Wide receivers are coveted in the NFL Draft. Teams are willing to reach for a great pair of hands and hope it turns into a go-to wideout. Sometimes you win and sometimes … you have to grab another one in another year. The wide receivers who were first-round picks most recently by all 32 NFL teams
Atlanta Falcons: Calvin Ridley (2018)
The Atlanta Falcons have had great success with an Alabama WR in Julio Jones, so why not go back to the Crimson Tide for another wideout. Calvin Ridley was impessive as a rookie with 64 catches for 821 yards and 10 TDs. By comparison, Jones had 54 catches for 959 yards and 8 TDs as a rookie in 2011.
Arizona Cardinals: Michael Floyd (2012)
Michael Floyd had 242 catches as a Cardinal in four-plus years. The former Notre Dame star caught balls for more than 3,700 yards in Arizona. He was released in December 2016 following a DUI arrest. Since, Floyd has become a journeyman who currently is a Washington Redskin.
Baltimore Ravens: Breshad Perriman (2015)
Breshad Perriman lost his rookie season to a knee injury. He made only 43 catches as a Raven before landing with the Browns in 2018. He almost decided to stay in Cleveland but then heard about the trade for Odell Beckham Jr. and opted to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buffalo Bills: Sammy Watkins (2014)
Sammy Watkins was heralded coming out of Clemson to the Buffalo Bills. His biggest problem has been staying healthy. Watkins has played one 16-game season and that was as a rookie. He’s currently on his third team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Carolina Panthers: D.J. Moore (2018)
D.J. Moore has a lot to build on off a strong rookie season as a Panther. He was drafted out of Maryland and had 788 yards receiving and another 172 yards rushing in his first year with Carolina.
Chicago Bears: Kevin White (2015)
Injuries, injuries, injuries. Kevin White’s time in Chicago was more Chicago Med than Chicago Bear. He caught 25 passes in the limited time he was healthy. White is now an Arizona Cardinal.
Cincinnati Bengals: John Ross (2017)
John Ross is as fast as they come. However, that has not translated into success with the Bengals, who made him the ninth overall pick in 2017. He’s played in a total of 16 games in two seasons with 21 catches. Bust alert.
Cleveland Browns: Corey Coleman (2016)
Corey Coleman was another wide receiver who came out of college with massive potential. The former Baylor star did not deliver in Cleveland and already has moved on to the New York Giants.
Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant (2010)
Controversial, colorful and never calm. That’s the way to describe Dez Bryant, who was drafted out of Oklahoma State by the Dallas Cowboys and there were few quiet moments. He had three 1,000-yard plus seasons in the middle of his career.
Denver Broncos: Demaryius Thomas (2010)
Demaryius Thomas delivered five straight 1,000-yard seasons once he found his groove in Denver. The former Georgia Tech star spent nine-plus seasons as a Bronco before being dealt to Houston. He’s now looking for his next team.
Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson (2007)
Calvin Johnson is another receiver who came out of Georgia Tech to star in the NFL. The Detroit Lions great played nine seasons and led the league in catches once and yardage twice. Overall, he caught 83 touchdowns out of his 731 catches. A Hall of Famer.
Green Bay Packers: Javon Walker (2002)
Javon Walker spent four seasons in Green Bay, with his third being the most productive. Walker caught 89 balls for 1,382 yards and 12 TDs in 2004. He wound up with Denver and Oakland later in his career.
Houston Texans: Will Fuller (2016)
Will Fuller was coming into his own in 2018 when he suffered a season-ending injury. The former Notre Dame star makes for a great pairing with DeAndre Hopkins.
Indianapolis Colts: Phillip Dorsett (2015)
The good news is Phillip Dorsett has a Super Bowl ring. The bad news for Indy is it came in 2018 as a New England Patriot. His speed never translated to great success in Indy, where he spent two seasons and caught 51 passes for 753 yards.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon (2012)
Justin Blackmon had a world of potential coming out of Oklahoma State. And he had 64 grabs as a rookie. And then the demons of abuse got the best of him. He caught 29 passes as a second-year Jaguar and that was that.
Kansas City Chiefs: Jonathan Baldwin (2011)
Jonathan Baldwin was an NFL bust. Drafted 26th overall out of Pitt, he played two seasons with the Chiefs and another with the Niners. Career totals: 44 catches for 607 yards.
