NFL Analysis

12/10/24

6 min read

Ranking Ja'Marr Chase's 2024 Season Among Best WR Seasons of Last Decade

By Tyler Brooke

NFL Analyst
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) scores a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) scores a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. Tim Heitman-Imagn Images.

Cincinnati Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase is pacing for the receiver triple crown, but where could his season stack up among the best wide receiver performances of the last decade?

Chase leads the league in all three major receiving categories with 93 catches for 1,519 yards and 15 touchdowns through 13 games. That puts him on pace for a 122/1,725/20 season, which would be one of the most dominant years by a receiver in NFL history.

However, the league has also seen some other massive receiver performances in recent seasons, so let's rank the top five best seasons for wide receivers across the last 10 seasons.

Best Wide Receiver Seasons Since 2015

Honorable Mentions: Julio Jones and Antonio Brown (2015)

It wouldn't be right not to include two of the most dominant receivers of the last decade on this list, and it just so happens that the two had very similar seasons in 2015.

Julio Jones caught 136 passes for 1,871 yards and eight scores that season for the Atlanta Falcons. Antonio Brown also had 136 catches, with his going for 1,834 yards and 10 scores.

Both players became superstars for their respective teams and had long stretches of dominance, so it's only right that they are mentioned on a list of the best WR seasons of the last 10 years.

5. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (2019) New Orleans Saints logo

A record-breaking season for Michael Thomas earned him the nickname "Slant Boy," but it was one of the most dominant years by a receiver in NFL history.

Thomas set an NFL record with 149 receptions, the most ever by a player. He led the NFL with 1,725 yards and nine receiving touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors while also winning the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

Unfortunately, Thomas has never been able to recreate that magic. He has never played in more than 10 games since that season and hasn't exceeded 500 receiving yards when healthy.

Thomas' NFL career may be coming to an end, but his 2019 season is still in the NFL record books, even with the league expanding the regular season to 17 games.

4. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers (2020) Green Bay Packers logo

There was a time early in Davante Adams' career when he looked like a potential bust. Drops plagued him early in his career, but the former Fresno State wideout eventually worked things out to become one of the most dominant wide receivers of the last decade.

Adams' 2020 season was particularly dominant. Despite playing in just 14 games, the Packers receiver recorded 115 catches, 1,374 yards, and a league-high 18 receiving touchdowns. Those 18 scores are two more than any other receiver has racked up in a single season in the last 10 seasons.

When Adams was on the field, Green Bay's offense was almost unstoppable. His connection with Aaron Rodgers helped the former Packers quarterback win back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021. Rodgers dominated opposing secondaries by making pre-snap adjustments to get the star receiver open.

The Rodgers-Adams reunion hasn't looked the same in New York, but when the two were at their peak, there weren't many better QB-WR duos in NFL history.

3. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (2024) Cincinnati Bengals logo

Even if the Bengals aren't going to make the playoffs, Chase's dominant 2024 season belongs on the list of top wideout seasons of the last decade.

On top of all of his numbers, Chase also averages a dominant 2.50 yards per route run. He also leads the NFL with five receiving touchdowns on passes 20-plus yards downfield, catching 50 percent of his deep targets.

It couldn't have come at a better time for Chase, either. The superstar receiver will be in the final year of his team in 2025 after the team picked up his fifth-year option on his rookie deal. While the two sides weren't able to agree to a deal this past offseason, Chase can now negotiate for top-of-market wide receiver money without there being any debate about whether or not he deserves to be the league's highest-paid receiver.

There's still time for Chase to move up this list, but it will take some more dominant games like he had on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

2. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins (2023) Miami Dolphins logo

The Greatest Show on Surf wouldn't have been possible without the Miami Dolphins trading for Tyreek Hill.

The former Kansas City Chiefs superstar took his game to a new level in 2023 with head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He finished the year with 119 catches for 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns. There was a time when it looked like Hill might break 2,000 receiving yards, but they started to lose steam as opponents tried to shut him down later in the season.

Despite that, Hill was the most efficient receiver in the NFL during the last decade. His 3.85 yards per route run in 2023 is the highest of anyone else in the last 10 years. In fact, the second-highest mark during this stretch by a full 0.35 yards.

Hill's breakaway speed and elusiveness made him almost impossible to cover in McDaniel's offense last season. While he hasn't had the same kind of production in 2024, a healthy Tua could change things in 2025 and beyond.

1. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (2021) Los Angeles Rams logo

Despite all of the great wide receiver performances of the last decade, nothing comes close to Cooper Kupp's 2021 season.

In fact, there might not be a better wide receiver season in the history of the league. Kupp became the first WR since Steven Smith Sr. in 2005 to win the Triple Crown, catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns on his way to the Offensive Player of the Year.

It's not just Kupp's regular season that makes him the top pick on this list. The Rams receiver continued to torch defenses throughout the team's playoff run, setting an NFL playoff record with 33 catches, which went for 478 yards and six touchdowns. He went on to win Super Bowl MVP, catching eight passes for 92 yards and two scores.

A combined 22 touchdowns over the regular season and playoffs was an unbelievable feat, and for as impressive as Chase's potential triple-crown season in 2024 has been, it won't come close to touching the year that Kupp had in 2021.

Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams See More

Tyler Brooke

NFL Analyst

Tyler is an experienced NFL writer who has been covering the NFL since 2012. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, FanDuel, SB Nation, and a number of other sites. Along with more than 12 years of experience covering the NFL, Tyler also co-authored "The Science of Football" and is an assistant football coach at Carmel High School in Indiana.

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