You don't need a dominant set of playmakers to win the Super Bowl, but it sure helps to have a few along the way. Ask the Seahawks, who had Jaxon Smith-Njigba put the finishing touches on a career season by going for 153 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game. During a stop-start Super Bowl, the Seahawks were able to kick field goals and build an early lead on the back of Kenneth Walker III, whose explosive gains in the middle of a 135-yard day were enough to earn the lead back Super Bowl MVP honors.
Of course, Walker is now on the Chiefs, joining key playmakers such as A.J. Brown, Mike Evans and Jaylen Waddle in moving to new teams this offseason. Teams like the Bears and Saints, full of young standouts, are hoping to break through on the backs of their playmakers. And stalwarts like the Rams and Bengals can and will expect elite play from their skill position players.
But who has the best set of playmakers in football? In a perennial arms race to make life easier for quarterbacks around the NFL, which team has done the most to stock the cupboard with dominant runners and pass catchers?
Today -- as I do every year -- I will try to answer that question by stacking offensive playmaker groups around the NFL from No. 32 to No. 1. Keep in mind that this is not a ranking of NFL offenses. I'm attempting to evaluate each team's playmakers independent of their surroundings. In other words, if each team had the same quarterback, offensive line, playcaller and offensive architect, along with identical health and bouncing-ball luck, which one would then have the best offense?
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Before we get started, let's lay out a few ground rules:
This is only about 2026 on-field performance. Each player's contract and future outlook do not matter. I'm simply focused on what each player might project to do over the full 2026 season. While every player is different, I'm using traditional player aging curves to estimate how each player might improve or decline from their existing level of play this season. I'm also using generic returns from draft picks in years past to get a sense of how they might project to perform in 2026. I'm comparing Carnell Tate to typical first-round picks and Jonah Coleman to typical fourth-rounders.
Injuries count. It's impossible to reliably project injuries, but it would be naive to ignore history in building broad projections of how likely it would be to see each player line up for 17 games in 2026. Backs like Christian McCaffrey and J.K. Dobbins have well-established injury concerns in their past, and it's natural to be nervous about their chances of staying healthy all season, even if McCaffrey was able to do that a year ago for the 49ers. There are also players recovering from injuries entering the season. Even if George Kittle and Malik Nabers are able to return early in the year from their serious 2025 injuries, it's tough to count on those stars being their usual selves in 2026. And for someone like Zach Charbonnet, who is expected to miss most of the season with a torn ACL, it's more realistic to project 2026 as something close to a wasted season.
Wide receivers are weighted more heavily than running backs or tight ends. NFL teams have clearly emphasized wide receivers over their brethren at the other skill positions. At $20.6 million, Saquon Barkley is the only running back or tight end making more than $20 million per season on his current contract, whereas 25 different WRs are averaging $20 million or more on their existing contracts, including the likes of Smith-Njigba and Ja'Marr Chase (who are up over $40 million). As a result, our rankings prioritize teams with great wide receivers over those who have better options at RB and TE.
The focus is on elite players and a team's top five contributors. At the end of the day, the most valuable playmaker in football is the guy who can create a big play when everybody in the stadium knows the ball is going his way. If your team has one of those guys, it's going to propel it up the charts. Most organizations would rather have the wide receiver worth $40 million per year than spread that money around four average-or-worse wideouts who each make $10 million per season. While depth down the roster was a tiebreaker, my focus is on the best five-man unit each team can create with its playmakers, given that each offense can line up five eligible receivers on any given snap alongside the QB and offensive linemen. I won't mention every potential playmaker in each of the 32 blurbs below, so if an expected starter's name doesn't appear, know that he was still considered as part of the evaluation.
As I often do, I relied on data and my own film evaluation to help measure player performance and separate out their talents from the surrounding context. I've also used ESPN's receiver scores and NFL Next Gen Stats as further evidence of player performance.
These rankings have to start somewhere. And unfortunately for both fans and the new quarterback in Miami, we're opening the list in South Florida.
Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
32. Miami Dolphins
2025 rank: 10 | 2024 rank: 3
De'Von Achane is the last one standing from the group that ranked among the best in the NFL two years ago. Achane is a legitimately great back, capable of both patiently getting what's blocked and producing spectacularly explosive big plays if given any sort of open space. I worry he won't see much of that playing within the structure of this offense in 2026, but we're evaluating the fourth-year pro independent of the players around him.
Unfortunately, this might be the worst receiving corps I've seen assembled on purpose by an NFL team in recent memory. Third and fourth wideouts such as Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell are the veterans being forced into starting roles. Third-round picks Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas -- who might be fourth or fifth wideouts in other lineups -- are going to be pushed into the lineup by midseason. I'm a little excited about Greg Dulcich, who was second in the NFL in yards per route run among tight ends from Week 9 onward last season, but he'll need to be prime Travis Kelce to make this group of receivers work.
31. New York Giants
2025 rank: 26 | 2024 rank: 29
The Giants would rank higher if not for the serious injuries suffered by their young talent in 2025. It's unclear whether Malik Nabers will be healthy enough to return from his knee injury to begin the season, a concerning piece of news for a player who is nearly a full year removed from the injury. Even when Nabers does return, it's fair to wonder whether he'll be anything close to 100%. And while Cam Skattebo's return from a gruesome ankle injury appears to be closer to completion, the RB was already below average by metrics such as yards per carry, success rate and explosive play rate as a rookie before the injury.
If Nabers isn't ready to be the guy, the Giants are going to struggle to find receivers for Jaxson Dart. Wan'Dale Robinson filled that role as the primary wideout a year ago, but he has been replaced by Darnell Mooney, who is both a downgrade and too stylistically similar to Darius Slayton. Veteran Odell Beckham Jr. is a Giants legend, but his last significant full season as a pro was all the way back in 2019.
Third-round pick Malachi Fields will have to make an immediate impact to give the Giants a play-style alternative. Tight end Isaiah Likely flashed during his time with the Ravens, but after an 111-yard game on national television in the 2024 opener against the Chiefs, he has topped 75 receiving yards just once over the ensuing two years. Let's check back in a year when everyone is (hopefully) healthier.
30. Cleveland Browns
2025 rank: 29 | 2024 rank: 20
The Browns' young options have more significant pedigrees. Running back Quinshon Judkins repeatedly showed the burst to get outside and around would-be tacklers for explosive gains, although like Skattebo, he also saw his rookie season end with a serious ankle injury. A receiving room that sorely needed help landed some with first-rounder KC Concepcion and second-rounder Denzel Boston, giving whoever plays quarterback in Cleveland a pair of wideouts with real upside.
