Ranking the Top NFC North Wide Receivers For 2026

As part of the LWOS Best of NFL 2026 series, the next installment ranks the top NFC North wide receivers.  The NFC North boasts some of the NFL’s most elite receiving talent.  Two of the division’s premier players are All-Pro receivers who have set NFL records and led the league in multiple categories.  

Ranking the Top NFC North Wide Receivers For 2026

How do these top NFC North wide receivers rank for 2026?  Find out if your favorite came out on top.   

5. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers

After signing a four-year contract extension in June worth $92 million with a $31 million signing bonus, Christian Watson is officially the Green Bay Packers‘ WR1. Last year, in 10 games, Watson recorded 35 receptions for 611 yards with six touchdowns. His longest reception was a 52-yard score.

After the free agency loss of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay’s offense looks decidedly different for 2026. Last year’s number one draft pick, Matthew Golden, is expected to earn the starting assignment opposite Watson. However, he needs to show a significant improvement over his lackluster rookie season with 29 catches on 44 targets for 361 yards.

Watson will also be competing for targets against former Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Skyy Moore, who posted five receptions for 87 yards, plus two carries for 11 yards in 2025. Moore’s biggest contribution to Green Bay may be as a return specialist. He earned 1,198 combined kickoff and punt return yards for the 49ers in 2025.

TE Tucker Kraft is Watson’s biggest competition. Before tearing his ACL in Week 9, Kraft was enjoying a breakout 2025 season with 32 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns. If Kraft isn’t available to start the season, Watson could see more target opportunities. The biggest concern for Watson is his target-to-reception percentage. In 2024, he posted 29 catches on 53 targets. In 2025, he improved with 35 receptions on 55 targets. If he’s to become Jordan Love’s favorite target, Watson must remain a consistent, reliable option as one of the top NFC North wide receivers.  

4. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

As the Chicago Bears’ number one draft pick in 2024, Odunze posted 54 catches for 734 yards with three touchdowns. His 2025 sophomore campaign was cut short by injury in Week 12, and it cost him the final five games of the season. Nonetheless, Odunze recorded 44 receptions for 661 yards with six touchdowns in 12 games. Proving he can step up when it counts, Odunze’s best 2025 game came in Week 2 against division rival, the Detroit Lions, when he posted seven catches for 128 yards with two touchdowns.

With the trade of D.J. Moore to the Buffalo Bills, Odunze now assumes the role of WR1. However, his biggest target competition comes from the first-round 2025 NFL Draft pick, Colston Loveland. The 6’6” 241 lb. tight end hauled in 58 of 82 targets for 713 yards with six touchdowns.

Odunze also has target competition from the Bears’ 2025 second-round NFL Draft pick, Luther Burden III. As a rookie, Burden posted 47 catches on 60 targets for 652 yards with two scores. Newly acquired free agent Kalif Raymond could also impact Odunze’s target share. Although the veteran is best known for his prowess as a return specialist, Raymond is a reliable target option with over 2,550 receiving yards and nine scores.

Despite a history of foot injuries, Odunze poses a vertical threat as a receiver who can come up with contested catches. However, too many dropped / uncatchable balls have negatively impacted his stats, leaving him with a low 51.3 career target-to-reception percentage.  If Odunze wants to remain one of the top NFC North wide receivers in 2026, that is one area for improvement.  

3. Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

Williams, the 12th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, had a breakout season in 2025 for the Detroit Lions with 65 receptions for 1,117 yards with seven touchdowns.

Following a tumultuous first two years, Williams has steadily earned his place as Detroit’s number two receiver with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and 2025. On September 6, 2025, he was rewarded with a three-year contract extension worth $83 million. 

An elite athlete with explosive speed and jumping ability, Williams is a game-changing deep ball threat for Detroit. With All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown as the undisputed WR1, “Jamo’s” primary target competition is against promising second-year wideout, Isaac TeSlaa. In 2025, the young rookie made the most of his opportunities and produced 16 receptions on 27 targets for 239 yards and six touchdowns. Although the 6’4” 214-pound Michigan native is expected to play a bigger role in Drew Petzing’s offense. Williams will continue as Jared Goff’s favorite number two receiver.  He will also continue to be one of the premier NFC North wide receiving talents.   

2. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

For the past several years, Jefferson has been the number one receiver in the NFC North division and arguably considered the top receiver in the NFL. Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 22nd overall pick of the 202o NFL Draft,  Jefferson burst onto the NFL scene as the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 88 receptions for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns. Two years later, he recorded a career-best season with 1,809 yards on 120 receptions with eight scores.

Shattering franchise and NFL records along the way, Jefferson twice notched double-digit touchdowns along with four Pro Bowl designations. He is as good as they get, establishing a new league record for recording the most receptions with 324, and the most receiving yards (4,825) in a player’s first three seasons in NFL history.

However, Jefferson’s 2025 season showed a drop in targets, catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns from the 2024 season, when he caught 103 of 154 targets (66.8%) for 1533 yards with 10 touchdowns. In 2025, he posted 84 receptions on 141 targets (59.5%) for 1,048 yards with two touchdowns.

Was Jefferson’s drop in production solely due to J.J. McCarthy’s struggles at quarterback? Quite possibly. Two of Jefferson’s best games last year came in Weeks 4 and 5 when McCarthy was out injured. Veteran Carson Wentz was under center, and in both of those games, Jefferson had more than 120 receiving yards on 11 targets. Hopefully, with another year under his belt, McCarthy can improve his chemistry with one of the NFC North’s elite wide receivers.  If not, the Vikings will undoubtedly rely on Kyler Murray to right the ship and connect with the enormous talent they have in Jefferson.  

1. Amon-Ra-St. Brown, Detroit Lions

The top NFC North wide receiver for 2026 is Amon-Ra St. Brown.  In five seasons with the Lions, he missed out on a 1,000-yard-plus receiving season once.  That was in 2021, when St. Brown finished his rookie year with 912 yards on 90 catches with five touchdowns. Since then, he has exploded for an average of 1,335 yards on 114 catches with 9.75 touchdowns per season. Over the last three seasons, St. Brown’s scored double-digit touchdowns every year on the way to shattering multiple franchise and NFL records.  

St. Brown’s superlative connection with Goff and his reliability as a clutch receiver make him the premier talent to lead this list. Despite a significantly depleted offensive line and the Lions’ disappointing 2025 season, St. Brown came through for Goff time and again. Finishing the season with 117 receptions on 172 targets for 1,401 yards, he was the leading wide receiver in the NFC North.  

In addition, he tied for second in the NFL for the most touchdowns, matching Cincinnati Bengals star Tee Higgins with 11. In addition, St. Brown’s 68% target-to-completion percentage is higher than that of any other receiver on this list.    

When it comes to the top NFC North wide receivers and the competition for targets, Jefferson and St. Brown are in a class of their own. It’s up to every other receiver on the team to get in line behind them to fight for a target share.