One of the more common clichés about the modern NFL, or the modern game of football at any level, is this: Passing is king.
Teams have to throw the football to win. Of course that puts a lot of pressure on the players passing the ball, but that also makes those catching the football vitally important for offenses. Particularly the receivers on the outside, often operating without a “two-way go,” facing elite cornerback with high-level press coverage skills, and even safeties rotated in their direction.
Which makes what these players do so special.
Now, astute observers likely recognize that instead of 11 top outside receivers, we have included 15. That is a nod not only to the talent level of the position, but also the importance of the position. This is a tweak that will be made for the quarterbacks as well. Plus, trying to trim this list to 15 was hard enough, getting to 11 was darn near impossible.
Here are the NFL’s top 15 outside receivers.
(Oh, and before anyone asks, the last player out was Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers. But fear not Chargers fans, he got his accolades in Doug Farrar’s list of the top slot receivers).