The only thing close to a reliable option here, though, might be tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who was ninth in yards per route run among tight ends last season, just ahead of Kyle Pitts Sr. and fellow rookie Tyler Warren. Veteran Jerry Jeudy followed up a solid debut season by going missing for most of his second year in Cleveland, and drops remain a vexing problem for him. If Fannin sticks in the top 10 in YPRR and one of the young wideouts breaks through into an above-average NFL starter, the Browns will climb up the ranks next season.
29. Buffalo Bills
2025 rank: 28 | 2024 rank: 24
The Bills can count on a legitimately great back in James Cook III, whose vision, tackle-breaking and ability to create explosive plays by making players miss and running away from defenders at the second level is as good as anybody else in football. The only downside with Cook comes with fumbles; he had six last season and added a seventh in the postseason loss to the Broncos. Even using his career average rate, Cook has fumbled once every 81 touches during the regular season. As a sign of how much that matters, Cook's fumbles were enough to suggest that a back who averaged 5.2 yards per carry and scored 12 times generated negative EPA as a rusher in 2025.
Beyond Cook, it remains difficult to get excited about Buffalo's receiving corps, even after the addition of DJ Moore. While some of the issues surrounding the decision to acquire Moore have to do with factors such as trade value and contract terms -- which aren't being considered here -- there have to be real questions about whether Moore is still a difference-maker as he turns 29. After all, 2025 was comfortably Moore's worst season as a pro, as he fell down the priority list at receiver for the Bears as the year went along. Moore hasn't missed a game in five years, which is a positive, but he profiles as one of the least imposing top wideouts in the league.
This would be one of the worst receiving corps on paper without Josh Allen on the other side of the passes. Khalil Shakir might have had some explosiveness sapped by his high ankle sprain in 2025, but he has settled in over the past two years as a solid slot receiver. Keon Coleman has been a major disappointment, and Joshua Palmer didn't hit any new heights after joining Buffalo a year ago. Tight end Dalton Kincaid made it to his first Pro Bowl and was more efficient in 2025, but projections that he could be the high-volume man coverage-beater the Bills have craved are yet to be proven, with injuries giving him problems.
For all the Bills are spending at receiver, the same question still lingers: If Allen needs to throw for a first down to win a game, who should he trust to get open? Every team ranked above the Bills has at least one receiver that fans would bring up as an obvious answer for their quarterback. The Bills still, somehow, do not.
28. Carolina Panthers
2025 rank: 31 | 2024 rank: 28
The Panthers got most of what they were hoping for from 2025 eighth pick Tetairoa McMillan, whose athleticism translated in separating from and running past even high-end cornerbacks for touchdowns. And Jalen Coker started the season on injured reserve with a hamstring issue, but his line from Week 11 onward prorates to just short of a 1,000-yard full season. The Panthers responded by giving the undrafted free agent a contract extension earlier this month.
But everyone else didn't budge or fell backward. Chuba Hubbard lost his RB1 job around midseason to Rico Dowdle and wasn't able to overcome the offensive line injury issues. We never saw Jonathon Brooks, who now takes over as the second back in the Carolina rotation. And 2024 first-rounder Xavier Legette ranked 110th in yards per route run. The Panthers also ranked 30th in receiving yards from their tight ends. This is still a young group, but everyone besides McMillan requires some small-sample extrapolation or selective sampling to peg as an average-or-better contributor.
27. Washington Commanders
2025 rank: 13 | 2024 rank: 26
It was a disappointing year for top wideout Terry McLaurin, who held out before the season for a new contract and didn't sign until mid-August. The veteran got off to a slow start, then suffered a quad injury in Week 3 and missed most of the next two months. He finished the season having caught just 10 passes from Jayden Daniels all campaign. The Commanders naturally hope that McLaurin will be back to his usual self with a full season alongside Daniels in 2026, but he's also turning 31 in September. There's a wider range of outcomes for McLaurin this upcoming season than his résumé might suggest.
And if McLaurin is not a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver, well, there isn't a lot to get excited about elsewhere. Third-round pick Antonio Williams profiles as a potential playmaker in the slot, but the players around him -- including Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson -- don't have great track records of NFL production. The Commanders might be more of a 12- or 13-personnel team in 2026, but Chig Okonkwo didn't show sustained receiving ability across multiple schemes or with different quarterbacks in Tennessee, and 2024 second-rounder Ben Sinnott has 16 catches across 33 pro games so far.
Of course, the missing player here might be Brandon Aiyuk, with plenty of speculation that the former 49ers receiver will join the Commanders once he is inevitably cut by the 49ers, given his ties to Daniels and former Niners executive Adam Peters. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened, and Aiyuk would be an upgrade on the likes of Burks and Jefferson on the outside. But it would also be smart to set expectations appropriately. Aiyuk hasn't played since the middle of the 2024 season and won't even have practiced before joining the Commanders. It seems reasonable to expect that we won't see anything close to Aiyuk's best until the second half of 2026 or even 2027.
26. Las Vegas Raiders
2025 rank: 20 | 2024 rank: 23
There are two exciting young players here, although neither had great 2025 seasons. Tight end Brock Bowers was limited and then sidelined by a knee issue, but we still saw glimpses of the player who terrorized the league as a rookie. And running back Ashton Jeanty failed to live up to expectations after coming into the league as a top-10 pick. There's no question that Jeanty was let down by a dismal offensive infrastructure, but he also struggled to run through NFL tackles in short-yardage situations and made some unforced mistakes. I'm still optimistic we'll see something close to the Boise State version of Jeanty in 2026, but it's also fair to be a little nervous.
Even if Bowers and Jeanty live up to expectations, though, there's just not much to be excited about at wide receiver. Jalen Nailor has been solid as a third option for the Vikings, but he's stretched into a starting role here. Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. did little in their debut seasons, with the latter averaging a scarcely believable 0.6 yards per route run. Tre Tucker's a solid deep option and could play the Rashid Shaheed role in Klint Kubiak's offense, but if the WRs produce at all, the most likely reasons would expect to be products of the scheme and better quarterback play.
25. Tennessee Titans
2025 rank: 32 | 2024 rank: 19
Unsurprisingly, a Titans team that did precious little to surround 2025 first pick Cam Ward with talent on offense didn't get the results it wanted. In last year's column, I wrote "This feels like a [wide receiver] group where there could be three new starters in 2026."
