Through 15 weeks of the 2019 season, eight different rookie wide receivers have at least 500 yards receiving. That’s the most since the vaunted 2014 wide receiver class had 11 wide receivers do it, and that class gave us the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry and Sammy Watkins. All things considered, the 2019 class is one of the best rookie wide receiver groups that we’ve seen in a while, and in that loaded class, two guys have separated themselves at the top — A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin.
McLaurin has earned a receiving grade of 85.1 in his rookie season with the Washington Redskins, and Brown sits a few points behind at 80.6 in his debut with the Tennessee Titans. Forget rookie wide receivers for a second. Those grades are borderline elite when looking at all wide receivers, not just rookies. McLaurin ranks eighth among the 92 wide receivers with 250 or more routes run this season, while Brown ranks 12th.
When you do look at the grades in the context of rookie wide receivers since 2010, it’s hard not to get excited about the future. Since 2010, there have been eight wide receivers who earned a receiving grade of 80.0 or higher with 250 or more routes run through Week 15 of their rookie season. Those eight wide receivers are OBJ (90.4), Evans (82.8), Keenan Allen (84.6), Michael Thomas (82.1), Doug Baldwin (81.1), Stefon Diggs (80.4) and now, McLaurin (85.1) and Brown (80.6). Does that qualify as decent company?
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