The Year of the Rookie Receiver: Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta headline the most prolific class in the PFF era

• Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta set PFF rookie records in 2023: Nacua broke NFL records in receptions and receiving yards, while LaPorta set PFF highs in targets and receptions.

• A plethora of rookies made a mark: We highlight only 10 rookie receivers here, but others — such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dontayvion Wicks, Michael Wilson, Trey Palmer and Luke Musgrave — also put up numbers.

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Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Few could have forecasted Los Angeles Rams fifth-round draft pick Puka Nacua would garner 33 targets across his first two NFL games. Fewer could have foreseen him making NFL history by the time Week 18 wrapped up.

Nacua’s season-long dominance as a Day 3 draft choice is largely unheard of. Stack him up against Day 1 and Day 2 selections, and the notion holds. Aside from breaking NFL rookie records for receiving yards and catches, Nacua finished the regular season as the league’s highest-graded first-year receiver, beating out a crowd of players drafted ahead of him.

Nonetheless, while Nacua was the main rookie attraction of the 2023 NFL regular season, he wasn’t alone in showcasing above-average pass-catching abilities. This was the best rookie receiving class in the PFF era. Nacua, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, Josh Downs, Jayden Reed, Demario Douglas, Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid make up only a small, but mighty, portion of the 52 rookie wide receivers and tight ends who brought in a pass this regular season.

2023 Rookie WRs and TEs

Most numbers in the table above are well clear of second place. Twenty rookie receivers catching a pass in Week 1 should have been a sign of things to come. That tied for the most opening-week players in any season since at least 2006.

Let’s dive into the magic of the players who led the way.

WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

*250-snap minimum to qualify

The Los Angeles Rams clinched a playoff berth despite many pundits writing them off ahead of the 2023 NFL season. The team comfortably surpassed its preseason 6.5-win total, in no small part due to rookies like Nacua. He paced all NFL wide receivers this season — not just first-year players — in receiving yards after contact (308) and finished in the top 10 in most other metrics. Drops plagued him at times, as a league-leading 13 stained his resume only slightly, but he put together perhaps the most prolific rookie campaign in NFL history.

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WR Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

*250-snap minimum to qualify

Rice never earned a sub-60.0 PFF game grade in the regular season and turned it up down the stretch. While inactive for Week 18, Rice from Weeks 12-17 ranked third in receptions (43), fourth in receiving yards (517), first in yards after the catch (366) and eighth in 15-plus-yard plays (12). The second-round pick became the linchpin of a Kansas City Chiefs receiving corps fighting to break out of a late-season slump.

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WR Tank Dell, Houston Texans

*250-snap minimum to qualify
**Missed final five weeks of season due to injury suffered in Week 13

The C.J. Stroud–Tank Dell connection produced an avalanche of offense before Dell went down with a fractured fibula. His counting stats subsequently rank lower, but his 83.4 PFF grade tells the true story. Dell racked up 253 of his receiving yards on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield, earning a top-10-ranked 98.4 PFF receiving grade on such plays through Week 12.

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WR Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings

*250-snap minimum to qualify

Addison, selected with the 24th overall pick, was more boom-or-bust due to the Vikings' revolving door at quarterback and Justin Jefferson‘s midseason injury, but his production remained impressive. Twice he earned an 84.0-plus game grade — both outings in which he went over 100 yards and scored twice — and he collected seven touchdowns by Week 8.

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WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

*250-snap minimum to qualify

Flowers' 23 screen receptions tied with Rashee Rice for the second most for a rookie wideout in the PFF era. The Ravens made good use of his speed and tackle-breaking ability, and the first-round pick rewarded them with 396 yards after the catch to rank 15th among wide receivers in 2023. Flowers already places fifth on Baltimore's all-time forced missed tackles list, among wide receivers, in the PFF era.

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WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

*250-snap minimum to qualify

A third-round draft pick, Downs recorded at least one reception in every game this season and displayed sturdy hands all year. He was one of only four wide receivers to see 90-plus targets and record a sub-3.0% drop rate. Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson‘s budding connection with Downs was interrupted by an early season-ending injury, but two of his three completions targeted 25-plus yards downfield went to Downs.

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WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers

*250-snap minimum to qualify

Any one of the young Green Bay Packers receivers has the potential to shine in a given week, and Reed enjoyed his fair share of such games this regular season. His 92.7 PFF overall grade in Week 17 led all wide receivers, and his season-long 123.1 passer rating when targeted placed second among rookies.

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WR Demario Douglas, New England Patriots

*250-snap minimum to qualify

A disastrous 2023 season for the Patriots, one in which they earned the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, didn't stop the sixth-round pick Douglas from flashing potential. Although Douglas never found the endzone, his 561 receiving yards ranked 11th among 36 rookie wideouts to catch a pass in the regular season. His 74.4 PFF grade is the highest by a Patriots rookie wide receiver in the PFF era.

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TE Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

*250-snap minimum to qualify

LaPorta quickly became a featured member of the Lions' passing offense. He led all tight ends in contested catches (13) and touchdowns (10) this regular season. Only Kyle Pitts in 2021 hauled in more contested grabs than LaPorta among rookie tight ends in the PFF era, and Pitts even saw 14 more such targets than the 2023 second-round pick.

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TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

*250-snap minimum to qualify

The Buffalo Bills worked their way back from a challenging middle of the season to claim the AFC East title, aided by Kincaid stepping up as the team's No. 2 target. The lone 2023 first-round tight end ranked tied for sixth in catch rate (81.1%) and 11th in yards after the catch (312) at the position this season. The Bills are projected to address their receiving deficiencies in the 2024 NFL Draft, but for now, Kincaid at tight end is a more-than-serviceable pass-catching threat.

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