I will be updating the Prospect Lab scores with the post-draft model results as picks come in (or shortly thereafter). Stay tuned to this space for live updates, or check here for updated RB scores. And make sure you are also monitoring Kevin’s live updates in his Landing Spot Instant Reactions article.
The Wide Receiver Prospect Lab has been one of the most reliable tools for evaluating rookie receivers for years. Like its RB counterpart, it uses a linear model to predict early-career fantasy performance based on key college metrics. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity — by focusing on a few critical variables, the model avoids both overfitting and overreliance on a single metric.
The post-draft model retains some of the key metrics from the pre-draft model: Final age and breakout age still tell us something draft position alone does not. Career production metrics remain important, but surprisingly, all final-season metrics are rendered redundant.
The best receivers in the game remain atop the list: Mike Evans (96), Dez Bryant (96), Amari Cooper (96), Davante Adams (94), Ja’Marr Chase (94), Drake London (92), and CeeDee Lamb (91) all excel in this model. Justin Jefferson (88), Odell Beckham Jr. (86), DeAndre Hopkins (84), Jordy Nelson (83), and Julio Jones (82) are not far behind.
Players whose score has risen after the draft are indicated in green; those whose score has fallen are in red. If a player’s score hasn’t changed even after being drafted, I’ll indicate that with purple to distinguish them from players who haven’t yet been drafted or whose score hasn’t been updated. (Note that blurbs below players that haven’t been updated may refer to pre-draft model scores when discussing NFL comparables.)
