2020 Fantasy Football - First Positional Rankings - Wide Receivers

Unlike many years in the past WR has more of a split at the top, but it continues to trend deeper and deeper as the league relies more and more on the passing game. That said I think you can make cases for around 100 receivers being rosterable in 12 teams leagues while leaving intriguing options on the waiver wire.

That said let’s talk about how I did my first set of rankings. I once again did projections this year and while flawed I used them as a basis for this first set of rankings. The tiers are based on the fantasy points from those projections and then I ordered them within those tiers. Some of the cutoffs are arbitrary because, fuck it, they’re still my rankings after all. I still do sequential rankings but if players are in a tier, I will almost always have no qualms taking any player in that tier over anyone else.

Key for Abbreviations – Targets (Tar.), Points Per Reception Fantasy Points (PPR FP), Positional ADP (Pos. ADP), Difference between Pos. ADP & my rank (Diff)

 

Rank	Player	Team	Tar	Rec. Yards	TD	FP PPR	Pos. ADP	Diff
Elite Ball Hog Tier (1-3)
WR1	Michael Thomas	NO	157	1438	8	316	1	0
WR2	Davante Adams	GB	165	1235	10	286	2	0
WR3	Julio Jones	ATL	143	1385	10	291	5	-2
Elite Tier (4-8)
WR4	DJ Moore	CAR	137	1239	7	256	9	-5
WR5	Chris Godwin	TB	135	1350	6	260	6	-1
WR6	DeAndre Hopkins	ARI	124	1052	9	234	4	2
WR7	Allen Robinson	CHI	138	1037	8	229	15	-8
WR8	Tyreek Hill	KC	113	1122	8	237	3	5
Robinson is the headliner here, but let’s talk about Moore and Hill for a moment. I’m extremely high on Moore as a talent and I don’t think he’s scheme dependent for his production. Godwin, and Hopkins are working with new QBs, Robinson might be or will be working with Trubisky again, and I never know how to rank Hill because TD randomness means I could see him anywhere from 4 to 12 TDs. That said, I essentially switched them compared to ADP and I wouldn’t care if you picked any of these five in any order. Robinson has now put up elite production with Trubisky and Bortles, essentially made Hackenberg a 2nd round NFL draft pick, and except for injury years has balled out in the NFL. He’s a stud and the fact he’s not an WR1 is silly.
Very Good Tier (9-18)
WR9	Odell Beckham Jr	CLE	132	1138	8	243	11	-2
WR10	Amari Cooper	DAL	120	1217	7	236	10	0
WR11	Cooper Kupp	LAR	138	1266	8	270	12	-1
WR12	JuJu Smith-Schuster	PIT	123	1129	8	243	14	-2
WR13	Mike Evans	TB	135	1178	6	229	7	6
WR14	Tyler Lockett	SEA	115	1144	6	233	22	-8
WR15	Stefon Diggs	BUF	123	1066	7	232	25	-10
WR16	Keenan Allen	LAC	134	1120	6	239	19	-3
WR17	Courtland Sutton	DEN	135	1244	6	237	18	-1
WR18	Kenny Golladay	DET	120	1158	8	233	8	10
I have Evans as the first WR2, but he’s going as the WR7 currently. It’s not that I dislike Evans, and maybe I should listen to my own advice re: Robinson, but unlike Robinson Evans has a stud teammate. With Brady coming into the team, and Godwin getting work in the slot as well as outside I think Evans comes back to the pack ever so slightly. I mean, I still have him for nearly 1200 yards and a half dozen touchdowns. I think people are expecting Metcalf to overtake Lockett in dynasty, but I think they’re both going to have good years but I expect Lockett to get a higher volume of lower risk passes (i.e. short to intermediate routes) than Metcalf and Lockett has been adept in the red zone and I don’t expect that to change either. Metcalf is good and could challenge for a WR2 spot at the end of the season, but Lockett has a long history and trust with Wilson and that isn’t going away. Much like Robinson in the group above there is much disrespect being shown to Stefon Diggs. John Brown put up WR 20 numbers last year for the Bills and although I love John Brown he’s not on Diggs’ level. Yes, Josh Allen isn’t a good QB, but he takes deep shots and he’ll put the ball in windows that Kirk Cousins wouldn’t. Stefon Diggs at WR 25 is silly. I’m too low on Kenny Golladay. It’s that simple, I’ll never have him at WR 8 like ADP but 18 is too low, although the tier is right so that’s most important. Golladay 1200 and at least a half dozen TDs seems pretty reasonable and the depth of the WR class certainly shows up when I can have that type of player at 18.
Very Good With Hesitations Tier (19-32)
WR19	Adam Thielen	MIN	105	969	6	203	13	6
WR20	A.J. Brown	TEN	102	1088	8	220	16	4
WR21	Terry McLaurin	WAS	114	1127	7	226	23	-2
WR22	Robert Woods	LAR	132	1055	6	224	20	2
WR23	Julian Edelman	NE	150	1082	6	244	36	-13
WR24	T.Y. Hilton	IND	131	1191	7	238	24	0
WR25	Michael Gallup	DAL	115	1024	6	201	32	-7
WR26	D.K. Metcalf	SEA	111	999	6	200	21	5
WR27	Jarvis Landry	CLE	121	874	4	191	30	-3
WR28	Calvin Ridley	ATL	101	917	8	209	17	11
WR29	D.J. Chark	JAC	114	941	6	197	26	3
WR30	Jamison Crowder	NYJ	118	904	6	204	46	-16
WR31	A.J. Green	CIN	130	1073	6	220	28	3
WR32	Tyler Boyd	CIN	120	944	4	197	33	-1
It’s not a big gap but let me just say Lamb is a problem for Gallup long term, but short term he’s more likely to eat into the Jarwin emergence than take away from Gallup in my opinion. I’m a tier lower on Ridley than consensus, and as mid-WR3. I like Ridley, but he’s on a team with a high volume WR1 in Jones, and although Hooper is gone leaving behind 97 targets, say Hurst only takes 75 of those, it’s doubtful that Ridley would pick up all 22 and I think adding 10 of them is a reasonable expectation for a slightly increased role. A role he will excel in threatening 1000 yards and a couple handfuls of TDs. He’ll be a damn useful player with impressive upside, but his ceiling is capped. Why do we think Edelman won’t be utilized by a first time starting QB with limited talent, and upside, on the outside, and no established threat at TE to speak of? If one of you has that answer I’ll drop Edelman into the WR3s, until then we’re potentially already too low on him. A similar theme for Crowder. His starting QB should be healthy this season, last year with inconsistency all around he still managed 122 targets and 6 TDs, and I see no reason that should come down as Robby Anderson is gone, Brashad Perriman and rookie Denzel Mims replace him and this is a Gase offense that made Jarvis Landry look like inefficient Superman. Similar raw opportunity, a slight uptick in efficiency and you have yourself a mid to low end WR3, not a borderline WR4.
Mostly High Upside Young-Ins Tier (33-46)
WR33	Marquise Brown	BAL	96	786	8	189	31	2
WR34	Preston Williams	MIA	112	802	7	182	53	-19
WR35	Sterling Shepard	NYG	95	718	6	170	48	-13
WR36	Deebo Samuel	SF	85	846	5	175	29	7
WR37	Jerry Jeudy	DEN	94	989	5	195	37	0
WR38	Parris Campbell	IND	91	731	5	167	79	-41
WR39	Christian Kirk	ARI	102	782	7	185	42	-3
WR40	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	93	953	5	190	39	1
WR41	Mecole Hardman	KC	74	743	6	162	52	-11
WR42	DeVante Parker	MIA	112	942	5	189	27	15
WR43	John Brown	BUF	105	828	5	171	47	-4
WR44	Sammy Watkins	KC	89	770	5	159	54	-10
WR45	Mike Williams	LAC	82	808	5	158	50	-5
WR46	Marvin Jones	DET	100	873	6	183	38	8
Let’s talk about Parris Campbell. Campbell got hurt last season and was largely inefficient, Campbell was a 2nd round pick last year, he was explosive at Ohio State, and excelled at taking advantage of his speed and space. The fantasy WR2 for the Colts is apparently rookie Michael Pittman but receiver, as Capmbell showed last year, is a very difficult position to adjust to year one. Heading into year two I think a great underneath option for Rivers is just what the doctor ordered and it’s not like at 8 yards per target I’m expecting Campbell to Cooks in year 2 just a solid WR4 with upside. Hitting on the other double digit difference, Shepard is the top option on a Giants team that will look to find an identity in year two of the Daniel Jones experience. I have Williams slightly lower than where ADP has Parker, and Parker higher than where ADP has Williams. I’m not sure how a rookie breakout is behind his fifth-year breakout teammate but here we are. Hardman has WR2/3 upside with an increased role in the offense and a slow usurpation of the Watkins role but even without that major increase in role Hardman is a threat to score on every pass just like Hill and that’s one hell of an option at 41 where I have him and 11 spots later at ADP. Same goes for Watkins. I expect a major rebound for KC with Mahomes healthy for the full season, maybe they surprise us, but I think if you can get KC players that will be on the field with regularity for that offense. Thake them. I know… BOLD isn’t it.
Pick Your Poison Tier (47-58)
WR47	Golden Tate	NYG	95	758	3	157	60	-13
WR48	Brandin Cooks	HOU	72	666	5	143	34	14
WR49	Curtis Samuel	CAR	100	632	5	148	59	-10
WR50	Justin Jefferson	MIN	76	723	4	150	44	6
WR51	James Washington	PIT	86	694	5	143	76	-25
WR52	Brandon Aiyuk	SF	67	744	3	140	65	-13
WR53	Anthony Miller	CHI	80	622	4	135	55	-2
WR54	Will Fuller	HOU	68	588	5	130	35	19
WR55	Henry Ruggs	LVR	70	795	4	152	41	14
WR56	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	83	602	5	141	66	-10
WR57	Emmanuel Sanders	NO	75	602	5	136	45	12
WR58	Dede Westbrook	JAC	99	693	4	153	82	-24
This entire tier is full of players that I’m at least 12 spots different from consensus so let’s start with the two I’m 24+ higher on than consensus. I’m 24 spots higher on Westbrook than consensus and I get the pessimism, shit I have him at the bottom of this tier despite having the second most points by my projections. He was second on the team last season with 101 targets and I think if Shenault cuts into anyone’s targets it’s a combo of Conley and Fournette (Who’ll also lose targets to Thompson). In a similar situation we have James Washington, let’s call him discount DeSean Jackson, he’s going to be hit or miss, but he averaged almost 17 yards a catch last season, with shit for QB play, outpacing both Johnson and JuJu by 5 & 3.5 yards per catch respectively. Washington is got have boom or bust weeks but that’s well worth a roster spot as a high end WR5. Tate’s going be open and used, and I’m not sold on Slayton. Cooks suffered 2 concussions in a 25-day span in 2019 and missed two games because of an inability to clear concussion protocol. He’s now on his fourth team as he heads into his 7th season in the league and he was noticeably less productive last year, hitting a 5-year low of 2 TDs (9,8,7,5), his lowest yards pe r reception since his sophomore campaign (13.9 yds/Rec), and only 72 targets (58.3% catch rate). Unfortunately for a truly exhilarating player to watch throughout his career I’ll much happier if he’s my first or second bench option instead of my WR3 or flex option. Samuel is set in that WR1 role for the 49ers but Aiyuk should have a chance to be the second option or at least challenge for the other receiver spot in this offense. I don’t think it’s crazy to think he’ll average a handful of targets a game as a rookie in what should be fruitful if limited upside offense. Fuller will be great when he’s on the field, we’ll see how much that is. Ruggs could faulter a little bit as a rookie but there isn’t much for competition and this could be far too low for a talented if slightly raw player. Lastly, Emmanuel Sanders. I just think he’s past his prime in an offense that doesn’t really utilize, or probably need, a true WR2 when Thomas is getting 160 targets and Kamara is going to account for 85-100 which leaves 3-4 people in that 40-75 target range with Sanders at the top end of that range already.
