They came off the board fast during this year’s NFL draft after standout first seasons from players like Odell Beckham Jr., Keenan Allen, Mike Evans and Michael Thomas the past few seasons. Rookie pass-catchers are sought after, and expectations of them are high.
The receivers are valuable for your team in real life -- many of them were high-investment players -- and in fantasy, too, with waiver wire options always in demand.
So far, though, no rookie receiver has truly stood out -- with only the Rams' Cooper Kupp in the top 25 in receiving yards. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but this year’s class isn’t off to the best start.
With that in mind, here’s every rookie receiver who caught a pass last week in the NFL (according to ESPN Stats & Information):
Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans: The top receiver taken in this year’s draft had a quiet day. He ran 16 routes, was targeted only 18.8 percent of the time and caught one of his three targets for 4 yards -- the lowest yardage this week among this group.
John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals: The speedster made his NFL debut last week for the Bengals, but unfortunately for him (and Cincinnati’s entire offense), not much happened with it. He went without a catch. He had one rushing attempt for 12 yards but fumbled the ball and lost it.
Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills: He ran 32 routes Sunday but didn’t have a huge target share (18.6 of his routes). He also didn’t have much production, catching two of his six targets for 18 yards. Both went for first downs, though.
Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers: The former Ohio State do-everything player has a tough situation with the Panthers. He’s behind a bunch of other receiving options for QB Cam Newton, so he doesn’t get a ton of work. He ran nine routes, catching two passes for 7 yards and actually had more yards after catch -- nine -- than total receiving yards.
Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers: The former USC receiver got a decent amount of work, catching three of his four targets, including a touchdown in the Steelers’ win. He also had the only drop among receivers on this list.
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams: One of the hotter names in fantasy and more intriguing rookies, he’s one of three rookie receivers with three catches last week. He was also tied for the rookie lead in targets with six. While the Rams have Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods, Kupp is one of the guys garnering the early attention this season. He’s tied with Davis for the rookie receiver lead in receptions (seven) and leads all rookie receivers in yards (109).
Taywan Taylor, Tennessee Titans: He led all rookie receivers this week with 42 yards -- but all came on one catch and one target.
Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions: After a standout first week, Golladay had a typical rookie up-and-down Week 2. He had one catch for 8 yards on three targets off 16 routes. Matthew Stafford tried finding him deep, though. He averaged 25.33 air yards per target -- second to only Taylor. Through two weeks, Golladay is third in receptions (five) and second in yards (77).
Mack Hollins, Philadelphia Eagles: He caught all three of his targets this week for 32 yards -- third among receivers in yards this week. Two of his three catches went for first downs, and he had a decent target per route percentage of 23.1.
Josh Reynolds, Los Angeles Rams: He doesn’t get the attention of Kupp and didn’t get a ton of looks, but he made the most of his one reception. He took his lone target 28 yards -- including 22 after the catch.
Amara Darboh, Seattle Seahawks: The Michigan product is in a tricky Seattle offense, with Doug Baldwin, Paul Richardson and Jimmy Graham hogging a lot of the work. Darboh had one catch for 16 yards while running nine routes. It was the only time QB Russell Wilson looked his way.
Chad Williams, Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals’ offense is a bit of a mess and redefining itself with running back David Johnson's injury. Could that include more Williams? He was targeted twice by QB Carson Palmer, making one catch for 15 yards. He’s not much of a factor in the offense now, with only seven routes run in Week 2.
Trent Taylor, San Francisco 49ers: Brian Hoyer is looking for pass-catchers, and Taylor is getting a good number of looks. He was targeted four times on his 15 routes -- catching two passes for 6 yards. He wasn’t doing much deep work, though, as he averaged 6.25 air yards per target.