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Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 50 wide receivers

Ranking the 50 best fantasy football wide receivers heading into the 2017 season.

NFL: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

After doing running back rankings during the preseason and every week during the regular season, ranking wide receivers seems like the easiest task in the world.

Deciphering the running back position in fantasy football is like coal mining and trying to teach calculus simultaneously. Special shoutout to Fake Teams Editor Pete Rogers for letting me hop off the death trap that are running back rankings and letting me switch over to wide receivers.

Here’s to hoping we don’t have any Alshon Jeffery or John Brown or Randall Cobb situations this season.

Preseason WR Rankings

Rank Player Team Analysis
Rank Player Team Analysis
1 Antonio Brown PIT Martavis Bryant returning actually helps him. WR1 in both years Bryant has played.
2 Odell Beckham Jr. NYG Has ranked in top 5 at position each year of his career. Lock for 90+ RECs, 1300+ yds, 10+ TDs.
3 Julio Jones ATL Foot problems and RZ usage the only concerns. Top 3 no-brainer.
4 A.J. Green CIN Was top fantasy WR before going down last season.
5 Jordy Nelson GB Top 2 WR in last 2 healthy seasons. TD machine.
6 Mike Evans TB D-Jax/Howard/Godwin additions plus improved defense means Evans won't see same target number as '16.
7 Michael Thomas NO The ceiling is the roof after stellar rookie season and with Cooks gone.
8 T.Y. Hilton IND Despite low TD totals, no better bet for 1000+ yds than Hilton. Better PPR asset than standard.
9 Doug Baldwin SEA 2 straight 1000 yd seasons and 21 TDs since taking over as go-to WR in SEA.
10 Dez Bryant DAL 6 TDs over final 7 full games of '16. Looks back to being prime Dez: a TD maven.
11 Amari Cooper OAK 2 1000 yd seasons under belt at just 23. Needs to take RZ looks away from Crabtree to fulfill potential.
12 Terrelle Pryor WAS Uncapped potential in D-Jax's old role. Goes from Kessler to Cousins.
13 DeAndre Hopkins HOU Just needs even mediocre QB play to be an every-week WR1.
14 Demaryius Thomas DEN Very safe WR2 with potential for more if Broncos open up offense in RZ.
15 Brandin Cooks NE Too many mouths to feed in NE to feel great about him as a consistent/reliable WR1.
16 Allen Robinson JAX Talent is absolutely still there. Atrocious QB play held him back, and could again. Upside pick.
17 Michael Crabtree OAK Has outscored teammate Cooper in back-to-back seasons despite going much later in drafts.
18 Larry Fitzgerald ARZ 2 straight 100 RECs, 1000 yd seasons as Palmer's favorite target. Criminally undervalued.
19 Tyreek Hill KC 3 return TDs helped, but he scored 9 total without them. Will benefit from lost Maclin targets.
20 Davante Adams GB 12 TDs is unlikely again on just 75 RECs, but locked in as Rodgers' #2 guy.
21 Emmanuel Sanders DEN Gap between him and Demaryius much smaller than perceived. Undervalued.
22 Jarvis Landry MIA Better in PPR. Lack of RZ looks and TDs hurt his cause.
23 Martavis Bryant PIT One of the most efficient TD scorers in the league when on the field.
24 Stefon Diggs MIN Inconsistency should even out in second year with Bradford. 100 catch potential.
25 Golden Tate DET Brutal start aside, finished as a back-end WR2 in '16. 3 straight 90+ RECs seasons.
26 Keenan Allen LAC Huge injury risk. Has missed 22 games over last 2 seasons. Target hog when healthy.
27 Sammy Watkins LAR Move to Rams could be detrimental unless Goff/offense drastically improves.
28 Alshon Jeffery PHI Surprised I'm even ranking him this high. He's killed me multiple years because of injuries.
29 Kelvin Benjamin CAR Painfully inefficient, but scored 7 TDs and was WR19 last season. Best RZ weapon for Cam.
30 Julian Edelman NE Despite Cooks addition, will remain Brady's preferred target on short routes. Better in PPR.
31 Kenny Britt CLE Went over 1000 yds with Keenum/Goff. Hue Jackson will find ways for him to replicate '16 success.
32 Pierre Garcon SF Will be a target hog in Kyle Shanahan's offense that peppers the No. 1 WR.
33 Jeremy Maclin BAL Should quickly become Flacco's favorite target. Just one year removed from 87/1088/8 season.
34 Cameron Meredith CHI 31/439/2 over final 5 weeks of '16. Will be WR1 for CHI, but concern is QB.
35 Tyrell Williams LAC One of my favorite WR targets to draft in 7/8 rd. He's one K. Allen injury from another top 12 finish.
36 Jordan Matthews BUF Was completely off my radar before trade. Huge opportunity with better offense/QB opens up.
37 Willie Snead NO Lack of TDs kill him in standard. Solid PPR WR3, but not a sexy fantasy prospect.
38 Jamison Crowder WAS Pryor addition will take away a lot of RZ looks. Bump up if Reed misses time.
39 Donte Moncrief IND Scored in 7 of 9 games played last season. If he doesn't score a TD, he gives you nothing.
40 DeSean Jackson TB Will be extremely volatile week-to-week with Jameis inaccuracy. Better best-ball pick than season-long.
41 Brandon Marshall NYG See: Jackson, DeSean.
42 Marvin Jones DET Can be a solid matchup-dependent flex. Won't be the guy he was during first 4 weeks of '16.
43 Eric Decker TEN If camp reports are anything to go by, has been Mariota's go-to target.
44 DeVante Parker MIA Looks great in camp/practice. Heard that one before.
45 Robby Anderson NYJ Someone has to catch passes for the Jets. But from who? Enunwa injury opens up huge opportunity.
46 Adam Thielen MIN Uninspiring yet reliable, both in fantasy and in real life.
47 Corey Coleman CLE Took a backseat to Pryor in '16. Expecting him to do the same with Britt in '17.
48 Rishard Matthews TEN New additions on offense will make TEN WRs volatile weekly.
49 John Brown ARZ Colossal injury/illness questions. After having so much of him last season, I'm staying away.
50 Ted Ginn NO Poor man's Brandin Cooks. Will have big games in the dome. Good luck predicting which ones.