Well, I came close. There are two new starters alongside Calvin Ridley, who took a $8.8 million pay cut to return after injuries limited the veteran to seven games last season. He'll be joined by Wan'Dale Robinson, who was forced out of his gadget role by the Malik Nabers injury in New York and put together his most complete season, and fourth pick Carnell Tate, the latest star to come off the wide receiver assembly line at Ohio State.
If Tate looks like Emeka Egbuka did as a rookie with the Bucs last fall, the Titans should be just fine. Leaving his price tag aside, Robinson is a perfectly reasonable fit as the WR2/WR3 option with his ability after the catch. Ridley has averaged an even 2.0 yards per route run in Tennessee, which is an above-average figure, but he's coming off a fractured fibula and turns 32 during the season.
Of course, if the three wideouts don't perform, there's not much behind them. Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike were overmatched in starting roles a year ago. The Titans replaced Chig Okonkwo with blocking tight end Daniel Bellinger, and nominal receiving tight end Gunnar Helm averaged just over 8 yards per catch as a rookie. Tony Pollard continues to soldier on as an eminently solid veteran back, but the Titans need Tate to develop quickly to give this offense some much-needed star power.
24. Houston Texans
2025 rank: 14 | 2024 rank: 4
The Texans start with a legitimate No. 1 wideout in Nico Collins, although 2025 was a slight downturn; he fell from third in yards per route run to 14th. Collins is still a top-10 receiver for me, but injuries have cost him the better part of 10 games over his three years as the top option in Houston. If he is going to be sidelined for about 20% of the season, it limits what his ceiling can be for the Texans.
And if Collins isn't on the field, this isn't a scary group of playmakers. There are reasons to be optimistic about Jayden Higgins, who caught six touchdowns last season as a rookie, but he and Jaylin Noel both produced slightly below-average yards per route run marks. It's tough to expect much out of Tank Dell even if he returns from a career-threatening injury this year. Tight end Dalton Schultz was sixth in receiving yards last season at the position, but he doesn't produce explosive plays (his 20-plus yard reception rate was half the league average at tight end) or make an impact in the red zone (where he had five catches all season).
David Montgomery will be an upgrade on the running backs the Texans ran out in 2025, and he exceeded expectations last time he switched teams and joined the Lions. I'd still be a little nervous about taking a back who excelled in one of the best offenses in football during his time in Detroit and expecting similar results dropping him into what has been a hopeless situation for RBs in Houston. Montgomery's success rate dropped from 49.2% to 42.4% last year after the departure of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the decline from Detroit's offensive line, although Montgomery was able to compensate by producing more explosive runs. Expecting something closer to the Bears version of Montgomery might be realistic.
23. Denver Broncos
2025 rank: 23 | 2024 rank: 30
The Broncos added a second high-end wideout to their mix this offseason by trading for Jaylen Waddle. The former Dolphins wideout restored some of his efficiency last season without Tyreek Hill on the field, will be 28 this year and should be a good fit on the in-breakers Sean Payton wants Bo Nix to throw. The only concern with Waddle is injury, given that he missed games and hobbled through others in 2023 and 2024. He should settle in as the 1A ahead of Courtland Sutton.
I'd still like to see another player develop around those two. J.K. Dobbins is incredibly efficient when healthy, but even an optimistic projection for the 27-year-old running back would land around 10 or 11 games. Evan Engram was a disappointment in his first year with the Broncos, as the much-ballyhooed addition of the former Giants tight end as Payton's "joker" delivered a bog-standard Engram season, with 50 catches for 461 yards and one lone touchdown.
Will one of the young players the Broncos were counting on make this a big three? There were moments where Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and RJ Harvey all flashed, but none was able to take over as an unquestioned starter. It seems telling that the Broncos traded for Waddle and used another middle-round pick on a running back by taking Washington's Jonah Coleman in the fourth round. Payton does a great job of scheming opportunities open in this offense, but the Broncos could use one more difference-maker if they want to start challenging for the top 10 here.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2025 rank: 7 | 2024 rank: 13
The Bucs are one of the tougher teams around the league to evaluate heading into 2026. Obviously, losing Mike Evans without making a significant addition in response is going to drop Tampa Bay a bit, even if Evans was compromised for most of last season by injuries. I'm excited about third-round pick Ted Hurst III's upside given his high-end athleticism, but the Georgia State product might need a year to adjust to stiffer competition in the NFL before making a larger impact in 2027.
What can we count on from the Bucs' new "Big Three" in 2026? Emeka Egbuka was awesome to start the season, averaging 2.3 yards per route run through Week 10. He was down to 1.3 afterward, below guys such as Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Hutchinson. Chris Godwin Jr. came back from his gruesome ankle injury, dealt with fibula issues after initially returning and wasn't back for good until Week 12. He had solid games against the Cardinals and Dolphins, but at 30 and with multiple serious injuries in his past, I'm not sure it's realistic to project a peak-caliber season from Godwin, even after Evans' departure.
Bucky Irving was also sidelined for two months by foot and shoulder injuries, and across his two stretches of active play, he averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. Irving turned only 6.4% of his designed rush attempts into 10-plus yard gains, down from 13% as a rookie. The Bucs swapped out Rachaad White for Kenny Gainwell, who was wildly productive for the Steelers in a situational role, and there's a chance that he is Tampa's best back.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
2025 rank: 21 | 2024 rank: 27
Another offseason brought another trade for an expensive wide receiver by an organization that had developed a reputation for finding its own in the middle rounds of the draft. Michael Pittman Jr. is a good fit for what Aaron Rodgers wants to do (get the ball out quickly for short completions) but a bad fit for what the Steelers need (a wide receiver who can stretch teams downfield). Second-round pick Germie Bernard should be an upgrade on Calvin Austin III, and it's fair to pin the problems creating big plays on the quarterback and his desire to stay clean, but the Steelers need to find a way to create explosive plays in 2026.
Could that be DK Metcalf? He had games when that seemed possible in 2025, but it was a boom-or-bust season. He had four games with 85 receiving yards or more, and he didn't top 55 yards in any of his other 12 contests. On the whole, Metcalf's yards per route run and share of team targets were almost identical in Pittsburgh to what they had been for his final year in Seattle. I think he's the same player in a worse offense.
There are fun players around the receivers. Jaylen Warren has been able to handle almost exactly half of a running back rotation reasonably well. Rico Dowdle was prime Marshawn Lynch for a couple of weeks last season. Darnell Washington is one of the least fun players to tackle on the planet. Pat Freiermuth can go missing for stretches, but he's also still capable enough to produce big games, like the 111-yard, two-score performance he put together in the shootout against the Bengals last season. There are no bad players here, but they could really use a vintage season from Metcalf.
