Pre-Draft Positional Review - WR

Onto wide receivers and the demand is perhaps a bit less than in recent years but some teams have a much more glaring need for a good pass catcher than others.

Here’s how I see the WR landscape currently:   

Team	WR1	WR2	WR3	WR4	Draft
ARI	Larry Fitzgerald	JJ Nelson	Chad Williams	Brice Butler
ATL	Julio Jones	Mohamed Sanu	Justin Hardy	Marvin Hall
BAL	Michael Crabtree	John Brown	Willie Snead*	Chris Moore
BUF	Kelvin Benajmin	Zay Jones	Andre Holmes	Brandon Reilly
CAR	Devin Funchess	Torrey Smith	Damiere Byrd	Russel Shepherd
CHI	Allen Robinson	Taylor Gabriel	Kevin White	Bennie Fowler
CIN	AJ Green	Brandon LaFell	Tyler Boyd	Josh Malone
CLE	Jarvis Landry	Josh Gordon	Corey Coleman	Rashard Higgins
DAL	Allen Hurns	Deonte Thompson	Cole Beasley	Terrence Williams
DEN	Demarious Thomas	Emmanuel Sanders	Issiah McKenzie	Carlos Henderson
DET	Golden Tate	Marvin Jones	Kenny Golladay	TJ Jones
GB	Devante Adams	Randall Cobb	Geronimo Allison	Deangelo Yancey
HOU	Deandre Hopkins	Will Fuller	Bruce Ellington	Braxton Miller
IND	TY Hilton	Ryan Grant	Chester Rodgers	KJ Brent
JAX	Marquise Lee	Donte Moncrief	Dede Westbrook	Keelan Cole
KC	Tyreek Hill	Sammy Watkins	Chris Conley	Demarcus Robinson
LAC	Keenan Allen	Tyrell Williams	Mike Williams	Travis Benjamin
LA	Brandon Cooks	Robert Woods	Cooper Kupp	Josh Reynolds
MIA	Devante Parker	Kenny Stills	Danny Amendola	Albert Wilson
MIN	Adam Thielin	Stefon Diggs	Laquan Treadwell	Kendall Wright
NE	Julian Edelman	Chris Hogan	Jordan Matthews	Phillip Dorsett
NO	Michael Thomas	Ted Ginn	Cameron Meredith	Tommylee Lewis
NYG	Odell Beckham	Sterling Shepherd	Roger Lewis	Cody Latimer
NYJ	Robby Anderson	Terelle Pryor	Jermaine Kearse	Quincy Enunwa
OAK	Amari Cooper	Jordy Nelson	Seth Roberts	Johnny Holton
PHI	Alshon Jeffrey	Nelson Agholor	Mike Wallace	Mack Hollins
PIT	Antonio Brown	Juju Smith Schuster	Martavious Bryant	Darrius Heywards-Bay
SF	Pierre Garcon	Marquise Goodwin	Aldrick Robinson	Trent Taylor
SEA	Doug Baldwin	Tyler Lockett	Jaron Brown	Marcus Johnson
TB	Mike Evans	Desean Jackson	Adam Humphries	Chris Godwin
TEN	Corey Davis	Rishard Matthews	Taywan Taylor	Tajae Sharp
WAS	Jameison Crowder	Josh Doctson	Paul Richardson	Brian Quick

*Subject to offer sheet not being matched.

It’s a crowded board and I apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes or depth chart errors, this is just how I see it at this moment. 

The Biggest Needs (Green):

Arizona, Buffalo and Dallas all need some depth at wide receiver in my opinion. The Cardinals have got to be planning for Larry Fitzgerald’s retirement while Buffalo need help in case Kelvin Benjamin goes down injured again and Zay Jones goes haywire again. Dallas released Dez Bryant and are now left with Allen Hurns, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley. That combination is not going to scare opponents and it’s not going to give the Cowboys fans a positive feeling about the year. A few draft picks will help out and a break-through from one of them would really cushion the blow.

