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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide receivers

What in the world do we do with Antonio Brown and A.J. Green?

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

At times last season, the wide receiver position was a bit of a headache, though not as painful as running backs and tight ends continue to be. Despite the musical chairs of WR2s and WR3s that many fantasy managers went through, the WR1s were generally as expected. Tyreek Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and other big-name receivers achieved what they were drafted to achieve. Many of those same names are being drafted highly in 2019, but the mid-range receivers pose more question marks than answers.

2019 WR Rankings

Rank Player Team ADP Notes
Rank Player Team ADP Notes
1 DeAndre Hopkins HOU 5.7 Preseason injury to Coutee solidifies Nuk as the overall WR1. He's finished as overall WR1 and WR2 the past 2 yrs.
2 Davante Adams GB 8 Was one of the most consistent fantasy players in 2018, hitting double digit PPR fantasy points in every single game. Little competition for targets again.
3 Julio Jones ATL 11.3 Ranked in the top 6 in fantasy points per game for the SIXTH straight season. Sure, more TDs would be nice, but the RECs/YDs floor is elite.
4 JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT 16.7 Was an absolute monster with AB on the team and his numbers with AB inactive were that of a top 5 WR. He's only 23 and will be used even more this yr.
5 Odell Beckham Jr. CLE 12.7 OBJ has been a top 6 WR in fantasy points per game every yr of his career. Now will catch passes from the best QB he's ever played with.
6 Michael Thomas NO 11.3 Has posted a 321/3787/23 line through his first 3 seasons, missed just a single game and is coming off of a 125-catch season.
7 Tyreek Hill KC 18 TD regression is bound to happen and the Chiefs drafted a like-for-like insurance policy in Mecole Hardman, but Hill will be a WR1 again.
8 Mike Evans TB 22 Somewhat quietly put up a 1,500 yard season in 2018. Now has Arians as HC and Jackson/Humphries are gone. Much more RZ targets coming.
9 Keenan Allen LAC 25.7 After being somewhat injur prone, Allen has played in all 32 games the last two yrs and put up a 199/2589/12 line.
10 Adam Thielen MIN 26.7 Two top 10 years in a row and shouldn't be fazed by a more run-oriented approach from the new OC. Cousins wasn't paid to be a game manager.
11 Brandin Cooks LAR 41 Was outscored by Woods last year, but Cooks led all LAR WRs in RZ targets and his TDs should positively regress.
12 Amari Cooper DAL 31.3 Was fed as a bonafide WR1 after being traded to DAL last season. Still had a few duds, but showed in the postseason that he and Dak have chemistry.
13 T.Y. Hilton IND 27.7 The additions of Funches and Campbell are a bit concerning, but Hilton should remain Luck's go-to target and build on a WR11 season (by FPPG).
14 Stefon Diggs MIN 35.3 The WR12, WR13 and WR17 over the last three seasons showed a great rapport with Cousins last season and broke the 100 RECs and 1,000 YDs mark.
15 Robert Woods LAR 41 Led LAR in overall targets last season and put up a top 10 season. Return of Kupp might ding him a bit, but this offense can support 3 high-level WRs.
16 Antonio Brown OAK 22 Nearly impossible to properly rank AB at this point given his foot and helmet issues. He also won't produce like he has in the past with Carr.
17 Julian Edelman NE 41.7 Gronk gone, only rookies and cheap veterans added at WR. Targets will be up for grabs for the WR14 in fantasy points per game last yr.
18 Chris Godwin TB 47.3 Humphries and D-Jax are gone, Godwin posted a fringe WR2 season in 2018 and Arians has said he'll feature him.
19 Tyler Lockett SEA 55.3 Baldwin retiring means Lockett will step in as SEA's main slot WR. TD rate is unsustainable, but RECs and YDs will go way up.
20 Tyler Boyd CIN 59.3 Boyd was actually more productive last year with AJG on the field last year, but AJG's early season injury gives Boyd a high floor.
21 Cooper Kupp LAR 50 Wary of a player coming off a torn ACL, but Kupp was the WR11 in fantasy points per game last season.
22 Allen Robinson CHI 65.3 Tough to rank A-Rob this high with Trubisky, but he is now two years removed from injury (camp reports glowing) and should cash in more on 16 RZ targets.
23 Kenny Golladay DET 44.3 The Lions have a really thin target tree, which helped Golladay finish as a WR2 last season and should do the same in his third season.
