With day one of the legal tampering period coming to a close, there are still plenty of wide receivers sitting in free agency.
Here are eight of the best wideouts still available:
Allen Robinson
Robinson is coming off of a down year but is still considered the top receiver on the free-agent market and is looking to rebound with a new team at 28 years old. Robinson had 38 receptions for 410 yards and one touchdown in 12 games last season with the Chicago Bears. However, he is just one year removed from a 1,250-yard season.
His speed is not elite but his route running ability and hands are. Robinson could improve any receiving core in the league.
Jarvis Landry
Landry forced his way out of Cleveland just in time to become one of the best slot receivers on the market. Like Robinson, Landry’s 2021 season was not indicative of his abilities. He caught 52 passes for 570 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. The 29-year-old receiver played injured for the majority of the season and is looking to redeem himself outside of Cleveland.
Landry has been linked to the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
Juju Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster took a one-year prove-it deal last offseason but was sidelined for all but five regular-season games due to injury. He still is only 25 years old and will garner attention from NFL front offices due to his ceiling and age.
Smith-Schuster can play all three wideout positions but would thrive as the Z or Y/slot receiver as his production dropped off substantially when he was tasked with beating No. 1 cornerbacks.
D.J. Chark
Chark is another 25-year-old coming off of a lost season due to injury. In four games, Chark had 154 yards and two touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are loading up on talent on day one.
Chark has been linked to the Patriots, who could use his 2019-2020 production, where he racked up 126 receptions for 1,714 yards and 13 touchdowns across 28 games. The Las Vegas Raiders also are in on Chark, likely using a similar offensive scheme with former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels at the helm.
Marquez Valdez-Scantling
Valdez-Scantling has drawn interest from multiple teams on day one of the legal tampering period, including the Patriots.
The former Packer is interesting because he is 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, but ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Combine. He averages 17.5 yards-per-reception but has some of the worst hands in the league with a 49.8% catch rate.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham Jr. tore his ACL in the Super Bowl but still has long-term value. He does not have to rush to find a team and will not be spending much, if any time on the field in 2022.
However, the 29-year-old wideout proved that he could still play as a true X, Z or Y/slot receiver in his campaign with the Los Angeles Rams. Beckham Jr. caught 27 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns in just eight games with the Rams after a rough start in Cleveland.
If he can prove to be the same player he was before the injury, Beckham Jr. will still have an impact in the NFL.
Russell Gage
Gage may be one of the most underrated receivers in the league. The 26-year-old slot receiver was a highly productive member of the Atlanta Falcons, especially over the last two seasons. In 2020, Gage caught 72 passes for 786 yards and four touchdowns. In 2021, he recorded 66 receptions for 770 yards and four touchdowns.
Gage may not be a No. 1 wideout but he has proven to be a valuable receiver that could be an upgrade for any team in need of pass catchers.
A.J. Green
Green became a huge part of the Arizona Cardinals offense when DeAndre Hopkins went down last season. As a top pass catcher for Kyler Murray, Green caught 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns. At 33 years old, Green still has some juice left as an outside threat. Green averaged 15.7 yards-per-reception in the Cardinals vertical offense.
Will Fuller V, Sammy Watkins, Emmanual Sanders, T.Y. Hilton, Jamison Crowder and Alex Erickson also are potential impact players still on the board as day two of the legal tampering window approaches.
