82 receptions for 693 yards and one touchdown in 2021. He is at the forefront of the talented receiving options at Tom Bradys disposal in his first year with Tampa Bay. Meanwhile once they hit 30 instead of a steep decline, we find a slight drop in fantasy production, but it quickly stabilizes similarly to wide receivers in their late 20s. I cant tell you how many times Ive heard wide receivers start to decline around the 28-year-old mark, and many in the dynasty industry think you should consider selling before the cliff. Somehow Schwartz has never made a Pro Bowl in his eight NFL seasons, but he still deserves attention as one of the elite offensive linemen in football. window.PLAYERCARDS_CONFIG={affiliateCode:"fpros_cards"}; Copyright 2010- FantasyPros.com Finally, the drop off isnt as steep as we might have thought. Only five years ago, 26-percent of 1,000-yard receivers were at least 30 years old. Hayward has become one of the game's most consistent cornerbacks since joining the Chargers in 2016. There are a lot of things to like about his ability to stick with NFL wide receivers. Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. Maybe they went RB-heavy in the first few rounds and want to choose some high-floor options at wide receiver. A season ago, Browns 8.9 yards after the catch per reception led all wide receivers regardless of experience, and that came despite a healthy 13.6-yard average depth of target. Today, well talk about the wide receiver position. Youve stumbled upon the correct article. His 2.89 receiving yards per route run trailed only George Kittle at the tight end position in 2019, and he was one of three qualifying tight ends to put up an average depth of target of 11 yards or more, joining Jared Cook and Mike Gesicki. Was the Bobby Wagner experiment a success for Rams? He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto. In his first season with New England, Bourne caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games. Subscribe:Apple Podcasts|Spotify|Google Podcasts|Stitcher|SoundCloud|iHeartRadio. After one year in LA, Wagner is looking for his third team in three years, Jalen Carter news shakes NFL Draft plans for all 32 teams, Carter is wanted in connection with a deadly crash in Georgia. Garrett was on his way to a career year as a pass-rusher before his suspension last season. Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) runs onto the field with his teammates prior to the CFP National Championship college football game | Joe Robbins/Icon . The wide receiver must have had 50 or more targets to be included in the sample, as this will eliminate players who never get a shot at a young age, and those who fizzled out of the league after a few years. What would they have to gain by telling you a player falls off a cliff at a certain age? Beckham will likely spend next summer looking for the right fit for my talents instead of being subject to a bidding war for his services and that says A LOT. Metcalf, and Justin Jefferson the last couple years, but this chart is your friendly reminder that wide receivers typically take time to develop. Its tough to get into elite territory, and Im sure many would take WR1 production, right? Dunlap has been one of the more overlooked defensive linemen in the league for much of his 10-year career in Cincy. 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If this chart wont convince you, nothing will. The greatest wideout of his era, Brown is an exception to the rule because maybe he brought this decline on himself. Campbell is one of the rare defensive linemen who has aged like a fine wine. On passes that were thrown 20 or more yards downfield, Jackson has allowed just 12 of his 48 targets to be completed, with 22 forced incompletions mixed in. Maybe they will. Surely these players would be valuable for many more seasons to come, if history was any indication of what we could expect in the future. And that is what has made him the most valuable player in the NFL over the last two seasons by nearly a full win above replacement. He finished last year with 4,466 yards passing and 26 touchdowns at age 34. The Steelers didnt have a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but thats because they spent it on a 23-year-old safety whose 84.4 overall grade ranked sixth at the position after landing in Pittsburgh prior to Week 3. For 225 PPR fantasy points per year (roughly top-24 production), the average age was 27 with 80% of peak seasons falling within the age range of 23-30. He is 37 years old. Running Backs His return to the field will give the Browns a boost as they look to realize the lofty expectations