Today’s the deadline for teams to pick up the fifth-year option on the contracts of players drafted in the first round in 2017, and some notable names are getting left out. Mitchell Trubisky, Leonard Fournette, Corey Davis and John Ross were all selected with top-10 picks, and they will all be free agents next spring.
This doesn’t mean these guys are busts, of course. They just haven’t played to the level where teams wanted to take on the financial risk of promising them big contracts.
Leonard Fournette potentially could use this as motivation to put up big numbers. He’ll be on the open market next spring.
John Ross has been plagued by injuries and drops, but he’s still fast. Coming in, he was the Henry Ruggs of the 2017 draft (only Ross caught a lot more passes in college than Ruggs caught at Alabama). Still some chance Ross can rebound and put things together as a deep threat somewhere.
I find Corey Davis to be the most compelling. He’s had a couple of big games for the Titans where he’s looked like a big-time receiver. I’m thinking specifically of home wins against New England and Philadelphia in 2018, where Davis simply took over those games. He’s big and fast. He caught a couple of touchdowns in a playoff game at New England a few years back, including a one-handed grab.
While I’m not encouraging anyone to aggressively buy stock in Corey Davis, I think there’s an outside chance he will become DeVante Parker (a first-round pick by Miami who finally blossomed last season).
But Davis was a disaster last year, outplayed by teammate A.J. Brown. Even with Tennessee’s offense putting up monster numbers under Ryan Tannehill, Davis continued to flounder. In his 12 games with Tannehill, Davis caught 33 passes for 432 yards and 2 TDs.
Davis last year graded out as only the 75th-best wide receiver in the league. (That’s per-game production using PPR scoring, and looking at all wide receivers who started at least half the season.)
On this front, note that the Titans misfired on a similar decision last year. They chose not to pick up the option on right tackle Jack Conklin. He then had his best season, resulting in a big free agent deal with the Browns.
| WIDE RECEIVERS, PER GAME 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| 1. | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 9.3 | 108 | .56 | 23.5 |
| 2. | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 14 | 6.1 | 95 | .67 | 19.7 |
| 3. | Julio Jones, Atl. | 15 | 6.6 | 93 | .40 | 18.3 |
| 4. | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 15 | 6.9 | 78 | .53 | 17.9 |
| 5. | Mike Evans, T.B. | 13 | 5.2 | 89 | .64 | 17.9 |
| 6. | Davante Adams, G.B. | 12 | 6.9 | 83 | .44 | 17.9 |
| 7. | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 16 | 5.9 | 73 | .63 | 16.9 |
| 8. | Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 6.5 | 75 | .38 | 16.2 |
| 9. | Allen Robinson, Chi. | 16 | 6.1 | 72 | .44 | 15.9 |
| 10. | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 16 | 6.3 | 70 | .44 | 15.9 |
| 11. | Kenny Golladay, Det. | 16 | 4.1 | 74 | .69 | 15.6 |
| 12. | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 12 | 4.8 | 72 | .58 | 15.5 |
| 13. | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 16 | 4.5 | 75 | .56 | 15.4 |
| 14. | Amari Cooper, Dall. | 16 | 4.9 | 74 | .50 | 15.4 |
| 15. | DJ Moore, Car. | 15 | 5.8 | 78 | .27 | 15.2 |
| 16. | Michael Gallup, Dall. | 14 | 4.7 | 79 | .43 | 15.2 |
| 17. | DJ Chark, Jac. | 15 | 4.9 | 67 | .56 | 14.9 |
| 18. | Marvin Jones, Det. | 13 | 4.8 | 60 | .69 | 14.9 |
| 19. | Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 13 | 4.8 | 67 | .56 | 14.9 |
| 20. | Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 16 | 5.2 | 73 | .38 | 14.8 |
| 21. | Robert Woods, LAR | 15 | 6.0 | 76 | .20 | 14.8 |
| 22. | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 16 | 5.1 | 66 | .50 | 14.7 |
| 23. | John Brown, Buff. | 15 | 4.8 | 71 | .44 | 14.5 |
| 24. | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 15 | 4.2 | 75 | .40 | 14.1 |
| 25. | Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 16 | 5.6 | 65 | .31 | 14.0 |
| 26. | Golden Tate, NYG | 11 | 4.5 | 61 | .55 | 13.9 |
| 27. | Terry McLaurin, Was. | 14 | 4.1 | 66 | .50 | 13.7 |
| 28. | Courtland Sutton, Den. | 16 | 4.5 | 70 | .38 | 13.7 |
| 29. | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 10 | 5.7 | 58 | .33 | 13.5 |
| 30. | A.J. Brown, Ten. | 16 | 3.3 | 66 | .56 | 13.2 |
| 31. | Darius Slayton, NYG | 12 | 3.6 | 54 | .67 | 13.0 |
| 32. | Odell Beckham, Cle. | 16 | 4.6 | 65 | .25 | 12.6 |
| 33. | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 10 | 4.5 | 50 | .50 | 12.5 |
| 34. | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 16 | 4.9 | 52 | .38 | 12.3 |
| 35. | Cole Beasley, Buff. | 15 | 4.5 | 52 | .44 | 12.3 |
| 36. | Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 13 | 5.2 | 55 | .26 | 12.2 |
| 37. | Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 10 | 4.3 | 49 | .50 | 12.2 |
| 38. | Will Fuller, Hou. | 11 | 4.5 | 61 | .27 | 12.2 |
| 39. | John Ross, Cin. | 8 | 3.5 | 63 | .38 | 12.1 |
| 40. | DK Metcalf, Sea. | 16 | 3.6 | 56 | .46 | 12.0 |
| 41. | Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 15 | 3.8 | 53 | .42 | 11.7 |
| 42. | Preston Williams, Mia. | 8 | 4.0 | 54 | .38 | 11.6 |
| 43. | Adam Thielen, Min. | 10 | 3.0 | 42 | .70 | 11.4 |
| 44. | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 16 | 4.7 | 50 | .25 | 11.2 |
| 45. | Emmanuel Sanders, Den.-S.F. | 17 | 3.9 | 51 | .35 | 11.1 |
| 46. | Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 14 | 3.9 | 46 | .43 | 11.1 |
| 47. | Mike Williams, LAC | 15 | 3.3 | 67 | .13 | 10.7 |
| 48. | Breshad Perriman, T.B. | 13 | 2.8 | 50 | .46 | 10.5 |
| 49. | Marquise Brown, Balt. | 14 | 3.3 | 42 | .50 | 10.5 |
| 50. | Randall Cobb, Dall. | 15 | 3.7 | 55 | .20 | 10.4 |
