Which WR excites you the most for the Rams?

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Which WR excites you the most for the Rams?

  • Jordyn Tyson

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • Carnell Tate

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Makai Lemon

    Votes: 12 50.0%

  • Denzel Boston

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • KC Concepcion

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • Omar Cooper Jr

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .
Flatlyner said:
Where are you thinking though? 29? Trade back to top of 2nd?
Click to expand...
Depends on how free agency shakes out. If we don't sign a WR in free agency, I'd take him at 29. He may need a slight move up.

If they do sign a free agent WR, I don't see them drafting one high.
 
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Ben Solak FA/Draft review: Wide Receivers​

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8. Wide receiver​

Good year to need ... bodies in the bullpen
Bad year to need ... the next elite guy

Wide receiver is an impossible position to rank, too. There's really no such thing as a bad receiver class. There are too many body types that work at the position, and too many ways to funnel production to players across the board, that even the bad classes might have a few stars in it. I remember when we called the 2023 wide receiver draft class bad. The first wide receiver off the board was at No. 20. What was his name again? That's right ... Jaxon Smith-Njigba. (Puka Nacua was also in the 2023 class, I just don't have a cheeky bit for him.)

With that necessary caveat in place, it does not feel like a good year for elite receivers. Top receivers rarely make free agency anymore, as the blue-chip players at the position are too valuable to let anywhere near the open market. The Cowboys will reportedly franchise-tag George Pickens accordingly, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Were Pickens to make it in this class, he'd be given a contract near $35 million per year.

As it is, the top of the free agent class features Alec Pierce (Indianapolis), Romeo Doubs (Green Bay) and Jauan Jennings (San Francisco). Pierce is the buzzy name after a breakout 2025 season in which he led all receivers in yards per target (11.9) and was second to Tyquan Thornton in yards per reception (21.3). Pierce's average target was 18.8 yards downfield -- again, second only to Thornton -- as Indianapolis used his excellent combination of height, speed and ball tracking on schemed shot plays and one-on-one alerts alike.

Pierce's beauty isn't just in one big season, but in the dirty work he did before he broke out. His 2024 was already a great season for big play creation (12.1 yards per target, better than his 2025 number), but in 2023 and 2022, he ground his nose as a blocker and has more "big slot" potential than the Colts film indicates. He's the one I could see becoming a three-level receiver with high-volume usage ... something like Mike Evans, if we're really shooting for the stars.

But otherwise, it's strong WR2s and WR3s. Doubs is an every-down player with good route running but unreliable hands. Jennings is a high-impact blocker who can be a high-volume player in spots but should more so be a third-option stick mover. The aforementioned Evans lacks the juice to separate that he once had but still wins with physicality for those quarterbacks who like throwing back-shoulder balls on the outside. Rashid Shaheed, Deebo Samuel, Wan'Dale Robinson and Christian Kirk can all still fill roles behind star receivers.

One wild card to watch is a household name: Tyreek Hill. For as much as I'd like to believe Hill can recover his 2023 and 2024 form, he'll never again play in a fresh Mike McDaniel offense taking the league by storm. He's coming off a dislocated knee with multiple ligament tears. I cannot reasonably weigh him in this free agent class, but with a heroic recovery, he'll be an impactful signing in 2026.

Another wild-card name is the Vikings' Jalen Nailor. Of course, he's not nearly as buzzy, but Nailor has been an effective speed option on play-action shots and YAC throws behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota, and I wouldn't be surprised if he blossoms into a valuable field stretcher for his next team. Teams that miss out on Shaheed should hustle to secure Nailor's services.

Onto the draft class. There will be some early-drafted receivers this year. Ohio State's Carnell Tate and Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson are the two big prospects, with Makai Lemon (USC) also sneaking into the conversation for teams looking to fill their slot role. But I don't rank any of these players above Tetairoa McMillan from last season, or Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze and Brian Thomas Jr. from 2024. Tate and Tyson, should they go top 10, will benefit from a poor draft class pushing them up into higher draft capital.

The names on Day 2 are thinner than usual. Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. is my preferred Round 2 target, assuming Washington's Denzel Boston has already left the board on late Day 1. Chris Bell (Louisville) is the big injury risk this season, as a torn ACL ended his emphatic 2025 season early. Zachariah Branch (Georgia) is the guy everyone will fall in love with for his 10 best plays, despite being perilously undersized (5-10, 175 pounds) for NFL play.

By no means is this a receiver class without options. The trade market might expand on those options and strengthen the class accordingly, if A.J. Brown gets dealt out of Philadelphia, or if Brandon Aiyuk is healthy and ready to play after escaping San Francisco. Neither feels like a sure thing, yet both are exciting possibilities. That's the story of every wide receiver class, of course -- there are just so many players at this position, year over year. Relative to past groups, though, this year's offerings don't stack up.


 
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