NFL free agency will open next week, and with it comes the opportunity for teams across the league to juice up rosters and cover weak spots. One position expected to be a popular target for these teams is wide receiver. The correlation between elite wide receiver play and winning has never been more clear, and the overall talent level at the position has never been higher.

This year’s crop of free agents includes some pretty significant names at wideout, players who have shown they have the talent to change games and put up big numbers. Here are the five best available, as determined by Sports Illustrated‘s Matt Verderame and Gilberto Manzano in their list of the top 50 players hitting free agency in 2025.

Cooper started off last season with the Cleveland Browns and ended it with the Buffalo Bills after a trade deadline transaction sent the 30-year-old even further north. He underwhelmed in his new home but still finished with 44 catches on the season for 547 yards and four touchdowns. Cooper may not be a regular member of the 1,000-yard club at this stage in his career, but he can still be a productive wideout thanks to his crisp route running.

Any team signing Cooper with the hope he alone is enough to overhaul a WR room will be disappointed. But as a No. 2 or No. 3 option, Cooper is a good choice and can provide veteran mentorship as well.

The speedy Hollywood Brown was unable to really get off the ground in 2024. He suffered a shoulder injury in the Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason game of the year, and surgery knocked him out until late in the season. Brown finished the year with nine catches for 91 yards in two games played but managed only five catches over the course of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run. It’s hard to evaluate such an injury-plagued season.

Looking back throughout his career, though, Brown has shown to be a quality deep threat in the league. He posted over 1,000 yards receiving in 2021 and was on pace to do so again in ’22 before getting hurt. At only 27 years old, Brown has both production and potential to offer, but comes with no small risk with his recent injury history.

Diggs has made it clear what he can offer a prospective team at this point in his career. He’s an elite route-runner with great short-area quickness and, prior to 2024, still had a certain breakaway speed. Entering his first year with the Houston Texans, Diggs had posted six consecutive 1,000-plus yard seasons, and was on track for a seventh before he tore his ACL in Week 9 of the 2024 season.

Which is the kicker. If Diggs can regain his form he could be a great buy-low option for WR-needy teams. But such severe injuries often aren’t kind to players over 30. All interested suitors will have to do some serious risk-reward calculus before offering Diggs a deal.

With the Buccaneers opting not to use the franchise tag for Godwin, he looks to be the top wideout available on the open market hitting free agency. His is a complicated case, too. Godwin was on pace for a monster year in 2024, recording 50 catches for 576 yards and five TDs in seven games. Then he dislocated his ankle and was sidelined for the rest of the season.

Assuming good health, Godwin is the sort of receiver every team wants. He’s a threat at all three levels of the field with the size and strength to out-muscle opposing cornerbacks. His ankle is the only question mark. Otherwise, Godwin totaled north of 80 catches and 1,000 yards in the three seasons leading up to last year’s injury-shortened campaign. It’s reasonable to believe he’d bring that same level of production to a different home.

Higgins won’t hit the open market like Godwin; the Bengals used the nonexclusive franchise tag on the free agent wideout ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. But until the ink dries on a new deal with Cincinnati, Higgins should be considered available, and he’s the top free agent on SI’s list for a reason. The 26-year-old star receiver has put up north of 900 yards receiving in four of his five NFL seasons and scored 10 touchdowns in 2024 despite appearing in only 12 games. He’s dangerous on the boundary and over the middle of the field. Higgins is the complete package as a wideout.

There are two big questions surrounding the former LSU receiver: health and if he can keep up his production without Ja’Marr Chase demanding attention on the other side of the field. Higgins has missed five games in each of the last two seasons and hasn’t been the total focus of the defense since Chase was drafted in 2021. But even with those concerns, Higgins is exactly the kind of young, talented, productive receiver that every team dreams of having in today’s NFL. He’ll command top dollar, from Cincinnati or elsewhere.