20. Kansas City Chiefs
2025 rank: 12 | 2024 rank: 14
It was a wildly disappointing 2025 for the Chiefs as a team, but no position group might have been more disappointing for coach Andy Reid than his wide receivers. There were reasons to be optimistic about big seasons coming from both Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Neither got there.
Rice was suspended to begin the season and then ended it with a knee injury, which lingered into the offseason, during which the 2023 second-round pick also spent time in jail. (He was sentenced to serve 30 days after testing positive for marijuana in violation of the terms of his probation for his role in a crash that left multiple people injured on a Dallas highway two years ago.) Entering the final year of his deal, Rice has more receiving yards in Year 1 (938) than he did in Years 2-3 combined (859). Rice still has obvious potential, but I don't know how anyone could realistically project 17 games from him in 2026.
Worthy, coming off a big game in the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, injured his labrum after colliding with Travis Kelce while running the crossing route on mesh on the opening drive of the season and never really got right afterward. Even if we write 2025 off as a season ruined by injury, can we really say with any confidence that Worthy is something more than a secondary option in the passing game? And while Kelce slowed what had been a multiyear decline, the future Hall of Famer also dropped nine passes last season, three of which turned into Patrick Mahomes interceptions. He's perfectly fine as a second or third target in this offense, but Kelce is not the No. 1 receiver the Chiefs need, either.
The major upgrade should come at running back, where a Chiefs rushing attack that ranked last in the league in explosive play rate on designed runs over the past two seasons replaces Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt with Kenneth Walker III. Walker might not be quite as reliable as Hunt was in short-yardage situations, but the Chiefs have been crying out for a back who can chew up significant yardage on his own. With teams preferring to play light boxes and two deep safeties to keep Mahomes from torching them deep, Walker should face very generous looks on the ground in 2026, which could help spike his efficiency metrics.
19. Los Angeles Chargers
2025 rank: 22 | 2024 rank: 32
Most of the additions the Chargers made this offseason were about shoring up blocking for their run game. In came Alec Ingold, Charlie Kolar, David Njoku and a new interior offensive line. All of that will help the Chargers run the football more effectively during the regular season, but we're not focusing on blocking here, so it falls outside the purview of what we're looking at in terms of playmakers.
The RB in line to benefit from those upgrades, Omarion Hampton, could be the real X factor here. The first-round pick briefly had a clear path to the lead back role against the Giants, running for 128 yards while literally dragging New York defenders for yards. Hampton got hurt the following week, missed the next seven games, and he split time with Kimani Vidal down the stretch. Vidal and new addition Keaton Mitchell make for a fun set of backups, but Hampton's the guy who profiles as the Pro Bowl-caliber player capable of making the leap in 2026.
Ladd McConkey feels like he could comfortably fit into Mike McDaniel's offense as the team's top receiver on in-breaking routes and generating YAC, but he is already battling a hamstring issue. Quentin Johnston would probably be next man up in that role and has quietly grown into a solid NFL receiver, although Johnston wasn't able to build on the 337-yard, four-touchdown start he enjoyed over the first month of 2025.
Johnston's role as the vertical playmaker in the offense seemed to be usurped by rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden, who racked up 664 yards in his first pro season. Gadsden will have to compete with Kolar and Njoku for time when the Chargers aren't in multi-TE groupings. Likewise, if the Chargers do spend a lot of time in 12 (two TEs, two WRs) or 21 (two RBs, two TEs) personnel, second-year wideout Tre' Harris might be the one sacrificed for a bigger body.
There's plenty of talent throughout the lineup for Jim Harbaugh & Co., but the Chargers are in need of a star. A return to McConkey's 2024 form or a healthy season from Hampton behind a similarly fresh offensive line would help.
18. Jacksonville Jaguars
2025 rank: 18 | 2024 rank: 16
If the Jags just get the best version of their existing receivers, they'll be in great shape. Brian Thomas Jr. looked like a superstar in 2024. Jakobi Meyers got white-hot at midseason after being acquired from the Raiders. Parker Washington took over down the stretch and averaged just under 115 receiving yards per game over his final four contests. And Travis Hunter seemed to be hitting his stride as a wideout with a 101-yard game against the Rams before suffering his season-ending knee injury. If the Jaguars get those versions of those four wideouts in 2026, they'll be stacked.
It seems at least a tad optimistic to count on all of those versions showing up, though. Thomas inspired concerns about his desire to catch balls in tight spaces and never seemed to get right in 2025 as he battled injuries. Meyers has been a solid pro for years, but after he cooled off down the stretch, his rate stats were right in line with where they had been for most of his time with the Patriots and Raiders. I've been a Washington fan for a while, but this same organization signed Dyami Brown to play ahead of him last offseason. And Hunter, who is expected to major in cornerback and minor at wide receiver this year, struggled to become a steady and reliable member of the passing attack in his first season, posting a 12-yard game the week before that big performance in England.
I'm holding out hope of Thomas returning to form and the wideouts around him doing enough to impress, but running back is a clear weakness. Bhayshul Tuten showed little explosiveness as a rookie while averaging 3.7 yards per carry and fumbling twice on 93 touches. With Travis Etienne Jr. leaving, Tuten will be expected to assume a larger role. Chris Rodriguez Jr. is a useful runner, but he offers less as a receiver than any other regularly seen back in the NFL, and the former Commanders back is already battling a foot injury.
17. Green Bay Packers
2025 rank: 17 | 2024 rank: 17
I swear this isn't a running joke. If there's any group of playmakers that settles in right around average on an annual basis, though, it's the young talent in Green Bay. If everyone was healthy and delivered on their expectations, this could be a top-five unit overnight. And the combination of QB Jordan Love and coach Matt LaFleur helps elevate everyone in this offense for stretches. There are weeks where each individual looks like a high-end playmaker or difference-maker.
So often, it's injuries that are the problem that drags these playmakers down. Tucker Kraft was leading all tight ends in receiving yards per game before tearing his ACL. Jayden Reed came into 2025 with a foot injury, tried to play through it, then broke his collarbone and missed most of the season. Josh Jacobs was compromised down the stretch by a knee injury that sapped the lead back's explosiveness. And Christian Watson missed the first six games of the year recovering from his own torn ACL before returning and playing the best football of his career, averaging 2.7 yards per route run after returning to the lineup.
We've seen all four of those players take over games and look unstoppable at times over the past couple of seasons. If they could all stay on the field together for 17 games, we would be looking at one of the most devastating groups of playmakers in the league. The Packers averaged 0.14 EPA per play with all four on the field together in 2024, which would have been the fourth-best mark in the NFL over a full season. But those four didn't play a single snap together in 2025.
