Has Dez Bryant Become the NFL's Best Receiver?

For a few years now, Dez Bryant has been one of a group of receivers trying to catch up to Calvin Johnson.

Ever since 2011, Johnson has clearly been the best wide receiver in the NFL. While there are at least six or seven receivers in the league who can argue that they deserve to be in the top five, Johnson's varied skill set and consistent production have kept him atop the totem pole.

Johnson combines incredible physical talent with historically impressive ball skills and understated but very effective technical ability. There is no receiver in the league who can match his combination of physical talent, technical prowess and consistency.

Therefore, for Johnson to be overtaken at the top of the rankings, he was always going to have to either suffer a drop in form or be removed from the equation completely through injury.

After seven weeks of the 2014 NFL regular season, that is exactly what has happened. Johnson has just 22 receptions for 348 yards and two touchdowns at this point in the year. He has only played in five games, and in two of those games, he had fewer than 13 yards because of his health issues.

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With Johnson absent, the totem pole needs a new top piece. There isn't a receiver with a stronger case than Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys.

The 25-year-old doesn't lead the league in production—that badge belongs to Jordy Nelson of the Green Bay Packers. Nelson is a great receiver, but his numbers against Bryant's without context don't tell us much. Nelson has had more opportunities than Bryant while also getting a greater quality of opportunity as teams have to account for Randall Cobb across from him.

More importantly, Nelson hasn't featured on an offense like the Cowboys' Week 1 unit that imploded on itself. Instead, Nelson has played every game with Aaron Rodgers, who appears to be playing as well as anyone could ever expect him to every week.

Nelson wasn't followed around the field by Richard Sherman when the Packers faced the Seattle Seahawks like Bryant was for much of the Cowboys' game against Seattle. Nelson also got the opportunity to stockpile yardage against a badly overmatched New York Jets secondary whereas Bryant has consistently seen defensive backs of better quality.

Bryant has roughly 120 fewer yards than Nelson and two fewer touchdowns. Minimal numbers at this point of the season.

A big reason for Bryant's relatively low production is the philosophy of the Cowboys offense. Bryant is receiving significant targets, but the passing game as a whole has become more of a complement rather than a basis of the offense.

The Cowboys aren't spreading the ball out and stretching the defense in different directions to give their receivers more space. They are drawing safeties down and looking for more big plays to different receivers because of the strength of their running game.

DeMarco Murray leads the league in rushing while Tony Romo is averaging just 30.6 pass attempts per game, good enough for 28th-best in the NFL.

With defenses focusing on stopping the run and containing Bryant, it's no surprise that Terrance Williams is averaging 17.8 yards per reception and already has six touchdowns on the season. Just like with Johnson, it's not only about the individual production of the receiver.

That individual production peaked this past week against the New York Giants. Bryant had nine receptions for 151 yards.

The difficulty with defending Bryant is that he can beat you badly in a variety of ways. Standing at 6'2", 220 pounds with none of his weight working against him allows Bryant to be a precise route-runner while also being able to dominate defensive backs at the catch point.

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On this play, Bryant is lined up in the slot to the top of the screen. He is standing on the line of scrimmage as his fellow receiver motions in behind him. There are two defensive backs a couple of yards off the line of scrimmage across from him.

When Bryant releases into his route, one of the defensive backs picks him up in man coverage. The defensive back doesn't look to engage him, instead dropping backwards with him as he advances downfield. That defensive back has safety help over the top, but he must respect Bryant's strength within five yards of the line of scrimmage, so he doesn't cover the receiver aggressively.

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Bryant creates a huge amount of separation on his corner route with precise and quick footwork. Although he has already created a big play and easy reception in space, Bryant shows off more of his skill set to extend the play farther downfield.

Because Bryant doesn't carry a lanky frame, he is a very dangerous receiver after the catch.

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After the catch here, he shows outstanding quickness, balance and strength to evade both defenders in space to escape down the sideline. The second defender slowed him down enough to prevent him from reaching the end zone.

Not too long after this play, Bryant showed off the other side of his skill set that makes him so spectacularly dangerous.

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Lined up wide to the left of the offense, Bryant is facing press man coverage on an island against the Giants defensive back. Surprisingly, that defender attempts to jam Bryant at the line of scrimmage instead of conceding ground at the snap.

Bryant takes advantage of this with an outstanding release. He initially draws the defender inside with a fake before using his strength to knock him farther infield to clear a route to the sideline.

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Once in behind the defender, Bryant only needs an accurate pass from Romo to get a first down. Romo slightly overthrows his pass, but this actually puts the ball in a perfect position to prevent the defensive back from affecting the play.

The defensive back did well to recover positioning on Bryant, but the Cowboys receiver made an athletic adjustment to catch the ball at its highest possible point.

Not only is Bryant entering the prime of his career, but his development on the field is also suggesting that he is about to hit his peak. He is showing the kind of all-around ability that made Johnson impossible to cover, and he is showing it on a regular basis.

The competition for wide receivers in the NFL these days is very tough. From a pure skill set point of view, an argument can be made for many different players playing the position today.

However, when you consider skill set, consistency and production, Bryant and Nelson are leading the way. Julio Jones can do anything that either receiver can do, but he has been mediocre in back-to-back weeks and hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 3. Brandon Marshall has been very inconsistent with his overall play—not just drops—this year as the Bears offense continues to struggle.

Antonio Brown deserves consideration, but his consistency needs to improve as well. A.J. Green is likely the player who would be the favorite to replace Johnson in any wide receiver ranking, but he is also absent through injury at this point of the year.

Debating who is the (second) best receiver in the league when everyone is healthy is very tough. When you remove the injured players, it becomes a slightly clearer picture. Right now, that picture looks good for Dez Bryant.