Week 17 Reactions: Who's the Top Wideout?

The NFL continues to evolve more into a passing league, and nothing evidenced it more than 11 quarterbacks throwing at least 30 touchdown passes this season, the most in NFL history. A number of the expected names are on the list, such as Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, while there were a few surprises, such as Blake Bortles, Derek Carr and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Early-season favorites to be on the list that missed out: Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan and Ben Roethlisberger.

That being said, one quarterback who didn't reach that mark but may be the hottest player in the NFL is Washington QB Kirk Cousins, who heads into the playoffs after becoming the first player in team history to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. Cousins, who threw for at least one touchdown in every game this season, has thrown 11 in the last three games while also adding a rushing touchdown. Cousins will finish the season as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in standard scoring, which is well higher than many expected at the beginning of the season when they were calling for Robert Griffin to get another chance to start.

The argument against Cousins being the hottest player in the NFL revolves around Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw three more touchdown passes Sunday in a 36-6 throttling of the Cardinals, who are the No. 2 seed in the NFC thanks to their 13-3 record. Wilson threw for a career-high 4,024 yards and 34 touchdowns while adding 553 rushing yards this season, becoming the first player to ever pass for at least 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for at least 500 yards. In fact, Cam Newton (this year) and Randall Cunningham (1990) are the only other players to rush for 500 yards and pass for 30 touchdowns.

Speaking of Newton, his MVP season rolled right along in the Panthers' 38-10 win over the Bucs to secure the best record in the NFL at 15-1. Newton passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for two scores. It was the 31st time in his career he's thrown for a touchdown and rushed for one in the same game, tying Steve Young for the most in league history. Newton has played 78 games in his career, while Young, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2005, played 169.

But enough about the guys who throw the ball, let's get to the guys who catch it.

Julio Jones won the 2015 receiving title after catching nine passes on 11 targets for 149 yards Sunday against the Saints, giving him 1,871 for the year, the second-highest single-season total the league has ever seen (Calvin Johnson set the record with 1,964 in 2012).

Coming up just short of Jones was Antonio Brown, who had a monster Week 17 performance when the Steelers needed a win over the Browns and a loss by the Jets to make the playoffs. Brown caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the first half, finishing with 13 catches on 17 targets for 187 yards. He ends the regular season with 1,834 yards, the fourth-highest single-season total (Jerry Rice had 1,848 in 1995). Jones and Brown finished tied for the league-lead with 136 receptions, a total that has only been beaten once (Marvin Harrison, 143 in 2002). What may be even more impressive about Brown is that he played numerous games with either Michael Vick or Landry Jones under center, but he still managed to reach the century mark nine times, including four times over 180. He also now has the record for most catches in a two-year span with 265. Jones also had at least 100 yards nine times, including each of the last three games, but only Brown is heading to the postseason.

And while Jones and Brown put up great arguments for being the top wideout selected in fantasy drafts next season, Odell Beckham was busy setting the record for most receiving yards in the first two seasons of an NFL career (2,755), breaking Randy Moss' record of 2,726.

That actually wasn't the only time Moss' name came up Sunday, as DeAndre Hopkins joined him as the only players to reach 3,500 yards before turning 24. Beckham needs 745 yards before Nov. 5, which will be around Week 9 or 10, to do the same. If you're looking to tier wideouts for next season, it may look like this:

Tier 1
Odell Beckham, Julio Jones, Antonio Brown

Tier 2
DeAndre Hopkins

Tier 3
Brandon Marshall, Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins, A.J. Green

Tyler Eifert caught his 13th touchdown of the season Sunday against the Ravens, the most by a tight end this year. Despite the overwhelming support that Rob Gronkowski was the best fantasy tight end in the league, he was the top-scoring player at his position only once, which came back in the regular-season opener when he caught five passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns. In fairness, he was the second-highest scoring tight end in Weeks 2, 7, 8, 10 and 14, and he was third in Week 12. Your league-leader in weeks atop the tight end fantasy points list: Jordan Reed, who led the position in Weeks 7, 14, 15 and 16, which certainly helps explain Kirk Cousins' excellent play of late. Reed will likely be right behind Gronkowski in preseason rankings, though it's important to remember that he played just 20 games in his first two seasons due to injuries, and while he played 14 this year, he has a history of concussions, suffering four in his three-year career.

And finally, Adrian Peterson won the rushing title this season, as only seven players rushed for 1,000 yards: Peterson, Doug Martin, Todd Gurley, Latavius Murray, Darren McFadden, Chris Ivory and Devonta Freeman. Thirteen running backs reached the 1,000-yard mark last year, 12 in 2013 and 13 in 2012. The 2008 season was the last time just seven players rushed for 1,000 yards, and the running back who won the rushing title that year? Yup, Adrian Peterson.