The NFL is loaded with talented players. More specifically, there are lots of elite and talented wide receivers in the league. The likes of Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, and DeAndre Hopkins are the faces of the wide receivers, but they are just a small representation of the great wide receivers. Thankfully, with a large number of great wide receivers, teams are blessed with having fantastic and elite receiving corps. Here are the top five wide receiver corps currently in the NFL.
Top Five Current Wide Receiver Corps in the NFL
First of all, many people include tight ends in receiving corps. However, for this list, I am only focusing on wide receivers. Like many lists, picking the best wide receiver corps was very hard. I have the top five, but I also have an honorable mention team. The criteria I used for picking these teams were the statistics, achievements, and the team’s depth at the wide receiver position.
Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh Steelers
Last year, the Steelers quarterbacks were troubled with injuries, meaning the wide receivers didn’t get that great of production. The best example is the Steelers wide receiver number one, JuJu Smith-Schuster. He only caught 42 receptions for 552 receiving yards and three touchdowns, when the previous year he had 1,426 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Though Smith-Schuster had a down year, the youngster Diontae Johnson stepped up by recording 680 receiving yards and six touchdowns, while the other youngster James Washington caught 735 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
With a returning healthy Ben Roethlisberger, who is a gunslinger, these three wide receivers should have monster seasons. If Big Ben is truly healthy, I expect over 1,200 receiving yards for Smith-Schuster, over 700 for Johnson, and over 800 for James Washington. If everything goes well, these receivers can combine for over 15 touchdowns and over 2,500 receiving yards. Even if one of these receivers gets injured, they have great depth on the bench with the likes of Ryan Switzer and rookie Chase Claypool, who can both easily get over 300 receiving yards.
Most importantly, these receivers are only between the ages of 23 and 25. With that great of production early on, expect the Steelers wide receiver room to have multiple star players. This also means the Steelers have a solid future offense that will help them contend in the AFC North, the playoffs, and most importantly the super bowl.
Number Five: Buffalo Bills
Last year, the Buffalo Bills had a very underrated wide receiver duo in John Brown and Cole Beasley. In 2019, John Brown recorded career highs in receptions (72) and receiving yards (1,060). He also added six touchdowns. While Cole Beasley had 67 receptions, 778 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. These two combined for 1,838 receiving yards and an impressive 12 touchdowns. They probably could have had higher production, but their quarterback Josh Allen is the least accurate quarterback in the league.
Over the offseason, the Bills traded a couple of draft picks for the superstar wide receiver from the Minnesota Vikings, Stefon Diggs. Diggs recorded 63 receptions for 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdowns last year. He becomes the final piece of a deadly receiving trio. Some people think his arrival has negative impacts, but he will direct attention away from John Brown and Cole Beasley, giving them favorable matchups. Stefon Diggs, along with John Brown and Cole Beasley will greatly help the Bills playoff contention.
Number Four: Detroit Lions
Like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Lions’ receivers would have had more success, but they lost their starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford to injury. Though Stafford was injured, the Lions’ receivers put up solid stats. In general, the wide receiver group for the Detroit Lions is underrated. The Lions have one of the most promising young receivers, Kenny Golladay. Golladay caught 1,190 receiving yards which was seventh in the league, but most importantly he brought in 11 touchdowns, which were a league-high.
Besides Golladay, the Lions also have Marvin Jones who had 62 receptions for 779 yards, nine touchdowns, and Danny Amendola who had 678 receiving yards and one touchdown. On the bench, there is depth too, with Geronimo Allison and Quintez Cephus who can combine for 500 receiving yards. With a healthy Stafford, the top three receivers can combine for close over 2,500 receiving yards and close to 20 touchdowns. My only concern with the Lions receivers is that they are getting up there in age. This means the Lions window for playoff and super bowl contention is closing quickly.
Number Three: Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have a fantastic mix of receivers. They have a top-three receiver in the league, they have one of the most promising young receivers, and they have a no-doubt hall of fame receiver. This offseason, the Cardinals added four-time pro bowler DeAndre Hopkins, a top-three receiver in the league and known for his spectacular catches. He has caught 8,602 receiving yards and 54 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons. Those are mind-blowing statistics.
