Top Five Wide Receivers Today
It’s a hotly contested topic, but Sean Fevrier takes a crack at naming the top five wide receivers in football today.
An intelligent quarterback under centre is a must-have for any championship caliber team.
A dependable left tackle protecting that quarterback’s blind side is almost a necessity. We also know that defence wins championships.
That said, quarterbacks usually can’t throw touchdowns to themselves. Let’s show some love for our guys out wide (or in the slot, we don’t discriminate).These are the top five wide receivers entering the upcoming 2017 NFL season.
To start things off, we’re going to mention some of the “outstanding but didn’t quite make it” talent on this list.
Jarvis Landry — Miami Dolphins
“The Juice” is running loose in Miami and people are definitely starting to notice the LSU standout coming out of the shadow of his one-handed catching counterpart that we will be discussing later in this issue. He has the most catches in a receiver’s first two seasons in NFL history and is coming off his second consecutive 1000-yard season. He’s talented and will have quarterback Ryan Tannehill healthy and ready to throw some bullets. Watch out for the man known as Juice.
DeAndre Hopkins — Houston Texans
He had a down year this season, but never count out DeAndre Hopkins out of Clemson University. He played without a legitimate quarterback in Brock Osweiler. Hopefully the Texans will find an upgrade at the position to launch this bevy of talented receivers (Cecil Shorts and Will Fuller along with this guy is a blessing from the big man upstairs). He didn’t pass 1000 yards this season, but don’t sleep on his 111 reception, 1,521 receiving yard, 11 touchdown season from 2015.
Julian Edelman — New England Patriots
Don’t look at me like that. I know; Edelman doesn’t exactly scream “stud receiver”. As of right now, newcomer Brandin Cooks has more than likely surpassed him as the Patriots’ number one. But, no one; and I mean no one, catches in traffic like Edelman. He had a season high in receiving yards (1,106 yards) on the way to his second Super Bowl victory.
Now that we have discussed these fine gentlemen, let’s talk about the top five.
5. Dez Bryant — Dallas Cowboys
Throw up the X to start things off, because Dallas Cowboys’ ace receiver Dez Bryant comes in at number five. Bryant’s 38 inch vertical in the end zone provided him with three different seasons with double digit touchdown numbers. There was even a time when he may have rivalled the now-retired Calvin Johnson.
Bryant is the definition of a deep zone threat — his reception numbers are never astronomical like other receivers. Get him past about 20 yards and allow Dak Prescott (hopefully Tony Romo doesn’t read this) to let it rip. It helps that the Cowboys have other threats such as Cole Beasley and always dependable tight end Jason Witten. Bryant has posted three 1000-yard seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl three times (2013, 2014, 2016).
The downside to Bryant’s game is his health issues. Out of his seven seasons in the NFL, Bryant has only suited up for the full season three times. He’s an athletic freak, but his body has taken the toll.
Bryant once said he was better than the man called Megatron. The Cowboys have a legitimate team now. It’s put up or shut up time.
4. Odell Beckham Jr. — New York Giants
The one-handed catch Odell Beckham Jr made against the Dallas Cowboys should be warrant enough for him to be on this list.
Beckham has been in the league for three seasons and has been in the Pro Bowl each year. He is the fastest player in league history at most receiving milestones; most notably hitting 250 receptions He cruised his way to the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 and quickly replaced the salsa-dancing Victor Cruz has Eli Manning’s new mancrush. His huge hands and trackstar speed have put opposing defenses in fits.
We all know about Beckham’s highly-publicized anger tantrums. Whether it be against Xavier Rhodes, Josh Norman, or a kicking net, Odell has some real work to do. His dynamic talent is killing his reputation in the eyes of many experts and analysts and already has him being compared to the likes of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens — and not in the way you want to be.
Odell is an other-worldly talent, and with Brandon Marshall coming in to take some of the load off, the opportunity is there. It’s time to take it.
3. A.J. Green — Cincinnati Bengals
We all know what A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals did to former all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis in Week one of the 2016 regular season. It spelled the beginning of the end for Revis’ shot at being the best cornerback in the league.
That’s right; Green basically ruined Darrelle Revis’ career.
Green is the tallest receiver on this list, coming in at 6 foot 4 inches. He has played for the Bengals since being drafted out of Georgia University in 2011 with the fourth overall pick. Green had caught more passes in his first three seasons with 260 receptions than any receiver in history until number four on this list (OBJ) broke that record last year.
What makes Green stand out from other receivers is his ability to make big plays. He’s a big yardage receiver with excellent hands and superb body control — excelling with what I call “toe drag swag” near boundary lines to make those tough catches. The fact that he also shoulders a lot of the Bengals’ passing game helps boost his ranking.
What hinders him from making it into the top two is his inability to stay healthy. I say this with an asterisk — Green has played the entirety of three of his six seasons — but reached a low 10 games this past season, failing to hit the 1000-yard threshold for the first time in his career. I would mention his lack of playoff success, but that is more of a team issue than an individual thing.
Surround Green with a playoff-positive team and we could see a man that could give the next two receivers a legitimate run for their money.
2. Antonio Brown — Pittsburgh Steelers
Hold on, let me explain.
Statistically speaking, Antonio Brown is the best. Yes, he’s been in the league the longest of the players on this list, but his accolades support him. Brow is what we call a volume receiver. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a plethora of pass catches during the career of quarterback “Big” Ben Roethlisberger — Santonio Holmes, Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace, Hines Ward just to name a few. And now, they also have the likes of Martavis Bryant and Sammie Coates.
With all due respect to the aforementioned names, I’m still taking Antonio “Call God” Brown.
He’s a five-time Pro Bowl (2011, 2013–2016) and led the league in 2014 with 129 receptions and 1,698 receiving yards. The next year, he led the league in 136 receptions and had a career high in 1,834 receiving yards.
His route-running is impeccable and, just like Green, his body-control when making tough catches are almost second to none. The only negatives on Brown’s is his extracurricular activities after touchdowns. Big Ben talks about it, head coach Mike Tomlin talks about it. That’s about two people too many.
AB84 is there. Most would say he needs to put the helmet on and just ball. The Super Bowls will come, and they better; he’s the highest paid receiver for a reason.
1. Julio Jones — Atlanta Falcons
Lynn Swann. Randy Moss. Calvin Johnson.
Once in awhile in NFL history, a receiving freak of nature shows up and wows the league to the point that we refer to them solely by one name. Swann, Megatron, and Randy are clear examples. Well, now we have Julio. And if you watched the Super Bowl, you didn’t see Jones, number 11 of the Atlanta Falcons.
You saw Julio. And Julio balled out.
He’s a product of the Alabama/Nick Saban system, which credits his insane abilities even further. His accolades include leading the league in 2015 with 136 receptions and 1,871 receiving yards. That’s the second most receiving yards in history (behind Megatron’s monster 2012 season) and tied for second most receptions with Antonio Brown (behind Marvin Harrison’s 143 receptions).
His hands are tremendous, and his physical prowess allows him to make catches in traffic. Not to mention his abilities after the catch (exemplified by his 300-yard game in week four against the Carolina Panthers). His body control is superb and route-running is excellent for someone of his size, at 6’3, 220 pounds.
He was a blowup away from being a Super Bowl champion, but something tells me the big game hasn’t seen the last of the man known simply as Julio.
Sean Fevrier is a sports writer for theocho.ca, perennial 5th place in most fantasy football leagues and Tom Brady worshiper. You can always find him running five minutes late for class. Follow the mayhem that is Sean on Twitter at @seanfevrier.
