Lamb & Pickens vs. Brown & Smith: Who's the NFL's Best Receiver Duo in 2025?

[OmerV]

Smith has always been WR2 and in an offense that does not give up on the ground game. He knows his role, is signed through 2028. Hurts is not considered one of the NFL’s most gifted passers.

It will be interesting to see if Pickens is satisfied playing second fiddle to Lamb. It will be interesting to see if he’ll accept compensation similar to Smith. It will be interesting to see if Prescott is actually a better thrower of the ball than Hurts.

It will be interesting to see who Pickens signs with for the 2026 season.

Which really doesn't change the fact that Brown/Smith have played a combined 10 years in the NFL and Lamb/Pickens 8 years. That matters when comparing cumulative stats.

And it's true that Hurts isn't a top tier passer, but he beats the hell out of what the Steelers have had. Over the last 3 years, which is how long Pickens has been in the league, the Steelers have had a total of 9,838 passing yards and 46 passing TDs'. Over the same period the Eagles have had 11,133 passing yards and 73 passing TD's.

And look at how Brown's stats dramatically increased when he left Tennesse and got to Philly. Being in a better QB situation does matter.

And while technically it's true D. Smith has been WR2 - it's really been more like WR 1A. He averages 110 targets/season,12 more targets a year than Pickens. Pickens 1st season both Dionte Johnson and Paul Friermouth had more targets than Pickens.

That all said, it still remains to be seen how this plays out. Frankly I would probably give a little nod to Brown and Smith at this point. But I think it is fair to say that career stats aren't really and apples to apples way to compare given length of time in the NFL and differing team situations.

 

[Offsides]

There a lot of really good duos around the league. Maybe Deebo will be injury prone again but that is pretty solid duo with McLaurin.

IMO, Lamb, Jefferson and Chase are elite number 1's. Do Nabors and Harrison join them? I think NY doesn't have the #2 to be in this argument but Wilson is really good in Arizona but McBride takes a lot of his receptions away. IMO, wilson would be 1000 yard guy without McBride. Can one vote for Harrison and McBride?

Do any receivers complement each other better than Jameson Williams and St. Brown? Jameson Williams is quite an electric playmaker in the league with that speed who could be on verge of a huge season. Not saying St. Brown is elite number 1 but is close.

I'd probably go with Chase/Higgins as the top duo. Jefferson and Addison in the NFC. Between Philly and Dallas, I'd take Dallas duo just because of CeeDee. I trust Smith a lot more than Pickens but that could change over the season. IMO, Pickens hasn't lived up to the hype in Pissburgh so he needs to step up in his change of scenery.

 

[AstroPilota]

He said the nfc were talking just about the nfc and the nfc east we're not bringing in the AFC into this conversation right now...

Thread title:

Lamb & Pickens vs. Brown & Smith: Who's the NFL's Best Receiver Duo in 2025?​

Title should be changed if the OP wants to contain the convo to the NFC.

 

[Sydla]

The NFL has no shortage of elite wide receiver pairings, but two duos stand out in 2025: the Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and the Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Let’s compare them across production, skill sets, efficiency, and impact.

Career Production Comparison (Through 2024)​

Player	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns	Yards/Rec	Games Played
CeeDee Lamb	520	6,655	39	12.8	81
George Pickens	184	2,978	13	16.2	48
A.J. Brown	487	7,624	54	15.7	90
DeVonta Smith	351	4,606	27	13.1	63

Key Takeaways:​

• Brown + Smith have the edge in combined production and playoff success.
• Pickens has the highest yards per catch, showing explosive potential.
• Lamb is the most productive volume receiver overall

​

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​

Lamb & Pickens, Brown & Smith’s Skill Sets​

• CeeDee Lamb is an elite yards-after-catch (YAC) receiver, especially effective on short and intermediate routes. Lamb had a 5.6 YAC compared to an expected YAC of 3.4.
• George Pickens thrives on vertical routes, averaging 13.5 total air yards and contested catches at 57.3%.

https://insidethestar.com/lamb-pickens-vs-brown-smith-whos-the-nfls-best-receiver-duo-in-2025

Higgins and Chase.

