You remember the 1987 Draft, right? It was a terrible draft for pass catchers. The first TE drafted was Robert Awalt in the third round; only two more, Ron Hall and Jim Riggs, went before the sixth round, and Ron Embree was the final TE selected before the seventh round. At wide receiver, Haywood Jeffires was the first off the board at #20; the only other first rounders were Ricky Nattiel and Mark Ingram. The only other receiver in the top 50 was Lonzel Hill. Mark Carrier, Kelvin Martin,Curtis Duncan, and Bruce Hill went in the later rounds, but it was a terrible draft for pass catchers.
Using the Draft Value Chart, there were 177.4 points of draft value used on wide receivers and tight ends in the 1987 Draft. That was the second year in a row when the league moved away from pass catchers. Well, in this past draft, less draft capital was spent on wide receivers and tight ends than on any year since 1987. Take a look:
Two years ago, the NFL had its greatest class of rookie receivers ever; it probably wasn’t a coincidence that it was also the draft with the third most draft capital spent on wide receivers and tight ends.
This year? Only 181.3 points of draft value was spent on wide receivers and tight ends. No tight ends went in the first round, and only one was selected in the top 75. At wide receiver, the highest-drafted player was at pick 15, and there were only nine taken in the first three rounds.
We will have to wait a few years to see if this turns out to be a weak incoming class of receivers. But it’s also worth noting that this was also a really weak free agent class: the top wide receivers who switched teams were Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Rishard Matthews, Travis Benjamin, and Mike Wallace. The only notable free agent tight ends were Benjamin Watson, Coby Fleener, Ladarius Green, and Jared Cook (via trade, Martellus Bennett moved on to New England). As a result, teams that were desperate to improve their passing game were left were very few options this year. That may be one reason teams like Houston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia gave up significant capital to (attempt to) improve their quarterback position, with the Texans doubling down by grabbing wide receivers in the first and third rounds. If teams wanted to improve their passing games this offseason, there were very few clear paths to do so.