The NFC North is loaded with talent at the wide receiver position, including potentially two of the top five players at the position in the entire league.
The Green Bay Packers have a great combination of youth and upside at receiver, but this is one of the positions where they are behind some of the other teams in the division. But even though the Packers don't have the same type of star power on their roster as the Minnesota Vikings have with Justin Jefferson, they still stack up relatively well against their rivals.
With training camp closing in for all 32 teams, we're going to take a look at the top two receivers for every team in the NFC North entering this season, ranking them worst to best based on their proven production so far, and where their arrow is pointing for the upcoming season.
Every starting WR in the NFC North ranked for the 2026 season
8. Luther Burden, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are confident enough in Luther Burden that they traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills this offseason, paving the way for Burden to become even more of a featured weapon in Ben Johnson's offense.
As a rookie, Burden had two 100-yard games, one early in the season against the Dallas Cowboys and one late in the year against the San Francisco 49ers. He's got outstanding long speed and is at his best when he gets the ball in space and can make plays after the catch.
Along with Matthew Golden, he's one of the most highly anticipated second-year receivers in the NFL, much less the NFC North.
7. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Although Rome Odunze is only one year his senior and has a first-round pick label, it's going to be interesting to see if he ends up leading the Bears in targets this season, or if it's the aforementioned Burden.
Odunze was the ninth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, coming into the league with Caleb Williams. But up to this point, he's not exactly lived up to his draft status. He made some strides in his game last year, averaging 15 yards per reception with six touchdowns in just 12 games, but as a top-10 pick, he's going to be expected to be a high-volume, target-dominant threat on every down.
He cut down on the drops last season (six as a rookie, two as a sophomore), but the chemistry with Williams hasn't quite clicked consistently. Williams has a QB rating of just 82.3 when targeting Odunze through two seasons together. This is something Ben Johnson has yet to unlock.
6. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Although injuries have plagued Christian Watson in his career, he's still proven himself to be capable of completely dominating games when he's at full strength.
In just 10 games last season, Watson had a 122.6 rating when targeted, catching 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns. He has managed to average 17 yards per reception over the course of his career, but after getting a four-year deal worth $92 million from the Packers, Watson will be under pressure to be more than just a deep threat.
He's in a similar boat to Alec Pierce with the Indianapolis Colts. Without Romeo Doubs or even Dontayvion Wicks in the mix, the Packers are banking (quite literally) on Watson staying available and being a higher-volume target as he enters his fifth season.
5. Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
Last year can't exactly be thrown out, but when it comes to the impact Jayden Reed makes on the Packers, it kind of has to be.
What we saw in his first two seasons is much more in line with what should be expected when Reed is on the field. He was one of the NFL's most dynamic weapons through his first two years in the league before dealing with injuries and trying to play through them all of last year.
It's easy to forget because of the passage of time, but Reed was on the Non-Football Injury list last July, the PUP to start the season, and dealt with both foot and shoulder/collarbone injuries that required surgery.
When he was fully healthy, he racked up nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons.
Even though the expectation will be for Matthew Golden to be on this list going forward, he and Reed could dominate the target share in Green Bay this season, and Reed might be the go-to weapon in the offense due for a reboot breakout year.
4. Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
If the bottom four players all have arrows trending up, I would say Jordan Addison is the first player on this list whose arrow is trending down.
The former first-round pick is entering something of a make-or-break year with the Vikings, and his multiple run-ins with the law have prevented him from already becoming one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. Since the prices for receivers keep going up, the Vikings are understandably holding out with Addison, waiting for his production to ramp back up and/or his off-field concerns to go away.
And there's no guarantee that either will happen.
The sample that we have from Addison, when he's at his best, is pretty darn good. He had 20 total touchdowns through his first two seasons in the league, playing second fiddle to Justin Jefferson. He is coming off a terrible year last year with six drops and the highest drop percentage of his career (7.6 percent). We'll see if he can get back to the form we saw in 2023-24.
3. Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
Given what we've seen from Jameson Williams over the last two seasons, it's hard to believe he had just 25 receptions over his first two years in the NFL as a first-round pick.
Williams has dealt with injury and off-field issues, but also has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and earned a three-year extension worth nearly $27 million in average annual value last September.
Williams is in arguably the perfect situation for his skill set with Amon-Ra St. Brown attracting so much attention. He's able to exploit defenses when he gets single coverage as a vertical threat and after the catch. He's averaged 17.3 yards per reception over the last two seasons combined, and has 15 total touchdowns along with a QB rating when targeted of 116.5.
Basically, when the ball goes Williams's way, good things happen. That is, when he's not dropping the ball. He had 12 drops last season, an outrageous drop percentage of 11.2 percent. That is the only thing preventing him from being recognized as one of the most complete receivers league-wide.
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Amon-Ra St. Brown might not be the "best" receiver in the NFL, but he might be the most trustworthy. Over five seasons, he has been targeted an astounding 742 times. There are only three receivers in the NFL with more targets than St. Brown since he came into the league in 2021: Davante Adams, Ja'Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson.
As a receiver, St. Brown is so crafty as a route runner. He's extremely strong pound-for-pound and utilizes his physicality to his advantage after the catch. He plays wide receiver like an MMA fighter. He's made it to the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons, has been named to three consecutive All-Pro teams, and has three straight seasons with at least 10 touchdowns.
There aren't many receivers in the league you would realistically take over St. Brown, but the NFC North features one of them...
1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
There is not a receiver in the NFL today who is clearly better than Justin Jefferson. Since coming into the league in 2020, Jefferson has been a model of consistency and dominance.
He's equally capable of dominating defensive backs as a route runner or making splash plays in the open field with the ball in his hands. He's outstanding at the catch point, he's crafty, and he can take it the distance with speed from any point on the field.
Even with one season where he was limited to just 10 games, Jefferson has eclipsed 1,000 yards every year of his career. He has averaged 1,534 yards per 17 games played, and over the course of his career, he has just 23 total drops.
Entering the 2026 season, Jefferson is still just 27 years old. He's entering his prime years and will continue to give defenses nightmares.
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