Taylor Gabriel

It’s the year of the rookie wide receiver in the NFL and as much as Giants WR Odell Beckham has stood out, he’s got plenty of company.

A dozen or more rookies are making impacts, and while the list includes first-round picks like Beckham, the Bucs’ Mike Evans, the Panthers’ Kelvin Benjamin, the Bills’ Sammy Watkins and the Saints’ now-injured Brandin Cooks, second rounder Allen Robinson of the Jaguars, third-rounder John Brown in Arizona and even an undrafted free agent like the Browns’ Taylor Gabriel are getting into the act.

Of the 12 WRs selected in the first two rounds of the 2014 draft, only one, Cody Latimer, who has been a healthy scratch most of the year for the Broncos, hasn’t reached double digits in catches. At this pace, it will be the best receiving class in history. Draft experts agreed this was going to be a rich, deep vein but they’ve even gone beyond expectations.

It never used to be that way but rookie WRs are now making an immediate impact and help to make it a deep position in the fantasy world. Drafting them in the right round is often the key to taking advantage of their value, though. For the most part, the guys mentioned above in the story did take at least some time to develop. As always, the later you can snag a rookie, and let him ride your bench until he develops is the key. We try not to advise our subscribers to jump too early on them despite excitement surround them.