Ranking NFL's top 10 RB-WR-WR trios for 2024: Eagles lead list with Saquon Barkley-A.J. Brown-DeVonta Smith
By Tyler Sullivan,
1 day ago
The NFL preseason is a funny thing. For us football-crazed folks, we spend essentially the entire spring and early part of summer longing for this time of the year to come around. And when it does, we beg for it to be over so we can watch the regular season. I found myself in that situation roughly halfway through last Thursday's double feature of Panthers-Patriots and Lions-Giants. Why is that? Because, for most of the matchups, we were watching guys who will soon be behind in line at Dunkin' Donuts. We don't just want football; we want the best of the best from wire to wire.
When we talk about stars, sure we talk about quarterbacks, but we also talk about wide receivers and running backs, particularly with Fantasy drafts right around the corner. Some teams have the great fortune of not only having one star player at one of these positions, but an entire slew of them, creating some of the most potent offenses that the league has to offer. With that in mind, we're going to identify the teams that have the best combination of two wide receivers and a running back in the NFL .
10. Tennessee Titans
Top two WRs : DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley
Top RB: Tony Pollard
Tennessee opened up its wallet this offseason to get inside this top 10. The Titans dipped into free agency to add Calvin Ridley via a four-year, $92 million contract and also inked running back Tony Pollard to a three-year, $24 million contract. Pair those two with DeAndre Hopkins -- who topped 1,000 yards last season -- and Will Levis has himself quite the arsenal to work with entering his first season as the full-time starter.
Hopkins may be a little long in the tooth, but the 32-year-old averaged 14.1 yards per reception last season, which is his best yards-per-catch average since 2017. Meanwhile, Ridley returned to the NFL after a year-long gambling suspension and casually picked up right where he left off with the Falcons , catching 76 balls for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns for Jacksonville. At his height, Ridley has the capability of exceeding even those totals. As for Pollard, he didn't exactly leap as high as many expected him to last year with Dallas, but he was far from a bust. He topped 1,300 yards from scrimmage flashing prowess as both a runner and pass catcher.
9. Chicago Bears
Top two WRs : DJ Moore and Keenan Allen
Top RB : D'Andre Swift
Similar to Tennessee above, Chicago spent the offseason revamping its offense. Of course, the crowing jewel in that reconstruction is No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams , but the Bears did a great job building the offense up around him. D'Andre Swift was one of the early free agents to come off the board this spring as the Bears seemingly made him a prime target. Swift is coming off a 2023 season with Philly where he notched a career-high 1,049 yards rushing and finished with 1,263 total yards from scrimmage. Health will be a question for him, but if continues to be the player we saw with the Eagles a year ago, Chicago's rushing attack will be dynamic.
As for the wideouts, it's downright hilarious that I have two guys highlighted for the Bears and that doesn't even include the No. 9 overall pick, Rome Odunze . While he is the pass-catcher of the future for Chicago, Allen and the recently extended Moore are the top two options for Williams, and what a duo they are. In his first season with the Bears a year ago, Moore had his best season yet, catching 96 balls for 1,365 yards and eight touchdowns (all career bests). And that was amid some topsy-turvy quarterback play. Meanwhile, Allen continues to be a safety blanket in the passing attack. In Year 11, he recorded a career-high 108 catches to go along with over 1,200 yards receiving.
Williams should have no shortage of outlets when he drops back and hands off in his rookie season.
8. Seattle Seahawks
Top two WRs : DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett
Top RB : Kenneth Walker III
In general, the Seahawks are underrated coming into 2024, in my estimation. Specifically, as it relates to this trio, the same applies. Metcalf continues to be a physical freak and one of the top deep threats in the NFL. Even in what was an overall down year for Seattle in 2023, Metcalf had the second-best receiving yards season of his career (1,114) and his 16.9 yards per reception were a career best. Tyler Lockett, meanwhile, may be in the back half of his career, but he's still a reliable target in the passing game. Up until last season, he went four straight years of recording at least 1,000 receiving yards. Even if he dips further in 2024, Seattle has Jaxon Smith-Njigba ready to ascend.
As for the backfield, Kenneth Walker III sneakily topped 1,100 scrimmage yards and had nearly double-digit touchdowns a season ago. And he's still only 23 years old. There's a chance that we haven't even seen him scratch the surface of what he could become, but even if he simply maintains his current standard, he's someone that Geno Smith certainly enjoys having in the backfield.
