The trade Wednesday that sent George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Dallas Cowboys sparked a debate over the best wide receiver combos in the NFL.
Here are Yardbarker’s top five, ranked in inverse order:
Honorable mention: CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens | Dallas Cowboys
Not so fast, Cowboys fans. This duo should be good — if Dallas can corral Pickens’ volatile temper — but Lamb and Pickens don’t make the cut among the top five in the league. They will, however, make this a fun division for wideout duos. The NFC East also includes standout duos DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown in Philadelphia, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel in Washington and Darius Slayton and Malik Nabors in New York.
Lamb (101 catches, 152 targets in 2024) is a superstar, but how he and Pickens will mesh is a huge unknown.
“[O]n paper, this move makes plenty of sense for the Cowboys,” Seth Walder of ESPN wrote. “As poorly as 2024 went for this team, the roster still has the same core as the one that went 12-5 in 2023 (albeit with a different coach) and had a major weakness at receiver after Lamb.”
But, as Walder noted, “A big part of the reason Pickens is available is it seems the Steelers had had enough of him.” In three seasons with Pittsburgh, he drove Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and his staff bonkers with immature behavior.
“He’s got a target on his back because he’s George; he understands that. But he’s got to grow up. He’s got to grow up in a hurry,” Tomlin said last season.
5. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Evans finished last season 23rd in receiving yards (1,004 yards), extending his streak of seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards to 11. He remains the most consistent receiver in the league.
Had Godwin not suffered an ankle injury in Week 7, ending his 2024 season, he may have had a career year. Last season, he was the Buccaneers’ leader in receiving in five games and among the league’s leaders in receiving yards through the first seven weeks.
If Evans and Godwin are on top of their games in 2025, Tampa Bay should easily win the middling NFC South for the fifth consecutive season.
4. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle | Miami Dolphins
There are two enormous questions surrounding this electric two. The first is: Does Hill — perhaps the league’s fastest receiver — want to be in Miami? He sent several cryptic messages over the past few months, making his future with the Dolphins in question.
The second question is: Can Tua Tagovailoa stay healthy for the entire season? Of the 11 games he started at quarterback for Miami in 2024, either Hill or Waddle was the leading receiver in six.
Last season, neither Hill (81 catches, 959 yards) nor Waddle (58 catches, 744 yards) eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards. In 2022 and 2023, when Tagovailoa started 30 of 34 regular-season games, they had 3,006 and 2,813 receiving yards combined each season, respectively. Clearly, the health of Tagovailoa will determine their production.
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