Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings
By Bill Pivetz
Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings – Flex Plays
This tier features a list of receivers with high floors but lower ceilings.
Shepard is now the lead receiver for the Giants. Odell Beckham is gone, Golden Tate is suspended for four games and Corey Coleman is out with an ACL tear. Though, Shepard broke his thumb early in training camp but is expected to be ready for Week 1.
The upside is limited with Eli Manning under center. He did have a 66 percent completion rate on 576 attempts. He was sacked a career-high 47 times. That and having Saquon Barkley in the backfield will limit how many balls are in the air.
The Titans, like the Jets, have an average group of receivers. Humphries is getting the most hype while Davis had the most potential. He’s been disappointing in his first two seasons, combining for 99 catches, 1,266 yards and four touchdowns.
With Marcus Mariota under center, the potential for big games is small. Derrick Henry will be the offensive focus. Plus, Delanie Walker is healthy, adding another receiver for Mariota. Davis is a low-end WR3.
Pettis was on the bench for the first half of the season. He finally became a starter in Week 10. In the final six weeks, he caught 24 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns. Jimmy Garoppolo is back under center but has some options to throw it to.
With Pettis, they have Marquise Goodwin, rookie Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle plus the pass-catching running back duo of Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida. For a questionable offense, drafting Pettis any earlier than Round 12 is a mistake.
Samuel is a bit more consistent that the other receivers in this tier and on his own team. He caught 39 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns. Greg Olsen and Christian McCaffrey are going to play a part in the passing game, one more than the other. Samuel is a solid bye-week fill in but it’s hard to see him more than that.
Man, was the 2018 rookie wide receiver class stacked? Kirk was another that had a good season. He wasn’t lighting up the stat sheets like his contempt due to the quarterback play, Kirk racked up 590 yards and three touchdowns on 43 receptions.
Now, with Kyler Murray under center and new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Kirk will be on the field a lot more this season. If Murray performs well, Kirk could overtake the WR1 spot from Fitzgerald. He’s one of my sleeper picks.
Jones had a shortened 2018 season but looked good when he was on the field. He caught 35 passes for 508 yards and five touchdowns. Now that Tate is gone, it’s just Jones and Kenny Golladay as the top wide receivers.
Jones had at least 54 yards in seven of his nine games played. With that type of usage, he’s worth a pick as a WR3 or even a flex.
Many thought Watkins was going to be the Chiefs WR1 if something were to happen to Tyreek Hill. The NFL is not expected to punish Hill, so Watkins will go back to being the WR2. He is the third option for Patrick Mahomes, behind Hill and Travis Kelce.
Watkins caught 40 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns. He has not been the healthiest throughout his career, so there is some risk inherited when drafting Watkins. He’s a WR3 as a member of one of the best offenses in the league.
Fuller was having a great season before suffering a torn ACL. He had 32 receptions, 503 yards and four touchdowns. Fuller is expected to be ready for Week 1. The Texans passing game is healthy with Deshaun Watson back under center and DeAndre Hopkins opposite of Fuller.
Coutee is dealing with an ankle injury and is not expected to be ready for Week 1. But the addition of Duke Johnson, who will be getting more looks now that Lamar Miller is out for the season, the targets are limited.
Fuller can make some big plays and doesn’t need a lot of targets to be valuable. His value doesn’t change much in PPR leagues.
Landry had a down year in his first season with Cleveland compared to his 2017 season with Miami. He caught 81 passes for 976 yards and four touchdowns on 149 targets. Landry may not reach 149 targets again.
He will get help in the lineup with Odell Beckham joining the team. The two former LSU teammates have running back Nick Chubb, tight end David Njoku and quarterback Baker Mayfield as the main players for the Browns.
Landry may finish as a WR3 than WR2 this season.