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Early 2020 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide receivers

An early look at the wide receiver position for 2020.

By Pete Rogers
Chicago Bears v Green Bay Packers Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images

As what we assume will be the NFL season draws ever nearer, so too does the start of fantasy football. With that, I’m continuing to drop my early rankings for each position. Last week I tackled QB and RB and now onto wide receiver.

I actually had a pretty easy time with these rankings. Michael Thomas, Davante Adams, and Julio Jones make up a trio that I don’t think you can go wrong taking either of them. I might also add Chris Godwin to that list. I really think he and Tom Brady are going to get along and they’re going to put up some crazy numbers.

This is the year Odell Beckham Jr. reminds us all how freaking good at football is actually is and Calvin Ridley emerges from his cocoon to become a regular top 10 fantasy wideout. Also, don’t sleep on Adam Thielen. He missed a lot of time last year due to injury and with Stefon Diggs now with the Bills, he’s in line for a big ol’ workload.

Of the second year receivers I’ve got, Terry McLaurin is my number one guy thanks to the fact that Washington has really no one else on offense to challenge him. He seems like an easy 100 targets no questions asked. A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel are close competitors though given how impactful they were to their respective offenses last year.

Later round receivers who I think offer a ton of value are Brandin Cooks and Jamison Crowder this year. Cooks we’ve seen put up numbers no matter what team he’s on, as long as he can stay on the field. That’s a risk but it’s one worth taking for a guy who could pretty easily be a top 12 option. Crowder is going to be a PPR darling simply because Sam Darnold loves throwing him the football and he’s good once that ball is in his hands.

Who am I too high on? Who am I too low on? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

(Note these are PPR rankings)

2020 WR rankings

Rank Wide receiver Team Notes
Rank Wide receiver Team Notes
1 Michael Thomas NO Thomas is almost certianly due for regression but he's clearly the WR1 this year.
2 Davante Adams GB Adams missed time and still put up great numbers last year. He could challenge Thomas for WR1.
3 Julio Jones ATL Age is just a number to Julio Jones.
4 Tyreek Hill KC Hill can carry your fantasy team any given week, but also is prone to stretches of not a lot of production.
5 Chris Godwin TB He was made in a lab for Tom Brady.
6 Odell Beckham Jr. CLE 2020 WILL BE THE YEAR OF ODELL YOU MARK MY WORDS
7 DeAndre Hopkins ARI I'm worried we're going to see 2019 Odell Beckham with Hopkins this year.
8 JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT Healthy Big Ben and a full offseason of getting jacked.
9 Kenny Golladay DET WR8 last year with Matt Stafford missing serious time.
10 Mike Evans TB A little worried about his role with Brady, but he's talented enough he's going to produce.
11 Allen Robinson CHI The Cam Newton/Allen Robinson connection is going to be legendary.
12 D.J. Moore CAR Moore is the perfect wide receiver to take advantage of what Teddy Bridgewater does well.
13 Calvin Ridley ATL Welcome to the Calvin Ridley break out party.
14 Adam Thielen MIN With Diggs no longer in Minnesota, Thielen is about to eat targets for breakfast.
15 Amari Cooper DAL A lot of mouths to feed in Dallas.
16 Tyler Lockett SEA Lockett has highs and lows, but he regularly finishes a top fantasy option.
17 Keenan Allen LAC A lot up in the air in regards to who will be playing QB in LA for the Chargers.
18 Robert Woods LAR With no Brandin Cooks, Woods has a chance to be the Rams top receiver.
19 Terry McLaurin WAS He's the only true pass catcher in Washington.
20 A.J. Brown TEN There's a lot of hype for him to live up to, but he has the talent to do it.
21 Deebo Samuel SF Outside of George Kittle, he's the 49ers best receiving option.
22 Cooper Kupp LAR Worried that the 2TE look LA switched to late last year is going to cut down on Kupp's slot work.
23 Courtland Sutton DEN Had a breakout year, can he back it up with a full year of Drew Lock and new weapons to compete with.
24 T.Y. Hilton IND Hilton could jump up the ranks if he stays healthy and gets a connection with Philip Rivers early.
25 D.J. Chark JAC Chark is dynamite with Gardner Minshew under center.
26 Stefon Diggs BUF This is Diggs chance to shine as a WR1 in his own offense, the question remains about Josh Allen.
27 Tyler Boyd CIN My Bengals stock is really hoping Joe Burrow is the real deal.
28 DeVante Parker MIA I'm not sold his breakout year last year is 100% here to stay.
29 D.K. Metcalf SEA Russell Wilson certianly enjoyed throwing jump balls to his big rookie receiver last year.
30 A.J. Green CIN Sign me up for a fully healthy Green with Joe Burrow under center.
31 Julian Edelman NE Edelman will certainly get targets, but who knows what this Patriots offense is going to be.
32 Brandin Cooks HOU Outside of last year, Cooks has been a stud fantasy performer. He's now once again a #1 WR in Houston.
33 Marvin Jones DET Again, a healthy Matt Stafford is going to help propel this Lions' passing game once again.
34 Jarvis Landry CLE A lot of mouths to feed in Cleveland.
35 Michael Gallup DAL Gallup might be touchdown dependent with all the weapons now in Dallas. Great for STD, not great for PPR.
36 Christian Kirk ARI Addition of Hopkins could open up more space for Kirk to work.
37 Jamison Crowder NYJ Likely Sam Darnold's top receiving option for 2020.
38 Marquise Brown BAL Not sold the Ravens offense is suddenly going to start targeting wide receivers heavily this year.
39 Will Fuller HOU Could be great if he can just stay healthy.
40 Diontae Johnson PIT Liked what I saw last year and with a healthy Big Ben, Johnson gets a good boost.
41 Sterling Shepard NYG Led the Giants in receptions last year despite only playing 10 games.
42 Henry Ruggs III LV Has a chance to be the number one pass catcher in Las Vegas.
43 Jerry Jeudy DEN Lot of mouths in Denver, but Jeudy has the route running to make an impact in Day 1.
44 CeeDee Lamb DAL Hot take: Lamb could become Dak Prescott's favorite target in Dallas sooner than we think.
45 Mecole Hardman KC I think Hardman's targets are going to go up from last year given his playmaking ability.
46 John Brown BUF After a career year last year, Brown has shown to be a solid fantasy option.
47 Darius Slayton NYG Slayton is a great STD league sleeper, he might be a little too touchdown dependent for PPR.
48 Anthony Miller CHI A forgotten part of the Bears offense, Miller had 85 targets last year, 3rd on the team.
49 Jalen Reagor PHI Carson Wentz needs to throw the ball to someone in Philly who can catch and stay healthy.
50 Emmanuel Sanders NO Perfect running mate alongside Michael Thoams in Nola.

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