It’s almost by default but wide receiver has perhaps the largest amount of great options to choose from not matter what your Fantasy Football draft strategy you believe in!
Just for the record, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown made the catch on the play in the cover photo. I’m just pointing that out for anyone who was wondering. Receivers are probably my favorite position groups in Fantasy Football. If you’re playing any type of point per reception league, it’s hard to want to load up on at least one of the studs early. I always like taking some combo of Odell Beckham and hopefully Keenan Allen in the second round if I pick at the back end of the draft.
Even if you want to load up on running backs with your first two picks, there’s a plethora of options in the middle rounds that you can feel comfortable with. It’s all going to depend on your draft strategy as to which receivers you end up with but I’ll be breaking it down to try and help you decide when you’re on the clock! As with my other Tiers, this is based of a .5 PPR format and they are not a staff ranking. These are solely mine so get in the mentions on Twitter @bucn4life to pick them apart and tell me why I hate your favorite receiver.
Fantasy Football WR – Tier 1
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
The point of a tier system is to not get too hung up on each individual ranking but the exception to that rule is Brown. He’s the clear cut number one heading into the season due to his consistency. His low water marks since 2013 is 101 receptions(2017, 14 games), 1,284 yards(2016) and eight touchdowns(2013). He feels like the safest bet in fantasy this season and we’ll get more into some other reasons why he’s great when we talk about a teammate here in a bit.
As good as Brown is, it should not come as a massive shock if Hopkins or Beckham finished as the overall WR1. Beckham has 38 touchdowns in 44 career starts, which is an insane rate. Hopkins is looking forward to what we all hope is a full season from Deshaun Watson and has proven he can produce with any quarterback not named Brock Osweiler. If both are available to me I’m taking Beckham but neither is a bad choice at all.
Fantasy Football WR – Tier 2
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
I think there’s a very legitimate chance that Allen will lead the NFL in targets and receptions. He started slow last year but he ended it like a house on fire with an average of 22.18 points from Week 9 moving on. That pace would have been good for the top score at his position. Thomas finished as the WR6 last year while only scoring five touchdowns. Even if the Saints continue to run the ball more often, that seems like that total will bounce back this year.
I’m not the biggest fan of Jones because he doesn’t always score touchdowns. In the six seasons that he’s played at least 13 games, Jones has scored eight or fewer touchdowns in five seasons. One of these years he’s going to score a dozen and make me look very dumb for taking other receivers ahead of him.
Green should benefit from the other receivers around him potentially getting better and he always seems to produce every year. Adams with a full season of Rodgers at quarterback could legitimately score 15 touchdowns this year and is the clear number one in that offense. Nobody ever wants to take Fitzgerald but the last time he played more than 13 games and didn’t finish as a WR1 was 2012.
Hill goes against the grain with virtually everything I look for from a number one receiver but Patrick Mahomes can throw a ball a country mile and Hill can outrun everyone on the field. He’s going to have some massive games this year and should be able to be more consistent than he gets credit for. He only had five games under 50 yards last year, which tends to happen wide receivers.
Fantasy Football WR – Tier 3
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
T.Y. Hilton, Indianpolis Colts
Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns
Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
This group is interesting because some of them have potential to be a WR1 this season but I would rather have these guys as my WR2 unless I went super heavy on running backs earlier in the draft. Evans is one of those that as a WR1 ceiling but he’s only seen more than 150 targets once in his career. He’s very touchdown dependent so that keeps him out of Tier 2.
Thielen and Landry are going to be better in PPR formats and I’m excited to see Landry in an offense that isn’t Miami. Is he just a slot receiver or did the Dolphins hold him back? I’m not a Cooper believer so I almost never draft him but he’s going to see targets this year and is still just 24 years old. It wouldn’t shock me if he goes nuts this year but I’m generally not willing to bet on it.
If I knew Andrew Luck was fully healthy, Hilton would be in Tier 2 for sure. While it’s great to see Luck back on the field, his throws have lacked a little zip so far. That’s to be expected considering how long he missed but it that’s not just some rust, Hilton could suffer. Some may think I’m nuts for having Smith-Schuster this high(he’s among my favorites of this group) but there’s factors working for him.
The Steelers are looking to run more no huddle offense this year, which increases the opportunities. The defense could still be very bad with an average secondary and they still have not found a replacement for Ryan Shazier other than bringing in Jon Bostic. If the defines isn’t very good, the offense is going to have to score points in bunches. Smith-Schuster only saw 79 targets but posted the second highest catch rate of anyone in the top 30. He’s in line for a big year with added opportunity in 2018, as is Antonio Brown.
