NFL rosters will be tinkered with over the next few months before the season begins. But with free agency and the draft now wrapped up, the core players are likely locked in for 2024.
With that, it’s the perfect time to start some classic offseason debates.
On Tuesday’s edition of “PFT Live,” NBC Sports’ Chris Simms and Mike Florio held a draft to pick the teams with the best trio of wide receivers.
There are two ways to look at this exercise — Simms’ way and Florio’s way. The former NFL quarterback tried his best to stay true to the prompt, opting for truly deep trios. But Florio’s strategy after the first round was to pick the best wide receiver duos and then tack on a random third receiver to round it out.
Let’s get to the selections, with three teams for each analyst:
“I’m excited about the Bears,” Simms said. “It is a (group of) three, it’s a complete three. One’s really young (Rome Odunze), one’s right in the prime of his career in DJ Moore and Keenan Allen is coming down the stretch, but still damn good and has real value to the football team.”
The Bears drastically changed their offense over the past few weeks — first by signing D’Andre Swift, then by trading for Allen and finally by drafting Caleb Williams and Odunze. Allen and Odunze join Moore to create a truly elite trio of wideouts.
“With Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell, give me the Texans,” Florio said.
The Texans’ young duo of Collins and Dell emerged last season with rookie quarterback CJ Stroud. Then, Houston made the blockbuster trade for the former Bills star. Diggs, fresh off his sixth straight 1,000-yard season, will make the Texans’ attack even more dangerous.
“I’m trying to stay within the spirit of three,” Simms said. “I’m going to make (the No. 3 be) Tutu Atwell, not Demarcus Robinson. Puka (Nacua), Cooper Kupp and Tutu Atwell.”
Kupp, the former Super Bowl MVP, paired with Nacua last season to form a dominant duo for Matthew Stafford — when he was healthy. Nacua broke the rookie receiving yards record, while Atwell — in his third season — finally showed signs of life with a career-best 39 catches and 483 yards.
“If it was just Justin Jefferson it would get him on the list,” Florio said. “But Jordan Addison was great last year. And Brandon Powell, who was kind of a ‘Who is that guy? He’s pretty good’ last year. So, they have three really good receivers but especially because they have the best one in the NFL.”
Florio might be overrating Powell a bit here, but Jefferson really is good enough to justify this pick. The journeyman Powell had 29 catches last season, a career-high. Addison, a first-round pick, starred as a rookie with the former Offensive Player of the Year Jefferson battling injuries. Incoming rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy is joining an ideal situation.
“I have to go with Seattle next,” Simms said. “It’s DK Metcalf, he’s a superstar. … Tyler Lockett, of course. Then Jaxon Smith-Njigba came on at the end of the year.”
Simms’ strategy continues with another legitimate trio. Metcalf is the headliner — he’s in the prime of his career after another 1,000-yard season. Then there’s the veteran Lockett, who remains steady entering his 10th season. Smith-Njigba had an up-and-down rookie season, but finished with a respectable 63 receptions for 628 yards.
“Just put Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle out there, and you can put (49ers coach) Kyle Shanahan out there as the third and you’re still one of the top trios,” Florio said.
Hill and Waddle are undoubtedly one of the league’s best duos. Add in Braxton Berrios or River Cracraft or Malik Washington and you still have a solid trio — but it’s obviously carried by the two stars.
The PFT crew wrapped things up without giving a mention to any other teams, so here are some of the league’s other best wide receiver trios:
