NFL End of Season Wide Receiver Rankings

With the 2020 NFL regular season and postseason fully in the rearview mirror, now is a great time to complete the tall task of ranking the top 10 players at every single position. We continue with wide receivers.

*These rankings are based on the 2020 season ONLY -- including postseason

Honorable Mention: Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks

After spending 2018 and 2019 quietly becoming one of the league’s top pass catchers, Lockett hit 100 catches for the first time in his career in 2020. He turned those grabs into 1,054 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping supplant Seattle as the eighth-ranked scoring offense. Lockett’s best performance came in a spectacular Sunday Night showdown against the Cardinals, in which he recorded 15 catches (T-2nd most in 2020) for 200 yards (T-2nd) and 3 TDs (T-1st).

10. AJ Brown, Tennessee Titans

Although his college teammate up in Seattle gets more recognition, Brown is arguably just as good as his counterpart in DK Metcalf. One of the league’s YAC (yards after catch) monsters, Brown averaged 15.4 yards per catch on his 70 receptions this year, bringing his career mark to 17.4. Brown broke the 1,000-yard threshold for the second time in as many seasons, this time notching a career-high with 1,074. He and QB Ryan Tannehill have quickly emerged as one of the league’s best passing connections.

9. Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team

McLaurin had, arguably, the worst QB situation on this list, playing with four different average-to-below-average starting QBs. That didn’t stop the sophomore stud from breaking out, going for 1,100 yards on 87 catches. His yards per reception dropped plenty from his rookie season, but when you add nearly 30 more receptions and fully blossom into a number one option, that’s to be expected.

8. Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons

With Julio Jones dealing with injuries all year, it was Calvin Ridley who took on the#1 receiver spot for the Falcons. The 2018 first-round pick thrived as the main man, totaling 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine scores. Ridley went on some incredible streaks during the season, going over 100 yards in four of the first five weeks, and hitting the century mark in four straight games from Weeks 12 to 15.

7. Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears

Even with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles acting as a revolving door of mediocrity at the QB position, Robinson continues to produce at an elite level. His 1,250 receiving yards were his best total season yardage numbers in the last five years. 346 of those yards came over the last four games of the season, as Chicago made a desperate playoff push, before falling in the wildcard round to New Orleans. Now scheduled to enter free agency, many expect the eighth-year man to find a team with some reliable quarterback play, should Chicago decide not to retain him.

6. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks

Metcalf’s blazing start was soon put out just like the Seahawks offense, but his amazing sophomore campaign mustn’t go unnoticed. It took six weeks for Metcalf to have his first outing below 90 yards, and after that 23-yard dud, he came back with 269 more yards over the next two games. His second half of the season wasn’t nearly as eventful, but his absolute mistreatment of Darius Slay in Week 12 was enough to make up for any disappointing games. Metcalf went for 96 yards and two scores in Seattle’s 20-30 wildcard loss to the Rams.

5. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

There were six wide receivers selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Somehow Jefferson, who was third in the nation in receiving yards in 2019, was the fifth one selected. To show you how dominant the Vikings rookie was, here’s how his numbers stack up to the others in his class:

88 receptions (1st, 14 receptions ahead of second-place Cee Dee Lamb)

1,400 receiving yards (1st, 465 yards ahead of second-place Cee Dee Lamb)

7 receiving touchdowns (T-2nd with Gabriel Davis, two TDs behind Chase Claypool)

His 1,400 yards not only placed him first among rookies but fourth in the entire NFL.

4. DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals

As if we didn’t know already, Hopkins proved this year that the Cardinals emerged victorious in one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history. He finished second in catches and was third in yards, going over 1,400 for the third time in his eight-year career  (finished just 22 yards short of the mark in 2017). Hopkins also paced the league in games over 130+ receiving yards with 5, recording a season-high 169 yards in a 33-26 win over the Eagles.

3. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

After a down, yet successful season in 2019, Hill returned to form in 2020, exploding for 87 catches and 1,276 receiving yards. He also finished second in the league with 15 receiving touchdowns, recording a score in 11 of the 15 games he played in. His postseason was what pushed him above Hopkins; he went for 355 yards in just three games, pushing the Chiefs to the Super Bowl after a 172-yard masterpiece in the AFC Title Game. Hill notably embarrassed the Bucs defense in a Week 12 matchup where he hauled in 13 balls for 269 yards and three of his 15 scores. In that game, he broke 200 yards… in the first quarter. They got their revenge, though. 

2. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

It says a lot about the player in the number one spot that the NFL’s leader in both receptions and receiving yards doesn’t take the top spot on the list. Credit should not be taken away from Diggs, though. Several, including me, wrote off the former Vikings star after he forced a trade to Buffalo in the offseason. He silenced us throughout the entire season, recording a ridiculous 127/1,535/8 stat line. Despite having no run game to speak of, Diggs and QB Josh Allen steered the Bills to the AFC Championship behind the NFL’s second-ranked scoring offense.

1. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

After missing 2.5 games due to a leg injury early in the season, Davante Adams made it his mission to torch every unfortunate CB forced to line up across from him. Adams racked up 115 grabs and 1,374 yards in just 14 games, while also leading the league in receiving touchdowns with 18, tying a franchise record with Packers great Sterling Sharpe. Three times he went over 150 yards receiving, and on five occasions he scored multiple touchdowns, including two games where he reached the promised land three times. Adams was, by far, the most important part of Aaron Rodgers third MVP season. Unfortunately for Green Bay, they fell just short of the Super Bowl, losing to the eventual champion Buccaneers at Lambeau Field, 26-31.

*All statistics are taken from Pro Football Reference

Writer

-By: Micah Jimoh