| 51. | Hunter Renfrow, Oak. | 13 | 3.8 | 47 | .31 | 10.3 |
| 52. | Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 15 | 4.4 | 44 | .24 | 10.3 |
| 53. | Tyrell Williams, Oak. | 14 | 3.0 | 47 | .43 | 10.2 |
| 54. | Russell Gage, Atl. | 9 | 5.0 | 45 | .11 | 10.1 |
| 55. | Robby Anderson, NYJ | 16 | 3.3 | 49 | .33 | 10.1 |
| 56. | Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 14 | 3.7 | 48 | .24 | 10.0 |
| 57. | Curtis Samuel, Car. | 16 | 3.4 | 39 | .44 | 9.9 |
| 58. | Taylor Gabriel, Chi. | 9 | 3.2 | 39 | .44 | 9.8 |
| 59. | Chris Conley, Jac. | 16 | 2.9 | 48 | .33 | 9.8 |
| 60. | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 12 | 3.5 | 46 | .25 | 9.6 |
| 61. | Danny Amendola, Det. | 15 | 4.1 | 45 | .11 | 9.3 |
| 62. | Auden Tate, Cin. | 11 | 3.5 | 52 | .09 | 9.3 |
| 63. | Zach Pascal, Ind. | 13 | 3.0 | 43 | .33 | 9.3 |
| 64. | Kenny Stills, Hou. | 13 | 3.1 | 43 | .31 | 9.2 |
| 65. | James Washington, Pitt. | 15 | 2.9 | 49 | .20 | 9.0 |
| 66. | Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 11 | 3.5 | 33 | .30 | 8.7 |
| 67. | Mohamed Sanu, Atl.-N.E. | 14 | 4.0 | 36 | .14 | 8.5 |
| 68. | Marquez Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 9 | 2.4 | 47 | .22 | 8.4 |
| 69. | Phillip Dorsett, N.E. | 11 | 2.5 | 32 | .45 | 8.4 |
| 70. | Allen Lazard, G.B. | 10 | 3.1 | 41 | .20 | 8.4 |
| 71. | Anthony Miller, Chi. | 16 | 3.3 | 41 | .13 | 8.1 |
| 72. | Brandin Cooks, LAR | 14 | 3.0 | 42 | .14 | 8.0 |
| 73. | Demaryius Thomas, NYJ | 11 | 3.3 | 39 | .09 | 7.8 |
| 74. | Kendrick Bourne, S.F. | 11 | 2.2 | 26 | .48 | 7.7 |
| 75. | Corey Davis, Ten. | 15 | 2.9 | 40 | .13 | 7.7 |
| 76. | Alex Erickson, Cin. | 11 | 3.3 | 42 | .00 | 7.5 |
| 77. | Adam Humphries, Ten. | 12 | 3.1 | 31 | .17 | 7.2 |
| 78. | Marcus Johnson, Ind. | 8 | 2.1 | 35 | .25 | 7.1 |
| 79. | Kelvin Harmon, Was. | 8 | 3.1 | 39 | .00 | 7.0 |
| 80. | Damiere Byrd, Ariz. | 11 | 2.9 | 33 | .09 | 6.7 |
| 81. | TreQuan Smith, N.O. | 11 | 1.6 | 21 | .45 | 6.5 |
| 82. | Albert Wilson, Mia. | 13 | 3.3 | 27 | .08 | 6.5 |
| 83. | Paul Richardson, Was. | 10 | 2.8 | 25 | .20 | 6.5 |
| 84. | Demarcus Robinson, K.C. | 16 | 2.0 | 28 | .25 | 6.3 |
| 85. | Willie Snead, Balt. | 16 | 1.9 | 21 | .31 | 5.9 |
| 86. | Tajae Sharpe, Ten. | 15 | 1.7 | 22 | .27 | 5.5 |
| 87. | Ted Ginn, N.O. | 16 | 1.9 | 26 | .13 | 5.3 |
| 88. | Geronimo Allison, G.B. | 16 | 2.1 | 18 | .15 | 4.8 |
| 89. | KeeSean Johnson, Ariz. | 10 | 2.1 | 19 | .13 | 4.8 |
| 90. | Trey Quinn, Was. | 12 | 2.2 | 17 | .11 | 4.5 |
| 91. | Isaiah McKenzie, Buff. | 10 | 2.2 | 15 | .10 | 4.3 |
| 92. | Chester Rogers, Ind. | 11 | 1.5 | 16 | .18 | 4.2 |
| 93. | DaeSean Hamilton, Den. | 16 | 1.8 | 19 | .06 | 4.0 |
| 94. | Seth Roberts, Balt. | 16 | 1.3 | 17 | .13 | 3.8 |
| 95. | Jarius Wright, Car. | 16 | 1.8 | 19 | .00 | 3.6 |
| 96. | Zay Jones, Buff.-Oak. | 13 | 1.9 | 15 | .00 | 3.4 |
| 97. | Miles Boykin, Balt. | 16 | .8 | 12 | .19 | 3.2 |
—Ian Allan