 

[blueblood70]

Thread title:

Lamb & Pickens vs. Brown & Smith: Who's the NFL's Best Receiver Duo in 2025?​

Title should be changed if the OP wants to contain the convo to the NFC.

Not if you read more than the title, he says,

The NFL has no shortage of elite wide receiver pairings, but two duos stand out in 2025: the Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and the Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

It's pretty clear he wanted to discuss those two groups it's not a big deal we already know chase and T Higgins as well as the Vikings the Rams can get into this conversation as well but he wanted to discuss just basically Cowboys versus Eagles....

It's not a big deal it's a boring time for football right now so we have to put up with all kinds of stories that pretty much we already know the answer to already have an opinion on....

 

[Aven8]

Good question and I'd have no issue taking either duo.

I think Lamb/Pickens has the higher ceiling as Pickens is a legit WR1 talent.

This wont be a very popular comment here, but I think AJ Brown is the best WR of the four listed. He has a real argument that hes the top WR in the league right now. For that and the risk Pickens brings I'd go with Philly's due, but its not a huge gap between these duos.

I agree about AJ. Every offensive metric they have when he’s been out with an injury goes way down until he returns. Having said that, luckily Lamb has never missed serious time. (Knock on a big piece of wood!!)….

 

[NotaCowboysFan]

Having Barkley behind that O-Line doesn't hurt either.

It does for targets, I’ve already broken this down here before.

Eagles averaged 37.. THIRTY SEVEN rushing attempts per game last season. They had 29 rushing touchdowns. That’s an extreme amount of volume directed away from the passing game. You can only feed so many people. Meanwhile Ceedee had one of the highest amounts of targets per game.

 

[CowboyFrog]

Oh, is that all? Lol.

not that i disagree but there are like 30 more games in that production, but the fact is we have seen what Brown/Smith can do on the same team the other is unknown for now. I would agree they are better until proven otherwise.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Higgins and Chase.

Higgins is another one of those guys who people overrate. They have the best duo because of Chase….

 

[JohnsKey19]

If we're talking league wide, I'd go:

1. Chase-Higgins
2. Brown-Smith
3. Jefferson-Addison
4. Lamb-Pickens
5. (Tie) Puka-Adams or St.Brown-Williams

 

[noshame]

It can actually depend on who's throwing them the footbaIt.

Or not throwing it

 

[charron]

Hard to compare since we have ever seen CD and Pickens on the same team.

 

[5Stars]

The NFL has no shortage of elite wide receiver pairings, but two duos stand out in 2025: the Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and the Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Let’s compare them across production, skill sets, efficiency, and impact.

Career Production Comparison (Through 2024)​

Player	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns	Yards/Rec	Games Played
CeeDee Lamb	520	6,655	39	12.8	81
George Pickens	184	2,978	13	16.2	48
A.J. Brown	487	7,624	54	15.7	90
DeVonta Smith	351	4,606	27	13.1	63

Key Takeaways:​

• Brown + Smith have the edge in combined production and playoff success.
• Pickens has the highest yards per catch, showing explosive potential.
• Lamb is the most productive volume receiver overall

​

---

​

Lamb & Pickens, Brown & Smith’s Skill Sets​

• CeeDee Lamb is an elite yards-after-catch (YAC) receiver, especially effective on short and intermediate routes. Lamb had a 5.6 YAC compared to an expected YAC of 3.4.
• George Pickens thrives on vertical routes, averaging 13.5 total air yards and contested catches at 57.3%.

https://insidethestar.com/lamb-pickens-vs-brown-smith-whos-the-nfls-best-receiver-duo-in-2025

How can anyone answer a hypothetical question like this? The Cowboys receivers have not even played a game yet together. Plus, how does anyone know how #4 will play, you know, he is part of the receiving group, he throws the ball.

 

[thunderpimp91]

ehh.... not in tennesee he didn't. philly sure, but even then his opportunities weren't all that limited. not nearly the volume as ceedee obviously.

