10 Best QB/WR Duos so Far This Season

The NFL has become a passing league, and there have been many electrifying passing and receiving performances so far this season that many fantasy football owners have tried to take advantage of. 

For fantasy owners, capitalizing on a quarterback/wide receiver combination can be an easy pathway to a winning season.

However, one can take a quick look at this list and realize that it's not automatically the biggest names that can become a powerful winning combination.

Let's take a look at the 10 best duos so far this season. 

Tony Romo and Dez Bryant

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Things may be a bit more tumultuous now for Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and the Cowboys than they were a few weeks back, but it's still been a great run for them in 2014—a run that got even better after a huge win against the Giants on Sunday night.

Romo has been taking advantage of DeMarco Murray's career year, finding himself more time to throw with more open receivers down field. And he really loves getting the ball to Dez, who has nearly twice as many targets as the next-highest-targeted Cowboys receiver.

Bryant in particular had to love some of the extra room in the secondary, and he is tied for the most touchdowns in the league for all receivers. He's also ninth among receivers in receiving yards.

Granted, a bit of that production came with Brandon Weeden under center, but Romo and Bryant were back to their old ways on Sunday night, hooking up for 86 yards and two touchdowns. 

Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton

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Previously thought of as a mere boom-or-bust option, T.Y. Hilton has cemented himself as a true top performer at the receiver position.

A huge factor in that, obviously, is Andrew Luck's ascension to being an elite NFL quarterback this season after two solid but flawed campaigns.

Hilton has been one of the league's top wideouts this year, racking up 63 catches for 1,083 yards and four scores. Luck, meanwhile, is at or near the top in every major passing category.

These two are going to give defenses headaches for a very long time.

Matt Ryan and Julio Jones

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While they have been more quiet in recent weeks, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones got off to a blazing start this season as they established themselves as one of the premier duos in the league. 

Even with a few consecutive (relative) "duds," their totals are impressive. Ryan is among the tops in the league in passing yards, and Jones is among the tops in both receptions and receiving yards.

Julio is currently on pace to catch 105 passes for 1,425 yards and six scores, and that would leave him likely as a top-eight fantasy receiver at the end of the season. Pretty impressive for what some would consider a down year.

Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown

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Antonio Brown is hands-down my top candidate for fantasy MVP through the first 12 weeks of the season in any PPR format and it's not even close. He's neck-and-neck with DeMarco Murray for non-PPR, but that's a discussion for another day.

A big reason for his success is his quarterback just loves to feed him the ball. Ben Roethlisberger has targeted Brown 123 times this season, second most in the league. 

Those two have hooked up for an incredible 88 receptions, 1,161 yards and nine touchdowns, making them arguably the most lethal quarterback/receiver combo so far this season. 

Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin

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Possibly the biggest surprise on this list, Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin have looked like they've been playing together for their whole careers instead of a few months. 

Benjamin has had one of the better rookie seasons for a receiver in recent memory, and his 768 receiving yards puts him at 17th in the league. He's been targeted 98 times by Newton, good for 12th best in the league. His eight touchdown receptions are also near the top of the league.

They've connected for a number of big games as well, with Benjamin going over 90 yards four times, including a two-touchdown game against the Eagles.

Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson

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Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he's been producing at an impressive clip so far this season. 

A big reason for that is the emergence of Jordy Nelson as an elite receiver, who has had somewhat of a breakout season (despite being tremendous over the past couple years as well).

Rodgers and Nelson hooked up for a 200-yard game in Week 2 and four more 100-plus games since then. Nelson is on pace for 99 catches, 1,551 yards and 13 touchdowns, which would finish as his best season yet.

Nelson, as well as Rodgers, is near the top in every major category so far this season. But Nelson has some competition from his own team in addition to the rest of the league.

Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb

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Nelson can't take all the credit for the Packers' lethal passing attack, and Rodgers' gaudy numbers are probably just as much thanks to Randall Cobb as to Nelson.

Rodgers has relied heavily on Cobb to find the end zone this year, and the fourth-year wideout is tied with Dez Bryant for the most touchdown receptions on the year among wideouts.

Cobb's current pace for 15 touchdowns, 84 receptions and 1,217 yards is very good, but he could actually surpass those expectations if Rodgers starts targeting him a little more frequently over the final few games of the year.

Nick Foles/Mark Sanchez and Jeremy Maclin

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Unfortunately, Nick Foles broke his collarbone a few weeks ago against Houston and will miss significant time as he recovers. 

Prior to that injury, Foles had been on fire with his top receiver, Jeremy Maclin, who is having a comeback season for the ages after tearing his ACL last year.

Maclin had racked up 39 catches for 632 yards in the seven games before the bout with Houston, and he and Foles roasted the Texans with a 59-yard score early against the Texans. The new quarterback for that game was Mark Sanchez, who is the starter for the remainder of 2014 in Philadelphia and has performed admirably in Foles's absence.

No matter who is under center, Maclin is thriving like never before. His current line of 63 catches, 990 yards and nine touchdowns would have made many fans happy as his season-ending stats. He's a lock to finish as a top-five fantasy receiver, barring injury.

Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas

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Two of the biggest names in the sport right now, Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas have been absolutely dominating every week and are the biggest competitor to Roethlisberger and Brown as the most dangerous duo in the league.

Thomas is currently sitting near the top of the table in every category, with 82 receptions for 1,192 yards and nine scores. That puts him on pace for 119 catches and 1,734 yards, which are remarkable numbers.

Meanwhile, Manning is right up there with Luck for both passing yards and touchdowns, as he's broken down nearly every opponent he's faced.

The biggest thing with these two is their consistency. Thomas has had just one bad game so far, and he went for over 100 yards in seven straight weeks before gaining "only" 87 yards (and three touchdowns) against Miami.

Matthew Stafford and Golden Tate

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It shouldn't be any surprise to see Matthew Stafford on this list, but anyone who bet that Golden Tate, and not Calvin Johnson, would be on next to his name at the beginning of the season must be a psychic.

Tate absolutely dominated during Megatron's absence, proving himself more than worthy of the contract Detroit gave him this offseason.

He's currently in the top six in the league in both catches (72), targets (106), and receiving yards (1,047), and the only thing holding him back from elite-receiver status is his three touchdowns.

While his stock has taken a hit since Megatron returned, he and Stafford have formed quite the dynamic duo in Tate's first year in Detroit.