Wide Receiver Rankings: Top 15 age 25 and under for 2024

Matt Harmon

The wide receiver position is absolutely loaded in both fantasy and reality.

It’s so hard to put together any sort of position ranking list without feeling like you left someone off or slighted a really good player or two. And yet, I’m going to give it a shot … and I'll absolutely feel the aforementioned.

After pouring hours into charting a ton of the guys drafted the last few years for Reception Perception, I decided to sit down and rank the top 15 wide receivers who are currently 25 years old or younger heading into training camp (not including rookies).

One note: These are not simply fantasy rankings. Instead, this is how I view these guys as pure individual NFL players removed from the context of their situation.

He was No. 1 on my list last season and despite missing time last year, there is no reason to move Jefferson from the throne. Jefferson is a flawless wide receiver who is every bit as explosive as he is a detailed technician. He’s also become a dominant contested-catch receiver. The star receiver also draws extra defensive attention more than any other player at his position. A newly minted and record-breaking contract shows the value Jefferson brings as the foundation of the Vikings for years to come.

The 2023 season saw CeeDee Lamb jump from the top of my Tier 2 wide receivers into the truly elite group. It took too long into the season (that Week 5 beatdown by the 49ers to seemingly instigate it), but the Cowboys moving Lamb around the formation on critical downs and building the offense around him shot that unit to new heights. Lamb can win from all three receiver positions, separate with extreme quickness and impressed me last year as a tight-coverage ball-winner.

While Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t necessarily had that 2022 Jefferson or 2023 Lamb season quite yet, everything about his skill set says he can be that guy. Chase could have that type of campaign as soon as this season.

With Tee Higgins back for one more year, slot-man Tyler Boyd out the door and another outside receiver in Jermaine Burton being the most relevant addition, Chase could see more work from the slot than ever before in 2024. That would help him get the type of layups that push a receiver north of 1,600 yards.

Garrett Wilson and the next player on my list are the top candidates to be “This year’s CeeDee Lamb” — as in, a top-of-Tier-2 wideout who is an obvious candidate to jump into the elite tier. Wilson doesn’t have the production that measures up with players at the top of this list, but … we all know why.

Anyone who uses a stats-based argument to discredit Wilson is being disingenuous at best and simply doesn’t understand how production at the position works, at worst. When isolated from his surroundings, he checks all the boxes you want in a superstar No. 1 wideout. Wilson is an explosive separator who wins at all three levels and can take over any game.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s game, and he’s still exceeded my expectations every step of the way. He’s not just a slot receiver, as his ability to win against press has improved in each of his three pro seasons. You can argue that he’s one of the most valuable receivers to his team’s offense, a scoring unit that happens to be among the best in the NFL.

Some will ding St. Brown because he doesn’t impact plays deep downfield as much as some of the other top receivers but he’s fantastic where he does win. His skill set and overall game has long been a clean overlap with Cooper Kupp, who won the triple-crown in 2021. St. Brown can have a season like that at some point, especially if he continues to get better.

I wish I had the conviction to rank him higher on last year’s list because, when viewed in isolation via Reception Perception, Nico Collins has always shined. A hideous offensive environment just held him back in his first two seasons.

Last season, he played and produced like one of the best wide receivers in the game. He’s the last player on this list who has both offered up a dominant alpha wide receiver season and has scheme-proof skills. Collins can handle X-receiver duties because he thrives against press coverage.

Jaylen Waddle didn’t have the statistical season many hoped for but that was primarily due to a combination of injuries and a touch of bad luck. On film, I thought 2023 was his best NFL season. What most people don’t realize about the Dolphins offense is that most of the layup, schemed targets and off-the-line of scrimmage deployment goes to Tyreek Hill. Waddle has to go up against physical coverage as an outside receiver more often, and he impressed me more in that area last year than ever before. There is still a ceiling yet to be reached for this player.

Puka Nacua is coming off an outrageous rookie season where he broke records as a Day 3 draft pick. He’s an excellent fit in the Rams offense, which prioritizes middle-of-the-field routes and asks the receivers to do more dirty work than most attacks. It’ll be fascinating to see if Nacua has another leap coming in the next few years of his career. He doesn’t fit the mold of a traditional No. 1 receiver but is a rugged playmaker catered to the current offensive meta propagating the NFL.

Drake London is another player who needs to be isolated from his surroundings to be truly appreciated. He’s played a ton of X-receiver his first two seasons and has been a much better separator than credited. He’s proficient at separating cleanly on base routes over the middle but has build-up speed and ball-tracking to win on deep out-breaking routes.

