2021 NFL Free Agency: Best Available Receivers

Kenny Golladay and JuJu Smith-Schuster headline a solid group of receivers that includes a little something for everyone.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Free agency officially kicked off with the start of the league-year on March 17. Here is a look at the Green Bay Packers' picture at receiver and the best available players remaining in free agency.

The Packers’ Picture

Packers Need (1-10 scale): 5. With Davante Adams, the Packers have one of the best receivers in the NFL. Led by Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard, the Packers have a nice group of good receivers to surround him and Aaron Rodgers. The Packers don’t need another good receiver, especially after overcoming their perceived weakness to lead the NFL in scoring. What they need, whether it’s in free agency or the draft, is someone who moves the needle. It’s hard to imagine that type of player will be found at a good price in free agency.

Packers Free Agents: The Packers threw a late-season Hail Mary to Tavon Austin as a returner and slot receiver. It wasn’t answered.

Top 23 Unrestricted Free Agents

Note: Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin and Chicago’s Allen Robinson, both of whom were given the franchise tag, are not included on this list.

SIGNED BY N.Y. GIANTS: Kenny Golladay, Detroit: A third-round pick in 2017, Golladay burst onto the scene with 70 catches for 1,063 yards in 2018. He was even better in 2019, with 65 receptions for 1,190 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. He tied for the NFL lead with 16 receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield in 2019. Golladay played in only five games in 2020 – missing both games against the Packers – and caught only 20 passes with two touchdowns. He’s big (6-foot-4), fast (4.50 in the 400, an elite deep threat and only 27.

RE-SIGNED: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh: A second-round pick in 2017, Smith-Schuster had a massive 2018 season with 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns. However, in 28 games the past two seasons, he has only 1,383 yards. His 2020 season was an interesting one with 97 receptions for just 831 yards – a meager 8.6-yard average – but nine touchdowns. He’s a sure-handed slot receiver who won’t turn 25 until November. That’s the upside. The downside is the explosion has disappeared. The longest of his 97 catches went for just 31 yards; he had 97-yard touchdowns in 2017 and 2018.

SIGNED BY N.Y. JETS: Corey Davis, Tennessee: The fifth pick of the 2017 draft, Davis hasn’t dominated, which is why the Titans declined his fifth-year option, but he has been solid. His 2020 season was his best season with 65 receptions, 984 yards, 15.1 yards per catch, five touchdowns and a 70.7 percent catch rate. Of the 92 receivers to be targeted 45 times, his 2.58 yards per route ranked fifth. He’s sure-handed and good in the open field. It would be interesting to see his production in an offense not carried by an unstoppable juggernaut at running back.

SIGNED BY MIAMI: Will Fuller, Houston: A first-round pick in 2016, Fuller has five-year totals of 209 catches for 3,110 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s coming off the best season of his career with 53 receptions for 879 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games before being suspended for six games for violating the league’s drug policy. His suspension will carry over to the opener. Of the 92 receivers to be targeted 45 times, his 2.28 yards per route ranked eighth. He’s forced only eight missed tackles the past four seasons. The Packers tried to acquire him at last year’s trade deadline. With game-breaking speed, he’ll turn 27 next month.

SIGNED BY WASHINGTON: Curtis Samuel, Carolina: A second-round pick in 2017, Samuel has gone from 15 receptions as a rookie to 39 receptions in 2018, 54 in 2019 and 77 in 2020. His catch rate was 79.4 percent and he was one of the top third-down threats in the league. He also rushed 41 times for 200 yards. With good hands, versatility and 4.31 speed, he’s one of the top slot threats in the league. He’ll turn just 25 during training camp.

Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay: Once one of the premier receivers in the NFL, Brown was a successful reclamation product in 2020. Back after missing almost all of the 2019 season and the first half of the 2020 season due to off-the-field problems, Brown caught 45 passes for 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight games, then added two more touchdowns in the playoffs. His catch rate of 72.6 percent was the best of his career. He ranked in the top 20 in yards after the catch per catch and yards per pass route and had zero drops. He’ll turn 33 in July.

SIGNED BY JACKSONVILLE: Marvin Jones, Detroit: Jones, who will turn 31 this week, once was one of the game’s most-feared deep threats. In his debut season with Detroit in 2017, he led the NFL with 18.0 yards per catch and posted his only 1,000-yard season. After playing in only nine games in 2018 and 11 in 2019, Jones played in all 16 games in 2020 and recorded 76 receptions for 978 yards and nine touchdowns. He plays frequently in the slot and has only 13 drops the past four seasons.

SIGNED BY N.Y. JETS: Keelan Cole, Jacksonville: The former undrafted free agent caught 159 passes for the Jaguars, including career highs of 55 receptions, 642 yards and five touchdowns in 2020. According to PFF, he lined up in the slot 68.7 percent of the time this past season. He has not been used often on special teams but had a 91-yard touchdown on a punt return at Green Bay.

Sammy Watkins, Kansas City: The fourth pick of the 2014 draft, Watkins has been a major underachiever. His lone 1,000-yard season came in 2015, when he caught 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. He hasn’t even touched a 700-yard season since. In 2020 for the Chiefs, he caught 37 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games. He forced 13 missed tackles in 2019 but only two in 2020.

