With the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, true fantasy football junkies are already getting ready for the upcoming season. Winning your league starts with a good draft, and there’s no better time than the present to start preparing. Without further ado, here are the 2019 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver rankings entering OTA’s
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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
Tier One: League-Winning Potential
1. DeAndre Hopkins
2. Davante Adams
3. Julio Jones
4. Odell Beckham
5. Juju Smith-Schuster
6. Michael Thomas
7. Mike Evans
Not much surprise at the top of this list. DeAndre Hopkins is everyone’s WR1, and with good reason. Hopkins catches everything thrown his way and took his game to another level with Deshaun Watson. He’s productive no matter who’s around him and has arguably the best hands in the league. Davante Adams is the picture of consistency. The Packers star wideout never had a game with fewer than 16 fantasy points (PPR format) and Green Bay didn’t add any notable wideouts. Expect more of the same from Adams in 2019. Julio Jones is probably the best talent in the league and could easily finish as the WR1. However, he is prone to disappearing for a game or two and sometimes struggles to find the endzone. Nobody would be surprised if he was the first receiver off the board, but Hopkins and Adams offer safer floors.
Odell Beckham was one of fantasy’s best wide receivers even when he was catching passes from a broken down Eli Manning. Baker Mayfield is a significant upgrade and should only add to Beckham’s production. The only red flag here is that Beckham has missed 16 games in the past two seasons. Juju Smith-Schuster will have to adapt to added defensive focus without Antonio Brown, but he’s good enough to remain one of the best receivers in fantasy. Michael Thomas is a safe bet to be a top receiver, although he probably won’t replicate his ridiculous 85% catch rate. Mike Evans is one of the most underrated receivers in football and now has a head coach in Bruce Arians who loves throwing to wide receivers.
Tier Two: Low-End WR1
8. Keenan Allen
9. T.Y. Hilton
10. Antonio Brown
11. Adam Thielen
12. A.J. Green
Keenan Allen is great when he’s on the field, but his lack of touchdown prowess keeps him out of the top tier. Ditto for T.Y. Hilton, who is the master of picking up yards without finding the endzone. Antonio Brown is still a great talent but won’t put up his usual numbers catching passes from Derek Carr. Adam Thielen will be better than his ugly second-half finish but probably won’t maintain his first-half pace. Zac Taylor’s new offensive scheme plays to A.J. Green’s strengths and Green could be poised for his best season in years.
Tier Three: Good WR2’s
13. Julian Edelman
14. Stefon Diggs
15. Robert Woods
16. Amari Cooper
17. Brandin Cooks
Julian Edelman won’t give you monster games, but he’s one of the most reliable players in the league. The reigning Super Bowl MVP had 57 yards or a touchdown in 11 of his 12 games and should carry that consistency into 2019. Stefon Diggs is one of the best route runners in the league and could easily overtake this ranking if Minnesota’s run-heavy philosophy leads to a quick-passing game.
All three Los Angeles Rams receivers will be good, but Robert Woods is the safest option from a fantasy perspective. Amari Cooper is still prone to bust performances, but the Dallas Cowboys proved that they know how to use him. Brandin Cooks will do his usual thing and finish the year with roughly 80 receptions for 1,150 yards and five to nine touchdowns.
Tier Four: Rounding Out the WR2’s
18. Sammy Watkins
19. Kenny Golladay
20. Cooper Kupp
21. Tyler Boyd
22. Chris Godwin
23. Calvin Ridley
24. Tyler Lockett
This is my hot take. Opportunity matters just as much as talent in fantasy football and Sammy Watkins has the best opportunity in the league. Say what you will about not living up to draft expectation, Patrick Mahomes’ WR1 will be fantasy relevant. Kenny Golladay is the top option in Detroit and proved he can produce regardless of who’s lining up opposite him. Cooper Kupp would be a lot higher on this list if he weren’t coming off an ACL tear. Tyler Boyd was fantastic in the first half of 2018 before injuries to literally everyone torpedoed his value. As long as Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are on the field, he’s a safe WR2.
Chris Godwin is a ridiculous athlete who has looked good in small doses. With DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries out of the way, Godwin will finally have the opportunity to prove he can produce at a full-time level. Calvin Ridley had a great rookie year and should iron out his inconsistencies in his second year. Tyler Lockett rounds out the wide receiver rankings despite his impressive 2018. The Seahawks receiver finished 2018 as the WR16 in PPR scoring but had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted. There’s no way he matches that efficiency in 2019, so don’t be surprised when he falls down the fantasy rankings.
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