Ranking the NFL’s 5 best deep-ball wide receivers

1. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

40+ Yard Receptions in 2017: 23
Percentage to Total Targets: 6.94

There you have it. Since 2017, Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill has been the best deep-ball wide receiver in the business–by a mile. This can be attributed to his vicious speed and his vicious quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes and Hill began a gridiron marriage in 2018, and it has made for a happy home. Mahomes and Hill are the most electric thrower-catcher combo in the NFL from a deep-ball perspective. Drew Brees and Michael Thomas would probably vehemently argue the thrower-catcher contention as a whole. But the Mahomes-Hill duo owns the open field.

What’s remarkable though is that Hill also had verifiable success with Alex Smith in 2017. Smith and Hill connected for 9 completions of 40+ yards in 2017. In this regard, the chicken-egg debate ensues.

Cumulatively in the last three years, Hill has 23 receptions of 40 yards or more under his belt. For context, Hall of Famer Randy Moss had 29 such receptions in his first three seasons. The variance here is spookily minimal.

Tyreek Hill has Lamborghini speed and stick-um hands; it’s a fear-inducing merger of talents for AFC West opponents. And then he just so happens to have the most prolific quarterback in football flinging him the ball.

With those ingredients, why wouldn’t Hill be atop this list?