Caleb Harris
When teams select standout quarterbacks in the draft, they look for a new face of the franchise who can make an immediate impact on the field. A talented leader who will come in, make the most of his weapons and lead his club to victory. We’ve seen this countless times, whether it’s Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 or CJ Stroud in 2023.
Who were the wide receivers who benefited most from their rookie quarterbacks? Below, we’ll break down the 10 best seasons for a receiver catching passes from a first-year quarterback.
Evans Statistics: 74 receptions, 1,206 yards, 3 TDs
The Buccaneers drafted Winston No. 1 overall in 2015, and he broke several franchise rookie passing records. In fact, he was even selected to his only Pro Bowl as an alternate that first season. Winston entered Tampa Bay with an established No. 1 wideout in Evans, who caught 68 passes for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns in his rookie campaign. In his second season, with Winston at quarterback, Evans caught 74 passes for 1,206 yards and three touchdowns in just 15 games played. Despite the low number of touchdowns, Evans’ 1,206 receiving yards ranked fourth out of his 10 NFL seasons. Evans recorded at least 1,000 yards in all 10 seasons. This is the second longest streak of all time, behind Jerry Rice’s 11. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers never made the playoffs with Winston at quarterback. But luckily for Evans, a guy named Tom Brady moved to Tampa in 2020.
4. Nico Collins with CJ Stroud (2023)
Collins statistical line: 80 receptions, 1,297 yards, 8 TDs
It took a new quarterback to unlock the burly Collins, who posted career numbers across the board with 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns on 80 receptions. Previously, Collins had not crossed 500 yards in a single season, nor had he thrown more than two touchdowns.
Collins became the third player in Houston Texans history to record 1,200 receiving yards in a season and had the second-highest yards per run average in the season. NFL (3.1) while Houston went from worst to first in the AFC South. Houston also kicked the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round, winning 45-14. In that contest, Collins caught six passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Collins was rewarded for his breakout season last month by signing a three-year, $72.75 million extension.
3. Reggie Wayne with Andrew Luck (2012)
Wayne’s statistic: 106 receptions, 1,355 yards, 5 TDs
The Indianapolis Colts were hoping to find their replacement for Peyton Manning with the No. 1 overall pick in 2012 NFL Draft, and they landed on the 6-foot-11 gunslinger from Stanford. Luck had an immediate impact for Indy and established a NFL record with 4,374 yards in his first season. A total of 1,355 of those yards went to Wayne, which matched his final season total with Manning. The Colts improved from 2-14 to 11-5 in Luck’s first season, but were quickly eliminated from the postseason by the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens. Luck made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors were reserved for Robert Griffin III.
Wayne played just three seasons with Luck before retiring. His best season in the NFL came in 2007, when he caught 104 passes for 1,510 yards and a league-leading 10 touchdowns.
White’s statistic: 88 receptions, 1,382 yards, 7 TDs
The Atlanta Falcons selected Ryan with the third overall pick in 2008 NFL Draft came out of Boston College and took Atlanta from 4-12 to 11-5 in his first NFL season, earning him NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan threw for 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and White was his No. 1 as he caught 88 passes for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns. The Falcons were ousted from the playoffs that year by the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, but White caught 11 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in what was his first playoff game.
That 2008 campaign was White’s second-best season in the NFL, as two years later, he caught 115 passes for 1,389 yards and a league-leading 10 touchdowns. He made four consecutive Pro Bowls starting in 2008.
Smith statistical line: 79 receptions, 1,394 yards, 7 TDs
Our #1 “rookie-QB” duo. Eventual NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton completed 79 passes to Smith in his first NFL season, and the star turned those catches into 1,394 yards and seven touchdowns. While the Carolina Panthers went 6-10 that year, Newton established himself as a legitimate star. He set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback at the time, with 14 trips to the end zone, and became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500 yards. Newton also became the second player in NFL history to record three or more passing touchdowns and three or more rushing touchdowns in his first four career games. In all, he threw for 4,051 yards, 21 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and rushed for 706 yards and 14 scores.
Smith was a well-known player in 2011, and his 1,394-yard campaign wasn’t even his best. In 2005, he caught 103 passes for 1,563 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns, and had a 1,421-yard season in 2008 despite missing two games. Smith would record just one more 1,000-yard season with Newton before being released by Carolina.
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