7. Houston Texans
Top two WRs : Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins
Top RB : Joe Mixon
The Houston Texans did exactly what a team should do when they realize they have a superstar quarterback on his rookie deal -- invest heavily in the offense. This offseason, the Texans pulled off two sizable trades to boost the offense, adding wideout Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon. They also extended fellow receiver Nico Collins on a three-year deal. Diggs is an All-Pro caliber receiver when firing on all cylinders. Even in what was considered to be a down year for the 30-year-old, he had 107 catches and nearly 1,200 yards. With the pairing of Diggs with Collins, who burst onto the scene last year, the Texans have a claim to be among the best receiver units in the league (and that's not even mentioning Tank Dell ).
Mixon is going to be key for this offense, particularly after a 2023 campaign where they were in the bottom third of the league in rushing. The veteran did struggle with efficiency in recent years, but averaged four yards a carry last year and 4.6 yards per touch. In 17 games, he went over 1,000 yards rushing and had over 1,400 yards from scrimmage to go along with 12 touchdowns. That's worlds better than what Houston was getting out of the backfield a year ago.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Top two WRs : Mike Evans and Chris Godwin
Top RB : Rachaad White
I look at Tampa Bay in a similar light that I look at Seattle, only I hold the Bucs just a tad higher. Still, they oftentimes get overlooked when talking about their top-end talent at the skill positions. This offense has a no-doubt Hall of Famer in Mike Evans, who makes recording a 1,000-yard season as easy as checking the mail each day. Evans has gone 10 straight seasons with 1,000 yards and is coming off a 2023 season where he was a second-team All-Pro and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns (13). While we talk about his 1,000-yard streak a bunch, Godwin topping this in four of his last five seasons does fly somewhat under the radar. Godwin played a full 17-game season last year and caught 83 balls on the way to 1,024 yards. The touchdown production wasn't exactly prolific as he found the end zone just twice through the air, but that's largely due to the dominance of Evans.
When we talk about dual-threat backs, Rachaad White's name probably should come up sooner than it does. While he showed flashes of his potential as a rookie in 2022, White's sophomore campaign was a coming-out party. He carried a massive workload of 336 touches, but turned it into 1,539 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns. He caught 91.4% of his targets a year ago, so his efficiency as a pass-catcher leaves little doubt. That said, if he can improve off his 3.6 yards per carry average, he'll get into Pro Bowl consideration.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
Top two WRs : Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
Top RB : Zack Moss
As we move into the top five, it does feel like there is a definitive tier leap. Now, we are getting into the realm of players within a respective offense that could argue to be the top player at his given position. For Ja'Marr Chase, that's absolutely the case. When healthy, there's arguably no player who can reach the ceiling he has. As a rookie in 2021, he burst onto the scene with a 1,400-yard campaign. While he hasn't reached those heights again since, he's been among the very best in the league. Even amid Joe Burrow's injury troubles, Chase caught 100 balls for the first time in his career and had 1,216 yards receiving. If he and Burrow can stay healthy for a full season, he's firmly in the Offensive Player of the Year race.
While they are in the top five of this list at the moment, the question with the Bengals, however, is how long they'll be able to keep Chase and Tee Higgins. The latter is currently playing on the franchise tag, and his future beyond 2024 with the Bengals is murky at best. Nevertheless, Higgins is more of a 1B than he is a No. 2 receiver. While he was limited to 12 games last year, he had a career-best 15.6 yards per reception. As he looks to turn in a healthy campaign in 2024, he should look like the player he was the previous two seasons when he topped 1,000 yards.
As for the running back position, I think the addition of Zack Moss was one of the more underrated moves of the offseason. His contract -- a two-year, $8 million deal -- didn't break the bank, but Moss was fantastic for the Colts in 2023. The offense didn't skip a beat as Moss came in under duress after Indy lost Jonathan Taylor for an extended period. The 26-year-old rushed for 794 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games (eight starts) and caught 27 balls for 192 yards and two more scores. By getting an upgrade at quarterback in Burrow and opposing defenses worrying more about stopping Chase and Higgins, Moss could be positioned for a strong first season in Cincinnati.
4. Los Angeles Rams
Top two WRs : Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua
Top RB : Kyren Williams
For a team that couldn't have cared less about draft picks over the last few years, the Los Angeles Rams have been on a fantastic run in the NFL Draft . In 2022, they added Kyren Williams in the fifth round. After developing largely behind the scenes are a rookie, Williams proved to be among the best backs in the NFL during his sophomore season, rushing for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 23-year-old's 95.3 rushing yards per game were the most in the league and he averaged five yards per carry. On top of what he was producing as a runner, he also caught an additional 32 passes for 206 yards and three more scores en route to a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod.
