Who's the Best Wide Receiver in the NFL? Will he ever duplicate that magical five-game stretch last year? He has been targeted on 39 percent of routes when defenses send the heat, trailing only the next receiver on this list, CeeDee Lamb. Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper edges out the competition to place as the NFC East's best receiver. Both are big, strong, physical WRs who are great at making contested catches, highpointing the ball, and serving as their teams WR1. Richardsons injury history served as prologue to his time in the NFL. Here, the CB decides to take the flag on pass interference rather than risk Jeffery getting loose behind the secondary. Watching tape of Tate really reinforced what a YAC monster he is. Paul Richardson Jr was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL draft. [7:17] Cooper, in the slot, runs a slant route, blowing by Fabian Moreau to get open and secure the catch; he then does a good job redirecting outside to break Moreaus poor tackle and run free. These traits were evident in his game tape as well; he plays more fast than quick, and uses physicality or deep speed to get open more often than agility. Playing well through injury is one way scouts measure football character. Not all the players listed will make the team, and I might easily miss especially for the Redskins division rivals players who will make the Week 1 roster, but this list should give some idea of the relative depth of the four positional groups. Very few players in NFL history have immediately dominated the way Jefferson has since entering the league in 2020. Cooper again runs down the sideline and seems to get open by selling the deep route, but breaking it back to shake loose. Goedert has a high catch percentage showing he is performing well as the teams safety blanket. [1:52] Slayton lines up bottom of screen on the outside. He often uses his quickness to get immediate separation once the ball is in the air, and uses his change-of-direction ability to juke an initial tackle attempt and turn uphill for extra yards. Hughes gives a generous initial cushion to prevent getting beat deep, which allows Cooper to get an easy reception for a first down and then some. Cooper again lines up opposite Hughes, this time at the bottom of the screen. Often at the college level, receivers see very little in-your-face physical man coverage, so watching what we can and analyzing it very closely is extremely important. The on-field portion of the NFL Combine begins on Thursday, marking the start of the testing circuit that propels some prospects into the stratosphere while ruining the stock of others. In 2020, he caught 87 passes for 1,118 yards and 4 touchdowns and now Washington has gotten him even more help. Building on his success earlier in the game, Cooper fakes another deep route down the sideline, then stutter-steps inside on a slant route. Although its an offense that deflates WR stats by distributing the ball a lot, its a cleverly designed offense that gets WRs open. Sterling Shepard, the Giants 2016 second-round pick, has probably not yet lived up to the high expectations that surrounded him when he was drafted, but he went for 872 yards and 4 TDs in 2018. This division has new faces all around, and some of the best talent in all of football. 1 spot over Tyreek Hill Position Power Rankings 2022 NFL season's top 10 wide receivers: Justin Jefferson reels in. Ross has been a disappointment in the NFL but anything the Giants get out of him will simply be a bonus. But the NFC North has four of the very best wideouts in football, including possibly the best wideout in the league in Adams. March 1, 2023 6:03 am USAToday PanthersWire. NFC East Positional overview. This season, the division is up for grabs yet again. [2:38] Reagor does a good job as he approaches the CB of faking inside with his head and shoulders and planting his left leg inside, getting the CB to flip his hips inside. Once Tate has the ball in space, he is truly hard to bring down. 2022 NFL season's top 10 wide receivers: Justin Jefferson reels in No. But after McLaurin, Washington didn't have many other weapons. This play also shows off his acceleration and route running. One of the first things a receiver needs to do at the NFL level is to win against outstanding press man coverage. His routes are smooth and fluid, and once he turned on his jets near the endzone, the safety couldnt keep up. Hes not moving to the slot; the ball gets snapped while hes in the process of transitioning, allowing him to catch the ball in the backfield while the other two WRs act as blockers for him. 4. Here, well take a look at the top of the depth chart for each team the pool of players from which the ones on the final 53 seem likely to be chosen. Good luck. They really don't have a choice, as Hill's yards-per-route figure jumps to 4.2 against man coverage and 4.6 when left on an island against single-high coverages. The Commanders are interviewing former UCLA receiver and head coach Karl Dorrell for their WRs coaching vacancy, per source. He has surprising physicality for his size, often fighting through contact on a contested catch to get extra yards. Reagor is a bit more physical than you might expect from a playing weight under 200 pounds, though he still struggles a bit with press coverage. Unfortunately, Kupps season was cut short by injury. The CB starts to close the distance, but cant stop JJ, who does a great job locating and tracking the ball in the air and catching it. That good deep speed coupled with elite agility and acceleration shows up on tape as well. Of course, no position group consists of just one or two players. When I reviewed McLaurins college tape for this ranking last year, I noted that he was a tremendous athlete, good route runner, and a willing and physical blocker. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Without missing a beat, Richardson sees the wide open endzone in front of him and runs across, accelerating so quickly that the safety cant keep up in order to get the easy TD. I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere. With very little separation, Slayton runs down the sideline on a fade route, looks back, sees the ball in the air and reaches for it, but Gilmore bats it out of his hands. Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin was a sleeper candidate to take this award going into this season but has sadly been sidelined with Injuries. Cooper did a poor job on the few plays I saw him used as a blocker, and seemed to get pulled from the field by the coaching staff on many running plays. Cooper working with Dalton and practice squad players has put up respectable numbers while McLaurin working with a revolving door of quarterbacks has emerged as a leader and playmaker in the culture Ron Rivera is trying to implement. Diggs went from good to great following his trade from Minnesota to Buffalo in 2020. He has enough speed to get open deep, but also the physicality and jump ball ability to make himself open in contested short-yardage plays. He is not just the first read on this play, hes the only read. 1. First, notice that McLaurin recognizes Indiana 14 is matched up on him. Here are the current preseason depth charts at wide receiver for teams in the NFC East & NFC South. Even still, Jefferson leads the NFL in yards (869) against single-high coverages for the second straight season. The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Ole Miss product was one of the best wide receivers in the league against man coverage. Then Reagor explodes off that planted left leg to go outside and uses a bit of a shove to knock the CB off balance and shoot past him. Golden Tate has consistently been one of the NFLs most underrated WRs. The Cowboys receivers may have the most talent and productivity potential of any group in the NFC East, but, with the Cowboys' run-centered offense, and Dak Prescott 's limited pass production . He shows enough effort and skill in route running that I think he will develop into a capable NFL starter under good coaching, but I think his immediate value will be on special teams, where he already has the ability to make an impact. He takes off and blows past his DB to get about 6 yards of separation vertically. DAVANTE ADAMS, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS The former Green Bay Packer is at the top of his game as he makes the move to the Las Vegas Raiders. [7:30] This time, McLaurin lines up in the slot. The Giants are expected to add wide receivers in the draft and free agency, given their current depth chart at the position. It depends on whether you favor production or . He has NFL bloodlines as his father, Paul Richardson, played several years as an NFL wide receiver as well. Cowboys: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedric Wilson, Simi Fehoko. Indeed, the only games where he had less than a 50% catch rate were against the Patriots and Lions, where he was shadowed by Stephon Gilmore and Darius Slay respectively. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Hard to tell. He was traded to the Cowboys in the middle of last season (the 4th year of his rookie contract) for a 1st round pick in 2019 draft, and Cooper had an immediate impact, seemingly jump-starting the Cowboys offense and helping them to a division championship. St. Brown has also provided a safety blanket for Goff when teams blitz (which they often do). What would Hill's performance look like when he didn't have an out-of-this-world quarterback throwing to him? NFC East The AFC East probably has two receivers who are currently better than anyone in this division. Despite being one of just four players at the position with a $100 million tag, Brown is just fifth on the list of highest-paid wide receivers. However, this is all based on his rookie year alone, and he is still developing. Although not invited to the NFL combine, JJ had a good pro day, measuring 62 and 223 lbs, and running a 4.49s 40 yard dash. Best Wide Receiver Duo (Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports) There are many potential choices for the best receiver pair in the game today. Evan Engram is the best TE. 100 routes). Reagor was selected by the Eagles in the 1st round of the 2020 draft. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Although his deep speed is only good (not great), he has elite quickness/acceleration and change-of-direction ability. Staying close and allowing little separation early in the route also allows those DBs to keep Cooper covered when he breaks inside on a crossing or curl route. Sure, there are ways to use formation and motion offensively to help receivers get away from press. This is a play that could have benefited from a fake inside before starting the route though, and notice this is again a body catch. He has good deep speed, but is more of a home run threat due to his ability to get open and break tackles, rather than just because he just runs past everyone. Although hes a big, physical WR who is good at contested catches, he is also fast enough to blow past some DBs when going vertical. Giants: Darius Slayton, Kenny Golladay, John Ross III, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney. He primarily uses a combination of route running, short-area quickness, and savvy (with fakes/misdirection and ability to find the soft spot in zones) to get open and make plays. McLaurin gets a poor angle on the block because of the DBs speed, but nevertheless uses his strength to hold his man in place and eventually follow him to the ground, forcing the defender to reach out for an attempted shoestring tackle. In a sport that is as physically demanding as football, one in which player injuries are common, the unit depth is as important a factor as the skill of the star players. Where does he land in the Next Gen Stats analytics team's ranking of the top 10 off-ball linebackers right now? Los Angeles' running backs are in . Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. In particular, Lamb has been lethal when going in a shift or motion, leading the NFL with both 337 receiving yards and 4 receiving TDs on such snaps this season. He also doesnt use deception and fakes as aggressively as he could in his routes, possibly because he is accustomed to simply running past opponents. In his rookie year in the NFL, he did an excellent job reaching out and catching the ball away from his body (hands-catching), which is critical to keep the ball safe from DBs that rarely allow as much separation as in college. Cooper can play every WR position: X, Z, and slot, and the Cowboys use him all over the field to exploit matchups and get him paired with slower DBs. The New Orleans Saints have . He makes a perfect hands catch, reaching out and securing the ball away from his body (and away from the DB), then tucking it under his outside arm to run. Once hes free, nobody in the secondary can catch him. His basketball roots are also evident on plays like this. Dallas Cowboys. He suffered a 2nd torn ACL in 2014, and, in the 5 years he has been in the NFL, he has only played 16 games once (2017, his contract year with Seattle). 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