This week, a national outlet stacked up who it sees as the best wide receivers in the NFL entering the 2024 NFL season.
Pro Football Focus ranked the top 32 wideouts in the league, and a couple of former Clemson Tigers made the list.
DeAndre Hopkins checked in at No. 17 in the ranking heading into his second campaign with the Tennessee Titans.
After being released by the Arizona Cardinals last offseason, Hopkins signed a two-year deal with the Titans and concluded his first campaign in Tennessee with 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns.
It marked the first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2020 for the 31-year-old Hopkins, a first-round pick of the Houston Texans back in 2013 who has now amassed 928 catches for 12,355 yards and 78 touchdowns in his pro career to date.
“Deep into his career, DeAndre Hopkins can still cook with seemingly any quarterback,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote. “He caught 75 passes last season, with only four drops, and with an improved structure around Will Levis this season, he should realistically hope for a better environment for the passing game to thrive in 2024.”
Another former Clemson star, Tee Higgins, just cracked PFF’s receiver rankings.
Higgins rounded out the list at No. 32 following a down year with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023, when he posted career-lows with 42 receptions, 656 yards and five touchdowns while dealing with injuries that contributed to the dropoff in production.
Prior to last season, the 6-foot-4, 219-pounder had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2021 and 2022, tallying 13 total touchdowns in that span.
“When given the opportunity, Tee Higgins has shown he can be a No. 1 receiver even without Ja’Marr Chase in the lineup,” Monson wrote. “Coming off a down year, Higgins will be eager to dominate in 2024 to hit free agency coming off his best play. A big, strong possession target, throwing at Higgins in his NFL career has generated a 111.2 passer rating.”
Higgins requested a trade from the Bengals after receiving the franchise tag in late February, with he and the Bengals having failed to reach a long-term deal. He is due to make $21.8 million on the one-year franchise tag, if he ends up signing his franchise tender, which he has yet to do. He can’t join the Bengals until he signs the tender.
Overall in his NFL career, the 25-year-old has hauled in 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns since being drafted by the Bengals in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2020 draft.
Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson is No. 1 in PFF’s receiver rankings, with Miami’s Tyreek Hill, Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown rounding out the top five.
–Photo courtesy of Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
A limited number of signed footballs from Clemson’s 2022 class are still available. Get yours while supplies last! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!
