Final Rookie Report Card: The Wide Receivers, Part Two

Throughout the season, the Rookie Report Card has covered some of the biggest rookies and not only looked at their performance to date – but also their long term upside. Now that the regular season has wrapped up and fantasy owners are looking towards the future, we have an opportunity to take one last look at the 2014 season and assess the rookies. A final report card if you will.

We covered 33 rookies throughout the season, including 15 wide receivers. As we have over the last couple weeks with quarterbacks and running backs, we’ll take one last look at those wide outs’ first shot catching passes on Sundays – as well as a quick glimpse into their futures. Make sure you check out yesterday’s look at the first group we covered.

Jarvis Landry, WR MIA
Season Stats: 84 receptions, 754 yards, five touchdowns

When I wrote about Landry in the week six edition of the Rookie Report Card I came to the conclusion that despite his very good hands and ability to come down with contested passes, I couldn’t see him getting regular separation due to his lack of explosion off the line of scrimmage and limited quickness in and out of his breaks as a route runner.

To put things bluntly, my stance hasn’t changed a bit.

Landry is the definition of a possession receiver. Although he finished the season with nine consecutive weeks with at least five receptions and he had at least seven grabs in five of those games, he tallied more than 55 receiving yards just once and averaged less than 8.5 yards per catch over that span. Primarily running short to intermediate crossing routes and drag routes, he isn’t a regular target in or around the end zone and depends on being wide open to get a chance at scoring which rarely happens due to his sluggish get off.

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Landry is a quality NFL slot receiver. He’s not afraid to go over the middle to make a tough catch on third down. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make a great fantasy receiver. Although there is some upside with Landry in full PPR leagues due to his potential to see double digit targets on a weekly basis, his potential is limited as he’ll never be a big play maker or end zone target. If I had him and there was somebody looking to deal for him because of the number of targets and catches he had over the second half of the season last year, I’d be jumping at the chance to trade him for a player with better than a WR3 upside.

Marqise Lee, WR JAX
Season Stats: 37 receptions, 422 yards, one touchdown

Lee was just featured in the week 17 edition of the Rookie Report Card a couple weeks ago. Nothing’s changed since then. For those unwilling to click the link however, I completed my assessment of him with the following.

“Lee is without a doubt a breakout candidate in 2015 and is an excellent trade target going into the offseason. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took a leap equal to that of De’Andre Hopkins this year, who posted 76 receptions for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns in his sophomore season.”

Jordan Matthews, WR PHI
Season Stats: 67 receptions, 872 yards, eight touchdowns

So many were convinced Matthews was going to be a star coming out of Vanderbilt and to be very honest, I wasn’t one of them. He seemed like a diva while in college and came off as the type of player more interested in hollering at officials, defensive backs and even his teammates than helping his team win games. He wasn’t worth the risk that came along with him during the early draft season in my opinion.

As you may have read in the week 11 version of the Rookie Report Card, I’ve completely changed my tune on Matthews.

From everything I saw and read throughout training camp as well as the regular season, Matthews was a great teammate. The “Terrell Owens syndrome” he had in college was gone and he looked committed to helping his team with his impressive route running, great hands and excellent skills after the catch.

There’s always the chance that Matthews’ diva persona comes back once he starts making big plays on a weekly basis, but I’m completely convinced that he has the game to back it up if that happens. He should enter 2015 as a low end WR2 and has the potential to develop into a WR1. And if fellow Eagle Jeremy Maclin moves on during the offseason, he could reach that upside as soon as next year in Chip Kelly’s high octane offense.

Donte Moncrief, WR IND
Season Stats: 32 receptions, 444 yards, three touchdowns

There was a lot to like about Moncrief when he was drafted by the Colts. He’s explosive off the line of scrimmage and is an incredible leaper, attacking the ball in the air to make big plays. Then once the ball is in his hands he’s great after the catch, juking defenders and breaking tackles for extra yardage.