Fantasy Football WR – Tier 4
Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
Chris Hogan, New England Patriots
Golden Tate/Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions
Brandon Cooks, Los Angeles Rams
Will Fuller, Houston Texans
Demaryius Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears
Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers
Sammy Watkins, Kansas City Chiefs
This tier is the biggest one yet because it’s really getting tough to pinpoint who’s better than the others. Baldwin hurts to have this low but I don’t really like to draft receivers that are going to have to manage a knee injury for the next four months while playing in the NFL. I’m also not sure how good the Seattle offense truly is. How you view this tier depends on team construction.
Do you need the safe floor of receptions that players like Tate, Sanders and Thomas bring? Does your team need a shot of upside with players like a Fuller, Jones or Cooks that will win you weeks while being deathly silent in others? It’s important to understand what type of team you have when you get to this point. Don’t let ADP scare you off of your favorite receiver for the style your team needs.
Hogan is likely a little more dangerous than some are willing to admit. The Patriots offense should run through Gronk and Hogan the first four weeks but what happens when Julian Edelman comes back and is a target hog? I was so excited for Watkins in Kansas City with the bazooka that is Patrick Mahomes but the preseason has been a disaster for that combo.
There’s still potential but it would have been nice to see something out of them. If Goodwin is the number one in San Francisco, he’s likely being under-drafted. Finally, Robinson is the wild card in this tier. He’s coming off an ACL surgery into what could be a very crowded Bears offense. Any guess at his target share at the moment is just that – a guess.
Fantasy Football WR – Tier 5
Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns
Alshon Jeffery/Nelson Agholor, Philadelphia Eagles
Keelan Cole, Jacksonville Jaguars
Michael Crabtree/John Brown, Baltimore Ravens
Jamison Crowder, Washington Redskins
Cooper Kupp/Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams
Robby Anderson, New York Jets
Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
All of these guys have potential and while some may shout me down for being low on Gordon, does it not bother anyone else that he’s missed all of camp with a new quarterback, new offensive coordinator and new teammates which have formed the most talented offense he’s ever been in? On top of all that, he immediately tweaked his hamstring.
There’s a chance he just dominates but it’s not worth it at his current ADP. Jeffery will require patience as he is expected to miss at least two weeks, if not more. I’d much rather draft Agholor at this point. If you play in full PPR, Crowder likely should be a tier higher. If Brown can stay healthy, I think he outscores Crabtree in all formats. It’s always just been a matter of health with him.
I like taking Kupp higher than teammate Robert Woods because he saw 23 red-zone targets last yea while Woods saw 11. I’ll take the touchdown upside there personally in Kupp’s second year. Stills might be my favorite sleeper and it wouldn’t surprise me if he finishes in the top 20. I’m not taking Edelman because I’m not willing to eat four games for an injury prone 32-year old receiver coming off an ACL tear.
Anderson would also be higher on the list if he wasn’t likely to be facing his own suspension and we don’t know how rookie Sam Darnold will play. It feels like Gallup is being slept on even though he ran with the first team almost exclusively in the preseason. Following the unfortunate injury of Marquise Lee, Cole seems like a real bargain considering he led the Jaguars in receiving yards last year and averaged 17.8 yards per reception, at least five yards higher than any of his fellow receivers.
Tier 6
Kelvin Benjamin, Buffalo Bills
Randall Cobb/Geronimo Allison, Green Bay Packers
Jordy Nelson, Oakland Raiders
Devin Funchess/D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers
Pierre Garcon, San Francisco 49ers
Mike Williams/Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants
Cam Meredith/Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons
Rishard Matthews/Taywan Taylor, Tennessee Titans
There’s a ton of players in this tier because we’re at the point now where projection is a little difficult. I would bet Benjamin would see the most raw targets from this group but I’m not if he has that much talent to take advantage of it. Allison and Cobb are interesting because of who they play with but Cobb could be cut according to reports and Allison is wildly unproven.
Nelson didn’t look like he had a lot left in the tank but we also don’t know what his role is in Oakland. The Moore and Funchess combo could just eat into each other’s production but if one player emerges they should have good value.
It’s kind of the same case with the Williams’ in Los Angeles. If one of them seizes the number two role behind Keenan Allen, that player will be valuable. If not, it’s likely just a DFS situation. All of these other players are dart throws based off of talent that hasn’t been realized of potential opportunity this upcoming season.
When you start to go this low, you should expect the player to be a little unsteady as far as production goes. If your league goes even deeper than this, I’m just a tweet away and willing to hale with any questions about any of the tiers I have out there.
Good luck in your remaining drafts and we’re now just one week away from the return of the NFL!