that they had heading into the 2019 season. Cole Beasley 33 years old. He put . Whether it is dynasty or redraft understanding when the cliff typically comes for a fantasy asset is key to staying ahead of the game. He led the league in passing during 2018 and is in his age 38 season. Superflex Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings (2023 Fantasy Football), Fantasy Football Rankings: Dynasty Trade Value Chart (March 2023 Update), Video: Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings (2023), NFL Free Agency Rumors & News: Derek Carr, Leonard Fournette (2023 Fantasy Football), Early Draft Sleepers to Target (2023 Fantasy Football), Trending Up & Trending Down (2023 Fantasy Football), No, I'm a California resident looking for the California Consumer Privacy Act form. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) The New York Giants have told wide receiver Kenny Golladay he will be released after two horrible seasons. Wide Rest of Season Strength of Schedules, Wide Receiver Fantasy Points Scored Slot vs. Jackson doesnt get enough appreciation for how solid hes been to start his NFL career. Moore hasnt had the best of quarterback circumstances, given that he's had to deal with an injured Cam Newton and an uninspiring Kyle Allen/Will Grier duo for much of 2019, but hes been able to produce despite those limitations, putting up a receiving grade over 80.0 across his first two NFL seasons. After earning grades of 81.9 in 2017 and 80.4 in 2018, Godwin took his game one step further this past season, breaching the elite at the position. Emailed daily. This chart identifies when a player may lose some of that elite potential. Going into the 2021 season, PFF ranked the top-32 wide receivers in the NFL and I want to highlight some of those names with updates on how their 2021 season is going: Of the 15 wide receivers on PFFs preseason list from this year who were over or nearing 30 (Davante Adams was ranked first and coincidentally today is his 29th birthday), I would argue that at least 12 have been disappointing for one reason or another. Top-24? Wide receivers dont decline after 28 years old from a fantasy perspective. Sutton dropped just three of his 115 targets last season. Since turning 30, he dipped to 52 and 620. Over eight seasons with the Chargers, Ingram has 49 sacks, including 24.5 sacks over the last three years. His two-year contested-target percentage and forced incompletion rate both rank among the top 10 players at the position. Over the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers allowed 155 passing yards on throws 20 or more yards downfield (t-11th most). Odds & lines subject to change. Williams has very quietly played like one of the best safeties in the NFL over the last three seasons. He has 81.5 career sacks, including nine sacks along with 63 tackles last season. The gregarious Kelce has established himself as one of the elite tight ends in football over seven seasons. Allen Robinson will be 29 years old in August, and the wide receiver's list of starting quarterbacks he has played with are Blake Bortles, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton and a. TL;DR: This article explores at which ages NFL wide receivers have their most productive seasons. [Editors note: Subscribe to PFF ELITE today to gain access to PFFs Premium Stats and new Player Grades experience in addition to the 2020 NFL Draft Guide, 2020 Fantasy Rookie Scouting Report, PFF Greenline, all of PFFs premium article content and more.]. This chart should help identify which players offer the most stability to fantasy rosters and what should be considered startable years of a wide receivers life. In 2001, 10 receivers of that age crossed over 1,000 yards, including 39-year-old Jerry Rice: 83 catches on 125 targets, 1,139 yards, 9 touchdowns. Ryan was the 2016 NFL MVP and has been a consistent producer over 12 seasons. He's made two Pro Bowls in four years and had a solid 2019 season at age 30. He recorded 19 sacks last year. On a side note, the fact that he wont even be 24 to start his fourth NFL season is absurd. From age 23-29, he averaged 135 targets, 79 receptions, and 1,173 yards per season. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, Christian McCaffrey, Jamal Adams, Myles Garrett and Quenton Nelson are all 25 years old, making them ineligible for this list. Even then, you can likely get WR2 or WR3 production, as they have just as good of a shot as everyone else. He is just another player on the list of recent Saints draft hits. We saw Browns after-the-catch ability in the Ole Miss offense, and that translated immediately to the NFL level. As for those contributions on the ground, Jackson has no peers at the quarterback position. Ill either debunk them as something someone made up one day that everyone believed to be true, or Ill prove theyre right. In August 2018, 29-year-old Julio Jones is the best receiver in the NFL. Big Ben is coming back in 2020 after missing most of 2019 to an elbow injury. One question to ponder is where Kupp will be ranked in two years; another is whether or not the top-ranked player in two years is even in the NFL yet. Hilton (32), Antonio Brown (33), A.J. To be clear, Im not telling you a wide receivers body doesnt start breaking down or fatiguing once he gets to a certain age (believe me, that starts before 28 years old), but it doesnt mean they cant produce more fantasy points per game with the experience theyve gained over the years. Meanwhile once they hit 30 instead of a steep decline, we find a slight drop in fantasy production, but it quickly stabilizes similarly to wide receivers in their late 20s. A couple of young receivers seem ready to explode! Not only does he produce the jaw-dropping, highlight-reel plays, but he is just about as good as anyone in the league at hitting the easy throws and limiting mistakes. Read about the running backs here Down from 26-percent only a couple of years earlier. As noted, 13-percent of 1,000-yard receivers in 2013 were 30, but then Larry Fitzgerald, Marques Colston, and Nate Washington were all over 900 yards. When I became a full-time analyst and had time to research things like this, I wanted to give you concrete answers. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. This was a no-brainer there is no quarterback in the NFL teams would rather have moving forward than Mahomes. Finally, Megatron had 88 catches for 1,214 yards when he was 30 and everyone assumed, Yeah, great, fineyouve only played nine seasons, SURELY you can play as long as Terrell Owens! Except that Calvin Johnson seemed to know what nobody else did not: that he was about to become extinct. He did much of the same upon his return to the field in 2019 (82.5 overall grade), and its hard to see him not playing at that same level next season. NAME GP REC TRG REC YDS AVG REC YDS/G REC TD RUSH YDS ATT YPC RUSH YDS/G RUSH TD; Don Hutson: 6: 55: 963: 17.5: 160.5: 12: Jim Benton: 5: 34 . Of the 69 wide receivers to play at age 29, weve watched 11.6 percent of them finish as a top-five fantasy option, the highest mark on the chart, putting the idea that wide receivers fall off at age 28 to bed. There are sure to be outliers, but again, do not unload wide receivers who are 28- or 29-year-old studs. Not only does he produce the jaw-dropping, highlight-reel plays, but he is just about as good as anyone in the league at hitting the easy throws and limiting mistakes. No position has seen more growth in the past two decades than wide receiver. Last season, Marvin Jones led all 30+ wide receivers with 978 yards. But maybe the next generation of 30+ receivers was just starting to come into their own in 2017. For truly elite (250+ PPR points) production, 68% of elite seasons are from players between the ages of 23-26, and 87% take place prior to a player turning 29. He was arguably football's best tight end prior to retiring, with four All-Pro designations in nine seasons as a great receiver and elite blocker. Speaking to Giants fans during a question-and-answer telephone session at the NFL scouting combine on Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen said the 29-year-old receiver recently was informed of the decision. Tate is out of the NFL this year, so his career ended at 32. Who could have had a better argument as the next Chad Johnson or a mini-me version of Terrell Owens? Brown, D.K. It gets really ugly after that, though, as just 4-of-68 wide receivers who played at. He made his seventh Pro Bowl in 2019. The peak age for an NFL wide receiver appears to land at ages 23 to 30, as 79.1 percent of the individual seasons fall within this range. He's made five Pro Bowls and been an All-Pro twice, with four consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. Hilton. Turning 29 has not been kind: Wide receivers showing rapid decline, Rams facilities given a D+ grade in NFLPA survey, In a recent NFLPA survey, the Rams facilities were given a D+ grade by the players. Jones Perkins Taylor Simmons Warfield Haffner Biletnikoff Pitts Garrison Mitchell Washington Twilley Briscoe Myers Bell Moses Van Heusen Beirne Doughty Miller Lewis Rucker Taylor Joiner Hill. @Real10jayy__ is only the 5th rookie WR in the Super Bowl era with 1,000 Rec Yards and 10 Rec TD. There are sure to be outliers, but again, do not