Fabulous Five: Top Wide Receivers

The Fabulous Five series aims to set the record on who the best are at every position as we look ahead to the 2023 NFL season. This past season (2022) plays a big part in determining these rankings, but a player’s entire body of work is fair consideration. Consistency and availability will count as much as a high total of stats just from one season.

Let’s get to a fun edition of the Fabulous Five series: the playmaking wide receivers. These are the moments everyone tunes in to a football game for: the highlight reel catches, the toe drag swag down the sidelines, and grown men making other grown men feel inferior because they just got Mossed. If you missed any previous edition of the Fabulous Five series, you can get caught up here:

Wide receiver is one of the flashiest positions in the NFL, as mentioned above. With so much great talent to pull from, this list was one of the harder ones to come up with. You can ask five different people who the best receiver in the league is and you would get five different answers. Heck, I might even change my answer by the time this series wraps up. That’s how talented these guys are. So let’s kick this countdown off with some very honorable mentions who just missed out on the top five spots….

Honorable Mentions

The man pictured up above, Mike Evans, has been as steady as they come for years. He weathered most of his career with average or below quarterbacking, still racking up 1,000-yard seasons. Enter Tom Brady. Evans was able to go the distance to eternal glory, winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Even in 2022, a down year for the Bucs, Evans was still able to break that thousand yard mark. Evans will look to continue his impressive streak of thousand yard season now on the other end of the Brady Era in Tampa Bay.

Ja’Marr Chase has looked every bit worthy of his early draft selection in 2021 which reunited him with Joe Burrow. The knock on Chase is more so that there’s just other guys that have been doing it longer. If you told me you thought Chase was a top 5 receiver, I couldn’t even disagree with you.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to flip a first round pick straight up for AJ Brown was one of the better moves last offseason. After watching Brown dominate my Colts twice a year for several years, I was ecstatic to see him not only get moved out of the AFC South, but out of the AFC all together. I was also happy to see Jalen Hurts get another weapon, which I thought would help push his breakout season. What I predicted came to pass, and Brown’s playmaking ability and well rounded skillset was a big reason why.

#1 - Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

*Image credit to John Autey/Pioneer Press*

Justin Jefferson has had three dominant years to start his NFL career. The Vikings laughed all the way to the bank when they selected Jefferson a pick after the Eagles passed on him for Jalen Reagor, making good on the draft pick acquired from Buffalo for trading them Stefon Diggs in a rare win-win trade. Jefferson has already become the face of the franchise for Minnesota, an honor typically awarded to quarterbacks or elite defensive players. The 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year will continue to Griddy around even the best secondary around the league. There’s just something about elite receivers playing for the Vikings, I guess.

#2 - Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

*Image credit to Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News*

Speaking of Stefon Diggs, he comes in at number two. Where would Josh Allen be without this superstar addition? Not at the level he’s currently viewed at, in my opinion. Diggs was a major part of Buffalo’s jump from wild card contender to perennial division favorite. He, like all the elite receivers, are the total package. But watching his release and route running are akin to going to a high class art gallery. He remains the best playmaker on the Bills, and in my eyes, the best receiver of the last decade. But is he alone at the top in his own division? A newcomer may be sitting up there with him…

#3 - Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

*Image credit to Robb Carr/Getty Images*

The Miami Dolphins felt they were on the brink of being competitive not only in the AFC East, but the AFC in general. That’s why they made the blockbuster trade to pry Tyreek Hill away from Kansas City. They paired one of the fastest receivers in the league with the other fastest receiver in Jaylen Waddle. But Hill has been a tad underrated still. Maybe most of the credit went to to Mahomes? Or Andy Reid’s scheme? Possibly another reason, but Hill hadn’t been included in these types of lists prior to a year or two ago. He’s been a stud receiver longer than that. Perhaps the ultimate playmaker in the league, the Cheetah has helped Tua Tagovailoa take a huge leap in his game and has Miami poised as a major threat to Buffalo in the division, and others in the conference.

#4 - Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

Davante Adams had another great season, this time in the silver and black for the Raiders. His production didn’t take a hit, but the Raiders didn’t get to the playoffs like they were hoping after acquiring Adams from Green Bay. At the very least, Adams and college teammate Derek Carr got to play together in the NFL for a season before Vegas moved on from Carr. Nevertheless, Adams’ production warranted the cost to get him. He’s still a threat to make an impact every play. He’ll be a great target for Jimmy Garoppolo, or whoever is playing quarterback for the Raiders in 2023.

#5 Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

*Image credit to Gary A. Vasquez/USAToday Sports*

Cooper Kupp had the year of all years for a wide receiver in 2021 by posting the rare accolade of the Triple Crown, leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Kupp was a great talent prior to that illustrious season, but this was a true breakout. No surprise that it coincided with Matthew Stafford’s arrival to LA. Kupp was also my pick for MVP in 2021, part of my endless crusade to get that award to anyone that’s not a quarterback. But it all ended up worth it in the end for the Rams, winning it all in the Super Bowl. Their title defense season was an unmitigated disaster, however. An injury to Cooper Kupp was a major part of that collapse, but he still looked every bit the part of the all-world player he is in the time he did play. I won’t knock Kupp out of the top 5 for a freak injury, but with guys like Ja’Marr Chase ascending, this is the most vulnerable spot in these rankings.