None of this even considers 2025 first-rounder Matthew Golden, who wasn't able to make much of the clearer path at wide receiver during his rookie season, or third-rounder Savion Williams, who was an asset on gadget plays and as a blocker over a handful of snaps. This could literally be the best one-through-five group in the league if everyone is healthy and at their best. Yet the chances of that happening explain why they rank 17th.
16. Baltimore Ravens
2025 rank: 8 | 2024 rank: 15
The key players are back for the Ravens, which might make this drop out of the top 10 seem a little surprising. Some minor steps back across the board are to blame.
Derrick Henry was still solidifying his Hall of Fame case last season while averaging 5.2 yards per carry, but the legendary back saw his success rate fall from 47.4% to 42%, with the latter figure coming in just above league average. Henry continues to see his passing game role fade, turns 33 late in the season and might have cost the Ravens a playoff spot with his fumbling issues. King Henry now has 13 fumbles over the past four years, tied for third among all backs. He obviously still provides a lot of value as a spectacular runner, but there are more dings in this profile than it might seem at first glance.
Zay Flowers continues to produce as the team's top wideout, but the Rashod Bateman annual hype train barely made it out of the station in 2025, as he managed only 19 catches for 224 receiving yards across 13 games. The hope was naturally that Bateman's 754-yard, nine-touchdown season in 2024 might have augured future growth, but it looks more like an outlier than anything else. General manager Eric DeCosta used third- and fourth-round picks on wideouts Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt, respectively. They might be playing ahead of Bateman by the end of the year.
Tight end Mark Andrews had a career-low 422 receiving yards, as his yards per catch dropped by more than 3 yards -- down to catch-and-fall-down territory. With the veteran now on the wrong side of 30, the Ravens have to be worried about a reality where the extension they just handed Andrews doesn't age well. Isaiah Likely left for the Giants in free agency, and interesting depth guys like Keaton Mitchell and DeAndre Hopkins are no longer on the roster.
15. Chicago Bears
2025 rank: 25 | 2024 rank: 6
The kids are all right. We saw some eye-popping stretches of play from Chicago's rookie class. Tight end Colston Loveland was quiet for the first two months of the season, but from Nov. 1 onward, he was second among all tight ends in receiving yards (597) and yards per route run (2.4). The 10th pick then added a 137-yard performance in the win over the Packers in the wild-card round. There's a reasonable chance Loveland leads all tight ends in receiving yardage this season.
Luther Burden III just needed more playing time. Over that same time frame, Burden averaged 2.9 yards per route run, which ranked fourth among wide receivers. Rome Odunze's injury opened up a larger role for Burden down the stretch, and he delivered with a 138-yard game against the 49ers in December. His catch rate (78.3%) won't stick, but he's going to be a real threat after the catch. Throw in Kyle Monangai's efficient year as the team's between-the-tackles back, and few offenses got more from their rookie playmakers in 2025.
Of course, offensive architect Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams and a much improved offensive line likely deserve some of the credit for the offensive success too. And it wasn't all roses. Odunze's injury kept him from making the second-year leap many expected. DJ Moore took a step backward and was traded to the Bills. Replacing Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus with Kalif Raymond and third-round pick Zavion Thomas is a likely step backward. And while D'Andre Swift had his best year as a pro, I lean more toward Johnson and the line driving that success than any sort of massive shift from the veteran RB.
This is a young group with real upside, but I also get the sense that it wouldn't be quite as appealing or productive with a less compelling playcaller.
14. Indianapolis Colts
2025 rank: 16 | 2024 rank: 22
Even after trading Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts sport above-average or better contributors at all three spots we're considering here. Their playmakers all looked much better in 2025 with better quarterback play, but none made a bigger leap than Alec Pierce, who finally saw steady deep-ball opportunities throughout the season. Pierce averaged 2.2 yards per route run during his breakout campaign, which was good for 14th in the league among wideouts. I still think there's some potential for Pierce to take another step forward in 2026, while Josh Downs should see more market share after the Pittman trade. He has been efficient out of the slot.
There are stars away from wide receiver too. Jonathan Taylor was an Offensive Player of the Year contender for most of the season before fading down the stretch, generating big plays as both a rusher and receiver by shrugging off and running past tackle attempts. And Tyler Warren was a Swiss Army knife for coach Shane Steichen as a rookie, lining up at just about every conceivable spot on the field and creating havoc for opposing linebackers and defensive coordinators. He was on pace to top 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie before the offense broke down after Daniel Jones got hurt.
I'm a little concerned that Pierce is more of a really high-end WR2 than a legitimate WR1 in a very good offense, but if the Colts' wide receivers can hold up their end of the bargain, Taylor and Warren are top-five at their respective spots.
13. New Orleans Saints
2025 rank: 24 | 2024 rank: 2
I've written a lot of "if only they would stay healthy" blurbs so far, so I'm excited to talk about Chris Olave, who finally did stay on the field in 2025 and had the career season his talents deserve. Despite playing with Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough for the entire year, Olave racked up 1,163 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, including back-to-back 100-yard games before sitting out in Week 18. The 2022 first-rounder finished sixth in ESPN's open score, one year after finishing tied for sixth in overall receiver score. The only hesitation I have in ranking Olave in the second or third tier of elite NFL wide receivers is his history of concussions.
Juwan Johnson also quietly had a career season, ranking third in the NFL among tight ends with 889 receiving yards. Playing from behind and in a dome helps, but Johnson was eighth in yards per route run and turned over 14% of his catches into 20-plus yard gains. He's not a consistent red zone threat and hasn't been quite at this level before, but Johnson profiles as a well-above-average tight end this season.
There's a lot more surrounding Olave and Johnson too. First-round pick Jordyn Tyson should take some of the pressure off Olave, although the player out of Arizona State has a significant injury history too. New lead back Travis Etienne Jr. should be a significant upgrade on Alvin Kamara as a runner, given that the Saints legend has struggled to produce steady gains on the ground over the past five years in the post-Drew Brees offense.
It remains to be seen whether Kamara sticks on the roster into Week 1, or if the Saints get anything out of trade acquisitions like Devaughn Vele or Ja'Lynn Polk as their third wideout, but this is a fun set of playmakers on a very watchable offense.
12. New York Jets
2025 rank: 27 | 2024 rank: 12
There are two young stars here who have been stuck with overmatched QBs in awful offenses at the beginning of their careers. Garrett Wilson was limited to seven games by injuries last season, but we've seen enough from the 25-year-old in the past to hint at massive upside. The best quarterback Wilson has played with during his four-year career, by a comfortable margin, is late-era Joe Flacco. He's on the Andre Johnson and Terry McLaurin track, hoping to find a passer worthy of his talents before it gets too late.
