It looks like there will be a lot of parity among the elite wide receivers at the top of draft boards this year. With so many talented pass catchers, it’s tough to justify taking one with a top-10 pick – he might be outproduced by a half dozen of the guys who get selected in the second round.
Statistically, Antonio Brown has been the best over the last two years, averaging 100 yards per game, with 23 touchdowns. But four physical freaks are right on his heels, and they’re all working with capable passers – Demaryius Thomas, Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant and Julio Jones.
Some of the other guys who’ve been top-10 receivers over the past two years aren’t bad either. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb have had the benefit of working with Aaron Rodgers. A.J. Green is as talented as those top-5 guys but had some injury issues last year.
Here are the top 30 receivers over the past two years, in order of per-game fantasy production. That is, we’ve taken each guy’s numbers and adjusted them to account for missed games. (Jeremy Maclin and Mike Evans, for example, didn’t even play in 2013, but they both crack the top 20.)
I’m listing only guys who started at least half of the time, so Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t on this list. He wasn’t drafted until last year, missed the first four games, and didn’t actually start until Week 6.
I’m using the scoring system here of 6 points for touchdowns and 1 for every 10 yards. Stats include 2-point conversions and touchdowns scored on runs, returns and passes.
| TOP 30 RECEIVERS OF 2013-14 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | St | No | Yards | TD | Points |
| 1. | Antonio Brown | 32 | 7.5 | 100.3 | .75 | 14.5 |
| 2. | Demaryius Thomas | 32 | 6.3 | 95.3 | .79 | 14.3 |
| 3. | Calvin Johnson | 27 | 5.7 | 95.1 | .74 | 14.0 |
| 4. | Dez Bryant | 32 | 5.7 | 79.8 | .91 | 13.4 |
| 5. | Julio Jones | 20 | 7.3 | 108.7 | .40 | 13.3 |
| 6. | Josh Gordon | 19 | 5.8 | 102.6 | .47 | 13.1 |
| 7. | Jordy Nelson | 32 | 5.7 | 88.5 | .66 | 12.8 |
| 8. | Randall Cobb | 22 | 5.5 | 79.9 | .74 | 12.4 |
| 9. | A.J. Green | 29 | 5.8 | 85.1 | .59 | 12.0 |
| 10. | Jeremy Maclin | 16 | 5.3 | 82.4 | .63 | 12.0 |
| 11. | Alshon Jeffery | 32 | 5.4 | 80.8 | .54 | 11.3 |
| 12. | Brandon Marshall | 29 | 5.6 | 69.5 | .71 | 11.2 |
| 13. | DeSean Jackson | 31 | 4.5 | 80.9 | .48 | 11.0 |
| 14. | Eric Decker | 31 | 5.2 | 72.6 | .52 | 10.4 |
| 15. | T.Y. Hilton | 31 | 5.3 | 79.0 | .39 | 10.2 |
| 16. | Julian Edelman | 25 | 7.2 | 77.6 | .39 | 10.1 |
| 17. | Emmanuel Sanders | 32 | 5.3 | 68.4 | .49 | 9.8 |
| 18. | Kelvin Benjamin | 16 | 4.6 | 63.0 | .56 | 9.7 |
| 19. | Anquan Boldin | 32 | 5.3 | 70.2 | .38 | 9.3 |
| 20. | Andre Johnson | 31 | 6.3 | 75.6 | .26 | 9.1 |
| 21. | Torrey Smith | 32 | 3.6 | 59.2 | .48 | 8.8 |
| 22. | Golden Tate | 32 | 5.1 | 70.6 | .28 | 8.7 |
| 23. | Keenan Allen | 29 | 5.0 | 61.9 | .41 | 8.7 |
| 24. | Vincent Jackson | 32 | 4.6 | 69.6 | .28 | 8.6 |
| 25. | Mike Wallace | 32 | 4.4 | 56.5 | .47 | 8.5 |
| 26. | Jordan Matthews | 16 | 4.2 | 54.5 | .50 | 8.5 |
| 27. | Sammy Watkins | 16 | 4.1 | 61.9 | .38 | 8.4 |
| 28. | Roddy White | 27 | 5.3 | 60.4 | .37 | 8.3 |
| 29. | Marvin Jones | 16 | 3.2 | 44.5 | .63 | 8.2 |
| 30. | Larry Fitzgerald | 30 | 4.8 | 57.9 | .40 | 8.2 |
—Ian Allan