1. Broncos - Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas
Even in a season in which Peyton Manning was on his last legs and Brock Osweiler was forced to keep the offense from collapsing, these two receivers still had over 1000 yards each. They’ve done that two straight years. Sanders is a speed demon who in 2014 caught over 100 passes for 1404 yards. Thomas is a former first round pick and steady performer who has incredibly averaged nearly 1500 yards per season the past four years and didn’t dip below 1300 yards any of those seasons. If you’re Mark Sanchez, you couldn’t be happier with the receiving corps you inherited.
2. Raiders - Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree
Cooper burst out the gates as a pro-ready rookie receiver to put up 1070 yards. This despite being hobbled by a late-season injury that caused his yards per catch to wane as well as some uncharacteristic drops. Crabtree was signed last season to a one-year deal and by midseason, he had proven his reliability and was given a long term extension. A healthy Cooper and another offseason with Derek Carr will only improve his production and could bring out the type of talent he once showed as a former top ten pick and one time 1000-yard receiver.
3. Chargers - Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin
It was a tough choice for the third and fourth spots in this ranking between the Chargers and Chiefs. Allen quickly became big time receiving threat as a rookie in 2013, with 1046 yards and 8 touchdowns. Since then, he hasn’t reached that level of success. He had a considerable sophomore slump, dipping to 783 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. He saw a resurgence last season, averaging an impressive 90 yards per game, but was appeared in just 8 games before being lost to injury. Travis Benjamin was signed by the team this offseason replacing Malcolm Floyd. Benjamin broke out last season to start 15 games and put up 966 yards for a hapless Browns squad.
4. Chiefs - Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson
Last offseason the Chiefs passing game was the laughing stock of the NFL. So anemic was passing game in Kansas City that they couldn’t get a single wide receiver touchdown all of 2014. Then they added Maclin and that changed everything. He put up 1088 yards last season which was the first 1000-yard receiver the team had had since 2011. It was also the first time since Alex Smith joined the team that a wide receiver led the team in receiving. That’s quite a feat. Wilson is a below average starter who isn’t even guaranteed to keep his spot in the starting lineup. It’s possible he is beaten out by former Raiders top receiver, Rod Streater.
Loading comments...