Aside from quarterback, the most important position in an NFL offense is wide receiver. That’s not opinion; that’s what salary data tells us.
Justin Jefferson’s ascendance to a $35 million annual payout made him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. In terms of top 100 salaries, 22 are wideouts compared to 18 offensive linemen, per Spotrac.
That makes sense. Success in the NFL is defined by passing games. But unless you’ve got a superhuman quarterback like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady, the most reliable way to build a consistent aerial attack is with a dynamite receiving corps. As a result, we’ve seen 28 wideouts drafted in the first round in the last five years alone.
This has left some teams flush with receiving talent and others… less so. Like I do each year, this is a preseason attempt to rank each of the NFL’s wideout corps from least to most talented, knowing the 2024 season is waiting around the corner to throw everything into disarray.
Production and reliability are king here, but depth counts as well. I’ve also factored in age-related declines, developmental growth and any missed time we can reasonably assume will happen — think discipline after Jordan Addison and Rashee Rice’s driving-related arrests. In terms of numbers: catches, catch rate and overall impact were important. So was yards per route run (YPRR), which gives us a good idea of who’s getting open and generating positive attention even if they may not lead the league in targets.
Let’s start at the bottom.
