‘Receiver’ (2024) Review – An Addictive Netflix Sports Docuseries

Receiver, the latest Netflix inside look at the NFL, is a shot of gridiron adrenaline for football fans. The follow-up to Quarterback surpasses last year’s series in almost every way. The docuseries, from Omaha Productions, owned by Peyton Manning, provides unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to four pass-catching warriors: four wide receivers and one tight end in the National Football League.

If you are a football junkie like me—go Bills—Receiver is another ultimate guilty pleasure from the streaming giant. A bone-crunching experience from start to finish, this series is tailor-made for anyone who is a fan of professional American football, not to mention the inner workings of one of the premier glamour (and diva) positions in all sports: the receiver position.

Receiver began filming before the 2023 NFL season. The docuseries chose some eye-opening stars for the sophomore season, including two household names. Those athletes are Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams, both recognized as the top two wide receivers in professional football, with the aforementioned Vikings player signing the wealthiest contract at the position in NFL history, making over 30 million annually.

The other subjects are a mix of respected athletes with their peers and an up-and-coming wideout with a chip on his shoulder. The latter is Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Detriot Lion player who can recite the 16 players at his position from memory. The other players are Deebo Samuel, representing the setback figure of the series. Also, his teammate and breakout star of the show, George Kittle, is as entertaining as any player interview in the league.

(And yes, reportedly, Receiver tried to sign Travis Kelce for the season, but he turned it down. For obvious reasons, I am guessing he may have wanted his budding relationship with Taylor Swift to be off-camera.)

Of course, the goal for all these players is to make it to the Super Bowl, but some of them have more on their minds. Justin Jefferson has a lingering contract situation hanging over his head, and injuries are mounting, including those affecting Quarterback Kirk Cousins. The same goes for St. Brown, a fourth-round pick making pennies compared to the other series subjects, who is having the season of his career.

On the flip side, Deebo Samuel signed a massive contract last year but missed a significant amount of time this year due to injuries, illustrating the dangers of committing too much money to positions with high injury risks. The same goes for his teammate, Kittle, a four-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler entering his seventh year, who experiences a significant injury at the worst time during the biggest game of the year.

While watching Receiver, you’ll notice some striking behind-the-scenes events, particularly in Oakland, where Adams endured a rough season that culminated in his coach’s firing. Also, some revelations flew under the radar during the season, like St. Brown dealing with an eye-opening illness he played through that’s unbelievable.

However, the series is very entertaining, mainly coming from Kittle, whose personality shines here. The man has a natural charisma that is utterly unique to the cardboard professional cutouts that come from Jefferson and Adams’s interviews. The other is St. Brown’s father, who is an abrasive cutup who isn’t afraid to state what’s on his mind. That includes his son, who wears his feelings on his sleeves.

However, it’s worth noting that, like Quarterback, this is not precisely Cinema Verité, and most of the interviews feel staged. For instance, Adams was caught talking frankly about his coach being fired in the middle of the season, which was not complimentary. Adams is far more professional in a one-on-one single-camera interview. Jefferson’s ongoing contract negotiation is also disappointingly left out of the discussion.

Yet, the scenes with families feel less staged than last year. Also, the quality of games and their significance throughout the year had incredible meaning to the season. This is rather amazing, considering it’s all guessing games — this cannot possibly be scripted. I do tip my hat for picking players on the same team and knowing all of them would cross paths during the regular season, doubling the storylines (and undoubtedly saving money on expenses).

Yet, the series is quick, bone-crunching, and engaging storytelling that can find appreciation beyond the diehard football fans. While never coming close to capturing honest-to-God, fly-on-the-wall reactions, Netflix’s Reciever is a big-eyed, wide-open, behind-the-scenes view of what it means to play one of the most prominent positions in all of sports.

Receiver is now streaming exclusively on Netflix!