Top 9 NFL Wide Receivers Heading Into 2023 Season
Rankings 6/15/23
There are a lot of talented wide receivers in the NFL, but who’s the most talented? Well, I will give you my top nine wide receivers going into the 2023 season. You can debate my list. You can question it. You can have a different order even.
It doesn’t matter, though. Here are mine.
Other 2023 Rankings: Top 10 Backup QBs | Top 7 Rushing Backfields | Top 5 Receiver Groups | 5 Best Offseason Moves | Top 14 Players over 30 | 6 Most Intimidating Players |
Top 9 WRs for 2023
9. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
To start, I have a young pup. You may not like it, but I love it. Garrett Wilson had a tremendous rookie season. Obviously, we know he won the offensive Rookie of the Year with the quarterback play of, let’s see, pretty much no one. Then, you allow him the opportunity to have Aaron Rodgers, someone who we know has done a tremendous amount of work in this league of establishing a No. 1 guy and allowing him to ride as an elite receiver.
I expect nothing but greatness from Wilson in Year 2. He can run inside and outside routes. He grew up playing seven-on-seven and flag football, one of the things you’re starting to see a lot of young receivers have on their resume coming into the NFL.
8. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
CeeDee Lamb put up an impressive 2022 season. Once Amari Cooper and the Dallas Cowboys parted ways, there were questions regarding whether Lamb was a No. 1 receiver. We knew he had the potential, but when you haven’t been in that role, it’s different.
Well, he stepped into that role, and he’s been thriving. If it weren’t for Dak Prescott injuring his hand, Lamb’s numbers last year would probably have been even more impressive than just 1,300 yards, more than 100 receptions and nine touchdowns. Yes, he primarily gets his work done from the slot. But can we find a smoother, more effortless route runner in the league? I’m not sure we can. I love what Lamb has done early in his career, and he’s going to take it to another level this season.
7. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
A.J. Brown is everything you need in a receiver. He’s physical and big. He’s not huge, but he’s solid. Brown is like a running back once he gets the ball in his hands. He was second among all wide receivers in yards after contact, and that’s huge. That’s why the Philadelphia Eagles were successful. You get the ball in his hands, and anything can happen.
Brown has made those plays since he entered the NFL with the Tennessee Titans with quarterbacks we didn’t even believe in. Last season, we saw him take another step forward with Jalen Hurts. In his second year with the Eagles, alongside DeVonta Smith and with Hurts as his quarterback, Brown’s going to be special in 2023.
6. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Cooper Kupp probably could be higher on this list, but I’m not going to forget about him and not put him on here at all. The last time we saw a Triple Crown winner outside of Kupp was way back in 2005. He did something special, let’s not forget. Yes, he only played nine games in 2023, but prior to that, he was on track to probably match or come close to matching the production he had in 2021.
Kupp is who I like to classify as the Travis Kelce of wide receivers. Meaning he’s the guy who makes everything easier for everyone else. Yes, a lot of receivers do this, but Kupp has the ability to change what the Los Angeles Rams look like as an offense. We saw Matthew Stafford have career numbers in 2021.
Kupp is smart and has more size than defenders realize. He catches everything. He gets open. I love everything about him, and if Kupp is healthy in 2023, watch his numbers climb. He’ll probably end up in the top five or top three wide receivers in the league again.
5. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
We can say a tremendous amount about what Stefon Diggs has done in terms of progressing his skill set and the advancement of Josh Allen, but let’s talk about Diggs as a wide receiver. Diggs is a player who demands the ball, literally and figuratively. He demands the ball, and he demands attention from every single defensive coordinator. You can double him, you can do whatever you want to try to do, but he’s going to get open and make plays for his quarterback.
He’s been doing it at a high level since he left the Minnesota Vikings and went to the Buffalo Bills, where he stepped it up a notch. We all knew he was a No. 1 guy.
Now, can he take the Bills to the next level? He hasn’t gotten it done as far as championships yet, but he’s definitely enhanced what that product looks like for Allen and the Bills. Diggs is one of the best in the game. No doubt about it. He’s been there, and he’s staying there. In 2023, I expect nothing less.
4. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
This is where my heart kind of hurts a little bit because it gets crowded at the top. So why do I have Davante Adams at No. 4? Because the other three guys are just unreal. We know how special Adams is. He’s been the gold standard at the wide receiver position for at least the last five years.
He went to the Las Vegas Raiders and, in Year 1 with Derek Carr at quarterback, put up more than 1,500 yards and had 14 touchdowns. I know it’s not about the stats, but when you leave Rodgers, the expectation is “Oh, Rodgers made him who he was.” No, Rodgers did not.
Adams is a bonafide elite All-Pro receiver who can do it with anybody under center, and he proved that to us all last season. Adams is arguably one of the best route runners in the game. He’s a craftsman at his best. So Adams is at the No. 4 spot. (He’s No. 1 in my heart, though.)
3. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill is probably the most feared wide receiver in football. We all doubted whether he could go to the Miami Dolphins with a young quarterback like Tua Tagovailoa and be as productive as he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only did Hill do that, he was more productive than he was with the Chiefs. No one saw that coming.
He’s a guy with elite speed who has developed even more as a route runner — not just a straight-line guy. He’s not a wide receiver where the quarterback just chucks the ball up and says, “Go get it, Cheetah.” He can run routes and create separation. He’s taken his game to another level. Hill is a special player with a unique skill set.
2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Ja’Marr Chase only played 12 games last year, but he was productive when he was in the lineup. We know what he brings to the table. He’s one of the more physical receivers in our game, yet is fluid with his route-running ability. He can get off jams to high point the ball in the red zone, making him a tremendous threat for any defensive coordinator.
There’s no position you can’t put him in and nothing he can’t do. What makes him unique is his size and his speed. And his agility at that size and speed. He was a Day 1 guy from the moment he stepped foot on an NFL field with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Who’s No. 1? Well, the writing is on the wall. You know it. I know it. He wears purple. He’s Justin Jefferson. Look, everything I just said about every receiver I can say about Jefferson. His ability to be shifty and elusive, his change of pace and his ability to get off the line of scrimmage are all great. His playmaking ability once the ball is in the air is second to none.
All the things we said about Jefferson coming into the NFL, he has done even more. You talk about having a standard or expectations, he’s blown the expectations out of the water and exceeded all of them.
Not only for the Minnesota Vikings but for everyone who watches football and understands the type of talent he is. He just understands how to get open as a wide receiver, and making plays comes at a premium when he’s on the football field.
Yes, there are many guys who aren’t on this list who probably could have been. But these are my top nine wide receivers entering into the 2023 football season, and I’m excited to see all of them play.
Greg Jennings is a former NFL wide receiver who played for the Packers, Vikings and Dolphins. A two-time Pro Bowl player, Jennings was a member of the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship team and is inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame. Follow him on Twitter @GregJennings.
Share:
