This years Wide Receiver Rankings were pretty solid across the board among media outlets this season. Everyone agrees that Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, Keenan Allen, Odell Beckham Jr., Michael Thomas, A.J. Green and DaVanta Adams deserved a spot in the Top 8. Then to round out the Top 10 Mike Evans, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Tyreek Hill all were names that popped up most frequently. Adams seems like the player everyone is most excited about, as he takes over as Green Bays new primary target, while Stefon Diggs is riding the wave of his Playoff miracle catch and strong Preseason. 

 

When we move over to rankings #11-20 proven fantasy producers like Larry Fitzgerald, T.Y. Hilton and the Detroit tandem of Golden Tate and Marvin Jones Jr. also garnered alot of attention, along with Jarvis Landry, Juju Smith-Schuster, Doug Baldwin and Demariyus Thomas. In this group here, Jones Jr. is a huge steal to me. I had him ranked in my Top 10 but most accredited media outlets had him ranked around #25-30, which is puzzling considering Jones had over 1,100 yards and 10 TD catches last season. Not to mention he plays in Detroit where Matthew Stafford throws a ton and Jones has become his big play guy down the field and most importantly in the red zone. My question marks are for Baldwin, Landry and Thomas. For Baldwin it's about his knee issue, which doesn't seem serious but as he said himself "it's something that will linger all year". And for a player who uses quickness in and out of cuts as his main weapon, it'll be interesting to see how well he plays week to week and if the knee is really an issue. As for Landry, it's just about his new confines. Normally when players strike big in free agency like Landry did, it's difficult to duplicate the same success that earned a big contract. In Miami, Landry was always a PPR stud racking up tons of catches and over 1,000 yards but last year was the first time in his career that he eclipsed more than 5 TD catches. I trust him as an excellent young talent but I'm not sure 100 catches and 1,000 yards are in the cards for him like in Miami, I'm also not sure what to expect in Touchdown totals. With Demariyus Thomas, it's been a similar situation the last few years. A good amount of catches and right around or above 1,000 yards but he hasn't been scoring enough Touchdowns, which has led to season where he's scoring 8-16 points in half the games and 3-6 points in the other 8 games, which has made for some spotty and inconsistent numbers. He's another guy where I don't doubt his talent but I just wonder if he can be consistent again. 

 

Round out the Top 25, there were a variety of players trending as selections in Rounds 4-6 as ranked by various media sources. Emmanuel Sanders, Devin Funchess, Alshon Jeffery, Corey Davis, Josh Gordon, Allen Robinson, Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, Jamison Crowder, Robbie Anderson, Marquise Goodwin, Amari Cooper, Micheal Crabtree and Will Fuller were in the mix. Based on what has transpired in the Preseason, Sanders, Funchess, Goodwin, Cooper and Fuller seem to be the best options. Sanders has gelled really well with new Quarterback Case Keenum and has a ton of PPR value. There are alot of balls to go around in Carolina but Funchess will be Quarterback Cam Newton's most trusted Wide Receiver until further notice. With the 49ers running game an unknown right now, I expect San Francisco to pass alot and with Quarterback Jimmy Garopollo being an accurate thrower I think Goodwin is in for a strong year. 

 

Moving on to Amari Cooper, it can't get any worse than his disappearing act last season and he still seems to be Quarterback Derek Carr's go to guy. Cooper has the talent and if motivated, could provide owners with excellent value based on where he was drafted. Will Fuller is the one owners slept on and again, it's due to where he was ranked in Live Drafts. He was another player like Jared Goff or Carlos Hyde, that you had to go and find because he was so inaccurately ranked. Yes he has a note worthy injury history but for the damage that Quarterback Deshaun Watson and Fuller did last season, Fuller is one of my candidates for value pick and sleeper of the year awards. Alshon Jeffery would have been ranked in my Top 20 but his injury has him in danger of missing the first few games, coupled with inevitable change at the Quarterback position. In other words, he's risky as hell right now until the Eagles offense gets sent type of continuity. As for Corey Davis, he was certainly worth taking a flyer on but what does being the #1 Wide Receiver in Tennessee really mean? The Titans still want to pound the ball on the ground and Quarterback Marcus Mariota has really been a turn off as of late. Davis could be good for 5 catches for 70 yards on average each week, so it's really about how many TDs can he score that will ultimately determine how valuable he is.

 

Josh Gordon, Allen Robinson and Michael Crabtree all fall under the same umbrella. Gordon has the physical tools but his mental focused, off the field issue threats and the arrival of Jarvis Landry make him real risky and a wild card who could be a monster pick up for owners if he has a big year. 

With Robinson, it's the threat of the unknown. He's bouncing back from an ACL injury, on a new team, new Quarterback and new Coach, meaning nobody really knows what to expect at this point but for owners who drafted him, he was likely one of the only "WR1s" still on the board at that time. And then Crabtree, who is set to takeover as the Ravens top receiver, which may not be much considering the Ravens style of offense. However, I do think his value will be in the red zone where he can present Quarterback Joe Flacco with an excellent target. 

 

Jamison Crowder is another guy who flew under the radar bc of his consistency struggles last season. But with new Quarterback Alex Smith there, Crowder could be a PPR mid to late round gem if Smith continues to excel in the short passing game. I also like the value owners should get from Robbie Anderson. The Jets are not expected to run the football well and could fall behind in most games, so I expect alot of passing and Anderson is sure to be fit, especially if Rookie Quarterback Sam Darnold can connect with gbe speedy receiver downfield. Chris Hogan has some nice value to start the season but could become a bit more inconsistent when Julian Edelman returns. On the other hand with Tom Brady at Quarterback, he'll always be worth a flex play in most weeks. 

 

Finally Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks are both expected to have good years for the Rams but there are alot of balls to spread around as Cooper Kupp and Todd Gurley also see alot of targets. Both these Receivers real value will come if either one gets hurt on Kupp, then at that point, you will have two excellent options to use with WR2 value.