Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings
By Bill Pivetz
Fantasy Football 2019 Wide Receiver Tier Rankings – Back-end Top 10
These eight wide receivers have the skills to finish in the top five and are good second-round options if you drafted a running back first.
Cooper joined the Cowboys and looked like a different receiver. In his nine games, Cooper caught 53 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns. His ceiling is very high with a full season in Dallas upcoming. Though, dealing with an intrinsic muscle strain has taken him out of the final two preseason games.
Cooper is the top receiving option for Dak Prescott. Michael Gallup moves up to No. 2 and Randall Cobb is the slot option. The addition of Jason Witten shouldn’t affect Cooper’s value. I think the Ezekiel Elliott holdout will have a bigger impact. If he’s not there, the Cowboys will be throwing the ball more.
Some people forget that Cooper is just 25 years old. He’s entering the prime of his career. I’ll gladly take him at the end of the second round.
While the Vikings are moving to more of a running team, behind a healthy Dalvin Cook, Thielen will still be a big part of the offense. He had a career year with 113 catches, 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns. I don’t expect him to post the same numbers this season but could get close.
Who else is Kirk Cousins going to throw to? Kyle Rudolph has fallen off a bit and the wide receiver depth chart is barren after the top two. As long as Thielen stays healthy, and he has been the last two seasons, there’s no reason for him not to finish as a top-12 wide receiver again.
Allen was close to having back-to-back 100-catch seasons but fell three short. With Williams now in Oakland, his targets free up. But do they go to Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry or Travis Benjamin?
Some suggest it goes to Benjamin, but it’s a question mark. If Melvin Gordon holds out into the regular season, I expect Philip Rivers to throw a lot. He hasn’t shied away from it before, so why stop now. Allen is dealing with an ankle injury already and he’s missed some time throughout his career.
If you’re not drafting until last August, wait to see what the news is regarding his status. If you’re drafting soon, then you may want to look elsewhere for your top receiver.
No matter how many receivers he has around him, Evans continues to get targets. He has at least 136 targets in each of his last four seasons. With Jackson and Humphries gone, their targets have to go to someone. Many think Chris Godwin steps up while others see O.J. Howard getting them.
Why can’t they go to the reliable Evans? While the running backs may have a bigger role in the Tampa Bay offense, they aren’t the most skillful players. If the Bucs want to compete, Jameis Winston should throw it to Evans. He’s a lock as a WR1.
Averaging 107 receptions, 1,262 yards and 7.7 touchdowns over your first three seasons is a good way to make yourself valuable in fantasy football. That’s exactly what Thomas has done. He’s a safe pick as a WR1 but temper expectations this season.
The Saints are not going to be throwing the ball as much. With Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray in the backfield, they can take the pressure off Drew Brees’ arm. But with the receiving corps not being the most dangerous, Thomas will get another 130 targets.
Being without Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Jesse James frees up a lot of targets for the Steelers. I already talked about Moncrief and Washington and their increased roles. Many think Smith-Schuster will see more production but that may not be the case.
Even with Brown on the field, Smith-Schuster caught 111 passes on 166 targets. How many more targets will he get? Ben Roethlisberger threw a ridiculous 675 passes. That won’t happen again. And now as the No. 1 receiver, Smith-Schuster will get double-covered more.
Despite all of that, he’s still going to get a lot of targets as the focal point of the Steelers offense.
For now, Hill’s status with the Chiefs is safe as he won’t be suspended. But the league said if any new evidence surfaces, they will reopen the case. I don’t think that will happen so Hill is expected to play the whole season.
If he performs anywhere close to what he did last year, he’s a lock as a top-10 wide receiver. Hill caught 87 passes for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns. There isn’t anyone on the roster that will take away from Hill’s targets. Travis Kelce has his role independent of Hill. Watkins will be involved but isn’t close to the playmaker Hill is.
With Patrick Mahomes slinging the ball, Hill will get a few long touchdowns and will rack up the yards throughout the season.