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Where does Dez Bryant rank among the NFL’s top wide receivers?
Jon Machota
Dez Bryant deserves to be paid like one of the NFL’s top wide receivers. The Cowboys recognize his unique talent and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future, even if that means continuing to use the franchise tag.
Here are my top 10 wide receivers.
1.) Calvin Johnson. There’s really no weakness to Megatron’s game. He’s as physically gifted as any player to ever put on pads. He has played injured the last two seasons and still amassed 2,569 yards and 20 touchdowns. Johnson might not play as long as some of the league’s all-time greats, but he’s certainly on pace to being one of the legends of the game. “He’s a man amongst boys out there,” Patriots CB Darrelle Revis told the Boston Herald last season. “The dude’s 6-foot-6, 230 pounds. And he runs a 4.3. That’s pretty freakish.”
2.) Dez Bryant. Bryant has become the NFL’s best redzone wide receiver. He led the league in touchdown receptions last season with 16 and he leads all receivers in TD catches over the last five seasons with 56. “Obviously, Calvin’s the standard across the league,” Tony Romo said before facing Detroit in January, “but Dez has done such a great job that I think both teams are very happy and very proud to have the guys that they have.”
3.) Antonio Brown. I laughed last year when the NFL players ranked Brown ahead of Bryant on their annual top 100 list. Although I wouldn’t take Brown over Bryant, the gap is closer than I originally thought. Nobody has more receiving yards over the last two seasons than Brown’s 3,197. As long as he and Ben Roethlisberger are healthy, those numbers could get even better.
4.) A.J. Green. Green missed three games and was slowed in several others because of toe and head injuries. In 13 games, he finished with a career low 1,041 receiving yards and six touchdowns. But he’s only 26. There’s likely a very bright future ahead for the former fourth overall pick. The previous two seasons Green averaged 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns.
5.) Demaryius Thomas. Over the last three seasons, the 22nd overall pick of the 2010 draft is averaging 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns. During that time, only Calvin Johnson has more receiving yards and only Dez Bryant has more touchdowns. With Peyton Manning returning for another season, there’s no reason to think Thomas can’t keep up the impressive pace.
6.) Brandon Marshall. He missed Chicago’s final three games last season after Barry Church’s knee broke his ribs and punctured a lung. If that injury had not occurred, Marshall was on pace for an eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season and his third straight year with double-digit touchdowns. He’s entering the back end of his career, but Marshall still has some of the best hands and athletic ability in the game.
7.) Jordy Nelson. He only caught two passes for 22 yards against the Cowboys in the playoffs, but don’t let that fool you. Nelson is one of the game’s most consistent receivers. In 2014, Nelson set career-highs with 98 receptions and 1,519 receiving yards. To compare, Dez Bryant has 336 receptions for 4,863 yards and 50 touchdowns over the last four seasons. Nelson has 300 receptions for 4,841 yards and 43 touchdowns.
8.) Julio Jones. He is one of the most talented athletes in the game, however, his stats haven’t always matched up with the NFL’s best. They were on that level in 2014, as Jones hauled in a career-high 104 passes for 1,593 yards and six touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll build on that breakout year with a new coordinator trying to establish something that looks like a dependable rushing attack.
9.) Larry Fitzgerald. This is the toughest receiver for me to rank because he clearly had the worst quarterback play of the group. Then again, that’s been the story for a large part of his 11-year career. If Fitzgerald had played an entire 16-game season with Carson Palmer at QB, I think his numbers would’ve been closer to 1,000-1,200 yards and 6-7 touchdowns rather than 784 yards and two TDs.
10.) Odell Beckham Jr. He was an absolute monster during his rookie season. In New York’s last four games, Beckham basically averaged 150 yards and two touchdowns per game. Michael Irvin after the Pro Bowl said, “I was on the sideline with the Cowboys coaching staff and the one thing we talked a lot about was, ‘Man, you guys are going to have to deal with Odell Beckham Jr. for the next 10-15 years. And they were like, ‘Yeah, we’ve got some real problems.’ That boy is a bad man.”
