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With the NFL draft now complete, a new class of receivers will be making their debut in the league. Every year, teams hope that their rookie additions will catapult their offense to a new level.
But which receiving unit is shaping up to be the most productive in the 2021 NFL season? Here are the top ten NFL receiving corps on paper after the draft.
Top NFL receiver groups
#10 - Green Bay Packers
The Packers have been engulfed in drama with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The reigning NFL MVP has made it known that he wants to leave the franchise, and the team's wide receivers have also been openly questioning their future with the team.
But right now, they still have Rodgers as their quarterback and Davante Adams as their top receiver. The latter's impact is enough to land the Green Bay Packers' receiving unit in the top ten of the NFL.
In two of the last three seasons, Davante Adams has recorded at least 110 catches, 1300 yards and 13 touchdowns. His numbers alone are better than a few teams' entire receiving units. The impact of every other wide receiver on the Packers' roster is just a bonus after Davante Adams' contribution.
# 9 - Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns have a great one-two punch in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. The duo have played a big role in turning the team's culture around.
In his worst season with the Browns, Jarvis Landry caught 72 passes for 840 yards and three touchdowns. In his best campaign, he had 83 catches for 1174 yards and six touchdowns.
In 2019, his full only season with the Browns, Odell Beckham Jr. caught 74 passes for 1035 yards and four touchdowns. The wide receiver suffered a season-ending injury midway through the 2020 campaign but is expected to be fully fit for Week 1 of the 2021 season.
#8 - Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton was hurt last year but with him now healthy, the Denver Broncos will have a stacked receiver room that sits near the top of the NFL. The team will have Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler and Tim Patrick.
If the Broncos can find a competent quarterback, their wide receiver unit will explode onto the scene. Each of their top three receivers is good enough to be the primary target on many teams in the NFL.
Courtland Sutton's best year with the Broncos came in his second season, when he caught 72 passes for 1112 yards and six touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jerry Jeudy caught 52 passes for 856 yards and three touchdowns last season.
KJ Hamler is the third-choice receiver on the Denver Broncos. He caught the game-winning touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers. He tallied nearly 400 yards in 2020.
Sutton, Jeudy and Hamler are already an enviable trio, but the Broncos also have Tim Patrick. He hasn't posted the numbers that his teammates have but he has shown glimpses of his ability in his time in Denver.
#7 - Seattle Seahawks
Put simply, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are monsters. DK Metcalf had 83 receptions for 1303 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2020, while Tyler Lockett has hovered around 1000 yards and ten touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
If rookie D'Wayne Eskridge works out, the Seahawks will be one of the most dangerous passing attacks in the NFL.
#6 - Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have stuffed their receiving room to a bursting point with DeAndre Hopkins, AJ Green, Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella.
Hopkins is well documented as one of the best receivers in the league. AJ Green may not be as big a playmaker as he was five years ago, but he can still make a big impact.
Christian Kirk is one of the best third-choice receivers in the NFL. In 2019, he tallied 68 receptions for 709 yards and three touchdowns. Andy Isabella is a speed merchant who can sneak behind any defense.
This receiving unit has the makings of being one of the most potent in the NFL. The biggest question is whether Kyler Murray can get this team to the promised land.
Best NFL receiver groups (2/2)
#5 - Pittsburgh Steelers
Simply put, Juju Smith-Schuster is an outstanding receiver. He has recorded around 1000 yards in three of his four seasons in the NFL. His best season saw him tally over 1400 yards and seven touchdowns.
Second-year wide receiver Chase Claypool could be even better than Smith-Schuster. His rookie season saw him tally 873 yards on 62 catches. If these were his stats in his rookie season as a backup, one can only imagine what his ceiling could be.
#4 - Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills will enter the 2021 season with Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley. Stefon Diggs' addition changed the Bills' offense. His addition saw the Bills' offense catapult from 24th in 2019 to second in 2020. The move made Josh Allen's career a success.
The Bills have now added Emmanuel Sanders, one of the best receivers of the past decade.
In Sanders, the Bills have a receiver who is having a career resurgence. In 2019, Sanders tallied 502 yards and three touchdowns, and in 2020, his production increased to 726 yards and five touchdowns. If he can continue his upward trajectory with the Bills and Stefon Diggs, the Bills offense could be the top offense in the NFL.
#2 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady may have elevated this group, but much of the receiver room was great even before the veteran arrived.
Mike Evans has been a top receiver in the NFL for over half a decade and Chris Godwin is no slouch either. Evans has earned over 1000 yards in each season of his NFL career. Chris Godwin has had a season with over 1000 receiving yards under his belt.
Antonio Brown was added to the squad as an afterthought and while his statistics are not noteworthy, his presence on the football field affects defenses and opens up the field for other receivers.
The Buccaneers have also added Jaelon Darden from this year's NFL draft. If he turns out to be a good value, this offense could be even better in 2021.
#1 - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City was the birthplace of the speed revolution in the NFL. Only a few years later, their wide receivers have only gotten better.
Tyreek Hill is why teams in the NFL value speed over other tangibles when drafting receivers. He has earned over 1100 yards in three of his five seasons in the NFL.
The Kansas City Chiefs also have Mecole Hardman, who has hovered around 500 yards every season of his NFL career. The Chiefs have too many weapons in all offensive positions for everyone to get great statistics.
Their depth pieces are also solid and growing in talent year-over-year. Byron Pringle and new rookie Cornell Powell can only get better. Put simply, from top to bottom, the Kansas City Chiefs' receiver corps is one of the faces of the NFL.
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