Ranking Every New QB-WR Duo Heading Into The 2023 NFL Season

We’ve recently seen new QB-WR duos join forces and find immediate success. Whether it be Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs or Tom Brady and Mike Evans or Matty Stafford and Cooper Kupp. Turns out, putting great quarterbacks together with great receivers typically ends in positive results.

Let’s rank every new QB-Wr duo heading into the 2023 NFL season:

12. Mac Jones and JuJu Smith-Schuster

Bill Belichick has historically refused to put any resources into acquiring high-caliber offensive targets which was cool when you had Tom Brady turning guys like Danny Amendola into household names but not great when you have Mac Jones who has the same gait as my grandmother and just spent last season learning under the genius brain trust of Matt Patricia—who keeps a pencil behind his ear to appear intelligent even though his play sheet is laminated—and Joe Judge—whose greatest accomplishment is getting coffees for powerful football coaches like Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and tricking them into believing he’s not a scammer.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is the most talented wide receiver the Patriots have had since Randy Moss and he’s nowhere near as talented as Randy Moss. The Patriots are going to stink, man. I cannot wait.

11. Jimmy Garoppolo and Davante Adams

A QB-WR duo that includes Davante Adams should be higher up on a list like this but we just saw how irrelevant Adams became last season when he went from Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball to Derek Carr. Adams’s stats were still similar to what you’d expect him to do but it didn’t impact winning in any meaningful way.

Jimmy G is even worse than Derek Carr, if you can imagine. He’s also recovering from a secret foot surgery that was just revealed this week so he might not even be available for Week 1. But it’s Jimmy G so not being available kind of comes with the territory.

10. Jordan Love and Christian Watson

I want/need Jordan Love to be great this season especially with ESPN acquiring the Pat McAfee show. Every week, Aaron Rodgers is going to be on TV giving little passive-aggressive interviews and I would hate for Jordan Love to struggle so Rodgers can go on a smug ‘told-you-so’ press tour.

Christian Watson had a decent rookie campaign. 41 catches for 611 yards and 7 touchdowns. Let’s see those numbers go up when he has a real-life vaccinated quarterback who won’t refuse to throw him the ball after he makes a mistake.

9. Anthony Richardson and Michael Pittman

I think Anthony Richardson has all the tools and potential to become one of the great quarterbacks in this league. And if he doesn’t reach that ceiling then he will at least be better than whatever the fuck Matt Ryan was trying to do last season.

Last year, Michael Pittman managed to catch 99 passes for 925 yards and 4 touchdowns. Imagine the numbers he can put up when the team isn’t so obviously tanking for, well, Anthony Richardson.

8. Derek Carr and Michael Thomas

I didn’t make this list last season but if I did, then I would’ve had Derek Carr and Davante Adams in the Top 3. I would’ve been wrong as hell. I won’t be making that mistake again. Carr cried his way to New Orleans for a fresh start and a new city to wear his little mascara.

But now he’s responsible for reviving Michael Thomas’s career after his body has broken down and he’s made questionable surgery decisions. Saints OC, Pete Carmichael, was instrumental in developing Drew Brees into a Hall of Famer so perhaps he can work similar magic for Derek Carr. Probably not, though.

7. Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans

I am sick about Baker Mayfield being this high on the list but I totally forgot who was the starting quarterback in Tampa Bay after Tom Brady’s retirement so here he is.

I also think I might be overrating Mike Evans here. Not because I think he’s suddenly going to disappear after recording 77 catches for 1,124 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. But I’m more so concerned about any player going into their 10th NFL season.

And Mike Evans is about to enter the wide receiver graveyard named Baker Mayfield.

6. Bryce Young and Adam Thielen

The Carolina Panthers have had an abysmal passing offense for the last few years juggling between Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and the ghost of Cam Newton. Over the last 4 seasons, the Panthers rank last in passing touchdowns and first in interceptions.

I want to give Carolina credit for taking a step back and recalibrating their whole approach to this shit. They hired Frank Reich who was crucial in Nick Foles’s strange Super Bowl run. Jim Caldwell was hired as a consultant. Peyton Manning has specifically credited Caldwell for developing him into the Hall of Fame QB we all know.

Plus, teams should go out of their way to get their young QBs a top wide receiver. The Panthers went out there and grabbed Adam Thielen who will for sure help bail little Bryce Young out of trouble.

5. Dak Prescott and Brandin Cooks

As a Giants fan, I don’t have much to say about Dak Prescott and Brandin Cooks. They’re the Cowboys. Turn to ESPN right now and I’m sure they are in the midst of a 20-minute discussion about this team. Go get that content elsewhere.

4. Justin Fields and DJ Moore

Shocked to be living in a world where the Chicago Bears are making good team-building decisions but trading down from no. 1 and bringing in DJ Moore was one of the best offseason moves. The Bears were dead last in passing last season. Justin Fields spent more time running around for his life than he did actually attempting passes so it would be nice to see if Fields can actually get some throws off and to professional wide receivers instead of future XFL stars.

3. Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson

On paper, I could see someone saying Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson are the best new QB-WR duo in the NFL but I’ve also seen Rodgers’s face at every event in New York City and I know what it looks like to not care about your job that much. As someone who has used every vacation day like, within the first week of my employment, I understand what Rodgers is doing here.

Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson will have the stats, maybe even the best stats of any duo on this list but I don’t Rodgers is coming to the Jets to win Super Bowls and dominate the AFC. I think he just wanted to come to New York and network and build some widely stupid media brand where people question Democrats and dickride MAGA dorks.

2. Trevor Lawrence and Calvin Ridley

I just watched Trevor Lawrence lead a 31-30 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the playoffs last year. I’m ready to hand this man the MVP. He’s proven he’s ready. The Jaguars almost beat the Chiefs in Kansas City to make the Super Bowl.

And now he has a former All-Pro receiver who is fresh and healthy after a year-long suspension for being caught using gambling apps. I think Lawrence has the talent to remind us all how great Calvin Ridley is. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ridley won the Comeback Player of the Year.

1. Lamar Jackson and Odell Beckham Jr

Lamar Jackson fought to get a new contract done and became the highest-paid player in the NFL without an agent. He took a lotttttt of shit from everyone in the media and fans for simply wanting to be paid what he’s worth.

I think both Lamar and Odell are coming into the 2023 NFL season with chips on their shoulders. Hopefully a new offensive coordinator will activate a new level of passing for Lamar who has a better arm than he gets credit for but played in a system where he was essentially only throwing like, 5-yard slants to tight ends.

Lamar and Odell are about to be the coolest QB-WR duo maybe in NFL history. I might lowkey be a Ravens fan this season. I wish I didn’t write that. Now both players are going to suffer season-ending injuries before Week 1 and I’m going to look stupid. As is tradition.

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