Jon Machota
Dez Bryant deserves to be paid like one of the NFL’s top wide receivers. The Cowboys recognize his unique talent and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future, even if that means continuing to use the franchise tag.
Here are my top 10 wide receivers.
1.) Calvin Johnson. There’s really no weakness to Megatron’s game. He’s as physically gifted as any player to ever put on pads. He has played injured the last two seasons and still amassed 2,569 yards and 20 touchdowns. Johnson might not play as long as some of the league’s all-time greats, but he’s certainly on pace to being one of the legends of the game. “He’s a man amongst boys out there,” Patriots CB Darrelle Revis told the Boston Herald last season. “The dude’s 6-foot-6, 230 pounds. And he runs a 4.3. That’s pretty freakish.”
2.) Dez Bryant. Bryant has become the NFL’s best redzone wide receiver. He led the league in touchdown receptions last season with 16 and he leads all receivers in TD catches over the last five seasons with 56. “Obviously, Calvin’s the standard across the league,” Tony Romo said before facing Detroit in January, “but Dez has done such a great job that I think both teams are very happy and very proud to have the guys that they have.”
3.) Antonio Brown. I laughed last year when the NFL players ranked Brown ahead of Bryant on their annual top 100 list. Although I wouldn’t take Brown over Bryant, the gap is closer than I originally thought. Nobody has more receiving yards over the last two seasons than Brown’s 3,197. As long as he and Ben Roethlisberger are healthy, those numbers could get even better.
4.) A.J. Green. Green missed three games and was slowed in several others because of toe and head injuries. In 13 games, he finished with a career low 1,041 receiving yards and six touchdowns. But he’s only 26. There’s likely a very bright future ahead for the former fourth overall pick. The previous two seasons Green averaged 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns.
5.) Demaryius Thomas. Over the last three seasons, the 22nd overall pick of the 2010 draft is averaging 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns. During that time, only Calvin Johnson has more receiving yards and only Dez Bryant has more touchdowns. With Peyton Manning returning for another season, there’s no reason to think Thomas can’t keep up the impressive pace.
6.) Brandon Marshall. He missed Chicago’s final three games last season after Barry Church’s knee broke his ribs and punctured a lung. If that injury had not occurred, Marshall was on pace for an eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season and his third straight year with double-digit touchdowns. He’s entering the back end of his career, but Marshall still has some of the best hands and athletic ability in the game.
7.) Jordy Nelson. He only caught two passes for 22 yards against the Cowboys in the playoffs, but don’t let that fool you. Nelson is one of the game’s most consistent receivers. In 2014, Nelson set career-highs with 98 receptions and 1,519 receiving yards. To compare, Dez Bryant has 336 receptions for 4,863 yards and 50 touchdowns over the last four seasons. Nelson has 300 receptions for 4,841 yards and 43 touchdowns.
8.) Julio Jones. He is one of the most talented athletes in the game, however, his stats haven’t always matched up with the NFL’s best. They were on that level in 2014, as Jones hauled in a career-high 104 passes for 1,593 yards and six touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll build on that breakout year with a new coordinator trying to establish something that looks like a dependable rushing attack.
9.) Larry Fitzgerald. This is the toughest receiver for me to rank because he clearly had the worst quarterback play of the group. Then again, that’s been the story for a large part of his 11-year career. If Fitzgerald had played an entire 16-game season with Carson Palmer at QB, I think his numbers would’ve been closer to 1,000-1,200 yards and 6-7 touchdowns rather than 784 yards and two TDs.
10.) Odell Beckham Jr. He was an absolute monster during his rookie season. In New York’s last four games, Beckham basically averaged 150 yards and two touchdowns per game. Michael Irvin after the Pro Bowl said, “I was on the sideline with the Cowboys coaching staff and the one thing we talked a lot about was, ‘Man, you guys are going to have to deal with Odell Beckham Jr. for the next 10-15 years. And they were like, ‘Yeah, we’ve got some real problems.’ That boy is a bad man.”
