This article is part of our Job Battles series.
This is the second post conducting a general, surface-level roundup of the positional battles that took shape following the NFL Draft. The first (here) piled up the offseason headlines at quarterback and running back, while the second one (this one) does the same at wide receiver and tight end.
Subsequent posts in the series will respond to developments that occur as teams prepare for training camp, likely in more specific detail than the two roundup posts.
The list in this article is grouped by position and then goes in alphabetical order of team location.
Evaluate trades or get ready for a first-year draft with fantasy football dynasty rankings on RotoWire.
WIDE RECEIVER
Adam Thielen vs. Jalen Coker, CAR
Thielen turns 35 in August and can only have so much left, but in the last two years Thielen has thrived as Carolina's primary slot receiver.
With Coker the Panthers have their likely heir in waiting, and if it turns out Thielen lost a step then Carolina should have an immediately viable alternative in Coker, who generally impressed as an undrafted rookie in 2024.
Marvin Mims vs. Devaughn Vele vs. Pat Bryant vs. Troy Franklin, DEN
Courtland Sutton is likely the only locked-in Denver wide receiver, with these four otherwise fighting for the scraps.
Mims has produced at a blistering per-snap pace the last two years and is on the verge of establishing himself as one of the league's best returners, but at under 6-feet and
This is the second post conducting a general, surface-level roundup of the positional battles that took shape following the NFL Draft. The first (here) piled up the offseason headlines at quarterback and running back, while the second one (this one) does the same at wide receiver and tight end.
Subsequent posts in the series will respond to developments that occur as teams prepare for training camp, likely in more specific detail than the two roundup posts.
The list in this article is grouped by position and then goes in alphabetical order of team location.
Evaluate trades or get ready for a first-year draft with fantasy football dynasty rankings on RotoWire.
WIDE RECEIVER
Adam Thielen vs. Jalen Coker, CAR
Thielen turns 35 in August and can only have so much left, but in the last two years Thielen has thrived as Carolina's primary slot receiver.
With Coker the Panthers have their likely heir in waiting, and if it turns out Thielen lost a step then Carolina should have an immediately viable alternative in Coker, who generally impressed as an undrafted rookie in 2024.
Marvin Mims vs. Devaughn Vele vs. Pat Bryant vs. Troy Franklin, DEN
Courtland Sutton is likely the only locked-in Denver wide receiver, with these four otherwise fighting for the scraps.
Mims has produced at a blistering per-snap pace the last two years and is on the verge of establishing himself as one of the league's best returners, but at under 6-feet and 185 pounds Mims lacks the build that Sean Payton prefers in some situations.
Vele thrived as a slot-specialist seventh-round pick as an over-aged rookie last year, and he might continue to function as Denver's primary slot wideout in 2025.
Bryant complicates matters as a third-round pick out of Illinois, where he showed excellent polish as a route runner and in-traffic target. At 6-foot-2, 204 pounds Bryant stands out for his ability to make a tough catch against crowded coverage.
Franklin mostly seems like a poor man's version of Mims, but the speedy and lanky 2024 fourth-round pick earned praise for his offseason work and was a very productive collegiate receiver at Oregon.
Matthew Golden vs. Romeo Doubs vs. Dontayvion Wicks, GB
Although Doubs has arguably been an at least average starting boundary wideout for the Packers the last three years, there are things he could do better. The first-round selection of Golden all but dictates that Doubs loses playing time relative to past years.
The only way Doubs could maintain a starter-like snap count is if Wicks poaches fewer snaps than the last two years. Whereas Doubs is almost strictly a boundary wideout for the Packers, Wicks sees reps both on the boundary and in the slot.
Golden is a candidate to line up everywhere, but slot specialist Jayden Reed is tough to displace. Golden will generally need to earn his snaps on the boundary.
Travis Hunter vs. Dyami Brown vs. Parker Washington, JAC
Hunter is clearly Jacksonville's second-best wideout after Brian Thomas, but it's still not clear how the Jaguars will split up Hunter's playing time between offense and defense.
When Hunter isn't available the primary boundary wideout opposite Thomas should prove to be Brown, whose skill set specializes downfield from the boundary. Brown is a strong bet to have the highest ADOT among Jacksonville wideouts.
Washington lacks the speed of Thomas and Brown, but Washington's polished skill set plays well from the slot or on shallower routes.
Tre Harris vs. Quentin Johnston vs. Mike Williams, LAC
Johnston was a below-baseline target for the Chargers on a 18.5-percent target share last year. The Chargers had reason to scale back Johnston's target rate even before acquiring Harris or Williams.
Harris is likely the future WR2 and primary boundary wideout for the Chargers after they selected him in the second round of the 2025 draft. Harris thrived as a perimeter and downfield wideout at Mississippi and Louisiana Tech, and it's in those areas that Johnston let the Chargers down in 2024.