Aaron Glenn's pre-2025 commentary that Breece Hall was going to split out and run a full route tree was always absurd, but there's little argument against Hall as one of the best backs in football working out of the backfield. Hall was able to right some of his fumble issues from 2024 and was more consistent as a runner in 2025 than he had been since the ACL tear. He's a plus receiver out of the backfield and would be a legitimate top-six back in the right situation.
There's also more in the cupboard around those guys than there has been in years past. First-round pick Omar Cooper Jr. might not offer the most exciting upside of any wideout in this draft, but the player out of Indiana should be able to take advantage of the attention directed at Wilson and run away from defensive backs after the catch. Adonai Mitchell showed some flashes after being acquired in midseason. And while Mason Taylor struggled with drops and didn't create many big plays as a rookie, the in-line tight end should be joined by a more athletic option in first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq this season. Imagine how excited you would be if this group played with Josh Allen in Buffalo, and you start to get an idea of why the Jets rank higher than expected here.
11. Seattle Seahawks
2025 rank: 19 | 2024 rank: 8
How far can one superstar wide receiver take you? I've mentioned that I'm overindexing for elite talent out wide, so while there are plenty of teams with deeper groups of playmakers, the Seahawks make it into the upper half of the league by sporting Jaxon Smith-Njigba as their WR1. There was little between JSN and Puka Nacua last season as the league's top two receivers, with Smith-Njigba dominating opposing defenses at all three levels. And while he had two quiet games across his three postseason appearances, Smith-Njigba was essential in booting Nacua and the Rams from the playoffs, catching 10 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game.
Behind Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks are hoping for a second playmaker to step up. Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed are surprisingly both back for 2026, but Kupp had career lows in most receiving metrics last season, and Shaheed topped 30 receiving yards just three times across 12 games in a Seahawks uniform. Shaheed was more impactful on special teams, but we're not including his return work here. AJ Barner was a reliable pair of hands at tight end and caught seven touchdown passes, but the drop-off from Smith-Njigba to the rest of the receiving attack is too significant to rank the Seahawks any higher.
There are also real concerns about running back after the departure of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, whose explosive plays kept the offense afloat at times when the passing game wasn't consistently moving the ball (with the title game a good example). Jadarian Price will step in, but after being a backup to Jeremiyah Love during their time at Notre Dame, can the Seahawks really count on Price to be their lead back while Zach Charbonnet is sidelined by his torn ACL? Price's limited role as a receiver in college (18 career catches) makes me wonder whether he tops out as a two-down back at the pro level.
10. New England Patriots
2025 rank: 30 | 2024 rank: 10
The top 10 starts with the Patriots, who added an elite receiver to the mix after trading for A.J. Brown this summer. Brown left Philadelphia after a frustrating 2025 season, but there's still plenty of evidence that Brown is one of the top wideouts in all of football. A quarterback upgrade to Drake Maye might help Brown, 28, reach the heights we saw from him in 2022 and 2023.
While there's a drop-off from Brown to the rest of the lineup, the Patriots are much deeper than they've been in years. Adding Romeo Doubs to the mix lands the Pats a 26-year-old wideout who ranked 28th in ESPN's receiver score last season; there's a possibility that he improves with more regular playing time. With Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams all vying for reps, there's a decent chance New England trades a wideout (likely Boutte) before the start of the season. As it stands, while this isn't the best wide receiver room in the league, it might be the deepest -- albeit one in which Maye likely elevated talent and receiving efficiency across the board last season.
Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson were big playmakers at running back. Pats backs ranked fifth in the league in explosive play rate on designed runs last season (14.4%). And with five 50-plus-yard runs, the halfback pair had two more than any other team. Stevenson has dealt with fumble issues as a pro, and Henderson was enough of a liability in pass protection to essentially get forced out of the lineup at times, but they represent one of the best rotations in the NFL here.
9. Philadelphia Eagles
2025 rank: 1 | 2024 rank: 2
Just ahead of Brown's new team, his old one falls off the top of the board to ninth. The Eagles' coming cap concerns on defense have forced them to try to replace Brown's production in the aggregate, and while GM Howie Roseman did a reasonable job in landing Makai Lemon, Hollywood Brown and Dontayvion Wicks at wide receiver this offseason, there's a significant drop-off between even the 2025 version of Brown and what the Eagles project to get from his replacements in 2026. DeVonta Smith has looked like a WR1 without Brown on the field in the past, but the stylish wideout would have to elevate his game even further to compensate for his missing partner.
It was always going to be difficult for Saquon Barkley to sustain his absurd big-play rate from 2024, but after racking up 21 gains of 20 yards or more during his Super Bowl-winning season, Barkley managed only six of them in 2025. He had to do way more work before first contact: He averaged more than 4 yards before he was initially touched by a defender in 2024, but that fell to 2.3 yards in 2025, which was almost exactly the league average for starting backs. I don't doubt Barkley's talent, but his true big-play production rate is somewhere between what we saw in 2024 and 2025.
The one player who might miss former Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo (now with the Dolphins) is Dallas Goedert. A tight end who has often underperformed his touchdown expectation in the red zone, Goedert scored 11 times last season, including seven times from inside the 5-yard line (after averaging 4.4 touchdowns per 17 games over the rest of his career). Even if the Eagles aren't as reliant on the tush push in 2026, it would be a surprise if Goedert saw as many designed touches near the goal line again this season. Second-round rookie Eli Stowers could figure in at tight end by the end of the season too.
8. Minnesota Vikings
2025 rank: 6 | 2024 rank: 5
There's a tier break between the top eight teams and everyone else on this list. Even coming off his worst season as a pro, Justin Jefferson still has a deserved reputation as one of the most feared receivers in the game. He also has been healthy for five of his first six seasons in the league, which makes it easier to project a full season. And adding Jauan Jennings gave coach Kevin O'Connell an overqualified No. 3 to play behind Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Both Jefferson and Addison saw their catch rates drop to career lows last season, which I feel comfortable chalking up to subpar quarterback play. T.J. Hockenson, though, recorded the best catch rate of his career, in part because he was catching bunches of short checkdowns. The tight end hasn't been the same player since his 2023 ACL tear, and the Vikings could really use his ability to create after the catch and up the seam to help new QB Kyler Murray this season. This is a make-or-break year for Hockenson, who will be a free agent after the campaign.
