NFL free agency is a year-round process, as teams scout opposing players in an effort to defeat them during the year and perhaps sign them in the offseason.
Now we're at the end of the 2023-24 NFL season, the free agency picture is coming into focus, and teams are beginning to identify potential targets to improve their roster weaknesses.
Here are the top wide receivers slated to hit free agency in 2024. Click here for PFF's full list of the top 200 free agents.
1. WR TEE HIGGINS, CINCINNATI BENGALS
2024 Free agency rank: 4
Injuries hampered almost the entire 2023 season for Higgins after his second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2022 with a receiving grade above 75.0. A franchise tag already seemed likely heading into this season, and with little new data to impact the negotiation either way, that seems inevitable. The field-stretching, jump-ball receiver should have the chance to bounce back in 2024 along with the entire Bengals team following a disappointing campaign.
Top free agent comparison: Mike Williams, 2022
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Tee Higgins | 70.9 | 1.66 | 13.1 | 5.6 | ? |
| Mike Williams | 78.0 | 1.78 | 13.5 | 4.6 | 9.6% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
2. WR MICHAEL PITTMAN JR., INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
2024 Free agency rank: 11
Plenty of holes will be poked in Pittman’s game as he gets set to enter free agency, with some athletic limitations keeping his average depth of target down, especially compared to predominantly outside wide receivers.
Nonetheless, Pittman is as reliable a possession receiver as there is in the NFL, and it’s also fair to wonder if a carousel at quarterback in Indianapolis has limited his production. Pittman earned a career-best receiving grade with 100-plus catches and 1,000-plus receiving yards — that gets a player paid even if there is a perceived ceiling to his game.
Top free agent comparison: Allen Robinson, 2022
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Michael Pittman | 77.8 | 1.72 | 7.9 | 4.1 | ? |
| Allen Robinson | 83.8 | 1.72 | 10.8 | 3.0 | 7.4% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
3. WR MIKE EVANS, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
2024 Free agency rank: 13
Another starting quarterback in Tampa Bay? Another 1,000-yard season from Mike Evans. The record-setting 10th straight season to start a career with 1,000-plus yards is one thing, but an 83.9 receiving grade with double-digit touchdowns for the third time in four years is extraordinary.
Evans’ free agency will be tricky and has a wide range of outcomes, with nagging soft-tissue injuries seemingly bothering him for years now. There could also be sticker shock with recent outcomes on 30-plus-year-old receivers. Nonetheless, there is no reason he should ask for less than the recent crop of players, including Davante Adams, who effectively signed a three-year, $67.7 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Top free agent comparison: Kenny Golladay, 2021
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Mike Evans | 82.6 | 2.03 | 14.5 | 3.5 | ? |
| Kenny Golladay | 82.2 | 2.12 | 15.8 | 4.1 | 9.8%** |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
**2021 salary cap of $182.5 million, dropped due to the pandemic
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
4. WR MARQUISE BROWN, ARIZONA CARDINALS
2024 Free agency rank: 17
The Ravens traded Brown and a third-round pick to the Cardinals for a 2022 first-round pick, and his time in Arizona was a journey, to say the least. Between his own injuries and Kyler Murray’s torn ACL, the former college teammates weren't able to team up as much as the old regime probably hoped, but he has flashed when in the lineup.
It’s hard to come up with a solid comparable player for a 5-foot-9, 180-pound outside wide receiver — although now the NFL is adding more of this archetype each year — and it’s also fair to wonder how badly Arizona wants to extend anyone, given the team's timeline and the emergence of rookie wideout Michael Wilson.
Top free agent comparison: Christian Kirk, 2022
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Marquise Brown | 70.5 | 1.35 | 12.2 | 3.5 | ? |
| Christian Kirk | 69.2 | 1.52 | 12.5 | 3.4 | 8.6% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
5. WR CALVIN RIDLEY, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
2024 Free agency rank: 24
Ridley’s contract situation is a true one-of-one. He returned to play in 2023 after missing all of 2022 while serving a suspension for sports gambling and had stepped away from football before the 2021 campaign was over but was a top wide receiver in 2020. There were drop issues in 2023 as Ridley returned to full speed, but he still proved capable of taking over a game while breaking off a series of explosive receptions.
Equally fascinating are the conditions on Ridley’s trade to Jacksonville, where the pick the Jaguars will send to the Atlanta Falcons escalates to a second-rounder if the two parties agree to an extension. We’re not 100% certain that the same language for the condition exists here as it did when Leonard Williams was sent from the New York Jets to the New York Giants, but there the Giants did not have to send a better pick by merely placing a franchise tag instead of signing Williams to a multi-year extension in 2020.
Top free agent comparison: Odell Beckham Jr., 2023
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Calvin Ridley | 69.2 | 1.47 | 14.0 | 2.6 | ? |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 76.9 | 1.62 | 13.6 | 3.3 | 6.7% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
6. WR DARNELL MOONEY, CHICAGO BEARS
2024 Free agency rank: 60
In Mooney’s second season in 2021, he put up 1,055 receiving yards on 81 receptions with a career-best 74.9 receiving grade. Since then, Mooney has unfortunately dealt with a few minor injuries and one of the lower-volume passing attacks in the league. Nonetheless, he creates separation on intermediate and deep routes consistently, and he could be the ultimate buy-low for a team that can tap into the potential we saw a few years back.
