• Justin Jefferson tops the rankings: The Minnesota Vikings receiver only played 10 games last season, but when healthy, he proved that he still reigns supreme among NFL wideouts.
• Two San Francisco 49ers make the top 10: Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel were the only teammates ranked in the top 10.
• Get a head start on fantasy football: Use PFF’s fantasy football mock draft simulator to create real live mock draft simulations to get ready for your live draft!
Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
Everybody loves player rankings, and the NFL offseason is the perfect time to break them out.
Here, we are going to rank the top 32 wide receivers in the league. Rookies are eligible, though they bring the most projection given we have yet to see them play a snap at this level. We know their college production, can project their performances at this level, and now we know who will be throwing them the football and what their situation is like, but there is still a huge unknown in their futures.
Even though PFF data backs this list and theoretically compares players at the same position, in reality, there are multiple different receiver positions represented, and there is no true way of objectively comparing Deebo Samuel’s role to Amon-Ra St. Brown or Mike Evans‘ roles.
Nevertheless, here is how the best receivers in football stack up heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Justin Jefferson remains the best receiver in the NFL. Injury cost him much of 2023, but in 10 games, he still cleared 1,000 yards and averaged 2.91 yards per route run. Now, he has to do it with a new quarterback after Kirk Cousins departed for Atlanta.
Tyreek Hill was on a record-setting pace for much of 2023 until injuries derailed his push. He finished the season with 1,799 yards, 13 touchdowns and a massive 3.82 yards per route run. He is the most explosive and dangerous receiver in the game.
WR3 is perhaps the fiercest competition in the rankings, as several players have a good case. Ja’Marr Chase is still a devastating receiver and with his quarterback back this season, we’re about to be reminded.
CeeDee Lamb stepped up to be the Dallas’ offensive focal point last season, becoming one of the game’s most effective receivers. He averaged 2.78 yards per route run and dropped only five of the 179 passes thrown his way.
One of the toughest covers in all of football, A.J. Brown has the size, speed and skills to be productive against any defense. He averaged 2.52 yards per route run last season and broke 19 tackles with the ball in his hands.
At 31 years old, Davante Adams is entering the gray area where we need to decide how much of his decline last season was due to age and how much to his quarterback situation. He still caught over 100 passes but averaged almost half a yard per route run less than the year before. His drop rate was up, and his contested catch rate was down. He remains arguably the best route-runner in football.
A mid-round steal for the Lions in 2021, Amon-Ra St. Brown has improved each year of his NFL career and has now had back-to-back seasons with a 90.0-plus PFF grade. He has dropped just 3.1% of catchable targets in the NFL and may have the most reliable hands in the game.
A devastating route runner and explosive threat, Brandon Aiyuk is one of the most efficient receivers in the game whose overall numbers are held back only by the offense he plays in and the sheer quantity of other options within it. Passes thrown his way last season generated a 126.8 passer rating.
Cooper Kupp only played in 12 regular season games last season due to injury, marking his second-straight injury-affected season, but the year before that, he was arguably the single greatest receiver season in NFL history. He will be 31 years old when the season begins, so this might be the last year he gets the benefit of the doubt, but Kupp can still dominate.
One of the most difficult players to place in abstract terms, Deebo Samuel is a unique weapon. Part running back, part receiver and all playmaker, he led the league with 32 broken tackles last year, 10 more than any other receiver. His absences from the lineup due to injury also coincided with the 49ers’ biggest wobbles during the season.
Stefon Diggs is coming off a rough second half of the season and is 30 years old. On the other hand, he is a year removed from a dominant season with over 1,400 receiving yards and a 90.1 overall PFF grade. With more help around him in Houston, one of the most crafty veterans in the league could have a bounce-back season.
Justin Fields was not seeing the game well at all early in the year, and despite that, DJ Moore was still able to rack up 1,364 yards at 2.31 yards per route run. He has proven to be an exceptionally effective receiver in all areas regardless of quarterback during his career.
One of the best rookie seasons of all time belongs to Puka Nacua after last season. He cooled off slightly after a record-setting early pace, but Nacua was still phenomenally productive even when Cooper Kupp returned from injury. He’s smart, precise and very strong through contact.
Last season was supposed to be the year Garrett Wilson became a truly dominant force, but his Hall of Fame quarterback going down after four snaps put pay to that. This could be that year. Wilson broke 22 tackles last season, second only to part-time-runningback Deebo Samuel in that category.