All Relationships End in Tragedy Tier (59-78)
WR59	Miles Boykin	BAL	71	591	6	137	101	-42
WR60	Jalen Reagor	PHI	62	612	5	135	49	11
WR61	Corey Davis	TEN	79	600	4	130	85	-24
WR62	Josh Reynolds	LAR	92	638	3	129	101	-39
WR63	Randall Cobb	HOU	65	545	4	123	78	-15
WR64	Darius Slayton	NYG	68	598	4	123	43	21
WR65	Allen Lazard	GB	59	539	3	114	67	-2
WR66	Tyrell Williams	LVR	73	721	4	141	69	-3
WR67	Danny Amendola	DET	85	573	3	134	87	-20
WR68	Breshad Perriman	NYJ	75	602	4	121	56	12
WR69	Dionte Johnson	PIT	80	590	4	136	101	-32
WR70	Trey Quinn	WAS	86	559	4	133	101	-31
WR71	KJ Hamler	DEN	59	605	4	126	83	-12
WR72	Kenny Stills	HOU	63	591	4	121	96	-24
WR73	Robby Anderson	CAR	76	608	3	120	58	15
WR74	John Ross	CIN	60	451	6	106	84	-10
WR75	Laviska Shenault Jr	JAC	57	470	4	111	70	5
WR76	N'Keal Harry	NE	60	531	3	113	63	13
WR77	Chris Conley	JAC	85	638	3	131	100	-23
WR78	Adam Humphries	TEN	56	423	3	100	101	-23
So, this tier is full of guys I either have or have had hope for and expect will break my heart again. Harry & Boykin are second year players who produced little last year with very different expectations. I don’t trust anyone in NE outside of White & Edelman, and I don’t think the Ravens brought anyone in to really challenge Boykin as the WR2 (Yes, I know about Duvernay). I know everyone is extremely excited about Van Jeferson but I think Reynolds has been groomed for, and will get, the first opportunities alongside Kupp and Woods. I have Radall Cobb and Daerius Slayton on pretty even numbers for this season, one is rated 78th the other 43rd. Slayton had 84 targets last season even with Shepard and Tate, who played 10 and 11 games respectively and he should be applauded for his two great games but from week 8-14 he had 121, 67, 44, 154, 31, 0 (on 2 targets), and 50 yards. He has a long way to go for me to justify spending a top 50 pick on a mediocre offenses WR3. The only thing the Johnson ADP says to me is that people really think that it’s going to be JuJu and noone else in this passing game. Otherwise I just think the WR3 in Pittsburgh is useful as long as Ben is the QB. For Quinn and Stills, they’re both volume WR2/3s in their respective offenses and are worth low-end roster speculation.
One of These Guys Will Help Win Your League Tier (79-98)
WR79	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	GB	58	464	3	93	101	-22
WR80	Michael Pittman Jr	IND	62	477	4	109	51	29
WR81	Denzel Mims	NYJ	63	640	3	126	64	17
WR82	Tee Higgins	CIN	58	528	3	111	68	14
WR83	Allen Hurns	MIA	59	479	3	100	101	-18
WR84	Cole Beasley	BUF	51	371	3	91	73	11
WR85	Andy Isabella	ARI	41	420	2	82	101	-16
WR86	Bryan Edwards	LVR	42	355	3	83	93	-7
WR87	Zach Pascal	IND	50	370	3	83	95	-8
WR88	Hunter Renfrow	LVR	54	460	2	95	62	26
WR89	Kelvin Harmon	WAS	74	596	2	122	101	-12
WR90	Alshon Jeffery	PHI	57	467	3	98	61	29
WR91	Desean Jackson	PHI	44	431	3	86	57	34
WR92	Tyler Johnson	TB	57	575	2	109	74	18
WR93	Russell Gage	ATL	70	424	2	100	101	-8
WR94	Albert Wilson	MIA	56	436	2	92	101	-7
WR95	Jalen Hurd	SF	52	356	3	90	101	-6
WR96	Tre'Quan Smith	NO	46	441	2	87	101	-5
WR97	Cam Sims	WAS	51	378	2	88	101	-4
WR98	Steven Sims	WAS	51	282	3	77	101	-3
Let’s do this quick because if you’ve gotten this far, I owe you brevity, and less self-indulgence not more. Valdes-Scantling is worth the shot to get a piece of the Packers offense even if it isn’t the height of what it used to be. Pittman is going to be a good one and he’ll be productive in the mold of a rookie receiver but that isn’t really that productive for fantasy purposes. Renfrow, might be a little too low here but at this point in doing all this I’ve been burned too many times by the Ryan Switzer/Hunter Renfrow types, so I’ll keep my projections on the light side. Especially when he’ll be working in similar spaces over the middle to Darren Waller with new talent on the outside of the passing game. Lastly, Jeffery and Jackson. If I’m being honest, I’m not worried about Jeffery making me look bad on this, he’s just not physically what he used to be and is in the twilight of his career. Jackson worries me more, he’s not going to be a WR1 or WR 2 but his upside is certainly closer to ADP especially with little to no other veteran presences on the roster, and what is there is not the most talented group.
