Each year, National Football League (NFL) fans debate who is the best wide receiver. This position is one of the most important in football because wide receivers and running backs score the majority of the points for their team. They also are met with a lot of praise as well as blame for their team’s success. Here’s our list of the top five wide receivers currently playing in the NFL.
Honorable Mentions: AJ Brown (Philadelphia Eagles), CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys), Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams), Stefon Diggs (New England Patriots) and Nico Collins (Houston Texans).
#5: Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
For his entire career, Terry McLaurin has been held back by a poor team, especially at the quarterback position. Even in this terrible situation, he still recorded 1,000 yards in receiving for five years straight. The lack of success for the Washington Commanders led to McLaurin being one of the most underrated wide receivers in the game. However, in this past season, the Commanders turned their franchise around. McLaurin had a career year going for 82 catches, 1,096 yards in receiving and put up the second-most receiving touchdowns in the league with 13, which was also a franchise record. He continued this amazing season into the postseason, racking up 14 catches, 227 yards and the most touchdowns by a receiver in the 2025 playoffs with three in just three games. His outstanding plays were enough to bring the Commanders to their first National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game in 33 years. His consistent career and dominance last year are enough to make the top 5.
#4: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 2021 Draft, Amon-Ra St. Brown has had an amazing first four years of his career. In the draft, 16 wide receivers went before him. This motivated him to exceed all expectations and prove to everyone he was worth more than a fourth-round pick. His best season came in 2023 with a total of 119 catches, 1,515 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He has helped the Lions become one of the most dominant teams in the NFL in the past two seasons, bringing them to the 2023 playoffs for the first time since 2016 and giving the Lions their first playoff win since 1991. Last season, St. Brown proved once again to everyone why he should have been a first-round draft choice when he helped the Lions clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in franchise history. St. Brown also has been chosen for three Pro Bowls and has been selected first team All-Pro in the last four seasons, further proving his skills and dominance.
#3: Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill was first drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He helped the Chiefs win two Super Bowls in his six-year tenure with the team; he is also the only player to win a Super Bowl on this top five list. He was then traded in the 2022 NFL offseason to the Miami Dolphins, where he had a record year during the 2023 season with a career high 1,799 receiving yards. He was 166 yards away from breaking the all-time receiving yards record held by Calvin Johnson with 1,964 receiving yards. In his entire career, he has had 11,098 receiving yards and 82 touchdowns. He has been selected to be a five-time first team All-Pro, one second team All-Pro and has been selected to be in the Pro Bowl eight times. At 31 years old, Hill is still one of the fastest players in the NFL.
#2: Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Ever since getting drafted in 2021 in the first round, Ja’Marr Chase has been one of the game’s most dominant receivers. In just four years, Chase has gone for 395 catches, 5,425 receiving yards and 46 touchdowns, being one of the top receivers every year. This past season was his best with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns, giving him the triple crown. The triple crown is when a wide receiver has the most catches, yards and touchdowns in a year, which has only been done 17 times in all 105 years of the NFL. Along with this, Chase also won the 2021 Associated Press (AP) Offensive Rookie of the Year for his record-breaking rookie year. With all the success Chase has gained in his short career, it was without a doubt that he would make our list.
#1: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Although Justin Jefferson is only in his fifth year, he is already being regarded by many as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. Since being drafted in 2020, Jefferson has had no trouble at the NFL level, putting up 7,432 receiving yards, 495 catches and 40 touchdowns. In 2023, he won the AP Offensive Player of the Year, which made him the fourth-ever receiver to win the award. Jefferson has also broken countless records in his short career, such as the most receiving yards by any player in their first five seasons, the most receiving yards by a rookie ever, and he has many of the franchise receiving records for the Vikings. Jefferson has four Pro Bowls and five All Pro selections, showing his dominance in the league. With all that he has done already in just five years, it is undoubtedly clear that he is number one on our list.
