Doing my weekly check on average draft position, I see a trio of rookie wideouts sneaking into the top 40 at the position. Corey Coleman of the Browns and Laquon Treadwell of the Vikings are making it, under the idea they'll be their respective team's No. 1 at the position, and so is Sterling Shepard (likely No. 2 in a quality passing offense).
It's tough for rookie wideouts to have truly noteworthy seasons, but there have been far more of them in recent years. There have been six rookie wideouts to clear 1,000 yards in the last five seasons. That may not sound like much, but consider that there were the same number from the previous 20 years. There have been as many 1,000-yard rookies since 2003 (nine) as in the previous 40 years (granted, some 14-game seasons in there).
The list of 1,000-yard rookie wideouts since the merger is shown below. Perhaps Coleman (maybe) or Shepard (about as likely) will be the next.
| 1,000-YARD ROOKIE WIDEOUTS, 1967-PRESENT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 1978 | John Jefferson, S.D. | 56 | 1,001 | 17.9 | 13 |
| 1981 | Cris Collinsworth, Cin. | 67 | 1,009 | 15.1 | 8 |
| 1986 | Ernest Givins, Hou. | 61 | 1,062 | 17.4 | 3 |
| 1986 | Bill Brooks, Ind. | 65 | 1,131 | 17.4 | 8 |
| 1995 | Joey Galloway, Sea. | 67 | 1,039 | 15.5 | 7 |
| 1996 | Terry Glenn, N.E. | 90 | 1,132 | 12.6 | 6 |
| 1998 | Randy Moss, Minn. | 69 | 1,313 | 19.0 | 17 |
| 2003 | Anquan Boldin, Ariz. | 101 | 1,377 | 13.6 | 8 |
| 2004 | Michael Clayton, T.B. | 80 | 1,193 | 14.9 | 7 |
| 2006 | Marques Colston, N.O. | 70 | 1,038 | 14.8 | 8 |
| 2011 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 65 | 1,057 | 16.3 | 7 |
| 2013 | Keenan Allen, S.D. | 71 | 1,046 | 14.7 | 8 |
| 2014 | Odell Beckham Jr., NYG | 91 | 1,305 | 14.3 | 12 |
| 2014 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 68 | 1,051 | 15.5 | 12 |
| 2014 | Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 73 | 1,008 | 13.8 | 9 |
| 2015 | Amari Cooper, Oak. | 72 | 1,070 | 14.9 | 6 |
--Andy Richardson