Williams will turn 31 in October and missed minicamp with an undisclosed injury, but if he can still make tough hand catches from the perimeter then he still might take snaps from Johnston.
Tre Tucker vs. Jack Bech vs. Dont'e Thornton, LV
Bech clearly has a prominent role in the future Las Vegas offense, but the rookie second-round pick out of TCU will likely serve as a backup in 2025.
Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers already draw a high target share in the depths where Bech will likely specialize, meaning the Raiders have more short-term use for the field-stretching speed of Tucker and even Thornton, the lanky fourth-round burner out of Tennessee.
Tucker and Thornton provide downfield speed to create space for Bowers and Meyers, whereas Bech running the same routes would just clutter the field.
Kyle Williams vs. DeMario Douglas vs. Mack Hollins, NE
Like it or not, Hollins will likely play a hefty snap count as a blocking-oriented wideout after signing a two-year, $8.7 million deal with the Patriots.
The rookie third-round pick Williams is a more compelling target than Hollins and offers the Patriots crucial downfield speed they otherwise lack, but with per-snap target hogs like Douglas and Stefon Diggs on the field there's a chance Williams gets stuck with decoy work to keep the safeties off Diggs and Douglas.
Douglas is almost entirely a slot specialist, however, meaning in two-wide sets he's not as likely as Diggs, Williams or Hollins to log a snap on the play in question.
Josh Reynolds vs. Malachi Corley vs. Arian Smith, NYJ
The Jets might still hold out some hope for Corley after selecting him in the third round last year out of Western Kentucky, but for now he likely remains underdeveloped as a boundary target.
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, Reynolds is likely locked into the WR2 role opposite Garrett Wilson.
The Jets spent a fourth-round pick on Smith as well, but Smith is almost certainly a downfield decoy rather than a featured target to the Jets.
Calvin Austin vs. Roman Wilson, PIT
Austin can only play so many snaps at around 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, but the Steelers appreciate his attitude as a blocker and Austin's 4.32 speed otherwise makes him a noteworthy target in a Pittsburgh rotation that lacks viable options after WR1 DK Metcalf.
The Steelers hoped Wilson would claim the WR2 role after selecting him in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but an ankle and then hamstring injury all but grounded him the entire year. Wilson is a step slower than Austin but still very fast, and even at just 185 pounds Wilson is appreciably bigger than Austin.
It's possible that Wilson ends up largely a decoy to draw coverage away from Metcalf and Austin, and if so then Austin might be the better fantasy option even if Wilson ends up playing more snaps.
Emeka Egbuka vs. Jalen McMillan, TB
The Buccaneers clearly envision Egbuka as a starter after selecting him 19th overall in the 2025 draft. The question is how soon Egbuka might claim a starting role in an offense that already features McMillan, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (ankle).
Evans and Godwin respectively tend to dominate on the boundary and in the slot, meaning when both are healthy the remaining rep in three-wide sets would be a second boundary rep, likely of the flanker sort.
McMillan will likely take a back seat to Egbuka in the Tampa Bay target order at some point, but if the only remaining rep is the flanker then McMillan might block Egbuka in a lot of three-wide sets. Egbuka's best projection is in the slot, where he risks short-term redundancy whenever Godwin is healthy.
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TIGHT END
Colston Loveland vs. Cole Kmet, CHI
It remains to be seen how quickly the Bears can acclimate Loveland as he works his way back from a surgically-repaired shoulder injury, but the eventual vision for Loveland is perfectly clear: he'll be their TE1 and one of the team's leading pass catchers as soon as possible.
The Bears are not compelled to rush Loveland in the meantime, however, because Kmet is at least an average starting tight end in his own right and has played more snaps than any NFL tight end in the last four years.
If the two are both healthy then Loveland will take the vast majority of viable routes between the two while Kmet's tasks veer toward blocking to set up other Bears route runners. If Loveland isn't healthy for training camp then it might delay the arrival of this long-term vision.
Will Dissly vs. Tyler Conklin vs. Oronde Gadsden, LAC
The Chargers want to run a TE-centric offense that brutalizes defenses in the ground game, but last year only Dissly and blocking specialist Tucker Fisk provided them with NFL-caliber reps.
Dissly is one of the NFL's most rugged tight ends but also has a lengthy injury history, so the free agent pickup of Conklin could prove important, even with Conklin only on a one-year deal. If the two are both available then the Chargers might evenly split the workloads of Dissly and Conklin, if only to keep both healthy all year.
The Dissly-Conklin duo is capable on all three downs and Fisk is a blocking specialist/fullback, but Gadsden stands out as a potential pass-catching specialist. The rookie fifth-round pick is a polished Big Slot wide receiver but likely needs to improve his blocking acumen to earn base-package reps. If Gadsden does show blocking development, though, then he could possess unique fantasy upside given his already developed game as a receiver.
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