Coming into the season with TY Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks in front of him on the depth chart, not to mention Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen competing for targets, expectations weren’t very high for Moncrief as a rookie. Despite playing just 46% if the Colts’ snaps, Moncrief still hauled in 32 passes and had two big weeks while proving he could be a playmaker for the Colts.

Early word out of Indianapolis is that Nicks will be looking elsewhere for work this offseason and Wayne could be looking at retirement. That opens the door wide open for Moncrief to break out in 2015. Another rookie receiver with the potential to someday be among the top-15 at the position, if he’s penciled in as Andrew Luck’s number two receiver next season, he’ll carry high upside WR3 value. He’s another excellent trade target this offseason.

Allen Robinson, WR JAX
Season Stats: 48 receptions, 548 yards, two touchdowns

Three Jacksonville receivers making this list may be too many but we may have saved the best for last.

Robinson was one of my favorite prospects going into the draft last year. Although he was overshadowed by some great rookie wide outs and a broken foot ended his season prematurely, I’m extremely excited about his potential going forward.

In the ten games he played Robinson proved himself as a solid possession receiver, running good routes (particularly around the sideline where he showed excellent footwork) and displaying the impressive hands that made him such a great prospect coming out of Penn State. Although he didn’t get many chances as downfield receiver or red zone threat as a rookie due to the lack of talent at quarterback and on the offensive line, he was incredibly effective in both roles in college and those parts of his game should translate to Sundays going forward. When it does, Robinson could become lethal as a fantasy receiver.

Many have disagreed with me in the past about Robinson and likely will continue to but I believe he has the potential to be one of the top receivers in the game. If Blake Bortles can progress in his second season and the Jags get some help along the offensive line, I see a big break out coming in Robinson’s second year. Of all the wide outs listed here, due to what should be a lower price tag than many others and his immense upside Robinson is easily the best trade target among receivers going into their second year this offseason.

Sammy Watkins, WR BUF
Season Stats: 65 receptions, 982 yards, six touchdowns

Watkins entered the league with world class speed and agility as well as elite route running skills, consistent hands and breathtaking open field moves after the catch. He flashed those skills on multiple occasions as a rookie.

Posting four monster games with at least 117 receiving yards, Watkins proved as a rookie why he was the first receiver drafted last year. He beat corners at all three levels of the defense and showed ankle breaking moves and impressive acceleration in the open field.

With that in mind, Watkins also made some head scratching plays. Because he was celebrating before reaching the goal line, he was caught from behind on what should have been a long touchdown in week eight against the Jets. He also dropped three passes in week four against Houston and two more against the Jets in week 12. Although they were his only five drops of the season and completely out of character for the normally sure handed receiver, it brought up questions about his focus throughout the season.

All things told, Watkins had a solid rookie year – especially when you consider he fought a groin injury throughout the season. The real questions come up when looking towards the future with Watkins however. A coaching change is never an ideal circumstance for a young player and the situation under center in Buffalo looks bleak at best.

Watkins has the potential to be one of the best fantasy receivers in the game. But with Rex Ryan and Greg Roman in town to install a ground and pound offensive philosophy and no adequate quarterback to get him the ball, there may be a waiting period to see him reach that potential.

There were also a handful of rookie receivers including Paul Richardson, Josh Huff, Bruce Ellington (who I featured a few weeks ago), Kevin Norwood, Michael Campanaro, James Wright and Albert Wilson who receive an “incomplete” grade due to a lack of opportunities. Each of them have some upside to someday contribute to your dynasty team however and all of them should stay on your radar throughout the offseason and beyond.

Check back next week as I’ll give final grades to most of the rookie tight ends.

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Dan Meylor

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Dan is a jack of all trades but master of none and specializes in salary cap and contract leagues.He has far too many hobbies (including writing the article you just read), is a die-hard Packers fan and can't wait to introduce his young sons to fantasy football.

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