Most teams have a number one wide receiver they can go to any time they need to, whether it’s for a touchdown, a big play, or just for a vital first down that they need. Sometimes a team has two receivers that they trust. Very often, however, a sign of a versatile offense is that it has a quality third receiver who can hold his own and take pressure off the other receivers.

Adam Humphries and the Value of Third Wide Receivers

Adam Humphries provides a reliable third option for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially with Vincent Jackson on the downside of his career at age 33. Humphries has become more prominent now that Jackson is on injured reserve with a torn ACL. While he stands only 5’11” and weighs 195 pounds, Humphries is energetic and instinctive on his passing routes and he can scamper like a jack rabbit.

Humphries is in his second season in the NFL with Tampa Bay and he played 13 games last year, but in 2016 he has the second most targets on the team with 34, and he’s also second on the team in catches (22) and receiving yards (233).

Jameis Winston and Mike Evans are developing some of the best chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver in the NFL, but with Jackson and passing back Charles Sims on injured reserve, even more attention will be paid to Evans and that’s saying something.

The competition to be the second option in the offense will likely rotate among Humphries, Russell Shepard, who already has a touchdown on eight catches, and tight end Cameron Brate, who is third on the team with 31 targets and 20 catches and has two touchdowns.

Humphries also adds value to the Buccaneers special teams by being a kick returner and is one of the top punt returners in the NFL. He’s the secondary kick returner with two returns for an average of 14.5 yards per return. Humphries is tied for fourth in the NFL with 13 punt returns and tenth with 133 punt return yards. He averages 10.2 yards per punt return, and he’s 25th in the NFL in All-Purpose yards with 408.

With that said, there are many impactful third wide receivers who are valuable contributors to their teams. Let’s take a look at some of them.

The Top 20 Third Wide Receivers in the NFL

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