Branch was as noticeable as any player on the field throughout OTAs and minicamp, but we have to guard against getting our expectations out
of whack here. The average rookie season for third-round wide receivers since 2000 is 21 catches, 288 yards and two touchdowns, according to TruMedia. Certainly, there have been outliers. Keenan Allen had 71 catches for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season after being drafted 76th overall in 2013. (Branch was drafted 79th this year.) While Allen leads this particular pack, players like Terry McLaurin, Cooper Kupp, T. Y. Hilton and Josh Downs also topped 750 yards as rookies. So, if a team really, really hits on a third-round receiver, they can have an outsized impact, but that’s five players out of the 103 receivers drafted in the third round in that span. Do I think Branch will be among the team’s top three receivers in targets by the end of the year? Yes, and I think he could be as high as second. Let’s put my 2026 prediction down as 45 catches, 525 yards and three touchdowns.
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