London is a full-field threat who a new coaching staff can further maximize by moving him around the formation. He should gobble up targets this season and should be firmly in the superstar tier by November.

DeVonta Smith isn’t coming off his best season, but coming out of 2022, I was convinced he was the most likely of the “1B receivers” who could handle being a top-of-depth-chart threat. The Eagles retained both A.J. Brown and Smith long-term, so he’ll only ever have to worry about being a high-end sidekick to an elite wideout. Smith is an excellent separator who could handle a lot of vertical boundary work in Kellen Moore’s offense because he’s so good against press coverage.

I flip-flopped Chris Olave and DeVonta Smith a ton on this list but ultimately settled on the current order just because I’ve seen the latter more in the league. However, while I think Smith is starting to level off as a “very good No. 2, maybe fringe No. 1 on a different team,” Olave has more potential to leap a tier this season.

The Saints offense is about to get much more wide-receiver-friendly with motion and play-action concepts under a new offensive staff. That type of deployment can further unlock Olave’s excellent separation skills.

Tank Dell was awesome as a rookie. Last season, he was one of the best wide receivers in the game at running big-boy, outside-breaking routes — not best among rookies, but best among all NFL wideouts. He’s deadly against man coverage and is paired with a quarterback who can attack those deep outside areas of the field. As long as he can stay healthy, he figures to be a high-efficiency player even if his game doesn’t lend itself to much volume.

Tee Higgins at 13 is one of those tough decisions when ranking receivers, and I may just be a bit lower on him than others. If removed from the Bengals’ offense, I don’t necessarily think he’s a slam-dunk true No. 1 wideout.

That said, he works the middle of the field against man coverage better than you think and is a vertical threat because of his contested-catch chops. A healthy version of Higgins will make the Bengals offense better this year and figures to do the same for another team in 2025.

Zay Flowers was electric as a rookie and there’s still plenty of meat left on the bone. Don’t think for a second that he’s just a designed touches player or needs to be fed screens to be productive. Flowers demolishes man coverage on out-breaking routes as a flanker receiver.

Flowers and Lamar Jackson weren’t always on the same page on intermediat routes but that’s an area both receiver and quarterback can improve on going forward. He’ll need to improve against press coverage to develop into a No. 1 receiver but I’m confident he’ll be a productive player for a long time.

Honestly, I don’t have much conviction in placing George Pickens at the 15th spot over either of the first two “just missed the list” players. I broke the tie in favor of the Steelers wideout because he’s shown well against press coverage while running downfield routes as an X-receiver.

While Pickens has played in a dysfunctional offense with poor quarterbacks, his overall inconsistency as a separator and lapses in effort are significant factors in his volatile production. He’s an excellent deep threat who wins high-degree-of-difficulty contested catches but needs to take another step or two to be a high target share, No. 1 receiver.

  • Jayden Reed was one of my favorites in last year’s draft and turned in an excellent rookie season. I’d like to see him expand his work beyond just slot and gadget duties; he’s capable of it.

  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba was much better on film than his stats suggest and should be unlocked in the intermediate area in Ryan Grubb’s offense.

  • Rashee Rice is a limited player who primarily wins on short routes and manufactured touches but is efficient in that role. But he may be suspended this year after a troubling offseason.

  • Rashid Shaheed is a sneaky favorite of mine who beats man coverage at all three levels. He should be a breakout bet this season.

  • If we were making a “my guys” list, Josh Downs would be much higher. His separation skills are electric and he can win in the intermediate game as a slot receiver.

  • Jordan Addison was a big-play merchant in Year 1 who feasted off soft coverage on crossing routes. He looks like a nice No. 2 wide receiver long-term but you have to be worried about two vehicular issues in back-to-back offseasons.

  • Jahan Dotson and Jerry Jeudy both fell off the list after disappointing 2023 seasons. I thought Dotson was much better on film than his per-route metrics show and strongly believe the Washington offense was so poorly designed, we should give all of its players a pass.

  • Romeo Doubs does the thankless work as the X-receiver in Matt LaFleur’s offense and is a solid role player. I wonder if Doubs or Christian Watson lose snaps to Dontayvion Wicks, who showed star traits in a limited role as a rookie.

  • I don't know that Cardinals second-year receiver Michael Wilson has the upside to scream up this list but he was much better as a rookie than people realize. I like him as the team's No. 2 behind Marvin Harrison Jr.

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