Five Day 3 rookie wide receivers turning heads early in training camp and looking like potential late-round steals from the 2025 NFL Draft
There’s a lotta ballgame left, but these Day 3 wide receiver picks are looking like potential steals.
Every team hopes of finding a Day 3 gem in the NFL Draft. There is always plenty of talent available to be found if you’re able to provide the right circumstances and the right fit for a player. The challenge, of course, is that typically the deeper you get into the draft, the more narrow the fit becomes. But sometimes it’s just a matter of player development and opportunity that can help spur an overachieving rookie.
There’s a few teams across the league that appear to have reason to believe they may have hit a home run for themselves in this regard, particularly at wide receiver. Who are some names to keep a watchful eye on? Here are five Day 3 rookie wide receivers generating some buzz at their respective training camps.
Five Day 3 rookie receivers generating buzz at training camps across the NFL
Raiders WR Dont’e Thornton – Fourth round, 108th overall pick
Thornton is a height/weight/speed darling who has a wide-0pen opportunity in the Las Vegas offense to eat up snaps and generate trust with a big-armed quarterback in Geno Smith. Thornton got a strong vote of confidence from head coach Pete Carroll this week as well, commending him for not allowing the moment to be too big for him.
“Dont’e continues to do stuff. He’s making plays, he got deep yesterday. You guys saw that one. Huge play by Geno to find him late down in the corner and he came through and made the catch. He’s made tough catches over the middle. He’s caught the slant routes where he’s getting banged around. And he’s comfortable with it. I just stopped him after practice yesterday, looked him in the eye and just tried to get a feeling — is it seeming too big for him? He’s right in it. I’m really excited about his chance to help us,” said Carroll.
Titans WR Elic Ayomanor – Fourth round, 136th overall pick
Ayomanor’s slide in the 2025 NFL Draft can almost certainly be attributed in some sense due to medical questions. He’s got an extensive injury history that would surely turn off some teams. It presumably turned them all off through the first three rounds. But the reward was deemed worth the risk in the fourth round for Tennessee and Ayomanor has come on strong in camp — he spent this week flashing as a route runner in joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This isn’t a talent question. It’s a health question.
Chargers WR Keandre Lambert-Smith – Fifth round, 158th overall pick
Lambert-Smith already made his big preseason debut courtesy of the Hall of Fame Game — camp and the first game have offered a lot of splash plays for the former Auburn and Penn State pass catcher. He’s got legit 4.3 speed and offers a vertical element to the Chargers offense. He notched an easy win in one-on-one coverage in the preseason opener in the red area, creating a ton of separation for an easy pitch & catch touchdown, too.
Lambert-Smith played with poor quarterback play during the entirety of his college career. Could the improved passing offense unlock his potential as a steal? The Chargers certainly hope so.
Seahawks WR Tory Horton – Fifth round, 166th overall pick
Horton’s name is red hot in Seahawks camp thus far. He only poured gasoline on the fire that is his hype train last night with a touchdown in his preseason debut, catching a pass underneath and spinning out of contact to push for the end zone. Horton slipped in the draft in part due to medical questions of his own — he was only cleared for action a few weeks before the NFL Combine. But he’s creating a ton of space and making plays daily in training camp.
Horton even helped on special teams in Thursday night’s preseason opener, logging a punt return to go with this three receptions and a score.
Ravens WR LaJohntay Wester – Sixth round, 203rd overall pick
Wester isn’t going to be a big name pass catcher any time soon in Baltimore. Not with names like Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, DeAndre Hopkins, and Rashod Bateman all existing in the offense.
But remember what we said about roles getting more narrow the deeper you get into Day 3? Wester is looking like a serious threat to not only make the team but be a legit weapon as a punt return specialist. He posted an electric 87-yard score in Baltimore’s Thursday night preseason opener against the Colts. He’s undersized but uses his diminutive stature to his advantage to prosper in space as a returner. With health and no big mistakes, he feels like a rookie picked outside the top-200 who can not just make the team but seize a role on a Super Bowl contender. That’s no small feat.
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