Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings
By Bill Pivetz
Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings – Wr2 Targets
This group of wide receivers are locked as WR2s but could move up to WR1 with a good season.
All three of the Rams receivers could be WR1 on any given week. Kupp played in just eight games before tearing his ACL. In those games, he had 40 receptions, 566 yards and six touchdowns. If you double those numbers, he would have finished with 263.2 points, 12th among wide receivers based on PPR scoring.
With Gurley likely taking a reduced role, Jared Goff is going to throw the ball a lot. With Kupp, Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, defenses are going to have their hands full. As long as he’s healthy, Kupp is a WR2 in all formats.
Golladay had the chance to become a top-15 receiver with Golden Tate leaving and Marvin Jones missing time but failed. He caught 70 passes for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns, good for WR21.
Jones is back to 100 percent and the team brought in veterans Danny Amendola and Jesse James. The Lions also have a solid running back in Kerryon Johnson. Golladay is undoubtedly a WR2 in 12-team leagues, he doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as others in this tier.
Godwin will get an increase in playing time with Humphries and Jackson no longer on the team. However, Mike Evans is still the main target and will see close to 140 targets. Tight end OJ Howard is likely the No. 2 option in the passing game.
Godwin has been hyped up all preseason and his current ADP is the result of that. I like Godwin as a potential breakout player but I don’t think he’s going to post number near the top-10 level. Temper expectations when thinking about drafting Godwin.
Hilton had a good rebound year. Despite playing in 14 games, he caught 76 passes for 1,270 yards and six touchdowns. As I mentioned with Funchess, there are a lot of mouths to feed in Indianapolis. Though Hilton has his role carved out and his owners shouldn’t worry as much.
With Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement, Jacoby Brissett will now be under center for the Colts. While this is a huge downgrade, I don’t think it affects Hilton more than the other pass-catchers. He is the top option and will still be heavily featured.
The second of three Rams receivers, Woods posted career highs in yards (1,219), touchdowns (six) and receptions (86). It did help that Kupp missed half the season which freed up a few targets. Now that he’s healthy, Woods’ production may suffer a bit.
“It required at least 11.7 PPR points to finish as a WR3 or better in 2018. That’s a number Woods hit in 87.5 percent of his games,” according to FantasyPros. There is some upside to Woods as a potential top-10 receiver, he’ll finish no worse than 20th.
Edelman was looking like the only wide receiver worth drafting from the Patriots up until Gordon was reinstated. Depending on the league, he still may be the only one. Edelman is a PPR machine, averaged 86 receptions over the last five seasons.
Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan are gone. The team didn’t bring in any impact players that will take away from Edelman’s target share. He’s a lock as WR2 in standard leagues and borderline WR1 in PPR leagues.
The third Rams receiver had a great first season away from New Orleans. Cooks caught 80 passes for 1,204 yards and five touchdowns. The scoring potential is a bit lower than what it was when he was with the Saints and Patriots. With Kupp and Woods in the mix, it’s hard to put Cooks in the top two tiers.
Diggs has improved his fantasy football ranking every year, going from WR46 his rookie year, to the WR30, WR19, and then WR10 last season. He had 102 receptions on 149 targets with 1,021 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Vikings pass catchers are Diggs, Thielen and Kyle Rudolph. All three can coexist and be effective from a fantasy aspect. Diggs has big-play ability to break out a long touchdown. He’s a WR1 if anything happens to Thielen.
What an offseason it’s been for Brown. First was the frostbite on his feet. Second is the helmet grievance. He is practicing, so that’s some good news. He goes from Ben Roethlisberger to Derek Carr. The running back situation is a work in progress. His receiving teammates are lackluster compared to Pittsburgh. But, he is the top receiver on the team and should be a lock for another 150 targets.