Throughout training camp and the preseason, Bucs rookie wide receiver Trey Palmer has made plenty of big plays.

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo By: Cliff Welch/PR

From torching Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner in joint practice to hauling in two touchdowns in the preseason, Palmer appears to be the best candidate to be the team’s No. 3 WR to start the season after Russell Gage suffered a season-ending injury.

As a sixth-round pick, Palmer was an unheralded addition to the roster. There are no guarantees draft selections make the roster in that round, as outside linebacker Jose Ramirez was just one of the many recent roster casualties. Not only has Trey Palmer made the roster, but he is well on his way to having a productive rookie campaign.

How does he stack up against his fellow rookie wideouts, and is he primed to be another late-round wide receiver find? Let’s take a look.

Comparing Trey Palmer To The Top 5 Rookie WRs

Based on the last college season each of the Top 5 receivers played the majority of their team’s games in, Palmer’s statistics line up very well with his contemporaries.

Boston College WR Zay Flowers – Photo by: USA Today

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 6-1, 196 pounds, 20th overall pick by the Seahawks

2021 stats at Ohio State: 95 receptions, 1,606 yards, nine touchdowns

Quentin Johnston – 6-3, 208 pounds, 21st overall pick by the Chargers

2022 stats at TCU: 60 receptions, 1,069 yards, six touchdowns

Zay Flowers – 5-9, 182 pounds, 22nd overall pick by the Ravens

2022 stats at Boston College: 78 receptions, 1,077 yards, 12 touchdowns

Jordan Addison – 5-11, 173 pounds, 23rd overall pick by the Vikings

2022 stats at USC: 59 receptions, 875 yards, eight touchdowns

Jonathan Mingo – 6-2, 220 pounds, 39th overall pick by the Panthers

2022 stats at Ole Miss: 51 receptions, 861 yards, five touchdowns

Trey Palmer – 6-0, 192 pounds, 191st overall pick by the Bucs

2022 stats at Nebraska: 71 receptions, 1,043 yards, nine touchdowns

While Palmer only had one year of production after spending much of his time at LSU, arguably the best “WRU” along with Ohio State, he transferred to Nebraska and was able to put together a 1,000-yard college season. Of the six receivers listed above, he ranks third in receptions, fourth in yards, and tied for second in touchdowns with Smith-Njigba, who only recorded five receptions in 2022 but had a big 2021 season for the Buckeyes.

Looking at these numbers, it is evident that Palmer holds his own with receivers that were taken over 150 picks higher than him. While he is the middle of the pack statistically, he would win the gold medal if they lined up to do the 40-yard dash.

Trey Palmer – 4.33 40-yard dash (Combine, 1st among WRs)

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 4.48 40-yard dash (Pro Day)

Quentin Johnston – 4.49 40-yard dash (Pro Day)

Zay Flowers – 4.42 40-yard dash (Combine)

Jordan Addison – 4.49 40-yard dash (Combine)

Jonathan Mingo – 4.46 40-yard dash (Combine)

The Bucs set out this offseason to get younger and faster this season during roster construction, and it is clear they did so in the wide receiver room with their selection of Palmer and by also adding UDFA Rakim Jarrett, who ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and made the 53-man roster.

Trey Palmer Really Stood Out In the Preseason

Through the Bucs’ preseason slate, Trey Palmer impressed each game, whether by making a touchdown grab or using his acrobatic skills to make a catch. Overall, Palmer finished the preseason with seven receptions, 91 yards, and two touchdowns.

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo By: Cliff Welch/PR

In the preseason opener against the Steelers, he made a toe-tap touchdown catch on a lob from quarterback Baker Mayfield in the end zone and followed that up by tipping the ball to himself to secure a touchdown grab on a 33-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Trask against the Jets.

In the preseason finale against the Ravens, Palmer was held out of the endzone, but he made quite the catch to set up a touchdown on the next play.

If Palmer can continue to make plays like this every week, it will go a long way in cementing himself as the third receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. After playing mostly in the slot at Nebraska last year, he appears to be a great fit for the Bucs’ offense there as well. With Godwin playing more outside, offensive coordinator Dave Canales should have plenty of opportunities to game plan Palmer some quick touches and let his speed do the rest.

Under-The-Radar WR Breakouts Have Happened Before

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – Photo by: USA Today

Surprisingly, Trey Palmer was the 23rd wide receiver taken in this year’s draft. Palmer can use that as motivation to prove plenty of NFL evaluators wrong. It has happened before in recent years.

The most telling example is Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. St.Brown was taken in the fourth round in 2021, the 17th receiver off the board. He has used that as an added chip on his shoulder and can name each of the receivers taken before him. All he has done since is pace the draft class in receptions and rank fourth in yards and touchdowns, putting him with the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith.

It is still way too early to compare Palmer to St.Brown, but there are other receivers who overcame being a late-round pick and have emerged in recent seasons.

Looking over recent draft classes, Hunter Renfrow and Russell Gage stand out the most as late-round receivers. Renfrow was a fifth-round pick out of Clemson in 2019 and had a Pro Bowl season in 2021 with 103 receptions for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns.

While Gage is out for the season, he was taken with the 194th pick in the 2018 draft and went from just being a special teamer to a key contributor for the Falcons before signing with the Bucs. He ranks seventh in his draft class in receptions, ahead of Courtland Sutton, Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz, and others.

So far, it looks like the Bucs hit on their selection of Trey Palmer based on his skillset and the performance he has had over the past month. The extent of his success is to be determined, but he very well could end up as one of the better wide receivers taken in the 2023 draft class despite his late-round draft status.