Running back just isn't a strength for this team. Jordan Mason is a one-dimensional ball carrier without much of an impact in the passing game, and fumbles remain a real problem for him (six across 337 touches over the past two seasons). Aaron Jones Sr. has seven fumbles of his own over that same time span, and while he can do more as a receiver, Jones is 31 and has missed significant time with injuries in two of the past three seasons. The names on the Vikings' roster at running back and tight end might be more prominent than their actual expected level of play in 2026.
7. Dallas Cowboys
2025 rank: 11 | 2024 rank: 8
The Cowboys might claim to have the best one-two punch in the league at wide receiver between CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Pickens' performance after moving from Pittsburgh to Dallas is a great example of how context can dramatically change a player's production. Pickens shifted from a run-first offense with bad quarterback play in Pittsburgh to one that played faster, threw more often and was operated by a much better signal-caller in Dallas. Pickens played better in a vacuum, but he also was in a much more advantageous situation to succeed.
Lamb's 2023 season might look like an outlier if he can't come close to hitting that 1,749-yard mark again in 2026. He's still extremely efficient, but Lamb has missed time with injuries each of the past two seasons and hasn't been able to command the outlandish target share he saw during that big campaign. Between Pickens and tight end Jake Ferguson, who made it back to the Pro Bowl after catching more than 80% of the passes thrown in his direction last season, it's tough to see Lamb earning 181 targets again anytime soon.
Javonte Williams was a pleasant surprise at running back in 2025, staying healthy for the majority of the season and averaging nearly 5 yards per carry along the way. He had struggled to stay on the field since an early-career knee injury, so if he can keep this up in 2026, it'll be difficult to find many faults with what the Cowboys can roll out for Dak Prescott.
6. Arizona Cardinals
2025 rank: 15 | 2024 rank: 21
In last year's Cardinals blurb, I wrote about Marvin Harrison Jr. and why we can often be too impatient with even elite wide receiver prospects. Well, Year 2 has come and gone for him, and it might have been even more underwhelming than Year 1. Injuries limited Harrison to 12 games, but they didn't explain the brutal stretch of drops that the 2024 fourth pick endured in September, either. Harrison had his moments, notably when he gave Devon Witherspoon fits during a frantic Arizona comeback early in the season. But it was telling to watch the Cardinals-Bengals game late in the campaign; top Bengals corner DJ Turner II was shadowing Michael Wilson -- not Harrison.
Of course, the good news for the Cardinals is that Wilson had a breakout season when Harrison wasn't available. Wilson averaged 2.5 yards per route run across 293 routes without Harrison on the field in 2025, identical to what George Pickens and Nico Collins produced over their full seasons. Wilson's average fell to 0.9 yards per route run with Harrison on the field, which was Malik Washington and Cedric Tillman territory. We would expect Wilson to get better with Harrison on the sidelines, but that's a preposterous on/off split. For a player who hadn't been more than a tertiary target over his first two seasons, seeing whether Wilson can produce with Harrison on the field -- and if Harrison can live up to his predraft hype -- should be one of the more fascinating reasons to watch the Cardinals in 2026.
Jeremiyah Love might be another. It's always difficult to project (even highly drafted) backs for immediate success -- look at Ashton Jeanty's rookie season -- but the Cardinals should have more around the Notre Dame product to let him thrive. Between Love, Tyler Allgeier and James Conner, the Cardinals have the deepest backfield in the league, although I'd expect Conner to be moved before the start of the season.
And all of this hasn't even touched on Trey McBride, who finally started catching touchdowns last season and won the triple crown for tight ends. McBride benefited from running 119 more routes and earning 51 more targets than any other tight end, but he was third in yards per route run and dropped only one pass.
There's a scenario where Love and Harrison live up to expectations, Wilson is able to sustain the sort of form he showed without Harrison on the field all season and the Cardinals have a legitimate case for No. 1 in these rankings next year. But it also feels like the only true sure thing they have is McBride.
5. San Francisco 49ers
2025 rank: 4 | 2024 rank: 1
Between Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and new addition Mike Evans, the 49ers can call on surefire Hall of Famers at each spot in the lineup for these rankings. The wide receiver room has been overturned, with Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk replaced by Evans, Christian Kirk and second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling. There's even the obligatory Kyle Shanahan middle-round pick at running back, with third-round selection Kaelon Black vying to back up McCaffrey this season. Should the 49ers be higher?
Well, how confident are you that you'll get the typical healthy seasons from all those players? Kittle is coming off a campaign that had already been impacted by hamstring and ankle issues before he tore his right Achilles in the playoffs. Evans was limited to eight games by hamstring and collarbone injuries. McCaffrey was healthy all season, but he has missed significant time in three of the past six campaigns. All three are on the wrong side of 30. And Ricky Pearsall, the team's second-best wideout, missed nine games with a posterior cruciate ligament injury last season.
OK, but should we be optimistic? Of course! We're not far removed from McCaffrey, Kittle and Evans all having elite seasons. McCaffrey wasn't quite as efficient as a runner in 2025 as you might like, but he added 924 receiving yards for his third 2,000-scrimmage-yard season. Kittle already is far along in his rehab, per reports, and might be ready to start the season. Evans' streak of 1,000-yard seasons might have ended because of injury, but he was incredibly consistent for a decade and was still extremely efficient as recently as 2024. And Pearsall averaged 2.0 yards per route run last season.
There's a No. 1 playmaker group on paper here, but it requires the new big three in San Francisco to stave off both aging and injury in 2026.
4. Atlanta Falcons
2025 rank: 9 | 2024 rank: 10
After years of waiting, Atlanta's three top-10 picks finally put together the sort of season the Falcons had imagined. Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts Sr. weren't able to propel Atlanta to the playoffs or even a winning record, but it would be difficult to pin too much blame for a disappointing campaign on the efforts of the team's three best playmakers.
It seems entirely plausible that a repeat could be in the cards in 2026. Robinson had struggled to generate big plays during his first two pro seasons, but anyone who watched the star back at Texas knew Robinson had those sorts of runs in him. We saw them finally arrive last season, with Robinson scoring from 81 and 93 yards out. His explosive play rate jumped to 12.6%, a figure that the versatile back should have no trouble matching if healthy in 2026. The only knocks you can pin on him are his blocking (which isn't being considered here) and his issues with fumbles (which are).
London has been an elite wideout for a couple of years now, although injuries limited the USC star to 12 games in 2025. He finished seventh in receiving yards per game and ninth in yards per route run, all with Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins at quarterback. London was 12th by both metrics the prior season. The Falcons were the league's fourth-most run-heavy offense in neutral game scripts last season, so if new coach Kevin Stefanski airs the ball out more often in 2026, London could have a first-team All-Pro ceiling.
