
He's far from a finished product, but Perriman drew comparisons to Josh Gordon after finishing sixth in the FBS with 20.9 yards per catch at Central Florida. College stats don't mean much, but I look at that figure as a product of his 4.25 speed and 6-foot-2, 212-pound frame. It's not easy for rookie wideouts to produce, but his situation in Baltimore points to plenty of snaps right away. Beyond veteran Steve Smith, the Ravens are looking at paper-thin group led by Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro and Aldrick Robinson.
With Joe Flacco throwing the ball and Marc Trestman calling the plays, Perriman will make noise in 2015. -- Marc Sessler
- Sixteen AFC teams. Four Heroes. Three minutes per team. The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down the AFC. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.*
