Six weeks, and one game, into the NFL season and if there is one position who's overall PFF grades who have shaken out to a somewhat of a predictable nature, wide receiver may be that position, or at least the top four spots. However, what makes the 2017 season so great, so far, is the unpredictability and some of the surprises from this young season already.
That is no more evidenced than two of our top 10 graded wide receivers hailing from the Minnesota Vikings, without their original season-starting QB Sam Bradford, and rather on pace to set career-high grades on passes from Case Keenum, the Vikings duo are arguably one of the league's biggest, and most pleasant surprises to date.
Editor's Note: This top 10 does not factor in the Thursday night football matchup between the Raiders and the Chiefs until our Tuesday afternoon grade lock process reviews every game. Currently the only movement on this list would be Tyreek Hill from 10th to sixth, but these rankings reflect their WR ranking prior to all Week 7 games.
1. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
PFF Grade: 93.1
PFF Elite Stat: Brown is averaging 3.10 yards per route run this season, which leads all qualified NFL receivers.
Brown used a monster game last week to increase his lead to even more as the top receiver in football. He averaged a ridiculous 6.46 yards per route run, which pushed his league-leading season average up over 3.00. Brown still has not dropped a pass this season, and his 48 catchable targets are the most among any receiver without a drop.
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
PFF Grade: 86.7
PFF Elite Stat: Jones has the third-best yards per route run average in the NFL so far this season at 2.78.
While Jones didn’t have a bad game last week by any means, his six catches on seven targets for 72 yards and a dropped pass weren’t quite up to his usual standards. But Jones still sits third in the NFL with an average of 2.78 yards per route run. While he still doesn’t have a touchdown yet this season, his play is far from poor.
3. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
PFF Grade: 86.4
PFF Elite Stat: Green’s average of 2.91 yards per route run is the second-highest among all receivers in the NFL.
The Bengals had a bye in Week 6, so Green’s grade stays the same as last week. Despite the Bengals offense struggling early this season, Green has been consistently good throughout. His 2.91 yards per route run average is well above any other receiver on the Bengals, with Alex Erickson second at 1.30 and Brandon LaFell third at 0.62.
4. Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
PFF Grade: 84.8
PFF Elite Stat: No receiver with over 10 deep targets (20-plus yards in the air) has a better catch rate than Diggs’ 61.5 percent.
Diggs sat out last week due to injury, and the Vikings are hoping that it won’t limit him much longer as Diggs has been a top-level receiver to start the season. Despite missing last game and being limited the week before, Diggs still leads the NFL with eight deep receptions and his 218 yards on deep routes are second only to New England’s Brandin Cooks.
5. Golden Tate, Detroit Lions
PFF Grade: 84.2
PFF Elite Stat: Tate has forced 13 missed tackles this season. No other receiver in the entire NFL has forced more than eight.
It was a massive game for Tate in the Lions-Saints shootout, as he picked up 96 yards on seven catches, with 75 of those yards coming after the catch. He also forced four missed tackles, three of them coming on his 45-yard touchdown. No receiver is as elusive as Tate is, and his 29 receptions from the slot also leads the NFL.
6. Pierre Garcon, San Francisco 49ers
PFF Grade: 83.8
PFF Elite Stat: 49ers quarterbacks have a passer rating of 85.0 when targeting Garcon and a rating of 66.7 when targeting any other receiver.
Garcon continued his strong play at receiver despite erratic quarterback play last week. He saw 11 targets, but only five of them were actually catchable and he caught them all. He forced a missed tackle as well to give him four on the season. Garcon is averaging 1.90 yards per route run this season, which ranks inside the top 20 for all receivers.
7. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
PFF Grade: 83.7
PFF Elite Stat: Nelson has caught all three deep targets he’s seen this season for 116 yards and a touchdown.
Nelson is the first new entrant on the list thanks to a week in which he caught six passes for 60 yards, only nine of which came after the catch. With the injury to QB Aaron Rodgers, Nelson becomes even more important to this Packers’ offense. Nelson is averaging 1.48 yards per route run this season, but has been Rodgers’ security blanket and the guy he looked for when he needed a big catch.
8. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
PFF Grade: 83.4
PFF Elite Stat: Thielen is averaging 2.31 yards per route run, which makes him and Diggs the only teammates in the NFL to both average over 2.00 yards per route run.
Thielen is turning into Mr. Consistency for the Vikings, as he has at least six targets and five catches in every game this season. Last week with Diggs out, Thielen saw a big increase in targets (13) and turn those into nine catches for 97 yards. He forced two missed tackles, and if it weren’t for a tough fumble he would’ve shot higher up these rankings.
9. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
PFF Grade: 82.4
PFF Elite Stat: Hopkins has dropped just one pass on 38 catchable balls this season, fifth-best among receivers that have seen at least 30 catchable targets.
It was a tough game for Hopkins last weekend as he saw just three targets all game. He caught two of them (other was uncatchable) and turned them into 19 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins is currently averaging 1.73 yards per route run for the season despite being the only receiver on the Texans to have seen more than 17 targets all year.
T-10. Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
PFF Grade: 82.0
PFF Elite Stat: Seahawks’ QB Russell Wilson has a passer rating of 101.2 when targeting Baldwin, a top 20 mark in the NFL among receivers with at least 20 targets.
Baldwin had a bye week this week, so he’ll look to pick things back up this week for an offense that has struggled this season. He’s averaged 1.73 yards per route run this season and is doing most of his damage in the slot. His 60.0 percent catch rate on deep passes is the fourth-best mark in the league.
T-10. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
PFF Grade: 82.0
PFF Elite Stat: Hill is averaging 2.07 yards per route run this season, the 13th-best mark among all NFL receivers.
It was a tough week all around for the Chiefs offense, and Hill was no different. While he caught five passes on seven targets (no drops), he gained just 34 yards. The dangerous YAC threat was held in check with just 16 yards after the catch gained all game. Hill is still one of the most talented receivers in the NFL, as evidenced by QB Alex Smith’s 119.0 passer rating when he targets Hill this season. His grade will almost certainly be on the rise as he put forth a strong effort on Thursday night and, before grade review has been completed, finished with an overall game grade of 83.9 against the Raiders.
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