Piece By David Heiman
Over the past few years, we have seen some unbelievable talent emerge at the wide receiver position. It was incredibly hard to narrow this list down to the top 10 receivers because there are around 20 guys that you could make a decent argument in favor of. After much consideration, here are my top 10 receivers in the NFL as of right now.
10: Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
The first of two Seahawks receivers on this list, Lockett is the ultimate safety valve in the NFL. When you watch the Seahawks, anytime Russell Wilson needs to get the ball for a 10-15 yard gain, Lockett is the guy. Lockett is also only a few seasons removed from having a perfect passer rating when Russell Wilson threw the ball to him, which is an insane feat to have over an entire season. This year Lockett is 4th in receptions with 67 and 9th in receiving yards with 748. He can also add 8 touchdown receptions onto there. Truly astonishing numbers for a guy that continues to improve each year.
9: Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
It is honestly scary, no pun intended, how amazing McLaurin has been in the NFL without playing with a decent quarterback over the last 2 years. The best he’s gotten is Alex Smith fresh off a should’ve been career-ending injury, but that hasn’t stopped McLaurin from having the 4th most receiving yards in the NFL with 787 and having the 12th most receptions with 57. Add 3 touchdowns with that, and it is only a matter of time before McLaurin elevates to superstar status as a receiver. The reason he is in front of Lockett is simple, Lockett has the potential MVP of the league throwing to him, and McLaurin has already had 3 different starting quarterbacks just this year while playing with his 3rd head coach in only 2 years. If you couldn’t tell already, I am incredibly high on Scary Terry and think his ceiling is limitless.
8: Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears
For those who have read my past articles, you know how big of a Bears fan I am. While I am a bit bias towards ARob, that doesn’t change the fact that he is an elite receiver who has played with subpar QB play, putting it nicely throughout his career. Robinson has had Blake Bortles, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles, and Chase Daniel throwing the ball to him, yet Robinson has continued to develop into one of the game's best receivers. His hands are some of the best in the NFL, seeing that he has not dropped a pass this season. He also plays on a god awful offense with the Bears and still produces every single game. This year, Robinson is 7th in receptions with 63. He is 8th in receiving yards with 755. He also adds 3 touchdowns to that. If the Bears got smarter, they would target him a lot more in the Redzone, but for some reason, they haven’t figured that out yet. If Robinson ever gets the honor to play with a solid QB, this guy could easily be a top 5 receiver in the league.
7: Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Old reliable here with Julio. Every year there are a few guarantees in life. Death, taxes, Dave Chappelle releasing hilarious comedy specials, and Julio Jones producing big time for an underachieving Falcons team. Besides those, nothing is guaranteed. This year, Julio has missed a few games but has still produced like a top receiver, even though he is on the wrong side of 30. He has 43 receptions for 638 yards and 3 touchdowns. While age has started to catch up to Julio a bit, he is still an elite receiver and an excellent addition to any locker room.
6: Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
I know Michael Thomas has missed over half the games the Saints have played in this year. I also know that he hasn’t played well when he has played. But to not include a receiver who arguably posted the best season ever for his position last year would be just disrespectful. Last year Thomas set the record for most receptions in a single season and was primed for another massive year before he got hurt in week one. This year, we have also seen Drew Brees regress a bit in terms of his ability to sling the ball downfield, relying on screens and short passes a lot more, so when Brees and Thomas were playing together, that hurt his production. With Brees hurt, it can go one of two ways for Thomas. Either Jameis Winston will start, and in my opinion, he will target Thomas a lot, and he will play a lot better, or Taysom Hill will start, and Thomas will continue to struggle. Either way, Thomas is still an elite receiver; he just needs whoever his QB is to get the ball in his hands.
