RSS FeedNo Clear Standout Wide Receivers from 2012 Draft
By Chris Malumphy
Of the 34 wide receivers drafted in 2012, only three exceeded 800 receiving yards in their rookie season and only four had as many as 50 catches. While several of the rookies showed promise, no one was a clear standout. To keep things in perspective, 800 yards averages out to just 50 yards per game and 50 receptions averages to 3.1 catches per game, certainly not awe-inspiring figures.
Justin Blackmon (865), T.Y. Hilton (861) and Josh Gordon (805) gained the most yards receiving. Blackmon (64), Kendall Wright (64), T.Y. Hilton (50) and Josh Gordon (50) caught the most passes. Hilton (7), Blackmon (5) and Gordon (5) scored the most touchdowns.
Former Baylor teammates Wright and Gordon totalled 114 receptions for 1,431 yards and 9 touchdowns, which nears 20% of the total production of the 34 wide receivers drafted in 2012.
There were 33 wide receivers selected during the primary draft, led by Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma who was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the fifth choice. Another wide-receiver, Josh Gordon from Baylor was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with a 2nd round choice in the Supplemental Draft. Blackmon led all first year draftees with 865 yards receiving and tied fellow 1st rounder Kendall Wright for the lead in receptions with 64. Wright was drafted from Baylor by the Tennessee Titans with the 20th pick in the 1st round. He was the third wide receiver drafted.
Four wide receivers were selected in the 1st round. The top three were saddled with poor or mediocre quarterbacks: Justin Blackmon (Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne), Michael Floyd (Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, Ryan Lindley, Brian Hoyer) and Kendall Wright (Jake Locker, Matt Hasselbeck). While none of the three had standout seasons, they each showed enough promise to give hope that they could excel given better quarterbacking. The fourth 1st rounder, A.J. Jenkins missed the entire season due to injury.
Each of the five receivers drafted in the 2nd round disappointed: Brian Quick (Rams), Stephen Hill (Jets), Alshon Jeffery (Bears), Ryan Broyles (Lions), Rueben Randle (Giants). None caught as many as 25 passes or gained even 400 yards receiving, a measley 25 per game.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise among the wide receivers drafted in 2012 was T.Y. Hilton, taken by the Indianapolis Colts with the 29th pick in the 3rd round. Hilton led the first year draftees with 7 receptions for touchdowns, was 2nd in receiving yards with 861, only 4 behind Blackmon, and tied Josh Gordon with 50 catches, trailing only Blackmon and Wright, who each had 64. The Rams' Chris Givens, a 4th round pick, also had a good season with 42 catches for 698 yards, easily outproducing teammate Brian Quick who was drafted two rounds earlier.
| Wide Receivers Drafted in 2012 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | Round | Pick | Player | College | Team | Rushes | Yards | Avg | TD | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Justin Blackmon | Jaguars | 1 | 5 | 5 | Oklahoma State | Jaguars | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 64 | 865 | 13.5 | 5 |
| Michael Floyd | Cardinals | 1 | 13 | 13 | Notre Dame | Cardinals | 45 | 562 | 12.5 | 2 | ||||
| Kendall Wright | Titans | 1 | 20 | 20 | Baylor | Titans | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 64 | 626 | 9.8 | 4 |
| A.J. Jenkins | 49ers | 1 | 30 | 30 | Illinois | |||||||||
| Brian Quick | Rams | 2 | 1 | 33 | Appalachian State | Rams | 11 | 156 | 14.2 | 2 | ||||
| Stephen Hill | Jets | 2 | 11 | 43 | Georgia Tech | Jets | 21 | 252 | 12.0 | 3 | ||||
| Alshon Jeffery | Bears | 2 | 13 | 45 | South Carolina | Bears | 24 | 367 | 15.3 | 3 | ||||
| Ryan Broyles | Lions | 2 | 22 | 54 | Oklahoma | Lions | 22 | 310 | 14.1 | 2 | ||||
| Rueben Randle | Giants | 2 | 31 | 63 | Louisiana State | Giants | 19 | 298 | 15.7 | 3 | ||||
| Devier Posey | Texans | 3 | 5 | 68 | Ohio State | Texans | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | 6 | 87 | 14.5 | 0 |
| T.J. Graham | Bills | 3 | 6 | 69 | North Carolina State | Bills | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 31 | 322 | 10.4 | 1 |
| Mohamed Sanu | Bengals | 3 | 20 | 83 | Rutgers | Bengals | 5 | 15 | 3.0 | 0 | 16 | 154 | 9.6 | 4 |
| T.Y. Hilton | Colts | 3 | 29 | 92 | Florida International | Colts | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 50 | 861 | 17.2 | 7 |
| Chris Givens | Rams | 4 | 1 | 96 | Wake Forest | Rams | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 0 | 42 | 698 | 16.6 | 3 |
| Travis Benjamin | Browns | 4 | 5 | 100 | Miami (FL) | Browns | 6 | 66 | 11.0 | 0 | 18 | 298 | 16.6 | 2 |
| Joe Adams | Panthers | 4 | 9 | 104 | Arkansas | Panthers | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 |
| Devon Wylie | Chiefs | 4 | 12 | 107 | Fresno State | Chiefs | 6 | 53 | 8.8 | 0 | ||||
| Jarius Wright | Vikings | 4 | 23 | 118 | Arkansas | Vikings | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 22 | 310 | 14.1 | 2 |
| Keshawn Martin | Texans | 4 | 26 | 121 | Michigan State | Texans | 4 | 53 | 13.3 | 0 | 10 | 85 | 8.5 | 1 |
| Nick Toon | Saints | 4 | 27 | 122 | Wisconsin | |||||||||
| Greg Childs | Vikings | 4 | 39 | 134 | Arkansas | |||||||||
| Danny Coale | Cowboys | 5 | 17 | 152 | Virginia Tech | |||||||||
| Marvin Jones | Bengals | 5 | 31 | 166 | California | Bengals | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 0 | 18 | 201 | 11.2 | 1 |
| Juron Criner | Raiders | 5 | 33 | 168 | Arizona | Raiders | 16 | 151 | 9.4 | 1 | ||||
| B.J. Cunningham | Dolphins | 6 | 13 | 183 | Michigan State | |||||||||
| Marvin McNutt | Eagles | 6 | 24 | 194 | Iowa | |||||||||
| Tommy Streeter | Ravens | 6 | 28 | 198 | Miami (FL) | |||||||||
| LaVon Brazill | Colts | 6 | 36 | 206 | Ohio | Colts | 11 | 186 | 16.9 | 1 | ||||
| Rishard Matthews | Dolphins | 7 | 20 | 227 | Nevada | Dolphins | 11 | 151 | 13.7 | 0 | ||||
| Toney Clemons | Steelers | 7 | 24 | 231 | Colorado | Jaguars | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 | ||||
| Jeremy Ebert | Patriots | 7 | 28 | 235 | Northwestern | |||||||||
| Junior Hemingway | Chiefs | 7 | 31 | 238 | Michigan | |||||||||
| Jordan White | Jets | 7 | 37 | 244 | Western Michigan | Jets | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | ||||
| Josh Gordon | Browns | 2S | Baylor | Browns | 50 | 805 | 16.1 | 5 | ||||||
| Note: Josh Gordon was selected in the second round of the Supplemental Draft. | ||||||||||||||
