The NFL's 10 Best Deep-Ball Wide Receivers in 2017

1. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

Deep Targets: 28 | Target NEP per Target: 1.70 | Success Rate: 50.00%

It's pretty easy to see why Smith beasted out in 2017. Part of it was Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill did the rest.

Smith threw the ball deep to Hill 28 times. Hill caught 14 of those, turning them into 655 yards and 7 touchdowns. This means that one quarter of Hill's deep targets resulted in scores, and he averaged 46.8 yards per reception. Because he caught half of his targets, this means Hill averaged 23.4 yards per target on deep throws. Those numbers are melt-yo-face-off good.

As a result, Hill blew everybody else on this list out of the water. He was the only player to top 1.50 Target NEP per target, and he was up at 1.70. Jones was the only other player above 1.25, and there were only four players outside of Hill to top 1.00. He was an outlier in the most positive sense.

To top it all off, Hill is now preparing to catch those bombs from a new suitor in Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is known for his arm strength and being tossed into an ideal situation with both Hill and Kelce at his disposal. Although we shouldn't expect him to be an immediate upgrade, Mahomes has the tools in place he needs to thrive. Hill showed all the good that can happen when you throw him the ball down the field, and if Mahomes can do so successfully, his transition to the role of starter should be fairly smooth.