I would disagree with you on that one. His 1000+ yards this year came on just 361 routes which is insane. That is limited opportunities keeping his numbers down. Let him play on the Bengals where Jamarr Chase got 683 routes to run and Brown would have been on pace for a 2,253 yard season.

AJ Brown by year:

2019 - 16 games (11 starts) - 393 routes - 52/1051/8
2020 - 14 games - 406 routes -70/1075/11
2021 - 13 games - 347 routes - 63/869/5
2022 - 17 games - 578 routes - 88/1496/11
2023 - 17 games - 577 routes - 106/1456/7
2024 - 13 games - 361 routes - 68/1079/7

The efficiency in these numbers is crazy good, even if the end results were middle of the pack some season. For the amount of passing snaps he has had his catch totals are pretty good, his yardage though is in the elite category, and that has been consistent his entire career. The issue he had in Tennessee, aside from missing games is they fed Henry the football. It seems like Brown could have led the league nearly every season if he was on the field for more passing snaps.

 

[Teague31]

Pretty simple

Lamb > Brown
Pickens > Smith

 

[BigCowboysHomer]

Nick Wright of First Things First ranked all NFL receiver duos like this

1. Jamar Chase / Tee Higgins (Bengals)
2. AJ Brown / Devonta Smith (Eagles)
3. Justin Jefferson / Jordan Addison (Vikings)
4. Tyreek Hill / Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins)
5. Puka Nacua / Davonte Adams (Rams)
6. Mike Evans / Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
7. Terry McLaurin / Deebo Samuels (Commanders)
8. CeeDee Lamb / George Pickens (Cowboys)

CBS Sports ranked them like this

1. Bengals
2. Eagles
3. Cowboys
4. Vikings
5. Rams

 

[OGSixshooter]

On potential, I'm taking Lamb and Pickens. But the thing is, the most effective teams don't have redundant skills/resources..they have complimentary skills. So AJ and Devonte are absolutely complimentary in that they bring different skills to the table. Lamb and Pickens do have their differences...but they are pretty much similar in height/catch range/point-of-attack style play. Sure CeeDee plays the slot and Pickens loves the outside...so that helps. But they are more identical than dissimilar IMO.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Nick Wright of First Things First ranked all NFL receiver duos like this

1. Jamar Chase / Tee Higgins (Bengals)
2. AJ Brown / Devonta Smith (Eagles)
3. Justin Jefferson / Jordan Addison (Vikings)
4. Tyreek Hill / Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins)
5. Puka Nacua / Davonte Adams (Rams)
6. Mike Evans / Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
7. Terry McLaurin / Deebo Samuels (Commanders)
8. CeeDee Lamb / George Pickens (Cowboys)

CBS Sports ranked them like this

1. Bengals
2. Eagles
3. Cowboys
4. Vikings
5. Rams

My goodness. Deebo Samuels could be the most overrated player in the entire league.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Which really doesn't change the fact that Brown/Smith have played a combined 10 years in the NFL and Lamb/Pickens 8 years. That matters when comparing cumulative stats.

And it's true that Hurts isn't a top tier passer, but he beats the hell out of what the Steelers have had. Over the last 3 years, which is how long Pickens has been in the league, the Steelers have had a total of 9,838 passing yards and 46 passing TDs'. Over the same period the Eagles have had 11,133 passing yards and 73 passing TD's.

And look at how Brown's stats dramatically increased when he left Tennesse and got to Philly. Being in a better QB situation does matter.

And while technically it's true D. Smith has been WR2 - it's really been more like WR 1A. He averages 110 targets/season,12 more targets a year than Pickens. Pickens 1st season both Dionte Johnson and Paul Friermouth had more targets than Pickens.

That all said, it still remains to be seen how this plays out. Frankly I would probably give a little nod to Brown and Smith at this point. But I think it is fair to say that career stats aren't really and apples to apples way to compare given length of time in the NFL and differing team situations.

Of the four of them who is going to want the ball thrown to him the most? Which one is most likely to show his disdain if his team elects to rush the ball more than in the past?

 

[lopey]

Having Barkley behind that O-Line doesn't hurt either.

Very true and an oline that is elite