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2023 Rookie Draft Preview – Wide Receivers

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By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL)

We have been very lucky over the past couple years to have seen some incredible wide receivers come out of the college ranks and make an immediate impact in the NFL. Here are five more who might do the same next year.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Ohio State

Stop me if you have heard this one before, an Ohio State wideout in the first round. But this time it’s a player who outplayed the two first round picks in 2022. Smith-Njigba caught 95 balls for 1,606 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns last season, pacing a high-powered offense in both receptions and receiving yards. After competing with Garrett Wilson ($5,138,502) and Chris Olave ($4,817,969), Smith-Njigba was set to lead the Ohio State wide receiver room in 2022. Unfortunately, he has missed the majority of the first half of the season with a lingering hamstring injury. Despite this, he is still one of the top receiving prospects in the upcoming draft class after his huge sophomore season.

If Smith-Njigba can come back healthy for the second half of the season, he should be looked at as one of the top receivers (and overall prospects) in the 2023 NFL draft class. His ability to create space before and after the catch gives him instantly translatable skills to bring to the NFL. He could make an early impact, like many other rookies we’ve seen recently, and should be one of the first receivers off the board come April.

Jordan Addison – USC

Last year’s Fred Biletnikoff Award winner (awarded to the best wide receiver in college football), Addison had a truly incredible season as the top target for Kenny Pickett ($3,516,976). In 2021, Addison reached the century mark for receptions and included 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns while in the process. An impressive performance after a promising freshman year with 60 receptions, 666 yards and 4 touchdowns with Pittsburgh. This off-season, with Pickett making his way to the NFL, Addison chose to transfer to USC and play for Lincoln Riley. Assuredly, part of this decision came down to the fact that college superstar Caleb Williams is the new face at quarterback for the Trojans. The change of scenery has not negatively affected Addison as through seven games he has 39 receptions, 585 yards, and seven touchdowns.

At 6’ 0” and only 175 pounds, some may say that Addison is too skinny to play on the outside at the next level, but he has a physical presence to him despite his weight, much like Eagles wideout DeVonta Smith ($5,035,348). His ability to make plays at all three levels of the field, as well as in the red zone, gives him the versatility and all-around profile that teams will covet. And with three years of elite production, Addison is nearly guaranteed to be a Top-15 pick and possibly the first receiver off the board.

Josh Downs – North Carolina

Often times, fans and media personalities are so focused on the SEC and the BIG 10 that they forget about the great football being played over in the ACC. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye has picked up where Sam Howell ($1,005,400) left off and Downs is reaping the benefits.

With Howell, Downs had the following per game averages:

  • 7.8 receptions
  • 102.7 receiving yards
  • 0.6 touchdowns

This year so far with Maye, Downs has averaged the following per game:

  • 7.5 receptions
  • 85 receiving yards
  • 1 touchdown

With only a slight decrease from the numbers with the now-NFL signal caller, Downs is having another productive season.

At 5’ 10” and 180 pounds, Downs looks (and plays) the part of a shifty slot receiver. He’s got big play ability with his speed to win downfield, while also great agility to create yards after the catch and find open space. Lining up in the slot on 96.8% of passing snaps for North Carolina, Downs may be limited to the same position in the NFL, but that shouldn’t stop you from targeting him in the back half of the first round in next year’s rookie drafts.

Kayshon Boutte – LSU

“I have some questions about Evans and some of the ‘issues’ that have popped up around him over the past couple years, but at the end of the day none of it included legal issues or anything more suspect than some personal issues with coaching staffs.”

That’s the first sentence for Zach Evans from my last article on 2023 running backs, and it applies here to Boutte as well. Boutte has been a hot topic over the past couple months, from the unknowns in the off-season to the inconsistency during the season. As a result, he has fallen from the WR1 rank that seemed nearly consensus only a year ago.

At 6’0” and 190 pounds, Boutte may not sound like a dominant outside receiver, but in 2020 and 2021 he was. With 83 receptions, 1,200+ receiving yards, 14 touchdowns over his first two years, Boutte looked like the next stud wide receiver to come out of LSU. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in 2021 and it cut his season short after just six games.

In the time since, Brian Kelly has become the new head coach at LSU and reports were not positive surrounding the relationship of the player and the new head coach. With questions about his injury and his place with the team swirling, Boutte has only put together 23 receptions for 245 yards and one touchdown through the first six games of the 2022 season. Now the question, has switched from his place among the 2023 wideouts, to if he even declares this year. There may be a chance that Boutte looks towards the transfer portal to resurrect his first-round pedigree in preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft. Keep an eye on Boutte, the talent is there, is everything else?

Quentin Johnston – TCU

After a soft start to the season, the TCU alpha receiver has exploded onto the scene for the Horned Frogs. After two seasons of flashing big play ability, Johnston seems to be coming into his own with the new and improved TCU offense. Through six games, he has 34 catches for 500 yards and two touchdowns. After averaging 20+ yards a catch over his first two years in college, Johnston is being given more volume in the new air raid offense and he’s taking advantage with big games of 14 receptions, 206 receiving yards and a touchdown against Kansas and 8 receptions, 180 receiving yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma State in the past two weeks. As TCU continues to get deeper into their conference schedule, they will likely continue to lean on Johnston as one of the main receiving threats.

With an impressive frame at 6’4” and 215 pounds, Johnston may look a little lanky, but his game isn’t founded on pure physicality like many other tall receivers. An incredible athlete, Johnston can get behind the defense with ease while also bringing the ability to get yards after the catch on shorter routes and screens. Many draftniks expect Johnston to test well at the NFL Combine, and are predicting a 40-time in the 4.4s. With his expected production the rest of this season combined with his chances to impress at the combine, Johnston isn’t very far away from being a first-round pick and a darling for Dynasty Owners picking in the middle of the first round.

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