The most tenuous projection might belong to Pitts, who had been struggling to recover from early-career knee issues before getting back on track in 2025. Pitts benefited from London's absence late in the season, racking up 24 catches for 338 yards over a three-game span. The ability to produce like a lead WR for any stretch of time is rare among tight ends, which is why the Falcons franchised Pitts after the season and handed him an extension this week. If Pitts' knee injuries are really in the past, a Stefanski offense that has typically generated plenty of looks for players such as David Njoku should be able to create runaway opportunities for Pitts.
There's a major drop-off from those three to everyone else on the roster, although Brian Robinson Jr. was a solid addition as the replacement for Tyler Allgeier. The Falcons will go as far as their top playmakers can carry them here.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
2025 rank: 3 | 2024 rank: 11
As you already know, the Bengals are the only team in the NFL that can credibly say it has two WR1-caliber talents anchoring the offense.
In Ja'Marr Chase, the Bengals have a first-team All-Pro each of the past two seasons with an annual case to lead the league in any (or every) receiving category. Chase's big-play rate from 2024 inevitably regressed a little toward the mean in 2025, but there's no wide receiver in the NFL with a higher floor or ceiling.
On a snap-by-snap basis, Tee Higgins has a solid case as a midtier WR1, particularly in the moments we've seen him without Chase on the field. Higgins has scored 21 touchdowns in 27 games over the past two seasons, and he ranked 11th in ESPN's receiver scores a year ago. The issue, frustratingly, is availability. Higgins missed five games in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and while he was healthier in 2025, he was still sidelined for two contests. He hasn't played a full season since his rookie campaign in 2020. A 17-game season from Higgins would go a long way toward getting the 27-year-old back to the Pro Bowl for a second consecutive campaign.
Chase Brown makes this a big three, although the Bengals are careful to limit his workload and haven't let their lead back top 240 carries in either of the past two campaigns. Brown's role as a receiver has grown; he garnered 88 targets last season on everything from slants out of the slot to shallow routes on mesh concepts to double moves. If he could do this with about 15% more workload, Brown would be a Pro Bowl contender in the AFC.
After those three, well, good luck. Andrei Iosivas has been one of the least efficient receivers in the league, even when one of the players ahead of him has been absent. Tight end Mike Gesicki wasn't able to build on his resurgent 2024 campaign. Erick All Jr. quietly impressed early in his rookie season before missing the second half of 2024 and all of 2025 with a serious knee injury. Could the 25-year-old tight end be the player the Bengals need to make it to No. 1 on this list?
2. Los Angeles Rams
2025 rank: 5 | 2024 rank: 9
The rivalry between the Rams and the Seahawks might have been matched only by the battle between their two star wide receivers in 2025. And just as the Seahawks narrowly claimed the NFC West crown and, eventually, the conference title, Puka Nacua finished just behind Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the race as football's best wideout. Nacua makes the Rams' offense work with his ability to block and all the play-action concepts that open up as a result, but he hit new heights as a receiver in 2025, particularly working downfield. He also added 105 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground for good measure. Nacua is the most complete receiver in the game.
Davante Adams was limited to 14 games by a late-season hamstring issue. We didn't see the Adams of old in 2025, but we got a player who became virtually unstoppable near the goal line. He scored 14 touchdowns, and upon closer inspection, he was open for at least four or five more, only to be let down by some combination of poor throws, pressure and drops. Adams had nine touchdowns inside the 5-yard line last season, and Dallas Goedert was the only other player with more than four. That seems unsustainable in 2026, but again, Adams was simply routinely open time after time near the end zone. Regardless, the future Hall of Famer is more properly characterized as a No. 2 as opposed to a No. 1 at this point of his career.
Kyren Williams split time with Blake Corum in 2025, but Williams led all rushers in success rate (50.6%) and was ninth in missed tackle rate (27.0%). Coach Sean McVay also relied more on Williams as a pass catcher in key spots, using him on choice routes when teams focused their coverages on Adams and Nacua. Corum isn't as complete of a player as the starter, but he's plenty explosive as a runner and a valuable second back. Throw in the bevy of tight ends the Rams have and this is a complete playmaker room, albeit one that could be more dependent on Nacua than it might seem.
1. Detroit Lions
2025 rank: 2 | 2024 rank: 7
It's the Lions, though, who inherit the top spot from the Eagles. I'm not sure we learned anything dramatically new about Detroit's personnel in 2025. Jahmyr Gibbs did end the season as a true lead back, but his workload was only marginally larger than it had been as a rotational player in 2024. Gibbs was able to maintain elite efficiency as a rusher and a receiver despite a struggling offensive line, with the former first-round pick averaging more than 5 yards per carry for the third consecutive season. The only other back to do that on three consecutive 150-plus-carry seasons to begin a career is Nick Chubb. Good company.
While Amon-Ra St. Brown managed 1,401 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in yet another high-end campaign, the star wide receiver will look back and rue a very unexpected problem: drops. After dropping a total of five passes across his first four seasons in the league, St. Brown had five drops in 2025 alone, including one on fourth-and-2 against the Chiefs. St. Brown's track record suggests the issue was an outlier, and even with the drops, he was still wildly productive in 2025.
Jameson Williams solidified his status as one of the league's best No. 2 wideouts, racking up a career-high 1,117 receiving yards while playing a full season for the first time as a pro. And there were some bright spots from rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who seemed to only be targeted on jump balls in the end zone. In reality, TeSlaa caught 16 passes for 239 yards and six touchdowns, and he profiles as a potential breakout candidate if there are enough footballs to go around in the offense this season.
The only player Lions fans might want more from is Sam LaPorta, who hasn't been able to build on his impressive rookie campaign. The fourth-year tight end was off to a solid start last season, averaging more yards per route run (2.0) than he did as a rookie (1.8). A herniated disc in his back ended LaPorta's season in early November, though. He is never going to get the sort of target share he needs to produce like Trey McBride or Brock Bowers, but LaPorta is entirely capable of being one of the league's most efficient tight ends on a route-by-route basis.
There are small downgrades on the margins: The Lions don't have as much wide receiver depth as they've had in years past, and Isiah Pacheco doesn't profile to be as productive or explosive as David Montgomery was in Detroit. But this core also validated it could be among the most productive in the NFL, even without Ben Johnson in the mix. And while 2025 might have been disappointing for the Lions as a whole, it was the season that proved Detroit has the best playmakers in all of football.