Adam Humphries, Tennessee: Humphries had seasons of 55, 61 and 76 receptions for Tampa Bay. He parlayed that into a four-year, $36 million contract with Tennessee. In two seasons with the Titans, he caught only 60 passes for 602 yards and four touchdowns. In 2018 with the Bucs, he created 48 first downs, forced nine missed tackles and averaged 5.7 yards after the catch. The past two seasons combined, he created 31 first downs, averaged 2.7 YAC and forced one missed tackle. He’ll be 28 next season.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis: In nine seasons with the Colts, Hilton caught 608 passes for 9,360 yards and 50 touchdowns. He had 1,270 yards in 2018 but 1,263 yards in 25 games the past two seasons. One a prime deep threat, the 31-year-old morphed into the crafty, sure-handed veteran. In other words, he’s not who he once was but remains a quality player.

Danny Amendola, Detroit: Amendola has 593 receptions in 12 seasons, including 46 catches for 602 yards for Detroit in 2020. If you’re looking for a tough guy in the slot, he’s your man. Of the 92 receivers to be targeted 45 times, he was sixth with 6.4 yards after the catch per catch. He had just two drops. He’s 35 and has shown little sign of slowing down.

RE-SIGNED: Rashard Higgins, Cleveland: “Hollywood” Higgins never quite lived up to the hype. In five seasons, he’s caught 113 passes for 1,615 yards and 11 touchdowns while starting just 12 of his 67 games. He’s coming off a decent year, though, with 37 receptions for a career-high 599 yards and four scores. He had only one drop but didn’t break any tackles, averaged just 2.1 yards after the catch and fumbled three times. The YAC ranked was the third-worst among the 92 receivers to be targeted 45 times. He’s only 26.

SIGNED BY NEW ENGLAND: Nelson Agholor, Las Vegas: A first-round pick in 2015, Agholor has 272 catches in six seasons. After an abysmal season of 39 receptions for 363 yards with the Eagles in 2019, he had a nice bounce-back season with 48 catches for 896 yards and eight touchdowns for Las Vegas in 2020. Agholor’s talent will always slip through his grasp, though. Even in success with the Raiders, he had nine drops.

SIGNED BY TENNESSEE: Josh Reynolds, L.A. Rams: A fourth-round pick in 2017, Reynolds recorded career highs with 52 receptions, 618 yards and a 64.2 percent catch rate in 2020. He’s had eight drops vs. 102 receptions the past three seasons and has seen plenty of action in the slot. At 6-foot-3, he’s got 4.52 speed.

SIGNED BY DETROIT: Breshad Perriman, N.Y. Jets: Perriman, the son of former Lions receiver Brett Perriman, was the 20th pick of the 2016 draft. In five seasons, he’s played for five teams and barely cracked 2,000 career receiving yards. In 2020 with the Jets, he caught 30 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns. His career catch rate is a woeful 49.0 percent. He’s tall (6-foot-2) and fast (4.35), and that means endless chances in the league. He’ll turn 28 in September.

Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville: Westbrook had back-to-back seasons of 66 receptions in 2018 (for 717 yards and five touchdowns) and 2019 (for 660 yards and three touchdowns) but missed most of last season with a knee injury. He also has a 9.8-yard career average with one touchdown as a punt returner. A fourth-round pick in 2017, he finished fourth in the Heisman race in 2016 at Oklahoma and ran a 4.39 in the 40 for scouts but had off-the-field issues.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona: Fitzgerald ranks second in NFL history with 1,432 receptions and 17,492 receiving yards. He’s 117 receptions shy of Jerry Rice’s NFL record. At age 37, he caught 54 passes in 2020. He had zero drops but averaged a hideous 7.9 yards per reception and didn’t break a single tackle. The future Hall of Famer is synonymous with the Cardinals and it’s almost impossible to see him playing anywhere else.

SIGNED BY CAROLINA: David Moore, Seattle: A seventh-round pick in 2017, Moore has 78 receptions in his career. The bulk of that production came in 2020, with his 35 receptions for 417 yards and six touchdowns all being career highs. His 74.5 percent catch rate marked his first time over even 50 percent. He has only four career drops. Before the 2017 draft, he measured 6-foot-1 and ran his 40 in 4.43.

SIGNED BY NEW ENGLAND: Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco: Bourne posted career highs of 49 receptions and 667 yards in 2020. An undrafted free agent in 2017, he has 137 career receptions. He’s not fast (4.68 in the 40), he’s not exceptionally tall (6-foot-1) and and has flashed so-so hands (12 drops vs. 121 catches the past three seasons), but can play in the slot and will turn only 26 early in training camp.

SIGNED BY ARIZONA: A.J. Green, Cincinnati: Green caught 47 passes for 523 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games in 2020. That’s a sharp drop from his 75 receptions for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games in 2017. His catch rate was an awful 45.2 percent and he averaged just 1.8 yards after the catch, the latter figure the worst in the NFL among the 92 receivers to be targeted 45 times. But at least he played, unlike 2018 (nine games) and 2019 (zero games). A first-round pick in 2011, he has 649 receptions for 9,430 yards and 65 touchdowns for his career. Does he have the juice to reach 700, 1,000 and 70?

SIGNED BY L.A. RAMS: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia: Jackson long has been one of the NFL’s great deep threats. For his career, he’s averaged 17.4 yards on his 612 receptions. He’s led the NFL in yards per catch four times in 13 seasons. However, he’s played in only eight games the past two seasons, catching 23 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns.

Kenny Stills, Houston: The son of former Packers defensive back Ken Stills, the younger Stills has amassed 310 receptions for 4,843 yards and 37 touchdowns in eight seasons. He caught a career-low 11 passes in 10 games last year for Houston. He ran a 4.38 in the 40 at the 2013 Scouting Combine. He’ll turn 29 next month.