Other teams who may be on the lookout (Yellow):

Atlanta lost Taylor Gabriel to the Bears and may be on the lookout for a 3^rd receiver to go with Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. It makes sense in the short term and the long term although with Justin Hardy there they may use the draft to strengthen elsewhere.

Carolina brought in Torrey Smith to help Devin Funchess but I’m not sure Damiere Byrd or Russell Shepherd will be enough to help production as the 3^rd WR.

Cincinatti still have Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd and Josh Malone to support AJ Green and drafted John Ross quite high last year. To some that should see them through but with Ross being very fragile and LaFell and Boyd having years of experience without being particularly noticeable makes me wonder if they might want another shot, possibly in the later rounds.

Denver has their top two receivers set in Demarious Thomas and Emanuel Sanders but beyond that they seem a bit thin on numbers. Issiah McKenzie and Carlos Henderson are recent recruits but are still growing and not guaranteed to get to the level they need. With Bennie Fowler leaving and nobody arriving they may be a team looking to the draft for another option, especially since they seem keen to offload Sanders in the not too distant future.

Indianapolis have TY Hilton and now Ryan Grant ready to receive from Andrew Luck, however with Chester Rodgers as their #3 and not much on the chart beyond that they may also be looking for some depth to help long term.

San Francisco sank a decent amount of money into Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin so the chances of them splashing out on another receiver in free agency aren’t great. With Aldrick Robinson and Trent Taylor next up on the depth chart and Kendrick Bourne sniffing around too they may choose to wait on wide receiver as they have other needs, however you can’t rule them out from making a move. 

The Seahawks need help. Baldwin in solid but with Tyler Lockett and Jaron Brown in their other two slots they could do with some future prospects to pump up the depth chart and give Russell Wilson some options. But like the 49ers they need to prioritize elsewhere as without an offensive line they won’t be able to keep Wilson upright to pass them the ball.

Tennessee  have got a fair bit of young blood in their receiving corps but depth is still an issue. Davis, Matthews and Taylor could well see them through this season but the volatile Tajae Sharp is the next man up so an injury to any of the above would leave them in trouble.

So who’s available:

Player	Status
Dez Bryant	FA
Dontarelle Inman	FA
Eric Decker	FA
Harry Douglas	FA
Jeremy Maclin	FA
Kamar Aiken	FA
Markus Wheaton	FA
Allen Lazard	Rookie
Anthony Miller	Rookie
Calvin Ridley	Rookie
Cedrick Wilson	Rookie
Christian Kirk	Rookie
Courtland Sutton	Rookie
Daesean Hamilton	Rookie
Dante Pettis	Rookie
Deon Cain	Rookie
Deontay Burnett	Rookie
DJ Chark	Rookie
DJ Moore	Rookie
Equanimeous St Brown	Rookie
James Washington	Rookie
Marcell Ateman	Rookie
Michael Gallup	Rookie
Richie James	Rookie
Simmie Cobbs Jr.	Rookie
TreQuan Smith	Rookie

The name that stands out is Dez Bryant when it comes to free agents and it’d be a surprise if a team doesn’t snap him up. Outside of Dez the remaining free agents offer slim pickings and apart from Jeremy Maclin there are very few difference makers or people with recent high caliber experience. I’ve left Brandon Marshall off this list as I have a feeling his release from the Giants will signal the end of his career.

That leaves us with what is a very deep rookie class to choose from. Expert opinions differ drastically when it comes to ranking the rookies and I’m not even going to begin contemplating where I’d rank this class and where each could go. The general consensus is the likes of Courtland Sutton, Calvin Ridley, DJ Moore and Christian Kirk should be the early players to be chosen but the variety of options and quality available might allow teams to wait on selecting a wide receiver in order to concentrate on other positions.

That’s basically the summary as well. There’s a lot of good talent available and a fair few teams who could do with some depth at the position. With the depth available many teams may wait unless they have a real liking for “their guy” but there are some more scarce positions which may take the earlier picks.