Building The Perfect Wide Receiver In The NFL Today (2024)

But science and data also help, so allow us to remind you that he had the third, seventh, ninth, and 14th fastest ball-carrier plays during the 2023 NFL season, per Next Gen Stats. This included a speed of 22.01 for his 64-yard reception in a game against the New York Giants.

In 2023, Hill tied Cleveland Browns wideout Amari Cooper for receptions of 50-plus yards with five apiece. Nobody matched Hill’s total of nine receptions of 40-plus yards nor his league-leading 14 receptions of 30-plus yards.

And yes, he was also the league leader in 50-plus yard receptions in 2022 with four and tied with Davante Adams for 40-plus yard receptions at seven apiece.

Hill has averaged 14.1 yards per catch over his first eight NFL seasons — and over 15 yards per catch in three seasons. Incredibly, Hill has also had at least one catch of 75-plus yards in five of his eight NFL seasons.

Many wondered how Hill would perform without Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball. Hill responded by putting together the two best statistical seasons of his career, and the reason why is obvious:

Speed. It kills.

Even though he’s almost a decade into his career now, there’s no active pass-catcher whose speed we’d take over Hill’s. His set of wheels is the starting base for building the perfect NFL wide receiver.

Hands: Justin Jefferson

The best wide receiver in football doesn’t have a weakness in his game, but JJ’s hands especially stand out among just about every other NFL WR.

Jefferson’s 15 drops over his first four NFL seasons may seem like a lot to some of you, but not when you consider the whopping amount of targets he’s gotten.

Jefferson has been targeted 576 times in 60 career games. Only 15 drops? Please, we’ll take that number any day. Consider this: Only two drops on 125 targets in his 2020 rookie season. Only one drop on 100 targets in 2023, where he missed seven games.

But sometimes, the stat line doesn’t do justice. The eye test is all you really need to know to understand why we want his hands over any other wide receiver.

Remember that one-handed Odell Beckham Jr.-like catch on a 4th-and-18 play against the Buffalo Bills in 2022? That play had a 28.8 completion probability, according to the good folks at Next Gen Stats.

Or how about that 3rd-and-27 catch against the Detroit Lions in double-coverage with the game on the line? You can’t teach that in school, kids…

Jefferson is the modern-day Randy Moss or Calvin Johnson. Just throw it up — even in double or triple coverage — and he’ll make a play on it.

It’s no wonder the Minnesota Vikings gave JJ that $140 million extension that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback player in league history. Jefferson doesn’t have a flaw in his game, but if you’re only picking one of his traits to build the perfect NFL WR, it’s unquestionably the hands.

Route Running: Davante Adams

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, the Las Vegas Raiders’ superstar isn’t to be mistaken for guys like Megatron, Randy Moss, or active receivers like Mike Evans. That is, Adams doesn’t necessarily have the big-bodied build or physicality to win his 1-on-1 matchups. Not that he needs it.

Adams also isn’t going to be compared to the likes of Tyreek Hill, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, DK Metcalf, or Ja’Marr Chase in terms of pure speed. Again, it’s not that Adams needs that speed.

The future Hall of Famer’s most dangerous trait is his route-running tree. Essentially, it’s a combination of his brain and slick footwork that make Adams practically impossible to contain in man coverage.

Adams immediately gains separation by quickly faking out his opponents with his hip movement and footwork. They go one way, and he goes the other. News flash: The opposing defender often goes the wrong way against this guy.

Adams’ jukes at the line of scrimmage allow him to burn opposing defenders with straight-line routes constantly. It’s as simple as that. Win at the line, and he’s going to be wide open down the field. We saw it a million times with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay…and it hasn’t stopped since his arrival in Sin City.

But it’s also the way he draws and fakes out defenders in the middle of the field. Look at how he fools two Denver Bronco defenders in this Week 11, 2022 game to get wide open for a walk-off touchdown in overtime. And notice how he burns Broncos All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain II on this play.

Or also watch how he crushed San Francisco 49ers corner Richard Sherman in the 2019 NFC title game with a slick move at the line.

These are just a couple of plays in Adams’ insane set of highlight reel plays. He isn’t the biggest nor the fastest receiver, but Adams’ route-running skills are unmatched by the rest of the NFL.

Crossers. Slants. Verticals. Corners. Posts. You name it, Adams has aced just about every route in the book, which is better than anyone else.

Blocking: Brandon Aiyuk

Pittsburgh Steelers icon Hines Ward was the golden standard of blocking for WRs during his playing career in the NFL.

Wideouts aren’t tasked with blocking as much as tight ends, but it still makes a huge difference if a receiver can ace the art. And fortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk has done just that.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan runs a zone-blocking scheme that requires buy-in from his 11 guys on the field. As if All-Pro offensive tackle Trent Williams and tight end George Kittle weren’t menacing enough blockers.

Aiyuk also isn’t the biggest wideout at 6 feet in height and 200 pounds. But his strength, willpower, determination, and brains in Shanahan’s offense have made him the golden standard for pass-blocking receivers today.

And on top of blocking, he put up 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023. Not bad!

Toe-Tap: Tyler Lockett

Lockett isn’t even the best receiver on his own team. That notion belongs to DK Metcalf.

And yet, no NFL WR has mastered toe-tap catches better than Tyler Lockett. There’s a reason they call him “Tyler Toe Tap, folks.