5: DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
Coming into this year, I was extremely high on DK Metcalf. I drafted him in basically all of my fantasy leagues, and boy did that pay off. I will be honest, I didn’t seem him having anywhere of this type of season, though. DK only has 48 receptions but is third in the league in receiving yards with 862. Tack on 9 touchdowns and an absurd 18 yard average for catch, and you can see why Metcalf has developed into a superstar this year. It helps that he is on the absolute perfect team in the NFL for him but don’t blame the Seahawks for stealing him in the second round; blame the other 31 teams for passing on him at least once, while most passed on him twice. The only thing holding DK back are his drops. They’re not going to hamper his career a lot, but it is something I have noticed when I watch the Seahawks in prime time. In his Thursday night game against Arizona, he dropped a ball in the end zone right at the end of the first half that let the Seahawks settle for a field goal instead. I’m not trying to trash DK, though. When you’re as talented as he is, there always has to be a little nitpicking here and there to keep him grounded.
4: Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Like DK, I was insanely high on Diggs coming into this season. I’ll explain my reasoning with this because I wasn’t particularly high on Josh Allen. The way I saw it was the Bills gave up a first-round pick for Diggs, meaning that even if Allen busted this year, they were still going to target Diggs an insane amount, similar to Allen Robinson with Mitchell Trubisky. Well, Josh Allen hasn’t busted, but I was right that they would target Diggs an insane amount. In fact, he leads the league in targets with 101 on the season and also leads the league in receptions with 73. Add in the fact that he is second in the league in receiving yards with 906 and sprinkle in 4 touchdowns, and you see why I ranked Diggs so high on this list. I’ve always been a fan of Diggs and had a feeling that Minnesota never properly used him right, mainly cause they had Adam Thielen. While I never expected Diggs to get this type of attention, he has shown he deserves all the targets he gets with the production he has brought.
3: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are spoiled with riches beyond imagination. They have the best QB in the NFL with probably the best offensive supporting cast in the NFL, with arguably the best offensive-minded coach in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes is blessed with Tyreek Hill, coming in at number 3 on this receiver list, but also has Travis Kelce, the best tight end in the NFL, Clyde Edwards Helaire, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins, Leveon Bell, and Demarcus Robinson. It is a ridiculous amount of talent for anyone to have. So what makes Tyreek a top 3 receiver in the NFL? In my opinion, there is no one in recent memory, besides Odell at his peak, that combines speed, elite hands, route-running ability, and being a top red zone target all in one package. Hill is one of the fastest receivers in the NFL but he can also run routes like Michael Thomas or DK Metcalf, so any route on the field. On the season, Hill has 44 receptions for 650 yards and 9 touchdowns. This is while he competes with all the other names I listed for touches. This man is scary good.
2: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
I could easily write a lot here about how stupid former Texans coach Bill O’Brien was to trade Hopkins this past offseason. But I’ve probably read about 1,000 articles saying that, so I will try my best to avoid writing about that. Hopkins has been a dream addition for the Cardinals, being everything they could want out of a true WR1. Hopkins arguably has the best hands in the NFL, making any catch on the football field. This was clearly seen when he caught that incredible Hail Mary from Kyler Murray for a walk-off win against Buffalo last week. Hopkins on the year has 96 targets for 72 receptions. Good for second in both categories. He also leads the league in receiving yards with 912 and has 4 touchdowns on the year. I know I mentioned early about Tyler Lockett being the ultimate safety valve as a receiver, but Hopkins might take the title for that. Watching the Cardinals play, any time they need a first down, the ball goes to Hopkins. He is fantastic at creating separation and finding ways to get yards after the catch, even if there is a defender breathing down his neck while catching the pass.
1: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
The number one receiver in the NFL has to be Davante Adams right now, who is on an absolute tear this year. Despite missing 3 games this year, Adams is 8th in receptions with 61, 10th in receiving yards with 741, and has 9 touchdowns, which is tied for the league leader. He has been playing out of his mind recently, putting up all-pro performances over the last few weeks. Obviously, Adams has the pleasure of playing with an all-time great QB in Aaron Rodgers, but what separates Adams from the rest of the pack is his elite route running and his ability to make contested catches with ease. These two qualities allow him to thrive with Rodgers, who has pinpoint accuracy and can make any throw on the field. Adams takes full advantage of this by being in the exact perfect spot on every one of Rodgers passes, allowing him to thrive in this Green Bay offense.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2020/receiving.htm
https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/player/_/stat/receiving/table/receiving/sort/receivingYards/dir/desc
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