Los Angeles Chargers: Mike Williams (2017)
Mike Williams was somewhat of a risky pick for the Chargers because he suffered a broken neck while at Clemson. He was limited to 10 games and 11 catches in his first year, which was troubled by more injury. He is starting to blossom. In his second season with the Chargers, Williams had 43 catches for 664 yards and 10 TDs. He looks like a star on the rise.
Los Angeles Rams: Tavon Austin (2013)
Tavon Austin is fast. Like so many speedsters, this doesn’t always translate to the NFL. Austin spent five years with the Rams before moving on to Dallas. Most of his catches came in 2015-16 (110 combined). He didn’t add much to the Cowboys, either.
Miami Dolphins: DeVante Parker (2015)
DeVante Parker has 163 catches and nine TDs in four seasons with the Miam Dolphins. Can blame some of the lack of production on the quarterback quandary that always seems to be ongoing with the Dolphins. However, that’s only some of the issue.
Minnesota Vikings: Laquon Treadwell (2016)
Laquon Treadwell has taken time to develop in Minnesota. When you have Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs that somewhat cushions the pain. Still, Treadwell’s best season was 2018 and that saw only 35 grabs and his lone NFL TD.
New England Patriots: Terry Glenn (1996)
The New England Patriots know how to mine talent better than most franchises in any sport. That can explain how Tom Brady has set record after record without having a first-round receiver drafted in decades. Terry Glenn did have a 12-year NFL career, half as a Patriot. He made 22 TD catches out of 329 grabs in NE.
New Orleans Saints: Brandin Cooks (2014)
Brandin Cooks somehow has played on three teams already in the NFL. It almost defies logic has he has four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The Rams like him and he won’t be leaving them anytime soon.
New York Jets: Santana Moss (2001)
Five years after drafting Keyshawn Johnson with the No. 1 overall pick out of USC, the Jets went back into the wide receiver pool and grabbed Santana Moss out of Miami. Moss had a 14-year career in the NFL. However, only four were with Gang Green. He went from New York to Washington, where he played 10 seasons.
New York Giants: Odell Beckham Jr. (2014)
Rock star leaves the Big Apple. Not Keyshawn Johnson. This time, it is Odell Beckham Jr., whose personality was too much for the New York Giants. He caught 390 passes in five seasons after being drafted out of LSU. Up next is a reunion with his buddy Jarvis Landry on the up-and-coming Cleveland Browns.
Oakland Raiders: Amari Cooper (2015)
Amari Cooper started to make the headlines expected when the Oakland Raiders drafted him out of Alabama. Too bad for Jon Gruden and the Silver and Black those headlines were for the Dallas Cowboys, who acquired him last season.
Philadelphia Eagles: Nelson Agholor (2015)
Nelson Agholor has shown progress with the Philadelphia Eagles. A Super Bowl champion, the former USC star has caught 126 passes in his last two seasons.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Santonio Holmes (2006)
The photo above is probably all the Pittsburgh Steelers need to produce to show drafting Santonio Holmes out of Ohio State was prudent. That’s a Super Bowl-winning grab.
San Francisco 49ers: A.J. Jenkins (2012)
A.J. Jenkins came to the San Francisco 49ers from Illinois. He played in three games and was then shipped to Kansas City for a first-round pick of the Chiefs who made this list: Jonathan Baldwin.
Seattle Seahawks: Koren Robinson (2001)
Koren Robinson’s second year in the league was his best. He caught 78 passes for better than 1,200 yards in 2002. He had a solid year after that but his numbers never regained those levels again.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Evans (2014)
A wonderfully talented receiver out of Texas A&M, Mike Evans has had better than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his five seasons as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
Tennessee Titans: Corey Davis (2017)
Corey Davis improved dramatically in his second season with the Tennessee Titans. He flashed brilliance while grabbing 65 passes for 891 yards. The Titans expect the production of the Western Michigan product to continue to grow.
Washington Redskins: Josh Doctson (2016)
Josh Doctson’s rookie season was derailed. He’s played the last two and made 79 combined catches. The Redskins have to be looking for more production out of the wideout they drafted from TCU.
