2024 Pre-Season Rank #18, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #35, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #73.  Peak 2020-24

How can so much production seem so quiet?  

Last year, Mike Evans broke 12,500 Yards and 100 Touchdowns, and in the first 11 seasons of his career, he has never failed to break the four-digit mark in Receiving Yards.  The only person to do that is Jerry Rice.

So, why is his career so unassuming?   In four of those seasons, Evans did not reach 1,100 Yards, and in two of them, he was less than 1,010.   Although Evans made the top ten in Touchdown Receptions six times, he has only reached the top ten in Receiving Yards twice, and has never been a First Team All-Pro.  Regardless, he is now a six-time Pro Bowl selection, with five in the last seven years. 

He enters 2025 healthy, the active Touchdown Reception leader (105), and if he gains 1,000 Yards again, he will have broken Jerry Rice’s record for most consecutive 1,000-Yard seasons.  When you break a record held by Rice, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will notice.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #35, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #53.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Tyreek Hill was a three-time First Team All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, but they traded the talented Wide Receiver to Miami for a slew of draft picks.  Miami then made him the highest-paid WR in the league, and in his first two seasons, Hill was the game’s top receiver, achieving over 1,700 Yards in both campaigns, and leading the NFL in Receiving Yards (1,799) and Receiving Touchdowns (13) in 2023.    He was also the runner-up for the Offensive Player of the Year,

Last season was a different story for Hill, who, for the first time in his career, was not chosen for the Pro Bowl.  He had a lackluster year by his standards (959 Yards/6 TDs), and whispers of his decline were in the air.

Still, he enters 2025 with 11,098 career Yards and 82 TDs, and is capable of a bounce-back year, and Hill’s candidacy might need that as off-field issues follow him wherever he goes, and that does turn off some of the voters (right or wrong). 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #43, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #95.  Peak Period: 2018-22

Davante Adams was Aaron Rodgers' favorite weapon in Green Bay, and last year, Adams and Rodgers were reunited with the New York Jets.  In a combined season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams collected 1,063 Yards, which, while low for him, was his fifth straight 1,000-yard year and sixth overall.

Adams has already proved he doesn’t need Rodgers (his first year in Vegas saw him lead the NFL in Touchdown Receptions (14), and he did have three consecutive First Team All-Pros, which not many Wide Receivers can claim. 

Joining the Los Angeles Rams this year, Adams will be the second option behind Puca Nacua, but he can still compile significant yardage.  Going into 2025, Adams is 33rd all-time in Yards, and just 1,000 Yards (providing that Mike Evans does not accrue 181 Yards this year, will vault him ten spots.  He has also been a top-endzone threat, punching it through 103 times, placing him 23rd.  His Hall of Fame bar looks to be 14,000 Yards and 120 TDs, and if healthy, he should get there.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #20, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #44.  Peak Period: 2015-19

DeAndre Hopkins joins the Baltimore Ravens this year in his quest for his first Super Bowl.  He was as close as he ever was last year, having been traded to Kansas City during the season, but his overall output was 610 Yards, a far cry from the dynamo he was with Houston from 2017 to 2019, and was considered one of the best Wide receivers of the game. 

He is currently the active leader in Receiving Yards (12,965), but we have him ranked below Mike Evans (the most consistent WR of this era), Davante Adams (who has over 100 Touchdowns and is within 1,100 Yards of him), and Tyreek Hill (whose best years were better than Hopkins' best).

Hopkins still has a lot in the tank, and if used and healthy, he can pad those stats, and let’s be honest:  The Wide Receiver logjam is the tightest one in Canton.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #50, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #101, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #130.  Peak Period: 2020-24

Since he debuted in 2020, Justin Jefferson has accumulated more Receiving Yards (7,432) than any other Wide Receiver.  He is also the current all-time leader in Receiving Yards per Game (96.5).   He is also in his prime.

Except for 2023, when he only played 10 Games, Jefferson has been named to the Pro Bowl annually, was the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year, the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year, and is a two-time First Team All-Pro.  This man is a star!

Barring injury, Justin Jefferson has the tools to replicate his first half-decade from 2025 to 2029.   If he does, that bust is a lock.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #118.  Peak Period 2019-23

Stefon Diggs joined the 10,000 Yard Receiving Club in 2024 in his lone year in Houston, but a torn ACL held him to eight Games and less than 500 Yards.   Those four consecutive Pro Bowls in Buffalo also came with the benefit of having Josh Allen as the Quarterback.   He now joins the rebuilding New England Patriots, and if healthy, will be a top option.  Diggs will have to compile a lot of Yards to get a Hall of Fame look, and this season will tell if he still has the wheels to make a run. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #45, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #82.  Peak Period: 2017-21

After 11 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen signed with the Chicago Bears for a year before signing back with the Bolts this year.

In his first run in Los Angeles, he compiled over 10,000 Yards and six Pro Bowls, but it is safe to say he won’t do that in his return to SoFi.  Allen has to take on the role of compiler, and with the logjam at Wide Receiver, it will take a lot, especially for a player who has never been an All-Pro.   That being said, an honor from the Chargers seems likely for the popular Wide Receiver eventually.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #76, #2023 Pre-Season Rank #106, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #142, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #141.  Peak Period: 2020-24

The fanbase of the Tennessee Titans is still shaking its head at the trade of A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.

A Pro Bowl Selection in 2020, Brown was dealt to Philadelphia, and the Eagles made the correct bet, as in the three years he has been in the City of Brotherly Love, he has been named a Second Team All-Pro in all three.  The primary air weapon of Jalen Hurts, Brown had back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, and last year, he was a massive part of the Eagles' Super Bowl win.