Deep Roster Players Pt. 1 (99-124)
WR99	Quintez Cephus	DET	29	164	2	49	75	24
WR100	Antonio Gandy-Golden	WAS	21	217	2	48	92	8
WR101	Rashard Higgins	CLE	27	216	1	47	101	0
WR102	Mohamed Sanu	NE	45	334	2	75	101	1
WR103	Chris Moore	BAL	34	336	3	70	101	2
WR104	KeeSean Johnson	ARI	32	213	2	49	101	3
WR105	J.J. Arcega-Whiteside	PHI	25	244	2	54	101	4
WR106	Demarcus Robinson	KC	36	266	2	61	101	5
WR107	Keke Coutee	HOU	27	187	1	42	101	6
WR108	Chase Claypool	PIT	18	172	1	36	80	28
WR109	Equanimeous St. Brown	GB	17	155	1	31	101	8
WR110	Devin Funchess	GB	40	287	2	61	86	24
WR111	Phillip Dorsett	SEA	35	270	2	58	101	10
WR112	Diontae Spencer	DEN	26	280	3	64	101	11
WR113	Laquon Treadwell	ATL	46	299	1	63	101	12
WR114	Damiere Byrd	NE	37	274	2	62	101	13
WR115	Marqise Lee	NE	35	250	2	57	101	14
WR116	Jakobi Meyers	NE	30	264	2	57	101	15
WR117	Cedrick Wilson	DAL	30	296	1	57	101	16
WR118	Olabisi Johnson	MIN	32	209	2	56	101	17
WR119	Kendrick Bourne	SF	31	238	1	52	101	18
WR120	Josh Doctson	NYJ	38	255	2	55	101	19
WR121	Trevion Thompson	TEN	34	211	1	53	101	20
WR122	Keelan Cole	JAC	20	172	1	40	101	21
WR123	Freddie Swain	SEA	25	238	2	53	101	22
WR124	Tajae Sharpe	MIN	31	222	2	49	101	23
Deep Rosters Players Pt. 2 (125-141)
WR125	Cordarelle Patterson	CHI	28	181	1	42	101	24
WR126	David Moore	SEA	25	214	2	46	101	25
WR127	Gabriel Davis	BUF	13	128	1	28	97	30
WR128	Dante Pettis	SF	13	108	1	26	101	27
WR129	Marquise Goodwin	PHI	15	122	1	24	101	28
WR130	Deon Cain	PIT	16	99	1	23	101	29
WR131	Ryan Switzer	PIT	15	79	0	22	101	30
WR132	Hakeem Butler	ARI	12	152	1	30	101	31
WR133	Isaiah Ford	MIA	20	133	1	32	101	32
WR134	John Hightower	PHI	20	205	1	41	101	33
WR135	Greg Dortch	LAR	22	181	1	39	101	34
WR136	Olamide Zaccheaus	ATL	26	199	1	42	101	35
WR137	Deonte Harris	NO	26	217	1	46	101	36
WR138	Isaiah McKenzie	BUF	31	175	1	42	101	37
WR139	Corey Coleman	NYG	22	123	1	27	101	38
WR140	Scott Miller	TB	15	113	1	22	101	39
WR141	Riley Ridley	CHI	20	191	1	39	101	40
Mariana Trench Tier (142-160)
WR142	Auden Tate	CIN	15	100	0	18	101	40
WR143	Javon Wims	CHI	26	129	1	32	101	41
WR144	Richie James	SF	8	96	1	18	101	41
WR145	Ricardo Louis	MIA	26	152	1	33	101	42
WR146	Austin Carr	NO	11	65	1	20	101	42
WR147	Cody Core	NYG	33	198	1	40	101	43
WR148	Willie Snead	BAL	11	90	1	22	101	43
WR149	Devin Duvernay	BAL	10	81	1	20	72	73
WR150	Justin Watson	TB	14	79	1	21	101	45
WR151	Taywan Taylor	CLE	9	74	1	19	101	46
WR152	Byron Pringle	KC	11	117	1	24	101	47
WR153	Marcus Johnson	IND	15	127	1	26	101	48
WR154	Josh Malone	NYJ	15	151	1	32	101	49
WR155	John Ursua	SEA	13	120	1	27	101	50
WR156	Joe Reed	LAC	15	111	1	28	101	51
WR157	Seth Roberts	CAR	15	108	1	25	101	52
WR158	Christian Blake	ATL	21	81	1	24	101	53
WR159	Andre Patton	LAC	12	101	1	26	101	54
WR160	Cody Hollister	TEN	12	95	0	20	101	55