Projecting the NFL’s Top 10 Receivers

Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The NFL is full of spectacular receivers, and it can be hard to rank them all. The rankings include impact to a team, not only statistics.

10. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears

Alshon Jeffery has always had the potential to be a top 10 receiver, but has been stuck behind Brandon Marshall. During Marshall’s time in Chicago, he was clearly Jay Cutler‘s favorite target. Jeffery was left to pick up Marshall’s scraps when he was either injured or not open.

Jeffery has had two straight seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards and has had seven and ten touchdowns in the last two seasons respectively. Now, as the primary threat in Chicago’s offense, he figures to see his numbers skyrocket. In 2013, Jeffery had 1,421 yards receiving. This came in a season where Brandon Marshall also had around 1,200 yards.

This season, even though the Bears may not win too many games, you could expect Jeffery easily repeating his 1,400 yard performance and even getting up to around 12 or 13 touchdowns.

9. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Evans is one of those receivers that is just going to be impossible to deal with. Standing at 6’5″, most cornerbacks in the NFL have difficulty covering him on deep balls. Last year, he had a fantastic rookie campaign, posting 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns. He will only build on that campaign this season.

He may not have the yards that Jeffery will, but his impact will be felt even more. Defenses will struggle to contain the explosive athlete that is Evans. Some may be worried by the fact that he will have a rookie quarterback throwing to him.

Just think though, can Winston really be any worse than the Josh McCown and Mike Glennon combination? Forgive me, Glennon was actually decent in limited time last season, but still, Winston should be as good, if not better.

8. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson is an incredibly effective receiver. If this list were in terms of pure numbers, he would most likely be higher.

However, one could argue that Nelson does not have the same amount of natural talent that some of these other receivers above him have. Nelson’s technique is flawless and is an absolute monster on deep balls. Though he isn’t as big of a game changer as the other seven guys on this list. Sorry Packers fans.

7. Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants

Odell Beckham Jr. is going to be the best wide receiver in the NFL one day if he can stay healthy. It will be difficult with the NFL’s constant influx of talent at the position, but he is one of a kind.

His athleticism, technique and work ethic are out of this world and it shows on the field. The only concerns with him are minor health issues and whether or not he’ll let the fame get to him.

Beckham’s footwork, or his insane one-handed catches, are a thing of beauty. He’s still got a ways to go before he can move higher up on this list, but it’s only because he is still young and developing.

6. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

People seem to be forgetting about A.J. Green after his season was hampered by injuries last year. They forget that he is still one of the most formidable receivers in the entire league.

One could argue that Green has the best footwork in the NFL. He can make defenders look foolish with just a couple of steps.

Andy Dalton is holding him back at this point. His frame is also a bit slight when compared to these other top five receivers. He will never be a huge red-zone threat, but he is one of the most dangerous all-around receivers in the game.

5. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

Thomas is the most dangerous open field receiver in football. He is a solid all-around receiver, but when he catches screen passes and the blocking is even mediocre, he’s guaranteed ten yards.

Perhaps Thomas would be known as more of a deep threat if he was playing with Peyton Manning in his youthful days, but alas, he must play with the post-surgery Manning. Manning is still great, he just doesn’t have the deep ball arm strength anymore. Regardless, Thomas doesn’t need to be a deep threat to be great. He’s found his niche and he excels at it.

4. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

Brown has a season for the ages in 2015, many could debate that he is the best receiver in the NFL as of now. However, this isn’t ranking who will catch the most passes or even who will rack up the most yards. It’s about who will be the hardest for defenses to handle. Brown is the game’s best do-it-all receiver.

3. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

Last year was a down year for the Falcons and in that year, Jones had around 1,500 yards receiving. He is the game’s most dangerous deep threat and that’s why he earns this spot on the list.

Jones isn’t huge on short-to-intermediate passes, but he will catch an insane amount of deep passes that will leave you saying “did he just catch that?”

If the Falcons can pick it up even a little bit from last season, Jones could see a spike in his touchdowns – six last season- and maybe even yards. Health is a big factor for him and it may be the only thing that’s held him back so far from being at the top of this list.

2. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson has long been named the league’s best receiver. This year, I believe he loses his crown.

Now, let’s be clear I think most people in the world would love to be able to “fall off” from the best receiver in the NFL to the second best. Johnson is a freak of nature, as he is nicknamed, “Megatron”; he is insanely tall and also sports an impressive 4.4 40-yard dash.

He will toss cornerbacks around like rag dolls if he pleases. He fell to second because of minor injury concerns as well as his increasing age, but don’t worry Lions fans, he’ll still be a sight to behold.

1. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys

Most receivers on this list have their own niche. Dez Bryant has found his as a red-zone threat. He scores more touchdowns than any other receiver on a consistent basis despite constant double coverage.

He is also maturing on and off the field, which is in turn helping his play. He is becoming a more disciplined route runner and is therefore becoming a better all-around threat. He is slowly taking over Megatron’s title of the most physically imposing receiver in the game, and that is the reason I have him ranked as the most terrifying wide receiver for opposing cornerbacks to cover.

No one can figure out how to stop him and this year he will be the focal point of the offense rather than Demarco Murray. Bryant’s going to be off the charts this season.