Some late salary cap-driven cuts may provide late enhancements, but for the most part, the NFL’s skill-position depth charts are set. Here is how each team’s running back-wide receiver-tight end groups stack up ahead of the NFL’s 104th season.
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32. Arizona Cardinals
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James Conner fortunately collected his $13.5 million guarantee last year, before the running-back market cratered. Conner leads a Cardinals operation that lost DeAndre Hopkins and Chosen Anderson from its 2022 arsenal. A healthier O-line that now includes No. 6 overall pick Paris Johnson stands to help Conner, though Kyler Murray’s potentially lengthy absence hurts all parties. Colt McCoy will still have Zach Ertz, but the veteran tight end is set for his age-33 season. These aging starters do not appear to have a place on a rebuilding team, which will likely part with Marquise Brown during or after the 2023 season.
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31. Houston Texans
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In Year 3 of Houston’s long rebuild, Brandin Cooks became the rare NFLer to be traded for a fourth time. Sending Cooks to the Cowboys depletes an already-thin group. Houston does have promising fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce, whose fantasy GMs likely accounted for a notable percentage of the 2022 Texans’ out-of-market viewership. Pierce totaled 939 rushing yards in 13 games. The Texans also took a flier on Robert Woods, hoping the 31-year-old — now two seasons removed from an ACL tear — can rebound from a down Titans season. Ex-Cowboy Dalton Schultz also provides a rare pass-catching tight end presence for Houston.
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30. Tennessee Titans
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Once outfitted with A.J. Brown, Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith, Derrick Henry looks to be saddled with a career-worst supporting cast. The Titans waited until Round 7 to address their receiver position this year. Trading Brown proved a market misread and a mistake that helped lead to Jon Robinson’s GM ouster. New honcho Ran Carthon will count on holdovers Treylon Burks, Kyle Philips and Chig Okonkwo, who ranked second in Next Gen Stats’ YAC-per-reception metric. That said, the Titans do not return a 500-yard receiver. They could use DeAndre Hopkins to complement Henry, whose late prime persists. After leading the NFL in carries for a third time in four years, Henry is near the end.
29. Carolina Panthers
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Losing D.J. Moore will sting, but the Panthers do carry better tertiary talent this year. Adam Thielen, DJ Chark and second-rounder Jonathan Mingo comprise a decent trio, even if the Panthers bought into Thielen (33) a bit late. Mingo hails from the up-and-running Ole Miss wideout factory and poses a big-bodied target for Bryce Young. The Panthers may well shuffle out a few more parts ahead of Young’s second year, but they will look to Mingo as a long-termer. While Hayden Hurst surprisingly fetched more money than Dalton Schultz or Mike Gesicki, Carolina landed Miles Sanders on a reasonable $6.4 million-per-year pact.
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28. Green Bay Packers
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One of the NFL’s longest-running backfield duos, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon will team up for a fourth — and potentially final — year. Beyond the do-it-all starter and his powerful wingman, the Packers are banking on their draft acumen. Green Bay has found several second-round receiver gems (Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams among them). With Cobb and Allen Lazard gone, they will need Christian Watson to anchor Jordan Love’s first receiving corps and fellow second-rounder Jayden Reed to be a quicker study than the past batch of Round 2 receiver investments were.
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27. Los Angeles Rams
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Once a staple at or near the top of this list, the Rams are in a strange gap year. They will go as far as Cooper Kupp takes them in his age-30 season. Otherwise, Los Angeles is deficient at every other skill spot. The Rams ranked 27th in rushing, and while O-line injuries contributed heavily to that, Cam Akers will need to show more after a turbulent (and largely unproductive) year post-Achilles surgery. Tyler Higbee will likely go undrafted in most fantasy leagues, while undersized Tutu Atwell has not proven remotely worth a second-round pick. After the Allen Robinson bust, the Rams need a good contract year from Van Jefferson.
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26. New Orleans Saints
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It says plenty about the state of the league and readiness of young playmakers that the Saints are down here. But Alvin Kamara quietly trudged through a down year, and the perennial Pro Bowler is set for a six-game suspension. 2022 rushing TD leader Jamaal Williams does bring fine insurance, however. The Saints can celebrate their two-trade-up maneuver for Chris Olave, who made a run at Offensive Rookie of the Year. UDFA speedster Rashid Shaheed offers promise; so does converted wideout Juwan Johnson at tight end. But anything Michael Thomas can provide will be a bonus given the reception record holder’s 2020s developments.
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25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Like Jim, Phyllis, Angela and Co. punching the clock post-Michael Scott, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin remain in place for a new regional manager. Tom Brady’s regression probably should not be tied to the receivers, though Godwin did not quite look himself following a December 2021 ACL tear, and Russell Gage underwhelmed on a $10M-per-year contract. The Bucs also received next to nothing at tight end. They are giving Rachaad White another chance, but the fourth-round running back was the lead cog in the league’s worst rushing attack. Can Baker Mayfield extend Evans’ record-smashing streak to 10 straight 1,000-yard years to start a career?
