Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings
By Bill Pivetz
Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings – Steady Vets
Opposite of the previous tier, these receivers have higher ceilings.
Green is dealing with an ankle injury. He is expected to be ready for a Week 3 return. The expected time missed was to be between six to eight weeks. Green missed seven games last year, but finished with 46 receptions, 694 yards and six touchdowns. If you pro-rate that out to a full season, we’re looking at a pace of 90 receptions, 1,374 yards and 12 scores. That’s top-10 worthy.
With the injury, a lot of owners are dropping Green down in their rankings and rightfully so. But when he’s ready to return, Green is a bona fide WR2. In 2017, when he played in all 16 games, he finished with 75 catches, 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns.
While Tyler Boyd is improving, Green is Andy Dalton’s No. 1 target. Slide him down for sure, but don’t be afraid to draft him.
The Jets receiving corps is good enough but there isn’t a player that can take the next step into the elite tiers. If I needed to pick one, I’d go with Anderson. I don’t trust Quincy Enunwa and Jamison Crowder enough.
Sam Darnold is expected to improve in his second season. They have an improved running game with Le’Veon Bell. Anderson should see close to 100 targets if not more this season. He’s a legitimate flex play and bumps to a WR3 in PPR leagues.
Things are looking up for Robinson. After battling injuries over the last three seasons, he is finally healthy and ready to bounce back to his 2015 season, where he caught 80 passes for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. Another year with Mitch Trubisky in a Matt Nagy offense should lead to success for the 26-year-old receiver.
Outside of Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel, the Bears don’t have many receiving options. You could include Anthony Miller and the running back duo as well. With that, he may not be as consistent as other players in this tier. He’s a WR3 with the possibility of WR1 games throughout the season.
Gordon is back in the NFL, but the leash is short. His return boosts Tom Brady’s fantasy value. With the lack of receiving options on the Patriots, I don’t think Julian Edelman will be affected. After them two, they have Phillip Dorsett, Demaryius Thomas and rookie N’Keal Harry.
Gordon is a great talent. In 11 games with the Patriots, he caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns. The risk is obvious when drafting Gordon. He could be removed from the team at any moment.
Boyd will be the lead receiver with Green out for the first couple of weeks. That may not lead to much success for Boyd. According to ESPN’s Matthew Berry (h/t Lastwordonfootball.com), Boyd was more successful with Green playing opposite of him.
“Boyd had a 77% catch rate with Green on the field and a 63% catch rate without Green. In terms of fantasy scoring, Boyd averaged 14.6 fantasy points per game with Green (half-PPR scoring). This output was good for the 16th-best mark among wide receivers. Without Green, he was the WR24 with 11.1 fantasy points per game.”
Luckily, it should be for just a couple of games. If you draft Boyd, expect WR3 numbers. That’s not a knock at his skill, it’s a reflection of who is under center for the Bengals.
Carson Wentz healthy. Jackson back. Multiple options at running back. Some of these roster moves are good for Jeffery while others are bad. Wentz under center helps his value. Having Jackson as another mouth to feed may hurt, but that’ll hurt Nelson Agholor more. The running backs will fight over carries.
Jeffery hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season with the Eagles yet but has been productive. In 29 games, he has 122 catches, 1,632 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s not going to have a big, explosive game but he’ll be reliable all season.
Moore had a good rookie season with 55 receptions, 788 yards and two touchdowns. The receiving corps was a bit crowded for the Panthers last season. Now, with Funchess out of the picture, it’s Moore and Samuel as the top options.
Moore is the better talent which will draw more top-tier cornerback coverage. Cam Newton has a career 59.7 completion percentage. With that kind of inconsistency, Moore is no better than a flex play in 12-team leagues.
Ridley was one of the better rookie receivers last year. He caught 64 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. That may be the best season Ridley has, unfortunately. The Falcons likely won’t throw the ball as much now that they have a healthy defense.
Ridley is still worth drafting because the Falcons have a great overall offense and he’s playing opposite of Julio Jones, opening the field for him. Matt Ryan is one of the most consistent quarterbacks, so Ridley will get his targets. Should anything happen to Jones, Ridley immediately moves into the top 15.
Williams was a top-20 wide receiver despite not having more than 70 targets. He caught 43 passes for 664 yards and 10 touchdowns. With Tyrell Williams out of the picture, there should be more targets going Williams’ way.
Depending on how the Melvin Gordon situation plays out, Rivers will be forced to throw the ball more than usual. Keenan Allen had his ankle flare-up which is something to monitor. With an ADP of 63.3, he has a lot of upside.
Lockett emerged last year with 57 catches for 965 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a result, he’s being drafted in the sixth round as WR20. I think that’s a bit too high for someone with his ceiling.
I expect the Seahawks to run the ball more. But the loss of Doug Baldwin opens up a lot of targets for Lockett. The Seattle receiving corps with weak with Jaron Brown, Keenan Reynolds and others but rookie DK Metcalf is someone to watch.