AFC North Stacked at Wideout
NFC West Second at Position
The NFL is immersed in minicamps with preseason training camp not too far away. Teams generally know what they have at the wide receiver position, so let’s take a look at the receivers around the league through the prism of each division. Which one has the best collective group of receivers? It’s a passing-oriented league, so don’t be surprised that the two divisions that seem to stand out from the crowd have plenty of teams among the favorites according to the Super Bowl odds.
1) AFC North
It is either the AFC North or the NFC West for the best division in the league when it comes to wide receivers. Ultimately, the AFC North gets the nod. Remember that Odell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns was out for most of last season. When he comes back this year, the division’s profile relative to the receiver position will only grow in quality and impact. Beckham joins Jarvis Landry in Cleveland as part of a potent position group which really helped Baker Mayfield come alive last season, as the Browns made the divisional playoff round and nearly reached the AFC Championship Game. In Pittsburgh, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool are both dynamic receivers for the Steelers. Claypool’s emergence in 2020 gave Ben Roethlisberger a big lift, catapulting the Steelers to an 11-0 record before an injury to pass rusher Bud Dupree took a big bite out of the team’s defense and limited Pittsburgh’s ceiling. Smith-Schuster and Claypool should be a very effective combination in 2021.
The Baltimore Ravens have Marquise Brown at wide receiver. They drafted University of Minnesota receiver Rashod Bateman in the first round to give Lamar Jackson even more help. The Ravens have made every attempt to build up their receiver corps. Last, but not least, the Cincinnati Bengals picked Ja’Marr Chase of LSU with the No. 5 selection in this year’s draft. Chase and Tee Higgins should be a formidable tandem for Joe Burrow to throw to in Cincy. There is a boatload of wide receiver talent among all four teams in this division, which merits No. 1 status. When a division has only two or three teams with quality players at a position, it gets rated lower on these lists. Divisions with quality players spread across all four teams make the top positions in these rankings.
2) NFC West
The NFC West has four teams with quality wide receivers. The Los Angeles Rams can put forth Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, who should both thrive under new quarterback Matthew Stafford, a big upgrade from Jared Goff. Everything you might like about Woods and Kupp should be magnified this coming season in Los Angeles. The Arizona Cardinals have DeAndre Hopkins, who was excellent last season, and now they have added A.J. Green plus electric Purdue draft pick Rondale Moore. The San Francisco 49ers have Deebo Samuel, who, when healthy, is a significant playmaker within coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme. Brandon Aiyuk also comes off a strong rookie season with the 49ers. The Seattle Seahawks have big-play demon and home-run threat D.K. Metcalf, who owns world-class speed and a big body that is hard for opposing cornerbacks to deal with in one-on-one coverage. Tyler Lockett is a speedster who is difficult to cover on slant routes and quick-hitters. This division is also loaded at receiver.
3) AFC East
The elite talent of the Buffalo Bills keeps this division in the top three. Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley are all high-quality receivers who will enable Josh Allen to have another huge year in Buffalo. The Miami Dolphins are no slouches, either, with the combination of Will Fuller and DeVante Parker giving Tua Tagovailoa two prime targets. The New York Jets picked up Corey Davis from the Tennessee Titans in the offseason, giving new quarterback Zach Wilson a prime target. The reason why the AFC East isn’t higher on this list is that the New England Patriots need to figure out their receiver situation. It has been a team weakness in recent years.
As an aside, the Buffalo Bills are favored in the AFC East, according to the NFL divisional futures.
4) AFC West
The Kansas City Chiefs have Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman, who are both flourishing with Patrick Mahomes. That is the strong point of this division’s receivers. Keenan Allen is a dependable target for Justin Herbert with the Chargers, another quality receiver in this division. The AFC West isn’t rated as highly as other divisions because two teams aren’t getting the most out of their receivers. The Raiders have Henry Ruggs and Hunter Renfrow, who aren’t bad, but also aren’t transformative players. The Broncos’ combination of Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy has been hit by injuries and has also been limited by the lack of evolution by quarterback Drew Lock. Those are real constraints on the receivers in this division.
5) NFC East
The Dallas Cowboys have great wide receivers: Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper are all lethal pass-catching threats for Dak Prescott. The problem with this division is that there aren’t a lot of good receivers outside of Dallas. Kenny Golladay with the New York Giants and the duo of Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel of Washington are the main ones. The Philadelphia Eagles are in bad shape at receiver. The Giants need more help behind Golladay. It’s a relatively thin division at the position.
6) NFC South
The Super Bowl champion Buccaneers have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, so they are set. The Atlanta Falcons do have Calvin Ridley but lost Julio Jones in the offseason, so that is a mixed bag. The New Orleans Saints have Michael Thomas and the Panthers have Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore, but the teams in this division generally do not have great depth at the wide receiver spot. That is noticeable. The Bucs are the exception.
7) NFC North
The Packers’ lack of a second elite receiver has been a sore spot for Aaron Rodgers. Davante Adams is brilliant, but there’s no high-level second option behind him. Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings are quality receivers, but Kirk Cousins doesn’t enable them to thrive as much as they probably should. Allen Robinson is a terrific wide receiver for the Bears, but Chicago’s poor offense has limited his impact on the team. The Detroit Lions are a total mess at receiver, which drags this division down (as do the Bears’ limitations on offense).
8) AFC South
The Tennessee Titans have A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, which is great … but then the division drops off markedly in quality. Michael Pittman is a talented second-year player, but he needs to prove himself with the Indianapolis Colts. Veteran T.Y. Hilton struggled through much of 2020 and needs to bounce back for the Colts. The Houston Texans traded away DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller left as a free agent. Their receiver situation is in tatters. The Jacksonville Jaguars have D.J. Chark and not much else. Slim pickings exist in this division.