He pairs up with the no-doubt future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is an 11-time pro bowler who has caught 120 touchdowns and 17,083 receiving yards which is good for second all-time among receivers. He is also a very solid possession catching receiver. Though he is older, he still managed to catch 804 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the Cardinals. The final piece to this elite receiving core is the 23-year-old, Christian Kirk. Kirk caught 709 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.
Besides these three, the speedster Andy Isabella can come off the bench and provide a spark. The Cardinals will have so many talented receivers, that there won’t be enough defenders to properly cover them. Also, the Cardinals ran a balanced offense, but the coach, Kliff Kingsbury, ran an air raid offense in college. He couldn’t run it in the NFL, because he didn’t have the players, but now he does. Look for the Cardinals to run a more air raid type of offense, meaning the receiver production will greatly go up. In this offense, these receivers can combine for close to 3,000 receiving yards and over 15 touchdowns. The Cardinals offense, more specifically the whole team, has a very bright future. Look for them to be playoff contenders this year.
Number Two: Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are the only team in the league that has three potential number-one receivers on their team. They are Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb. First up, Amari Cooper, who has been consistently great throughout his career. Ever since he came to the Cowboys, he has played like a top-ten receiver. Last year, he had 79 receptions for 1,189 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Cooper’s partner last season was Michael Gallup who had a fantastic sophomore season. It was a season in which he caught 1,108 receiving yards and six touchdowns. The Cowboys were part of a very small number of teams with two receivers over 1,000 receiving yards. This didn’t stop the Cowboys from adding more firepower. In this year’s draft, they drafted CeeDee Lamb, who is known for his great catching ability. Lamb had 3,292 receiving yards in three college seasons for the University of Oklahoma.
The Cowboys are the only team that I believe has a chance to have a trio of receivers each get over 1,000 receiving yards. It is possible especially with them having a solid quarterback in Dak Prescott and there are so many of them, that not all can be covered properly. These three are also very young, meaning the Cowboys’ future is looking very bright. Even though the Cowboys have the best starting wide receiver lineup, they don’t have the best wide receiver corps. They could have been number one, but they lack depth on the bench.
Number One: Kansas City Chiefs
The wide receivers were a key part of the Chiefs winning the super bowl. I picked the Chiefs for multiple reasons. Most notably, they have a top-five receiver that pairs with two other solid receivers. They also were great contributors in their team winning a super bowl and they have lots of depth. I’ll begin with the top-five receiver and four-time pro bowler, Tyreek Hill.
Hill is known for his speed, he is one of the fastest players in the league and can beat any corner, just by using his speed. Last year, Hill had a down year where he recorded 860 receiving yards and seven touchdowns due to injury. This year, I expect a big bounce back from him, I predict he gets over 1,250 receiving yards and he gets between eight and ten touchdowns. After Tyreek Hill is the very solid Sammy Watkins and the young speedster Mecole Hardman. Watkins had 673 receiving yards and three touchdowns while missing two games last year, while Mecole Hardman in his rookie season, had 538 receiving yards and six touchdowns. I expect both of them to get close to or over 700 receiving yards and I see them combining for close to ten touchdowns.
The Chiefs receivers have had injuries, but their offense hasn’t slowed down, because they have depth. On the bench, they have Demarcus Robinson who caught 449 receiving yards and four touchdowns. They also have Byron Pringle who is capable of producing when called upon. Like I said before, the Chiefs have the best wide receiver room because they have great depth, the receivers produce, and they are super bowl-caliber receivers. They will, no doubt, be a key contributor to the Chiefs’ super bowl contention and run this year again.
Top Five Receiver Corps Recap
It was very hard to pick the teams with the top five wide receiver corps because there are so many great receivers. I made my decisions by looking at these teams’ depth at wide receiver, these receivers statistics, and their achievements. My honorable mention was the Pittsburgh Steelers, and from five to one, I picked the Bills, Lions, Cardinals, Cowboys, and Chiefs. The wide receivers on these teams are huge reasons for some of these teams’ elite offense, but most importantly they are big factors in their teams’ playoff success.
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