2025 Best NFL Wide Receivers: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase Lead Top 10 Rankings

The NFL preseason is nearing its end and the regular season is right around the corner, which means it’s almost time to blare the FOX NFL theme song.

Entering the 2025 season, the FOX Sports NFL Staff is ranking their top 10 players at select positions. Here are their top 10 wide receivers.

2025 Best Wide Receivers

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Carmen Vitali: Nothing really needs to be said about the former Offensive Player of the Year, does it? Jefferson is widely acclaimed as one of, if not the best receivers in the league. His only real competition is his former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase, who won the Triple Crown last year. The Vikings’ offense is significantly altered when Jets isn’t on the field, which is the mark of a true impact player.

2024 rank: 1st

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Greg Auman: The debate of who is the NFL’s best receiver was split evenly by our six-writer panel between Chase and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, but it’s Chase who is coming off a Triple Crown season, leading the NFL with 127 catches, 1,708 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s still only 25, with four Pro Bowls in four years in Cincinnati — it’s hard to imagine him and Joe Burrow having a better connection than they had in 2024, and just to match last year’s production seems like an impossible challenge. Not many offenses will throw the ball more than the Bengals will, and that will always start with Chase. One real shot at history for Chase in 2025? Only two NFL receivers have ever caught 30+ touchdowns over back-to-back seasons: Jerry Rice and Randy Moss. Chase only needs 13 this year to join them, though Rice’s two-year record of 37 in 1986-87 is probably safe.

2024 rank: 4th (+2)

(Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Vitali: There may not be a more reliable receiver in the league than Amon-Ra St. Brown. He’s got a catch rate of 81.6%, which is the best among wide receivers with at least 55 targets. St. Brown also led the league in passing EPA among the same group. It may have something to do with the fact that he can line up all over the field and run any route asked to near-perfection. Years with his quarterback, Jared Goff, have also built up a rapport between the two that allow them to power one of the league’s best offenses.

2024 rank: 7th (+4)

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Vacchiano: His numbers may have taken a dip last season (101 catches, 1,194 yards, 6 touchdowns), but that’s mostly because of a shoulder injury and the fact that he played half the season without his quarterback, Dak Prescott. He’s still the same guy who caught 135 passes for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023 when every defense knew he was the Cowboys’ only real offensive option. Now he’s got George Pickens to help take some of the defensive pressure off him. Sure, Pickens may take a few of Lamb’s catches, but he’s also going to open the field for his teammate. If both he and Prescott can stay healthy, Lamb might be primed for a truly monster year.

2024 rank: 3rd (-1)

(Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Vacchiano: He plays on a team that loves to run the football, and next to another receiver (DeVonta Smith) who puts up some pretty big numbers too. Yet when he’s healthy he’s still good for at least 90 catches and 1,400 yards. He may not dominate games like some of the other elite receivers, but he’s still capable of doing it once in a while, if that’s what the Eagles need. He’s still got speed at age 28 and few are better at finding the open seams in a defense. He could be a dominant offensive player if that’s what his team needed. But the Eagles need him to share the wealth. That’s sometimes a bit of a challenge for him, but he’s still always there when they need him.

2024 rank: 5th

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Vitali: If Evans doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame, we riot. This is a guy who has set the record for most seasons with 1,000 or more yards to start a career, and should he do it again in 2025 he will break Jerry Rice’s record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, period. He’s a Super Bowl Champion and played an integral role on multiple playoff and division-winning teams, being the number one target for quarterbacks Jameis Winston, Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield. If that doesn’t scream a guy who plays the game the right way, I don’t know what does.

2024 rank: 10th (+4)

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Eric D. Williams: With Cooper Kupp moving on this offseason and joining the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks, Nacua is expected to become L.A.’s unquestioned No. 1 option. Nacua was slowed by a knee injury suffered during training camp in his second season but still finished with 79 catches for 990 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games last year. According to Next Gen Stats, from his return in Week 8 to the end of the regular season, Nacua led wide receivers with a target rate of 39.8% (min. 150 routes). Nacua also reduced his drops from 13 his rookie season to just one in 2024. This season, Nacua said he’s placed an emphasis on creating more separation at the line of scrimmage and at the top of his routes and expects to benefit from the addition of Davante Adams in L.A.’s receiver room.

2024 rank: Honorable mention

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Auman: Just 22, he was absolutely prolific as a rookie, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns. He did all that while missing two games and catching passes from … Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tim Boyle. And Nabers could very well add touchdowns from another three QBs this season. He set an NFL record as the most targeted rookie ever last year with 170 targets, and could easily top that in 2025 if he stays healthy. The lack of a solid No. 2 receiver means defenses can focus extra attention on him in coverage. Double-digit touchdowns? Seems like a natural step in his second year in the league

2024 rank: Unranked

(Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

Vacchiano: He may not be flashy or electric, but he has been one of the most consistently good receivers over the last five years. He’s topped 1,000 yards each of those seasons, hasn’t missed a game since 2020 and became a huge weapon for Jayden Daniels last season, catching 13 touchdown passes. He’s never going to put up Ja’Marr Chase-like numbers. In fact, he only topped 100 yards in a game five times last year (and never more than 125). But he is as steady and reliable as they come, and that is invaluable to a still-young quarterback. McLaurin does turn 30 in September, and he’ll likely never be considered a Top 5 receiver, but he’s definitely one of the most underrated players in the game.

2024 rank: Unranked

(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Ben Arthur: Thomas is on the verge of becoming the next superstar receiver out of LSU (alongside his former teammate and Giants star Malik Nabers). As a rookie, he finished third in the NFL in receiving yards (1,282) — and that came with Trevor Lawrence missing seven games. His ascension appears inevitable, with a full NFL season under his belt and Lawrence back healthy.

2024 rank: Unranked

Honorable mention:

2025 NFL Positional Rankings

2025-26 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Odds

Saquon Barkley, Eagles: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals: +950 (bet $10 to win $105 total)
Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions: +950 (bet $10 to win $105 total)
Bijan Robinson, Falcons: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Nico Collins, Texans: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Justin Jefferson, Vikings: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Derrick Henry, Ravens: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Puka Nacua, Rams: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Tyreek Hill, Dolphins: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Malik Nabers, Giants: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Lamar Jackson, Ravens: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)

These rankings were compiled by:

Ben Arthur (@benyarthur)
Greg Auman (@gregauman)
Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis)
Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams)
Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano)
Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)

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