While the run game has seen a resurgence in both volume and efficiency in recent seasons, the NFL remains, at its heart, a passing league in the modern era. Because it is a passing league, the value of both quarterbacks and pass catchers keeps increasing. We've seen it in recent years, with an explosion in wide receiver salaries, with superstars topping $40 million in average annual value.
A superstar wideout can tilt the field in the offense's favor through both his production and the attention he draws, and that has never been more valuable. But what's more valuable than one star wideout? Well, two star wideouts, obviously.
With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports decided to take a look at the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. There are plenty of dual-star duos, as well as some buoyed by one mega-star who teams with another quality player to form an elite pairing. Right now, we think there is a clear-cut top two, another tier of three and then another tier of three after that.
That gives us a clear-cut top eight, with the rest of the league filling in behind. In the space below, we're going to rank those top eight duos. But before we do, we also wanted to include some honorable mentions.
Honorable(-ish) Mentions: Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall (49ers), Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III (Bears), DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir (Bills), Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin (Buccaneers), Alec Pierce and Josh Downs (Colts), DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon (Eagles), Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers (Jaguars), Christian Watson and Jayden Reed (Packers), Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson (Saints), DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. (Steelers) This Seahawks pairing would be higher on the list if we had confidence in which of Shaheed or Cooper Kupp would actually be the No. 2 wide receiver, and that they would be able to consolidate that role while the other would slide further into the background. As it stands, it's more of a target vacuum in JSN, with a couple of guys competing for second-string targets among a host of tight ends and running backs. JSN is coming off one of the better receiver seasons in recent memory, though, so he alone is enough to power the Seahawks into the top 10 of these rankings.
And I could easily see them ranking much higher next year, if Shaheed consolidates the role behind him. We've got another new duo on tap here, with both players new to New England this offseason. AJB is one of the small handful of best receivers in football when he is right, but he's also coming off a relatively down season (he averaged his fewest yards per game since 2021) and turned 29 years old June 30, so we don't know if he'll be able to be at his best.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