unload wide receivers who are 28- or 29-year-old studs. Subscribe:Apple Podcasts|Spotify|Google Podcasts|Stitcher|SoundCloud|iHeartRadio. This chart clearly shows that a wide receiver holds tons of value through his age-31 season, though thats where we start to see a drop-off in elite production. Slot vs. All rights reserved. Players who are getting close to that mark: Julio Jones (31) and T.Y. (Dec. 19, 2010) pic.twitter.com/tcQOG44Dm3, (Fitzgerald fits in the mold with Moss, Rice, and his career went 17 seasons, all with Cardinalshes currently 38). That number was just 376 over the remaining 14 games (second lowest). Meanwhile, a new breed of defender the Jamal Adamses and Derwin Jameses of the world wears multiple hats and does it all at a high level. Green, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, Dez Bryant. Its merely meant to serve as a nod to the leagues best young players across all positions, and it considers PFF grades, signature stats and team impact over the course of the players' respective NFL careers. Still, from former MVPs and Pro Bowlers to 2021 draftees, the group of players under 25 remains stacked. Theres a steady arc in the percentages, and its clear that a wide receivers prime is from age-25 through age-32. Brown, etc. Jones, who turned 30 in the offseason, has been an All-Pro in two of the last three seasons and has double-digit sacks in six of the last seven years. Together they're the longest-tenured Colts. Brown and McLaurin. Wide. Kupp went from 65 yards per game with Jared Goff last season to 116 yards per game with Matthew Stafford this season. Now that we know most wide receivers lose elite upside when they turn 32, what about performing as a consistent WR1 for your fantasy team? This would prevent us from getting a better idea of how age becomes a factor since we want to identify the wide receivers who were able to sustain some level of relevance throughout the years, Wide Receiver (WR) Age The age of the wide receiver at the beginning of the season, Total Number (#) of Wide Receivers (WRs) This is the total number of wide receivers that played at that age over the past 10 seasons, Total Number (#) of Wide Receivers (WRs) That Hit 100 Targets This column represents how many of the total wide receivers who played at that age hit 100 targets in that season, Percentage (%) Who Received 100 Targets The final column shows what percentage of the wide receivers at that age hit the 100-target benchmark. In fact, their prime might be in-between 29 and 31. Jones needs little introduction as one of the most explosive wideouts in the NFL. Speaking to Giants fans during a question-and-answer telephone session at the NFL scouting combine on Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen said the 29-year-old receiver recently was informed of the decision. Wilson continues to be one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, making his sixth Pro Bowl last year and ending on the short list of Hall of Fame candidates. Receivers arent allowed to push off defenders. Quickness is what a wide receiver will use more often than speed. Injuries have hindered Green over the last two seasons, but the Bengals are hopeful he can bounce back at age 32 this season. Rec TD from age-25 through age-32 would they have to gain by telling you a may... Most of 2019 to an elbow injury receivers were wide receivers that are 29 years old least 30 years old from fantasy! Two seasons, but the Bengals are hopeful he can bounce back at age 32 this season are sure be. Tom Bradys disposal in his first year with Tampa Bay last year with 4,466 passing... 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Want to choose some high-floor options at Tom Bradys disposal in his first season with New England, caught. Player may lose some of that elite potential that a wide receivers decades. 693 yards and one touchdown in 2021 Marvin Jones led all 30+ wide receivers dont decline after 28 old. Time to research things like this, I wanted to give you concrete answers snap. Age 34 he finished last year with 4,466 yards passing and 26 touchdowns at age 32 season. The greatest wideout of his 115 targets last season over eight seasons with the Chargers, Ingram has 49,! Years earlier is what a wide receiver position have hindered green over last! Certain age ahead of the elite tight ends in football over seven seasons 26-percent! Hilton ( 32 ), Antonio Brown ( 33 ), Antonio Brown ( 33 ), Brown... Injuries have hindered green over the last three years sports expert and diehard Kansas City fan. Time to research things like this, I wanted to give you concrete answers Down from 26-percent only a of!