Fantasy Football Rankings: Early WR Rankings 2017

Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, and top tier fantasy football rankings option, Antonio Brown (84) stiff arms New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler (21) during the fourth quarter in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Fantasy Football Rankings: Early WR Rankings 2017

Wide Receivers are a key part of any fantasy football team. Some leagues require you to start 3 WR while some have you starting two with a flex position (WR or RB). Figuring out which WR’s will have amazing seasons gets tricky once you are outside the Top Tier of WR’s. Who will be the best WR this year? My early fantasy football rankings attempt to give some insight into this.

My Theories

The 2016 season saw a down year in terms of WR production. 2016 had only three WR’s produce 200 or more points. Those receivers were Mike Evans, Jordy Nelson and Antonio Brown. Compare that to 2015 where six WR put up over 200 points. 2016 was the lowest in terms of over 200 point WR’s since 2012.

2016-3
2015-6
2014-7
2013-7
2012-4

2015’s stellar WR production caused many people to draft WR very high last season. The 2016 season did not follow the 2015 trend at all. Seven RB’s topped Total Fantasy Points for Non-QB rankings until Mike Evans appeared at number eight with 208 points. The trend in drafting WR’s led to some people drafting Allen Robinson and DeAndre Hopkins in the first round. Both players under achieved and resulted in those owners having bad first round picks. To make my tiers for 2017, I decided to look at the averages within the Top twelve WR’s over the past five years.

1-3 – 225
4-6 – 205
7-9- 186
10-12 – 173

The numbers from 2016 were not as high as the last five-year averages. These numbers are good guidance when trying to place WR’s for this season. I attempt to rank the WR’s going into the 2017 season and break them into tiers, as I find this is an effective way to think of players. I find the important thing in fantasy football is getting an Elite WR, RB, QB etc; it does not matter who I get, as long as I get the best player at a position.

Aug 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, and top tier of WR’s in Fantasy Football Rankings, Mike Evans (13) is congratulated after he scored a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Fantasy Football Rankings: Tier 1 Wide Receivers

1-Antonio Brown

2-Julio Jones

3-Mike Evans

4-Odell Beckham Jr

This tier is contains the WR’s who (barring injury) are likely to have incredible seasons. All of these guys can put up over 200 Fantasy Points. I put Antonio Brown on top of the list as he has the two best seasons for a WR in terms of Fantasy Points in the last five years. Brown put up 252 fantasy points in 2014, and 250 fantasy points in 2015.

Julio Jones is coming off a season where the Falcons had a record-setting offense. Mike Evans has built up incredible chemistry with Jameis Winston. Odell Beckham Jr is currently not attending OTA’s and practicing with Johnny Manziel which is absolutely bizarre. All of these WR’s are in line to have amazing seasons.

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Fantasy Football Rankings: Tier 2 Wide Receivers

These receivers all have the potential to put up great numbers. I estimate these receivers will put up at least 180-190 points. These players do have some interesting elements to them that make it tricky to pick which one you want to draft. A.J. Green has shown the ability to be one of the best WR in the NFL when he stays healthy. Green has missed lots of time the last few seasons, is it still worth pulling the trigger on drafting him?

Jordy Nelson had a phenomenal year last year and is Aaron Rodgers favorite target T.Y. Hilton is a yard machine with Andrew Luck at QB. Dez Bryant has been one of the best WR in football but plays in an offense where Ezekiel Elliot scores a ton. Michael Thomas is supposed to be have a good year, he performed well last year and no longer has Brandin Cooks taking away catches. These receivers should be a safe bet for production.

Nov 13, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver, and tier 3 fantasy football rankings WR, Alshon Jeffery (17) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers won 36-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Fantasy Football Rankings: Tier 3 Wide Receivers

This portion of the rankings is where things start to get murky. All of these receivers should produce at least 160 points but have the ability to produce more. DeAndre Hopkins was one of the best WR in football before his disastrous 2016 campaign with Brock Osweiler at QB.

Some of these players have shown great ability on their current teams (Adams, Baldwin), some are on new teams (Jeffrey, Allen). This portion of the ranking should become clear as the season approaches. Although this area of the rankings is murky, it is also extremely important. Which WR you grab from the secondary group of WR could make or break your season.

Conclusion

The 2017 Wide Receiver Rankings see a Top Tier that is almost guaranteed stellar production. Tier 2 is made up of players who are on the cusp of having elite years. Tier 3 is composed of players who play second fiddle in good offenses, great WR’s on new teams, and players who are starting to age. The 3^rd Tier is where the most speculation comes into play. Figuring out which players you like in the 3^rd tier and which players you want to target could be the difference between a championship season and not making the playoffs.

Next: Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookies 2017 Top 20

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