Nico Collins had a phenomenal breakout year last season with C.J. Stroud throwing him the football. He trailed only Tyreek Hill in yards per route run (3.10), and caught over 50% of his contested targets.
With the entire Eagles offense not quite in sync much of last season, DeVonta Smith’s production suffered a little from his previous baseline. He remains an outstanding technician at the position and could bounce back in a revived offense this year.
Deep into his career, DeAndre Hopkins can still cook with seemingly any quarterback. He caught 75 passes last season, with only four drops, and with an improved structure around Will Levis this season, he should realistically hope for a better environment for the passing game to thrive in 2024.
The Sam Howell experiment didn’t go well last season, but Washington will be hoping rookie Jayden Daniels can become the answer at quarterback, giving Terry McLaurin the quarterback he has deserved for his entire career so far. He caught 50% of his contested targets last season and had only four drops all year.
Perennially underrated, Amari Cooper makes every offense he plays for better. Last season, he averaged 2.31 yards per route run and caught 51.7% of his contested targets, averaging 17.4 yards per catch.
Still one of the league’s most effective receivers, Mike Evans continued his streak of 1,000-yard seasons with Baker Mayfield under center and will look to do so again in 2024. Evans had 13 touchdown receptions last season and an 81.5 PFF grade.
The first rookie on our list, Marvin Harrison Jr. is one of the best prospects to enter the league in years, with the pedigree of a Hall of Fame receiver as his father. He should step immediately in as Arizona’s No. 1 receiver and has a quarterback in Kyler Murray who is well capable of giving him the chance to put up big numbers.
Keenan Allen had 97 targets across his top seven games last season for the Chargers and racked up 1,243 yards in only 13 games. He was moved on because of a bloated contract he refused to take a pay cut on, but now, he brings one of the best route-running arsenals to Chicago to help rookie Caleb Williams.
Second fiddle to Tyreek Hill within the Miami offense, Jaylen Waddle is an excellent receiver in his own right, earning a 90.7 PFF grade last season. He averaged 2.63 yards per route run and has speed to burn.
Not the nuanced route runner of some other receivers on this list, D.K. Metcalf nevertheless brings an overwhelming physical profile to the table that most cornerbacks can’t hope to match. He has 50 explosive plays over the last two seasons.
The second rookie to appear on this list, Malik Nabers brings an exceptional explosive threat to the table. He is extremely fast, sudden as a route runner, and is a big play waiting to happen from the slot or out wide. He gives Daniel Jones the best receiver he has had to throw to thus far in the NFL.
Perhaps not used as much as he could have been within Arthur Smith’s offense, Drake London has caught 52.5% of his contested career targets and dropped only five of 220 targets thrown his way. Expect his numbers to spike now Kirk Cousins is in town.
A smooth mover, Chris Olave averaged 2.07 yards per route run last season and has 49 explosive plays over his first two seasons in the league. With Derek Carr playing well down the stretch, Olave could have a big year in 2024.
The primary, and at times only viable target in Indianapolis for most of his career, Michael Pittman will be hoping to have more help in 2024 than he has so far. His production has improved throughout his NFL career, and he has outstanding hands.
The third and final rookie to make these rankings, Rome Odunze would have been the first receiver drafted in most normal years but was the third off the board in this loaded draft class. Odunze brings an athletic profile to the table that can dominate NFL-level athletes and is especially good at winning contested catches.
George Pickens specializes in the spectacular, but he has also been a very productive receiver across the board despite some ugly quarterback situations. Pickens averaged 2.11 yards per route run last season and put up 1,140 yards despite Kenny Pickett’s failure to develop as a sophomore.
Injuries have hampered Chris Godwin, but he is an extremely capable and versatile receiver. Last season, just 37% of his snaps came from the slot, having lined up inside on 73% of his snaps the season before. Whether he lines up inside or out, Godwin makes plays and moves the chains, with 53 first-down catches in each year.
When given the opportunity, Tee Higgins has shown he can be a No. 1 receiver even without Ja’Marr Chase in the lineup. Coming off a down year, Higgins will be eager to dominate in 2024 to hit free agency coming off his best play. A big, strong possession target, throwing at Higgins in his NFL career has generated a 111.2 passer rating.