You do a quick “Tyler Lockett Toe-Tap” search on Google, and you’ll find a mountain of jaw-dropping toe-tap grabs from the four-time 1,000-yard receiver. Of course, none finer than the TD snag from Russell Wilson in a 2019 Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Rams…

At the time, that was the second-most improbable TD grab in the Next Gen Stats era…with a catch probability of 5.3.

And how about that slick tip-toe touchdown in a 2022 home game against the Carolina Panthers when he was wide open in the back but still had to perform some acrobatic moves to haul it in? Or that insane tip-toe sideline grab against the Houston Texans in 2021?

There isn’t official data or stats on NFL toe-tap catch leaders. But Lockett’s been doing this for more than a decade, and his library of toe-tap receptions speaks for itself.

Give us Tyler Toe-Tap over any other receiver regarding this category.

Playing The Slot: CeeDee Lamb

Wherever CeeDee Lamb lines up, the Dallas Cowboys superstar always wins. But he’s proven to be even more dominant and explosive in the slot, so Mike McCarthy has no reason to move away from that.

When lined up in the slot, Lamb finished with Pro Football Focus grades of 84.8 in 2021 and 87.0 in 2022. Per PFF, the Oklahoma product was also the NFL’s leading slot receiver in 2022, with 972 yards.

Lamb’s 135 receptions led the NFL in 2023, with his 1,749 yards and 12 TDs also marking career-bests. The majority of that production, surprise, surprise, came when he was lined up in the slot.

For Lamb, it’s a combination of his footwork and quick speed route-running that makes it practically impossible for him to cover in the slot. No wonder Dak Prescott’s stats have reached another level since Lamb’s arrival in 2020.

Beat The Press: A.J. Brown

Press coverage is where the defensive player lines up very close to the receiver at the line of scrimmage — within about a yard or two.

Since coming over to the Philadelphia Eagles via trade in 2022, AJ Brown has asserted himself as the NFL’s best at beating press coverage. The advanced data doesn’t lie, either.

According to Next Gen Stats, Brown led the NFL in yards per route run in press coverage during the 2022 season at 4.5. That marked the best in the Next Gen Stats era, topping the 4.4 that Adams and Jefferson both averaged in 2020.

Per Next Gen Stats, Brown racked up an NFL-leading +572 receiving yards over expected against press coverage over his first four NFL seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brown caught 84 passes for 1,211 yards and seven TDS in press coverage during the 2023 season. So think about this: 84 of Brown’s 106 catches and all but 245 of his 1,456 receiving yards were in press coverage last season. Need we say any more?

For Brown, it helps playing in a loaded Philadelphia offense that features one of the game’s top WR2s in DeVonta Smith. But credit to Nick Sirianni and the Eagles for turning Brown from “star” in Tennessee to “Superstar” here.

They fully maximized his skill set and have made him a top-10 wideout in the game. Four 1,000-yard seasons in five years to begin your career will do that to ya.

RAC Ability: Ja’Marr Chase

If Justin Jefferson is the best WR in the NFL, Ja’Marr Chase isn’t far behind as the second or third-best. Take your pick.

Chase is essentially a complete package. He’s not big at 6 feet tall and 201 pounds, but he plays bigger than his actual size. His speed, route-running abilities, hands, and contested catch skills make Chase practically unstoppable in single coverage.

Chase is deadly in open space because of his run-after-catch ability, also known as yards after catch. RAC or YAC, you can’t stop the Ja’Marr attack.

In his 2021 rookie year, the former LSU star had the third-most yards after the catch with 651 — behind only Deebo Samuel and Cooper Kupp. But keep in mind Samuel benefits from the 49ers’ screen-heavy offense, and Kupp had 63 more targets than Chase that year.

And in 2023, 541 of Chase’s 1,216 yards came right after the catch — close to half his season total. Think about that.

Perhaps no quarterback has an easier job with his WR1 than Joe Burrow. All the Cincinnati Bengals QB must do is get the ball in Chase’s hands, and he’ll take care of the rest.

Can’t spell RAC slash YAC without “Ja’Marr Chase”…

The Least Diva: Cooper Kupp

Let’s be very honest, too many NFL WRs over the years have been me-first players who through temper tantrums if they don’t get their way.

Terrell Owens. Antonio Brown. Odell Beckham Jr. Dez Bryant, Chad Ochocinco…Stefon Diggs. Those are just a few guys who come to mind.

But if you want the ultimate team player at wide receiver who doesn’t throw any tantrums and focuses solely on football and winning, it’s Los Angeles Rams star and Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp.

Kupp won the triple crown of receiving in 2021 en route to a Super Bowl victory and big game MVP honors. And he did it all with gracefulness and class – as a feel-good underdog story.

He went to a smaller college program at Eastern Washington and was a third-round pick of the Rams in 2017. Kupp’s now-wife, Anna, worked full-time in the early stages of their relationship so he could pursue his NFL dream, and look how that turned out!

Also, did you see Kupp freak out or show any jealousy when rookie stalwart Puka Nacua replaced him as the Rams’ leading receiver in 2023? Did Kupp get angry when everything went sideways for LA in their championship-defending 2022 season?

Nope. If you want a superstar wideout who’s all business and no drama, Kupp is the model example for ya.