With the NFL season kicking off in under two months, its time to rank one of the league’s marquee positions within the AFC East. This is a list of the six best receivers within the division.
With Josh Gordon’s availability being uncertain, he was left off the list.
6. Cole Beasley
The Patriots were initially interested in the 30-year-old Beasley, but he signed with Buffalo to be the Bills’ slot receiver. After seven seasons with the Cowboys, Beasley should be a reliable target working the seams for Buffalo while Brown and Jones man the other two receiver slots. His prime may be over, but he’s still one of the league’s most effective slot receivers.
5. Zay Jones
The ECU alum emerged as the No. 1 receiver in Buffalo last season, and will battle with John Brown and Cole Beasley as the Bills’ top target in 2019. Entering his third season, the 6-foot-2 receiver should improve this year, and provide Allen with a big body capable of working both outside the hashes and in the middle of the field.
4. Quincy Enunwa
The 6-foot-2, 225 pound team captain is built like former All-Pro receiver Anquan Boldin with his stout frame. After missing the entire 2017 season with a neck injury, Enunwa was back in the fold as a reliable option for Darnold amidst his rookie season in 2018.
Judging by his recent 4-year contract extension worth $36 million, the Jets are confident in Enunwa’s ability to play at both the ‘big slot’ position and as a No. 2 option on the outside in the Jets offense for the next few seasons.
3. John Brown
Brown has now had two fantastic seasons with two different clubs, racking up 1,003 yards in Arizona in 2015, and then emerging as a No. 1 receiver with the Ravens last year. Anchoring a skim receiver group, Brown tallied an impressive 17 yards per catch with Baltimore, and now finds himself as the No. 1 outside option for Josh Allen on the Bills this season.
At a slim 5-foot-11, 178 pounds, Brown’s frame can be compared to former Patriot Brandin Cooks. Brown is slightly less efficient than Cooks as a deep threat, but has better after-the-catch ability.
2. Robby Anderson
In just three seasons with the New York Jets, the undrafted product out of Temple has made a name for himself as one of the game’s brightest young deep threats.
Averaging 14.7 yards per catch since he came into the league, the 6-foot-3 receiver gives Sam Darnold a viable threat on the outside. And if nothing else, Anderson’s brimming confidence is something to behold.
“That was a down year for me,” Anderson told Manish Meta of the New York Daily News. “I know what I want to become, and that’s the best receiver in the NFL.”
1. Julian Edelman
With 53 days remaining until the NFL’s 100th season, it’s fitting that the Super Bowl LIII MVP tops this list. Even at age 33, Edelman enters his 11th season as the AFC East’s best receiver. He’s the most trusted target of the best quarterback in the game, and one of the most feared playmakers in crunch time. Although mostly a slot receiver, Edelman also sees snaps on the outside, and in two-receiver sets as a ‘Z’ or flanker. His versatility and muscular 198-pound frame slightly differentiates him from Wes Welker and Danny Amendola.
With the retirement of Rob Gronkowski and uncertainty surrounding Josh Gordon, expect Edelman to see a gluttony of targets early and often this season.
