Most wide receivers ever taken in the first round of the NFL Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft could see three quarterbacks taken with the first three selections. It will also be interesting if a class rich in talent at this position breaks the record for most quarterbacks selected in the first round, set in 1983.

Of course, those players need someone to catch the football. Lately, it has become very vogue to grab a young wideout early in the draft. Dating back to 2020, there have been a total of 21 wideouts selected in the first round in those four drafts. That includes a year ago when Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seahawks), Quentin Johnston (Chargers), Zay Flowers (Ravens), and Jordan Addison (Vikings) were selected with picks Nos. 20-23.

What’s the mark for most wide receivers picked in the first round of an NFL draft?

The NFL Common Draft began in 1967. Although we have seen a few examples of five or six wideouts picked in the first round in the same year, seven of the 32 players selected in the first round in 2004 were wide receivers.

Larry Fitzgerald's career regular-season statistics read 1,432 receptions for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns. Those numbers rank second, second and sixth, respectively, in NFL history. It’s little wonder he was named to the NFL 100 All-time Team.

His memorable four-game postseason performance for the 2008 Cardinals included a pair of touchdown grabs in Super Bowl XLIII. Fitzgerald will be first-time eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. It would simply be stunning if he was not a first-ballot selection.

Roy Williams (393 receptions for 5,715 yards, 44 touchdowns) enjoyed a solid career with the Lions, then finished with the Cowboys and Bears. He was a Pro Bowler with Detroit in 2006. Williams, Lee Evans (381) and Michael Jenkins (354) all totaled 300-plus catches in their careers. Reggie Williams played five seasons, and 10 of his 18 TD grabs came in 2007.

Michael Clayton had a strong rookie showing but never recaptured that form. He played in five games in 2011 for the Super Bowl champion XLVI Giants but didn’t catch a pass. Rashaun Woods spent one year in the NFL with the Niners, catching seven passes for 160 yards and one score.