The Falcons, Browns, and Rams are all loaded with star wideouts. The Jets, Seahawks, and Ravens are not.
The NFL is a passing league, and the value of a top-flight wide receiving corps has never been higher. A strong group of wideouts can bail out a middling quarterback and elevate a good one to greatness.
We’ve seen that manifest in free agent contracts — the average receiver is now worth approximately 150 percent of an average running back. Matt Ryan rode Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu to an NFC title and an MVP award in 2016. Two years later, Jared Goff pushed his way into the Super Bowl and MVP consideration thanks to the play of targets like Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods.
As the 2019 season approaches, those two teams dot the upper tier of our wide receiver corps rankings. But who else joined them in the top five? And which teams have to hope the hardest for big jumps from their young wideouts in the bottom five?
2019’s top five wide receiver groups
1. Atlanta Falcons
Primary wide receivers: Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Mohamed Sanu, Justin Hardy
There’s a tremendous amount of talent doled out in complementary shapes in Atlanta. Jones and a cast of department store mannequins would still be a force, but adding touchdown machine Ridley (10 touchdowns in 64 catches as a rookie) and a do-everything veteran (including throwing the ball) in Sanu makes the Falcons’ passing game a nightmare to stop.
With these three guys in tow, Matt Ryan had the second-best season of his career in 2018 — which is pretty good considering No. 1 on that list won him an MVP award.
2. Cleveland Browns
Primary wide receivers: Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins
Freddie Kitchens unlocked Baker Mayfield’s talent by spreading the ball to a host of new receivers over the second half of last season and taking some of the receiving pressure from Landry’s shoulders. General manager John Dorsey followed that strategy to an extreme by trading for Beckham, giving Mayfield another Pro Bowl target who can turn small openings into major gains.
Throwing Beckham and Landry at opposing secondaries will give the young duo of Callaway and Higgins — both of whom had more than 500 receiving yards last fall — some extra room to shine. With a combination of proven veteran stars and developing young playmakers, the Browns are loaded with different ways to burn opponents through the air.
3. Los Angeles Rams
Primary wide receivers: Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds
Jared Goff is surrounded by versatile 1,000-yard receiving threats thanks to Los Angeles’ commitment to rebuilding a once-stagnant offense.
Cooks’ fly route mastery pushed him to his fourth straight 1,000+ yard performance last season, while Woods remains the Swiss Army knife in Sean McVay’s offense, bringing a diverse route tree to life. Kupp was on pace for an 80-catch, 12-touchdown sophomore season before suffering a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for the Rams’ playoff run. Reynolds stepped up in his place and emerged as a streaky, if not reliable, target midway through Goff’s progressions.
That group has thrived with an innovative playcaller and a young, blossoming quarterback. It could be even better in 2019. The Rams are a tenuous third in this year’s preseason rankings, but have the juice to make a run to No. 1.
4. Minnesota Vikings
Primary wide receivers: Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell
Thielen exploded with eight straight 100+ yard receiving performances to start last season before cooling off over the last half of the year. Diggs helped pick up where he left off with the first 1,000-yard season of his budding career.
And then after that pairing, things get grim. Treadwell’s overwhelming mediocrity — he has 56 catches in three NFL seasons — led the Vikings to decline the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract as a former first-round pick. Chad Beebe and Brandon Zylstra combined for five receptions in 2018. Rookies Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi Johnson each lasted well into the 200s at this year’s draft.
But if Treadwell or another of those players can make any kind of appreciable leap, Kirk Cousins will have no excuse not to thrive in the Twin Cities.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
Primary wide receivers: A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, John Ross
The Bengals’ stack of game-changing receivers only runs two deep, but it’s one hell of a pairing. Boyd excelled in the vacuum left behind after Green missed much of the 2018 season, breaking out for 76 catches and 1,028 yards (with a 70 percent catch rate!) despite playing with backup Jeff Driskel for the final five games of the season. Meanwhile, Green’s age-30 season showed signs of shaking off a subpar (but still Pro Bowl-worthy) 2017 before he succumbed to a toe injury that limited him to nine games.
The X-factor is Ross, the former top-10 pick whose NFL career to date spans 16 games and 21 receptions. He wound up on the trading block this offseason but failed to generate enough interest for Cincinnati to swing a deal. If he stays on the roster, he could see a little extra attention this fall as the Bengals attempt to pump up his stock price.
Intermission
Special mention: No. 22 Kansas City Chiefs
Primary wide receivers: Tyreek Hill?, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman
With Tyreek Hill’s child abuse investigation pending and discipline (or a possible release) looming, Patrick Mahomes’ top targets in 2019 may now be Watkins (3.2 catches, 46 yards per game the last three seasons), Robinson (22 catches in 2018), and second-round rookie Hardman. Hardman has the chops to overdeliver in his first year as a pro, but this group of wideouts will give Mahomes a legitimate challenge to overcome in the follow-up to last year’s MVP campaign.
2019’s bottom five wide receiver groups
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Primary wide receivers: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Breshad Perriman
Mike Evans is great, and his ability to be both massive and elusive helped create the space for Adam Humphries and DeSean Jackson to shine, regardless of whether it was Jameis Winston or Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing them the ball.
And now both Humphries and Jackson have moved on, and Godwin and Perriman will have to step up in their wake. Perriman restored some of his value by showcasing his versatility under Freddie Kitchens with the Browns, and it’s not crazy to think he could keep that going with a creative offensive mind like Bruce Arians calling the shots in Tampa. Godwin was impressive in flashes last year, but will have to dial up his consistency to help Winston convince the Bucs he’s worth extending.
29. New York Jets
Primary wide receivers: Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jamison Crowder, Josh Bellamy
Anderson couldn’t follow up on a breakout 2017 with Sam Darnold calling the shots most of the season, and while he’s a useful starter, asking him to carry the offensive load as New York’s WR1 is a stretch. Enunwa had similar issues, with neither player cracking a 56 percent catch rate in 2018. Crowder and Bellamy round out a deep rotation of role players who form a reasonable wolf pack without a real alpha.
30. Seattle Seahawks
Primary wide receivers: Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, David Moore, Jaron Brown
Doug Baldwin’s unfortunate retirement leaves Russell Wilson to depend on Lockett and a host of untested and inconsistent targets. Lockett emerged as a reliable target, but he’s set to see more double-teams than ever before without a heady veteran like Baldwin to absorb some defensive pressure. Metcalf is a straight-line burner who’s built like a tour bus, but a limited route tree could affect his transition to the pros. Moore has the slowly germinating seeds of potential seemingly all Seahawks’ backup wideouts have, which means he’ll soon be catching 30 passes per year while making a $10 million salary with Washington.
31. Baltimore Ravens
Primary wide receivers: Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, Jordan Lasley, Chris Moore
Hollywood Brown could be the lead wideout the Ravens have searched for since Steve Smith decided to insult others from the broadcasting booth instead of the field, and if anyone knows how to work with a mobile quarterback like Lamar Jackson it’s the guy who spent 2018 working with Kyler Murray. Unfortunately for Baltimore, he could be due for some growing pains, and the rest of the team’s wideouts next to him are uninspiring. Discounting a 2017 season where he only made eight catches, Snead’s yards per target figure has declined precipitously since his breakout 2015 — from 9.7 to 8.6 to last year’s 6.9.
32. Washington
Primary wide receivers: Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, Terry McLaurin
Washington is still waiting on its Doctson investment to pay off — the former first-round pick has yet to crack the 45-catch barrier in any of his three NFL seasons. Dan Snyder gave Richardson $40 million to lure him from Seattle, only for the deep threat to underwhelm and then miss the second half of the season due to injury. McLaurin has the chops to be a third-round draft steal, but he wasn’t exactly prolific at Ohio State. Rookie Dwayne Haskins must be happy to reconnect with his former college teammate, but the rest of the club’s wideouts won’t offer him much support.
Interested in the full rankings in order to better understand just how poorly I rated your favorite team? Here you go — please note the WR rankings don’t necessarily represent a team’s actual depth chart:
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