24 Sammy Watkins KC 84 Seems to be undervalued in early drafts. If you want cheap exposure to Mahomes and the Chiefs offense, Watkins is the way in.
25 Calvin Ridley ATL 59.3 TD rate from his rookie season is probably unsustainable and Sanu is still there, but Ridley should fully take over as the WR2.
26 Robby Anderson NYJ 76 Showed a nice rapport with Darnold at the end of last season (24/360/3 from W13-16) and already has a WR2 season under his belt (2017).
27 Emmanuel Sanders DEN 124.7 Sanders' ADP makes no sense to me. He's already recovered from the Achilles injury and was WR17 last season in fantasy points per game.
28 Corey Davis TEN 88.3 Nearly reached 900 yards last season despite offensive dysfunction/Gabbert making appearances. Humphries/Brown/Walker should open things up for him.
29 D.J. Moore CAR 63.3 Funchess' targets are up for grabs and CAR didn't bring in anyone of note outside Chris Hogan. Moore is just 22 and put up 960 YFS as a rookie.
30 A.J. Green CIN 46 AJG is likely to miss maybe the first quarter of the season, but he's a fringe WR1 whenever he's back. Treat him as if he's suspended 4 games.
31 Alshon Jeffery PHI 68 Many have soured on him, but he was a fringe WR2 in fantasy points per game last season. D-Jax, JJAW and Ertz should get him more open looks.
32 Jarvis Landry CLE 63.3 As is the case every year, he's a much better pick in full PPR formats. Beckham should open things up for him in the MOF.
33 Will Fuller HOU 81.7 If we're going by production in limited action, Fuller might be the most dynamic WR in the NFL, but he has missed 15 games over the past two seasons.
34 Marvin Jones DET 92 Golladay has all the hype, but Jones was only 0.6 fantasy points per game behind Babytron and produced like a solid flex when active.
35 Mike Williams LAC 59.7 The 10 TDs last year are nice, but he did it on 66 targets and 43 total receptions. Hunter Henry, a big RZ target, is now back. Will have to improve RECs/YDs.
36 Sterling Shepard NYG 97.7 Giants extended him, OBJ is gone and Tate is suspended for the first quarter of the season. Shepard should be a target hog for most of the season.
37 Geronimo Allison GB 128.3 Averaged double digit fantasy points per game in the 5 games he played last year and the Packers didn't bring in competition at WR.
38 DeSean Jackson PHI 129.3 PHI has been able to scheme WRs open deep without having an elite deep threat. Enter D-Jax, one of the best deep threats in the game.
39 Curtis Samuel CAR 107.7 The hype train is building, but he's still relatively unpolished as a WR and doesn't have the size to be a RZ factor like Funchess was. Solid upside pick.
40 Christian Kirk ARI 83.7 Kirk was usable in plenty of weeks last year despite being on the worst offense in the league with one of the worst QBs. Much better breakout situation now.
41 Dante Pettis SF 84 Hoping the talent wins out at some point, but the reports out of camp haven't been glowing and SF appears to have a logjam at WR now.
42 Devin Funchess IND 142 Should be Luck's new "Moncrief", who was a reliable WR3 in Indy a few years ago. Funchess will be the main target in the RZ for a high-level QB.
43 Donte Moncrief PIT 155.3 A lot of people will probably have James Washington or Diontae Johnson in this spot, but Moncrief is an established veteran that Big Ben will trust more.
44 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 98 Should get much better QB play than last year, but a lot of new pass-catching faces were brought in and Kyler might rather run than take short throws.
45 Albert Wilson MIA 218 Was a WR2 in fantasy points per game last season, which was cut short by injury. Has always been electric and will be MIA's WR1 with whoever at QB.
46 Dede Westbrook JAX 100.7 Westbrook seems like the obvious candidate to be Foles' go-to guy, especially considering he's the primary slot WR and the Jags don't have any good TEs.
47 Adam Humphries TEN 175.5 Was heavily featured in TEN's first game and Mariota will love him, but Davis is the WR1 and there are other mouths to feed on a run-first offense.
48 John Brown BUF 151.5 Love the fit with Allen's big arm and his speed, but the week-to-week output is likely to be erratic. Much better best ball pick than redraft.
49 N'Keal Harry NE 116.3 Josh Gordon being reinstated would negatively affect Harry, but for now it looks like he'll start on the boundary. Situation is great, but I'm wary of rookie WRs.
50 Mohamed Sanu ATL 191.5 We can keep trying to relegate Sanu to no role, but he continues to produce. Better real life player than fantasy, but could be useful in a pinch.