A star on top contender, Brown might be in the shadow of other wideouts, but is on track for a Canton-worthy career.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #44, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #46, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #49.  Peak Period: 2016-20

In 2019, Thomas made history as the first Wide Receiver (the first being Jerry Rice) to win the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Not only was he the NFL's WR1, but his future looked so bright that it involved a gold jacket. Since then, Thomas has dealt with ankle and foot issues, missed all of 2021, and only played in 20 Games from 2020 to 2023. 

He enters this season no longer as a Saint and is a Free Agent looking for work.  The Hall seems so far away now, but the Saints Hall of Fame is a lock for him.  Sadly, this is another case of injuries derailing what would have been a phenomenal career.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #111, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #134, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #145. Peak Period: 2021-23*

Here is what we said last year:

“A Pro Bowl in all three of his NFL seasons, Ja’Marr Chase was the 2021 Consensus Offensive Rookie of the Year and is a possible league WR1 going into 2024.  Chase might have to carry a more significant load with the departure of Running Back Joe Mixon, but Chase can set personal bests this year.  Many predict it.”

Chase did that, winning the Wide Receiver’s Triple Crown with 127 Receptions, 1.708 Receiving Yards, and 17 Touchdowns.  His first four NFL seasons have few peers, and he is only 25. 

*Chase has only played for four years.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #62, 2022 Pre-Season Rank: #67. Peak Period: 2019-23

Cooper Kupp was in his fifth season (2021), where he exploded by winning the Wide Receiver’s Triple Crown (145 Receptions, 1,947 Receiving Yards, and 16 Touchdowns) and won the Offensive Player of the Year.  Kupp was highly regarded in the NFL, but it was safe to say that his success came as a surprise across the country.  He continued this success through the postseason, leading the Rams to their first Super Bowl win in Los Angeles and winning the Super Bowl MVP award.

As it appears now, Kupp was a WR2 masquerading as a star WR1 for one year, as he has never approached that year’s output since.  That incredible year earns him a spot on this list, and in his ninth year of the NFL, he joins his hometown Seattle Seahawks.  For Kupp to sniff the Hall, he has to recreate that 2021 year.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #148. Peak Period: 2020-24

CeeDee Lamb has been the top weapon for the Dallas Cowboys over the last four seasons, boasting a four-year streak of Pro Bowls, with AP All-Pro Selections earned consecutively from 2022 to 2024 (one First Team and two Second Teams).  Despite the rebuilding state of the Cowboys, Lamb should be able to generate a fifth All-Pro caliber season in 2025.  Considering that Wide Receiver is the most challenging position to generate Hall of Fame entrants, and the current league depth, Lamb has to be great for years to come. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #71, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #81, 2021 Pre-Season #78, Rank 2020 Pre-Season Rank #84.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Splitting his 2024 Season with Cleveland and Buffalo, Amari Cooper compiled 547 Yards that pushed him just over the 10,000 plateau, but this was half of his production from his 2023 season, where he was a Pro Bowl for the fifth time.

At 31, Cooper resigned with the team that drafted him, the Las Vegas Raiders. However, if there is any Hall of Fame traction to be had, he must replicate his 2023 performance and sustain that level of excellence for years to come.  That might be a tough ask.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #69, 2023 Pre-Season #77, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #77, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #71, Last Year’s Rank #62.  Peak Period: 2014-16/18-19.

OBJ’s three Pro Bowls were in his first three seasons, and while his last Pro Bowl was in 2016, Beckham Jr. did have 1,000-yard-plus campaigns in 2018 and 2019.  Since then, injuries have accumulated, and he is no longer the same player who made the most incredible regular-season catch in history.  2021 was a year of agony and ecstasy for Beckham Jr., who seemed rejuvenated after a mid-season pickup by the Rams, where he won the Super Bowl. However, in that game, while he scored a Touchdown, he also tore his ACL.  

After sitting out the 2022 season to rehab, Beckham Jr. played a year in Baltimore with a respectable 565 Yards, but only had 55 Yards in nine Games in Miami the year after.  He starts this season without a team, and his Hall of Fame resume appears to end with an incredible start with a Touchdown catch and ACL tear in a Super Bowl win. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #100, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #113, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #116, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #124, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #137.  Peak Period: 2016-18/2020-21

If there were ever a WR2 Hall of Fame, would Adam Thielen make the first ballot?

Of course, there isn’t one, but we are impressed by how Thielen keeps chugging along.  His last Pro Bowl was in 2018, a year that he had over 100 Receptions (113) and 1,000 Yards (1,373).  He never had a three-digit Reception/four-digit Receiving Yards year again until 2023 (103 Rec/1,014 Yards) last year in his first season in Carolina, where he was one of the few weapons they had. 

Even though he is in his mid-30s the Minnesota Vikings believe that Thielen can help, as they traded for him in the pre-season, reuniting him with the team where he had 55 Touchdowns.   The PFHOF won’t call him (though he will be a longtime preliminary candidate), but a post-career accolade in Minnesota?  Definitely.

2024: Pre-Season Rank: #144.  Peak Period: 2021-24*

Amon-Ra St. Brown has only been in the NFL for four years, but has put forth an incredible run where he is the lead weapon of a potent Detroit Lions squad.  He was an entrant in 2025 on a three-year Pro Bowl streak and a two-year First Team All-Pro streak with at least 10 Touchdowns in both campaigns. 

*St. Brown has only played four seasons.