Top free agent comparison: Emmanuel Sanders, 2014
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Darnell Mooney | 64.3 | 1.20 | 12.3 | 5.1 | ? |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 70.0 | 1.43 | 11.5 | 4.7 | 3.8% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
7. WR GABRIEL DAVIS, BUFFALO BILLS
2024 Free agency rank: 63
Davis is your typical vertical threat out wide, averaging more than 15 yards per reception in every season of his career and coming down with a fair amount of contested catches with good high-pointing skills. However, Davis doesn’t have the fastest release off the line and doesn’t snap off in-breakers with a sharpness to create separation over the middle. He’ll help stretch the field outside the numbers for an acquiring team and can have some huge outings on occasion, but he can also be absent from the box score at times.
Top free agent comparison: Devin Funchess, 2019
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Gabriel Davis | 67.3 | 1.35 | 16.2 | 3.1 | ? |
| Devin Funchess | 72.1 | 1.51 | 13.7 | 3.3 | 5.3% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Beckham progressively looked more and more like his old self as 2023 wore on. His 90.0 receiving grade from Weeks 9-14 trailed only Tyreek Hill among wide receivers.
Top free agent comparison: N/A
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 77.7 | 2.03 | 14.9 | 4.8 | ? |
| N/A | – | – | – | – | – |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
9. WR TYLER BOYD, CINCINNATI BENGALS
2024 Free agency rank: 74
It will be fascinating to see if and how Cincinnati attempts to keep the elite trio of Ja’Marr Chase, fellow free agent Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd together in 2024 and beyond, but Boyd could be the odd man out looking for a third contract after playing out the term of his four-year extension signed in 2020.
Boyd is a big slot receiver with solid blocking chops in the run game. He rarely ever drops a target and does well to sit down in soft spots of zones on key passing downs. However, Boyd posted several career-low marks in 2023, and with so many big financial decisions facing Cincinnati, the Bengals may not be willing to offer him as much as other teams looking to upgrade their unit over the middle.
Top free agent comparison: Robert Woods, 2023
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Tyler Boyd | 70.0 | 1.26 | 8.6 | 4.2 | ? |
| Robert Woods | 70.2 | 1.38 | 8.7 | 3.8 | 3.4% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
10. WR CURTIS SAMUEL, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
2024 Free agency rank: 76
Samuel was an efficient target in Eric Bienemy’s Washington offense that spread the ball around more than any team in the NFL, hauling in just shy of 73% of passes thrown his way with just four drops on 85 targets in 2023. Samuel was used as a ball carrier in 2023 like he was in 2022 and previous seasons dating back to his Ohio State days. His Swiss Army knife skill set shows up with good change of direction in space and start-stop ability that is still above average at this stage of his career.
Top free agent comparison: Adam Humphries, 2019
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Curtis Samuel | 73.4 | 1.41 | 7.1 | 4.3 | ? |
| Adam Humphries | 70.1 | 1.35 | 6.4 | 5.3 | 4.8% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection:Available in PFF's free agency rankings
11. WR Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
2024 Free agency rank: 87
Bourne unfortunately tore his ACL in Week 8 after serving as the clear No. 1 option in the Patriots’ passing attack for the first half of the season. He has inside-outside ability and is a willing run blocker.
Bourne makes up for his lack of elite athleticism with suddenness to his game, including crisp breaks out of routes and late hands to avoid as many contested targets by catching defensive backs off guard. Bourne can make a catchable but inaccurate throw look better with good ball-tracking ability, and he runs hard after the catch.
Top free agent comparison: James Jones, 2014
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Kendrick Bourne | 70.3 | 1.58 | 10.5 | 4.9 | ? |
| James Jones | 71.1 | 1.41 | 11.2 | 4.8 | 2.5% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
12. WR D.J. Chark, Carolina Panthers
2024 Free agency rank: 108
Top free agent comparison: Kenny Britt, 2015
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| D.J. Chark | 64.9 | 1.24 | 15.5 | 3.5 | ? |
| Kenny Britt | 65.2 | 1.27 | 15.4 | 2.9 | 3.2% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
13. WR Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
2024 Free agency rank: 115
Top free agent comparison: A.J. Green, 2021
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Michael Thomas | 72.6 | 1.45 | 10.6 | 2.4 | ? |
| A.J. Green | 69.2 | 1.28 | 13.6 | 2.7 | 3.3% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
14. WR Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions
2024 Free agency rank: 116
Top free agent comparison: Kamar Aiken, 2017
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Josh Reynolds | 69.5 | 1.31 | 12.1 | 4.0 | ? |
| Kamar Aiken | 71.3 | 1.29 | 12.4 | 3.0 | 1.6% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
15. WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans
2024 Free agency rank: 134
Top free agent comparison: Demarcus Robinson, 2020
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Nick Westbrook- Ikhine | 59.7 | 1.03 | 13.1 | 4.2 | ? |
| Demarcus Robinson | 57.6 | 1.01 | 12.5 | 4.2 | 1.2% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
16. WR K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings
2024 Free agency rank: 142
Top free agent comparison: Parris Campbell, 2023
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| K.J. Osborn | 60.0 | 1.02 | 8.9 | 4.5 | ? |
| Parris Campbell | 61.9 | 1.09 | 8.4 | 4.2 | 2.1% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
17. WR Noah Brown, Houston Texans
2024 Free agency rank: 144
Top free agent comparison: Cecil Shorts, 2015
| Player | Receiving grade | Yards per route run | Average depth of target | Yards after catch per reception | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Noah Brown | 67.7 | 1.50 | 11.8 | 4.8 | ? |
| Cecil Shorts | 67.4 | 1.41 | 10.0 | 4.7 | 2.1% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
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