The NFL Draft can have a big impact on player value. Below are seven wide receivers who benefitted from the draft.
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Christian Watson, Green Bay
Christian Watson entered the 2023 offseason with questions about his trajectory. Watson had star-level efficiency in the form of 2.26 yards per route run in his rookie season but only ran 270 routes on the season. Green Bay traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, and Green Bay will replace him with Jordan Love. Green Bay was widely mocked to draft a tight end, and rumors circulated the reason they moved up from the 15th to 13th pick in the Rodgers trade was to select wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. However, the team selected edge defender Lukas Van Ness and passed on offensive skill position players. Green Bay selected Jayden Reed in the second round, but this is more of a threat to Romeo Doubs than Watson. Watson enters the 2023 season as the locked-in WR1 for the Green Bay Packers and a value in the early 20s of wide receiver valuations.
Jordan Addison, Minnesota
Jordan Addison was the third wide receiver selected in the 2023 NFL Draft and immediately projects to be the WR2 on the other side of Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. This is a good opportunity for Addison, particularly in an offense where the targets were highly concentrated in the top four options in the passing game in 2022.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee
Treylon Burks had a tough start to his career, nursing offseason injuries amid rumors about his fitness in 2022. However, when Burks returned to the lineup, he had a good start to his career, with 33 receptions, 444 receiving yards, and one touchdown in 11 games with encouraging advanced metrics. Tennessee’s only addition to their receiving core was seventh-round selection Colton Dowell, leaving Tennessee with arguably the worst receiving core in the league outside of Burks. Tennessee has an over/under of 7.5 wins, so the team is likely to need to throw the ball more than in recent years, leaving Burks a good opportunity in his second year.