More recently, Puka Nacua was L.A.'s biggest find in the draft. The 2023 fifth-rounder out of BYU put together the best rookie season ever by a wide receiver. Nacua set new single-season records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486) for a rookie last year as he proved to be the go-to target for Matthew Stafford . Nacua's impressive season even bled into the postseason as he exploded for 181 yards (a new rookie single-game playoff record) during Super Wild Card Weekend. And if that's what he was capable of in Year 1, the sky is the limit for him going forward.
While Williams and Nacua got most of the fanfare last year, Cooper Kupp isn't that far removed from winning the receiving triple crown. Even as he battled injury last year, Kupp still finished with 737 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games. If he returns to form now that he's healthy, the Rams offense could reach an even higher level in 2024.
3. Miami Dolphins
Top two WRs : Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle
Top RB : De'Von Achane
I'm putting De'Von Achane as the top running back for Miami, which almost feels sacrilegious considering what Raheem Mostert did in 2023. That said, Achane is projected to be "the guy" for this team out of the backfield, so it's justified. Speaking of Mostert, he showed last season that a running back in this offense is capable of putting up ridiculous numbers. He led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns and was tied with Offensive Player of the Year winner Christian McCaffrey for the most total touchdowns from scrimmage (21). Even in his small sample size of 11 games played as a rookie, Achane flashed elite upside. He rushed for 800 yards on a remarkable 7.8 yards per carry average and eight touchdowns. In two of his four starts, he rushed for over 100 yards, including a 151-yard outburst in Week 5 against the Giants . He's a dark horse candidate for Offensive Player of the Year in my book.
While I'm personally excited for Achane's sophomore season, he's not even the headliner of this offense. That goes to speeder wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. With Hill, he's a one-of-one talent. For a minute, the veteran was flirting with a 2,000-yard season last year and finished with a league-best 1,799 yards receiving. The offense runs through him and even with opposing defenses knowing that, they can't stop him. As for Waddle, he's something of a Hill-lite. He has tremendous speed and has logged 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. Similar to what was said about Higgins, he's more of a 1B than a No. 2.
2. San Francisco 49ers
Top two WRs : Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel
Top RB : Christian McCaffrey
I don't know how long San Francisco will be in this category because of a looming Brandon Aiyuk trade to Pittsburgh , but at the moment he's a 49er, so they qualify high atop this list. Starting with Aiyuk, who was one of the most efficient receivers in the league last year as he had 1,342 yards receiving on just 75 receptions. That was enough to get him a second-team All-Pro nod and -- at some point -- a lucrative extension. As for Samuel, he's the Swiss Army knife of Kyle Shanahan's offense. The veteran wideout has lined up as a traditional receiver and worked out of the backfield as they try to get the ball in his hands as often as possible. Last season was one of his best since entering the NFL as he has 1,117 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns, which were both the second highest of his career.
The key cog of the offense, however, is Christian McCaffrey. The 28-year-old is coming off a historic 2023 season where he topped 2,000 total scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns. McCaffrey led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing and was a monumental reason why the Niners were in the Super Bowl .
1. Philadelphia Eagles
Top two WRs : A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith
Top RB : Saquon Barkley
This feels more like someone's first three rounds of their Fantasy football league than it does an actual NFL roster. The Eagles made a monster splash this free-agent cycle by snatching Saquon Barkley away from the New York Giants. While D'Andre Swift proved to be a solid option for them out of the backfield, Barkley does raise the ceiling of the position group as both a pure runner and receiver. I was on hand during Philadelphia's joint practice against the Patriots in Foxborough on Tuesday and the connection between Hurts and Barkley already seems to be off the charts as they connected for a deep touchdown on a wheel route in competitive drills. This is by far the best team that Barkley has ever played on and the Eagles now have the luxury of a back capable of going over 1,500 scrimmage yards in a given season.
While Barkley may be the newbie, Philadelphia's offense goes as far as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith take it. Smith is the prototypical 1B just like Higgins and Waddle, but I feel like he's capable of taking a jump up a level. He's gone over 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and is coming off a 2023 year where he caught a career-best 72.3% of his targets. As for Brown, he's simply one of the top wideouts that the NFL has to offer. He was a stud essentially from Day 1 back during his days with the Tennessee Titans, but has leaped to superstar status since joining Philly. He's put together back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons and caught 100 balls for the first time in his career in 2023.
Most PopularIt’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0