Halloween is here, which means it's time for both sweet and spooky treats alike. The holiday falls at roughly the midway point of the 2022 NFL season, which makes it the perfect time to reassess some of football's scariest -- specifically, the most feared wide receiver duos in the game. Quite a few teams boast elite No. 1 targets, but which ones have the best collective talent out wide?
We're glad you asked. Below, we've ranked the top 10 pairs, and not only that, but compared them to Halloween costumes in the spirit of the season:
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Just missed: Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (Chargers), Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel (Commanders), CeeDee Lamb and Noah Brown (Cowboys), Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce (Colts)
10. DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown (Cardinals)
Halloween costume: Beetlejuice
Hopkins and Brown have yet to take a snap together -- the former was suspended, and now the latter is injured -- but separately, they've been No. 1 material for a scattershot offense. D-Hop is a world-class route-runner and possession target, while Brown has some of the game's most consistent downfield speed. The question is, can they be trusted over the long haul? Like Beetlejuice, they're equal parts magical, "Hollywood"-level entertaining and, for various reasons, prone to prolonged absences.
9. DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett (Seahawks)
Halloween costume: Dinosaur
Metcalf is the T-Rex: a freakish physical specimen whose sheer size and strength draw attention. Lockett is the raptor: a pesky little thing who navigates with ease. In tandem, they give Seattle a 1A and 1B for the newly poised Geno Smith. If one (typically Metcalf) fails to translate natural gifts into consistently gaudy numbers, the other (typically Lockett) steps in to produce.
8. Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson (Rams)
Halloween costume: Doctor
Kupp does almost all the heavy lifting here, but he alone is enough to redirect opposing game plans. What he lacks in overwhelming stature or, well, the general look of an unmatched athlete, Kupp makes up for with tried and true fundamentals. He's a schooled route-runner, hands receiver and open-space mover. He is, for all intents and purposes, the only obvious remedy for a hurting Rams offense. Need help? Call on Dr. Kupp. He always delivers.
7. Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk (49ers)
Halloween costume: Astronaut
Both 49ers youngsters play like they've been launched like a rocket, and both are best deployed as part of a grander mission overseen from the sidelines -- Kyle Shanahan's run-heavy offense representing the NASA control center here. Samuel is the more imposing all-around package, rightfully doubling as a supercharged running back, but Aiyuk is coming into his own on the perimeter as a safe and speedy bet for Jimmy Garoppolo.
6. Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen (Vikings)
Halloween costume: "Fortnite" avatar
Jefferson is practically a walking video-game character, specializing in splash plays as much as perfected celebrations. At full speed, he's the NFL's best pure play-maker at the position. Thielen isn't nearly as hip and spry at 32 -- rugged and reliable, he's more like a "Halo" character himself -- but has a penchant for coming through with clutch catches.
5. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
Halloween costume: Michael Myers
The Halloween villain best fits Evans, who might be considered big, older and lumbering compared to some of his younger, track-star counterparts; and yet he always refuses to die, and isn't afraid to pick a fight or two. Tom Brady may be struggling to elevate Tampa Bay in 2022, but Evans remains a prototype for "just throw it up" plays, more often than not using his imposing build to take out his targets. Godwin, like Myers, has been through some serious rehab, but at his best, he can't be ignored.
4. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith (Eagles)
Halloween costume: Batman
They've declared themselves a group of Dark Knights, but they've earned the name as well: Smith's slender profile doesn't fit the bill, but everything else about him does -- the precise timing, the persistent grit, the clutch aggression. Brown, meanwhile, might as well be a carbon copy of the caped crusader who looms in the shadows of The Batman -- a hulking figure whose very presence guarantees justice will be served to whomever stands in his way. He has single-handedly elevated the gritty, hungry streets of Gotham -- er, Philadelphia -- by becoming best friends with the cool-headed Commissioner Gordon -- er, Jalen Hurts.
3. Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins (Bengals)
Halloween costume: Ninja
Oftentimes you can't distinguish one cloaked ninja from another, which is pretty symbolic of the deep WR corps in Cincinnati, where Chase, Higgins and Tyler Boyd are liable to hog -- and capitalize on -- Joe Burrow's passes any given Sunday. Both Chase and Higgins are banged up now, but when healthy, they rival Justin Jefferson in terms of natural play-making talent. Higgins (6-4) is bigger, but he plays fast, while Chase moves like the world's best hired assassin, sneaking by defenders with deceptive shiftiness and lightning-quick reflexes.
2. Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis (Bills)
Halloween costume: Superman
Both Diggs and Davis would be justified wearing the trademark "S" underneath their appropriately red and blue colors, because not only do they collectively boost the morale of the state whose big city inspired Metropolis, and not only do they save the day for MVP-caliber quarterback Josh Allen, but so many of their attributes are shared by Kal-El -- Diggs' X-ray vision and invulnerability working defensive backs, Davis' ability to take flight past the deepest of safeties. The former is perennially underrated as one of the game's crispest all-around targets, and his partner is a home run waiting to happen.
1. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins)
Halloween costume: "Top Gun" pilot
Racking up the most yards by a duo through the first eight games in the Super Bowl era (1,688), they've proven, like Tom Cruise's squad in the smash hit of the summer, that they can fly like no one else. The Dolphins had a need for speed, and they got more than that: Hill stretches the field but uses his boxy physicality to come back and outmuscle defenders for throws that die early, and Waddle is the next "Maverick" of the position: he can do everything, thriving as both a short-area target machine and downfield threat. These guys don't just torch the Jets in the AFC East; they are jets.
