2021 Fantasy Football - 2nd PPR Ranks - Wide Receivers

 Wide receiver is deep, and it makes ranking players simultaneously easier and harder. It’s easier because I believe in tiering out players which means that there are relatively large groups of like valued receivers, it’s harder because differentiated between players becomes an even more intense study of minute and superficial differences in talent and opportunity. As noted in previous articles, the FP and stats projections inform my ranks but are not the end all be all and the last three columns are ADP data and comparison to the ranks.

 

Rank	Player	Tm	Tar	Rec Yds	TD	PPR FP	Tier	ADP	Pos ADP	Diff
WR1	Davante Adams	GB	166	1290	11	302	1	6	1	0
WR2	Stefon Diggs	BUF	172	1370	9	313	1	14	3	-1
WR3	Tyreek Hill	KC	145	1317	12	303	1	9	2	1
WR4	DeAndre Hopkins	ARI	170	1296	8	285	2	15	4	0
WR5	Keenan Allen	LAC	174	1339	9	307	2	26	9	-4
WR6	Calvin Ridley	ATL	144	1208	10	276	2	17	5	1
WR7	DK Metcalf	SEA	151	1315	12	296	2	19	6	1
WR8	AJ Brown	TEN	128	1433	10	285	2	24	8	0
WR9	Justin Jefferson	MIN	136	1246	8	266	2	23	7	2
WR10	Allen Robinson	CHI	144	1015	8	234	2	34	12	-2
WR11	Chris Godwin	TB	120	1198	8	251	3	44	17	-6
WR12	Amari Cooper	DAL	129	1122	8	241	3	40	15	-3
WR13	Mike Evans	TB	117	1022	8	213	3	37	13	0
WR14	DJ Moore	CAR	140	1139	6	237	3	51	21	-7
WR15	Terry McLaurin	WAS	141	1118	10	262	3	28	10	5
WR16	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	116	978	6	211	3	33	11	5
WR17	Ja'Marr Chase	CIN	159	1178	9	283	3	64	24	-7
WR18	Tyler Lockett	SEA	148	1275	10	295	3	46	19	-1
WR19	Julio Jones	TEN	120	1176	7	237	3	42	16	3
WR20	Tee Higgins	CIN	143	1075	8	244	3	65	25	-5
WR21	Brandon Aiyuk	SF	107	823	6	183	3	60	23	-2
WR22	Robert Woods	LAR	142	1105	6	236	3	38	14	8
WR23	Courtland Sutton	DEN	114	917	7	196	3	75	31	-8
WR24	Cooper Kupp	LAR	132	1049	8	245	3	45	18	6
WR25	Jerry Jeudy	DEN	109	846	7	177	3	76	32	-7
WR26	Adam Thielen	MIN	119	996	8	231	3	49	20	6
WR27	Chase Claypool	PIT	124	981	8	217	3	67	26	1
WR28	Odell Beckham Jr	CLE	109	870	7	195	3	71	29	-1
WR29	Tyler Boyd	CIN	127	918	6	213	3	83	35	-6
WR30	Brandin Cooks	HOU	134	1183	8	254	3	89	37	-7
WR31	JuJu Smith-Schuster	PIT	111	887	6	202	4	68	27	4
WR32	Jaylen Waddle	MIA	92	799	7	186	4	106	43	-11
WR33	Will Fuller	MIA	101	804	8	192	4	98	41	-8
WR34	Deebo Samuel	SF	97	761	6	182	4	88	36	-2
WR35	Diontae Johnson	PIT	127	941	5	203	4	54	22	13
WR36	Michael Gallup	DAL	100	859	6	177	4	107	44	-8
WR37	Laviska Shenault	JAX	105	744	7	192	4	96	40	-3
WR38	Kenny Golladay	NYG	101	824	7	181	4	70	28	10
WR39	Marquise Brown	BAL	102	798	8	190	4	118	47	-8
WR40	Henry Ruggs	LVR	102	930	6	191	4	121	49	-9
WR41	DJ Chark	JAX	109	753	7	180	4	82	34	7
WR42	Marvin Jones	JAX	102	732	7	178	4	120	48	-6
WR43	Bryan Edwards	LVR	105	972	6	210	4	210	74	-31
WR44	Corey Davis	NYJ	110	804	5	178	4	123	50	-6
WR45	Michael Pittman Jr	IND	97	742	5	168	4	125	52	-7
WR46	DeVonta Smith	PHI	78	671	7	164	4	91	38	8
WR47	Robby Anderson	CAR	109	815	5	174	4	77	33	14
WR48	Mike Williams	LAC	89	745	6	159	4	111	46	2
WR49	Tre'Quan Smith	NO	85	729	8	178	4	170	61	-12
WR50	Gabriel Davis	BUF	94	768	7	172	4	192	67	-17
WR51	Curtis Samuel	WAS	91	637	6	157	4	109	45	6
WR52	Jarvis Landry	CLE	91	669	4	151	4	100	42	10
WR53	Antonio Brown	TB	77	670	5	145	4	93	39	14
WR54	Sterling Shepard	NYG	83	582	5	143	4	201	71	-17
WR55	Nico Collins	HOU	80	800	7	178	5	291	94	-39
WR56	Breshad Perriman	DET	102	796	6	163	5	232	79	-23
WR57	Tyrell Williams	DET	84	693	6	157	5	209	73	-16
WR58	Jamison Crowder	NYJ	90	631	4	148	5	223	78	-20
WR59	Elijah Moore	NYJ	84	637	4	146	5	143	58	1
