It used to be rare for a rookie wide receiver to make a big impact, but that paradigm is changing. A rookie wide receiver with 1,000 receiving yards may now be a perennial occurrence. Every NFL draft since 2019 has had a rookie receiver hit the 1,000-yard mark, and the 2022 draft had two (although that may partially be a function of the league moving to a 17-game season).
Wide receivers are no longer just a long-term investment -- they can make an immediate impact on a team's passing game.
Playmaker Score, Football Outsiders' metric for projecting top wide receiver prospects, shows that immediate impact can be expected from a couple of this year's top prospects, but another top-25 prospect comes in lower than expected.