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24. Chicago Bears
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Hoping D.J. Moore will do for Justin Fields what A.J. Brown did for Jalen Hurts, the Bears took a big step at wide receiver. Darnell Mooney has a 1,000-yard year under his belt but has always appeared more No. 2 wideout than aerial centerpiece. Cole Kmet offered a (very) quiet seven-TD season; Moore will boost his prospects as well. The Bears could soon take a loss on Chase Claypool, who has deteriorated from supersized Steeler weapon to potential trade bust that cost the Bears the No. 32 pick. D’Onta Foreman is a steal at $2 million, however, and Khalil Herbert posted 5.7 yards per tote. Upside exists here, but Fields will need to show better accuracy.
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23. Indianapolis Colts
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Receiver depth has eluded the Colts for many years, dating back to the franchise’s struggles complementing T.Y. Hilton. As Hilton declined, Michael Pittman Jr. at least emerged. Alec Pierce’s 593 rookie-year yards — and pretty much every non-QB or O-line aspect — went unnoticed amid the Colts’ Jeff Saturday-aided disaster, but the second-round pick displayed upside as a Pittman sidekick. The Colts did not make any notable O-line moves, hoping their anchors will propel Jonathan Taylor back to his 2021 form. With a raw Anthony Richardson on deck, the Colts will need plenty of Taylor. This team also oozes tight end depth, but will any qualify as an upper-echelon piece?
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22. Washington Commanders
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Although it does not look like this will be the season in which Washington gives Terry McLaurin a long-term QB answer, the Commanders still have a borderline top-10 receiver in his prime. They will count on first-rounder Jahan Dotson (seven rookie-year TDs) to support him. The Commanders are planning a sobering Sam Howell-Jacoby Brissett QB competition, but Ron Rivera is hoping to somehow lean more on the run game. Washington already tallied the NFL’s fourth-most carries last season, but Brian Robinson proved a solid mudder alongside the versatile and underused Antonio Gibson.
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21. New England Patriots
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The Patriots are making it seem like they are close to signing DeAndre Hopkins, but the former All-Pro and Bill O’Brien charge is not in the fold yet. The Pats already paid up — by their standards — for one veteran receiver this offseason, signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million deal. That qualifies as barely middle-class wideout dough, but Smith-Schuster moved the needle for a Super Bowl winner. The Pats landing Mike Gesicki for barely $4M could be a steal, given his pre-Mike McDaniel past. Rhamodre Stevenson, however, is the star of this show. Not looking to be in a committee, the ex-fourth-rounder may soon unlock another gear.
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20. Detroit Lions
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This group could shoot up the rankings in 2024, but with Jameson Williams banned six games for gambling, it will take a bit for the Lions to be whole here. Detroit made one of the better fourth-round picks in recent memory, hitting on Amon-Ra St. Brown, but having to wait 1 1/2 years to pair he and Williams in earnest: not ideal. The Lions probably overpaid for pedestrian back David Montgomery, who ended up costing more than 2022 rushing TD leader (and ‘Hard Knocks’ maniac) Jamaal Williams. The Lions have missed on many scatback types over the past several years. Will using the No. 12 overall pick on Jahmyr Gibbs buck the trend?
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19. Baltimore Ravens
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Injury concerns engulf the Ravens, who will field a skill crew around a suddenly malady-prone Lamar Jackson. It is hard to envision Odell Beckham Jr.’s upside being what it once was, with the former superstar nearly 31 and suffering two ACL tears since October 2020. The $15 million bet reeked of desperation. Rashod Bateman is still recovering from a broken foot suffered in October, while a complex ACL tear has largely derailed two J.K. Dobbins years. Zay Flowers is the fourth first-round wideout Baltimore has taken since 2015. Mark Andrews still gives this bunch a high floor. But dependability questions abound everywhere else.
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18. New York Giants
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Big Blue’s crew combusts if Saquon Barkley follows Le’Veon Bell’s 2018 path. In all seriousness, the Giants are one of the league’s most RB-dependent outfits. A host of No. 3-type wide receivers surround Barkley and Darren Waller, the pillars here. Waller is heading into his age-31 season and fresh off two malady-marred slates, the latter of which irking many in the Raiders’ building. Rolling out their latest collection of slot receivers, the Giants need one of them — 2022 second-rounder Wan’Dale Robinson — to bounce back quickly from his ACL tear. The team could also use a quick assimilation from Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt.
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17. Pittsburgh Steelers
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Kenny Pickett formed an immediate rapport with George Pickens, the umpteenth Steelers Day 2 wide-receiver draft find, and will rely on steadily emerging tight end Pat Freiermuth. These two supply immense intrigue. Freiermuth upped his yards-per-catch figure by three yards in 2022, while recency bias-fueled Pickens-Beckham catch comparisons became commonplace. Ideally, the Steelers’ latest batch of O-line investments will turn Najee Harris from workhorse to impact back, but the jury is out here. And Allen Robinson, in a clear decline, now supplements Diontae Johnson. The savvy route runner went 0-for-17 in games with a TD last year.
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16. Atlanta Falcons
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Making the unexpected move to add Bijan Robinson to a backfield that already included 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson, the Falcons have now used top-10 picks on skill players in each of the past three years. Perhaps the draft’s best RB prospect since Saquon Barkley, Robinson joins Kyle Pitts and Drake London in a top-heavy weaponry array. Overhauling their receiving corps under Arthur Smith, the Falcons are thinner opposite London, whom Atlanta’s Marcus Mariota-led pass attack limited last season. That said, this will be a must-see offense due to Robinson’s arrival in a run-heavy scheme.