Which NFL rookies will have the most receiving yards in 2023?
The 2023 NFL Draft class wasn’t overly revered at the wide receiver position, and only one wide receiver was selected among the top 20 picks overall (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks). With that being said, the Seahawks’ selection of Jaxon Smith-Njigba started a huge run on receivers, unprecedented even. Four straight receivers flew off the board from picks 20-23, and 33 receivers were taken in the 2023 NFL Draft as a whole.
That number (33) trailed only the cornerback position (36) for the most players selected at one individual position in this year’s NFL Draft. The question is — what rookie receivers will have the most receiving yards in the 2023 season? Which players are primed to make the biggest impact?
It would be too easy to just pick the top five receivers selected, and we need to properly assess every individual situation around the league. Let’s try to predict the top five most productive rookie wide receivers in the NFL during the 2023 season.
Predicting the top 5 rookie WRs in receiving yards for 2023
5. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
. Puka Nacua. player. Pick Analysis. Rams. 5. 51. Scouting Report
We’ve got to start off by going just a little off-the-wall, right? It’s not likely that the rookie leaders in receiving yards are just going to be the top five players picked at the position. You’ve got to do some deep diving on which guys are in a great position to produce. How about Puka Nacua to be perhaps this year’s version of a Gabriel Davis, circa 2020? Davis had 599 yards and 7 TDs in his rookie season with Buffalo, and I think Puka Nacua could match or exceed those numbers as a rookie with the Los Angeles Rams.
Matthew Stafford is back healthy. Sean McVay is one of the best in the NFL at scheming offense. Nacua only has Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson firmly ahead of him on the depth chart at the moment. He is a YAC machine and tremendous in the open field. I think we could see plenty of schemed touches in year one for Nacua, a steal in this year’s draft.
4. Jonathan Mingo, Carolina Panthers
player. 87. Pick Analysis. Jonathan Mingo. 4. Scouting Report. . Panthers
Although there are players like Adam Thielen and DJ Chark on the roster and depth chart ahead of rookie Jonathan Mingo, I think there’s going to be a clear vision and concerted effort to get him the ball plenty in year one. Just like Puka Nacua, Mingo is a player who can excel with manufactured touches, and he obviously excels in the open field as a runner after the catch.
I think fellow rookie and top overall pick Bryce Young will develop quick early chemistry with Mingo, who is likely the planned future WR1 in Carolina. The future will start quickly.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
player. 36. 3. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. . Seahawks. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
I think it would be ridiculous if we didn’t have this year’s WR1 on the list at all. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is going into a very interesting situation with the Seahawks where he’s going to be firmly WR3, and that is a position that hasn’t been overly productive for the Seahawks in recent years. We also know the Seahawks will make a concerted effort to run the ball a ton, so Smith-Njigba is going to need to maximize every opportunity. Which I think he will, and I think the Seahawks will slightly tailor their offense to get him involved early.
2. Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Browns. 53. . Cedric Tillman. 2. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
One of the top needs the Cleveland Browns had to address in the 2023 NFL Draft was the wide receiver position, and they did so by trading for Jets receiver Elijah Moore and adding Cedric Tillman in round three. Yes, Tillman was a third-round pick, but I think he’s poised to finish this coming season in the top three among rookies in total receiving yards. He’s already working in with the top offense at Browns OTAs and could develop strong early chemistry with Deshaun Watson.
1. Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
60. Pick Analysis. . Vikings. Jordan Addison. player. Scouting Report. 1
No rookie receiver is in a more favorable situation than Jordan Addison, joining a high-flying offense in Minnesota where Adam Thielen has just departed and left a perfect vacancy for him to step into. Addison, along with Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn, gives the Vikings an enviable trio of receivers to spread the ball to, and Kirk Cousins knows how to spread the ball effectively. I think he is a home run pick to lead all rookie WRs in receiving yards this coming season.