So, with the impact of the Randy Moss trade, we need to discuss the new state of WR affairs. The NFL has a handful of cities with a lack of great WR talent and a handful of cities with nice depth. The question is, which of these cities has the best Wide Receivers?
Let's go by division. The only team (now) with a semi-legit set of talented WRs in the AFC East is the New York Jets. They are about to introduce former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to the world in green and white, and they still have the talented deep threat Braylon Edwards as well as Jerricho Cotchery. They also have a very athletic tight end in Dustin Keller. Together, they make up the best group of receivers in the AFC East.
In the AFC North there are two teams with great sets of WRs. The Ravens and the Bengals have two of the best receiving corps in the NFL. The Ravens added Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth in the offseason, as well as T.J. Houshmanzadeh days before the season. Those three receivers are incredibly talented, and even though Stallworth has not made an impact yet, he has as much potential as the rest. When you throw in Derrick Mason, you get possibly the greatest receiving corps in the NFL. However, the Bengals are knocking on the door. They have the always exciting Ochocinco, and he helped the team add the T.O., who is talented but in his waning years of NFL football. However, that did not stop him from putting up 222 yards on Sunday. They cut Antonio Bryant for some reason, after he managed to provide the incredible resumé of not even appearing in a preseason game for them. He would have helped them in this respect, but Jordan Shipley is a very talented rookie and a great No.3 WR.
The AFC South plays host to the Indianapolis Colts, who have great depth at WR. They have the great Reggie Wayne, and he is accompanied by Austin Collie, Pierre Garçon, and Anthony Gonzalez, who should be somebody of significance but continues to get hurt. And apparently Blair White knows a thing or two about football, as even he recorded a TD two games ago. It goes without saying, the Colts don't need to acquire a stellar WR, they have a great group of them now. Also of note in the South is the Texans, mainly because they have Andre Johnson. But Kevin Walter is having a great year (somehow) and Jacoby Jones will be a viable starter in the NFL one day.
The last AFC division is the West. While I don't feel any of these teams have a chance to make the list of Top 5 Best WR Sets in the NFL, the Broncos passing game is currently leading the NFL. Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and Demaryius Thomas are making Denver fans say, "Brandon who?" and they are doing it well. I wouldn't say they have a talented group individually, but altogether, they pull through. Same goes with the other three teams. Oakland's WRs are young and talented, just lacking a great WR; San Diego would be a lot better with Vincent Jackson in the game, and KC has Dwayne Bowe, Chris Chambers, and Dexter McCluster. None of the teams are "OMG look at their WRs" but they all have a solid set of them.
Moving on to the NFC East: There are three teams you could make a case for. Let's start with the Cowboys, who have the rising star Miles Austin, who is as fast as anyone when cutting through the defense. They also have Roy Williams and the rookie talent Dez Bryant. If those two were a little bit better, they make a very strong case. Their NY rivals, the Giants, have a good looking set of WRs. Hakeem Nicks is slowly making a name for himself, Steve Smith is a solid possesion WR, and Mario Manningham is perhaps the best No.3 guy in the league. Then there are the Philadelphia Eagles. If DeSean Jackson isn't one of the best, then I don't know who is. He is explosive, lightning fast, and a serious deep threat. He set an NFL record for most TD plays of over 50 yards in a season. He is accompanied by Jeremy Maclin, who is still gaining knowledge and growing into a mature player, but he is a great WR even now. And my case for best No.3 WR in the league is Jason Avant, although that status may be up in the air after dropping the game-winning TD pass in the end zone last week after it was placed perfectly cleanly in his hands. But most games he is coming up with all of the clutch plays, gaining 3rd downs like no other, and proving that he deserves a chance to be used more often.
The Packers have Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, but the real victor of the NFC North is the Minnesota Vikings. It's scary thinking about Randy Moss, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin all being on the same team. Throw in Greg Camarillo, a very good slot man, and Bernard Berrian, and you have a great mix of WRs and a great group of talent for Favre to throw to. And Vinsanthe Shiancoe is, at times, practically a WR. This team is now officially legit at WR. If they don't move the ball, something is terribly, terribly wrong.
In the NFC South, the only team worth noting is the New Orleans Saints, who have a decent, balanced group, much like the Broncos. The difference is that they have a very valuable star WR in Marques Colston; he is a threat, always the focus of the opposing defenses. This allows deep threat Devery Henderson to get open and catch the long ball, young and exciting Lance Moore to make some plays, and Robert Meachem to show that he was worth the hype. He's still working on it.
Ahh, the last division. The NFC West. This division has no real winner; they all could improve. Larry Fitzgerald sincerely helps the Cardinals, and when he was with Anquan Boldin, they may have been the winner of this category. But Steve Breaston is better as a No.3, not a number two. He is still a decent and fast WR, so they sort of make the list. The Rams are probably the highlight of this division, however. Hear me out: even though Donnie Avery is hurt, other Rams have stepped up to the plate. Mark Clayton is becoming a very relevant WR after going to St. Louis from the perfectly set-at-WR Ravens. He is the new No.1 in STL, and he is accompanied by the talented (but oft injured) Laurent Robinson, with Danny Amendola proving to be a great slot man. If Donnie Avery was included, they would have a great group of WRs. They should be excited for the future, when Bradford gets better and has a great group of WRs to throw to.
So I put some thought into it. If I had to rank the teams, I would do it in this order:
The Top 5 Best WR Sets in the NFL
1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. New York Jets
I know, I know. Cop out. The Moss trade just occurred. But seriously, how could you argue? If no one was injured, they would be the best. The Ravens are a very, very close second. But T.J. still needs to work into the system, and we haven't seen a lot from them. Break it down: Given the choice (for one year, we can't predict the future) I'd take Moss over Boldin, Rice over Mason, and (probably) Harvin over Housh. Stallworth is a great kicker to the deal, but he hasn't proved himself in a long time. And Camarillo and Berrian provide depth. It's close, but the Vikes win it.
The Colts come in second because of their depth. It could have easily been Bengals in third if they hadn't gotten rid of Bryant, but they did. And the Jets could easily have swapped with the Bengals if Cotchery had done anything incredible in the last two years and Edwards wasn't hit-or-miss. Holmes will give them a great all-around WR. They are lucky to have added him for just a 5th-rounder.
There are quite a few honorable mentions. Of note: The Eagles, Broncos, Giants, and Cowboys, and possibly the Saints and even the Rams.
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