WR60	Randall Cobb	GB	80	646	4	144	5	172	63	-3
WR61	Emmanuel Sanders	BUF	90	701	6	162	5	176	64	-3
WR62	Sammy Watkins	BAL	93	741	6	163	5	208	72	-10
WR63	Nelson Agholor	NE	85	648	6	152	5	167	60	3
WR64	Cole Beasley	BUF	84	608	5	150	5	136	55	9
WR65	Marquez Callaway	NO	79	618	5	153	5	197	70	-5
WR66	Darnell Mooney	CHI	94	618	5	150	5	129	53	13
WR67	Jakobi Meyers	NE	77	610	4	139	5	211	75	-8
WR68	Mecole Hardman	KC	64	612	6	140	5	124	51	17
WR69	T.Y. Hilton	IND	83	629	5	141	5	140	57	12
WR70	Rashod Bateman	BAL	74	597	5	142	5	171	62	8
WR71	Michael Thomas	NO	63	532	3	121	5	73	30	41
WR72	Parris Campbell	IND	75	548	4	133	5	213	76	-4
WR73	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	72	558	4	131	5	196	69	4
WR74	Hunter Renfrow	LVR	71	546	4	129	5	267	88	-14
WR75	Terrace Marshall Jr	CAR	71	569	4	131	5	194	68	7
WR76	DeVante Parker	MIA	64	482	3	104	5	134	54	22
WR77	Jalen Reagor	PHI	67	557	4	118	5	164	59	18
WR78	Russell Gage	ATL	61	434	2	93	5	137	56	22
WR79	Dyami Brown	WAS	56	538	4	117	6	291	94	-15
WR80	KJ Hamler	DEN	72	504	4	112	6	286	93	-13
WR81	Christian Kirk	ARI	62	441	4	107	6	215	77	4
WR82	Preston Williams	MIA	58	414	3	90	6	291	94	-12
WR83	Cornell Powell	KC	48	406	3	95	6	291	94	-11
WR84	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	GB	45	374	4	84	6	250	84	0
WR85	Anthony Miller	HOU	70	549	4	120	6	291	94	-9
WR86	Rondale Moore	ARI	46	338	3	84	6	181	65	21
WR87	Olamide Zaccheaus	ATL	46	395	2	83	6	291	94	-7
WR88	Donovan Peoples-Jones	CLE	52	410	4	101	6	291	94	-6
WR89	Tyron Johnson	LAC	44	392	4	97	6	291	94	-5
WR90	Kadarius Toney	NYG	70	535	4	127	6	261	86	4
WR91	Van Jefferson	LAR	72	519	4	120	6	275	91	0
WR92	Keke Coutee	HOU	67	548	4	126	6	243	82	10
WR93	Byron Pringle	KC	55	502	3	111	6	291	94	-1
WR94	Josh Reynolds	TEN	51	369	3	84	6	271	90	4
WR95	Darius Slayton	NYG	61	455	3	97	6	236	80	15
WR96	Keelan Cole	NYJ	72	525	3	112	6	291	94	2
WR97	AJ Green	ARI	83	596	3	125	6	186	66	31
WR98	Deonte Harris	NO	66	482	3	122	6	291	94	4
WR99	Damiere Byrd	CHI	63	428	2	95	6	291	94	5
WR100	Adam Humphries	WAS	47	337	3	85	6	291	94	6
WR101	Scott Miller	TB	50	444	3	89	6	291	94	7
WR102	Amari Rodgers	GB	35	271	2	63	7	291	94	8
WR103	Demarcus Robinson	KC	32	257	2	58	7	262	87	16
WR104	Tim Patrick	DEN	40	313	2	66	7	291	94	10
WR105	Quintez Cephus	DET	36	292	2	62	7	291	94	11
WR106	Miles Boykin	BAL	27	216	2	50	7	291	94	12
WR107	Desean Jackson	LAR	41	334	3	74	7	269	89	18
WR108	Ihmir Smith-Marsette	MIN	41	333	2	74	7	291	94	14
WR109	Quez Watkins	PHI	29	228	2	50	7	291	94	15
WR110	D'Wayne Eskridge	SEA	46	339	3	84	7	291	94	16
WR111	Travis Fulgham	PHI	44	352	2	71	7	291	94	17
WR112	N'Keal Harry	NE	46	326	3	76	7	291	94	18
WR113	Kendrick Bourne	NE	54	419	3	92	7	291	94	19
WR114	Allen Lazard	GB	48	412	3	92	7	253	85	29
WR115	David Moore	CAR	43	326	3	76	7	291	94	21
WR116	Rashard Higgins	CLE	34	264	2	60	7	291	94	22
WR117	John Brown	LVR	37	319	3	70	7	241	81	36
WR118	Denzel Mims	NYJ	39	283	2	61	7	245	83	35
WR119	Collin Johnson	JAX	62	457	3	100	7	291	94	25
WR120	Simi Fehoko	DAL	16	110	1	28	7	291	94	26
WR121	Lil'Jordan Humphrey	NO	51	410	3	92	7	291	94	27
WR122	Isaiah Hodgins	BUF	31	234	2	59	7	291	94	28
WR123	Zach Pascal	IND	30	223	2	52	7	291	94	29
WR124	Cordarrelle Patterson	ATL	43	296	1	118	7	291	94	30
WR125	Andy Isabella	ARI	31	221	1	47	7	291	94	31
WR126	Chad Beebe	MIN	27	222	2	51	7	291	94	32
WR127	Chris Conley	HOU	34	269	2	59	7	291	94	33
WR128	Josh Palmer	LAC	13	109	1	23	7	277	92	36

 

Top Five Negative Differences (Top 5 Tiers)

1)     Michael Thomas | My Rank (71) | ADP (30) | I’ve probably gone a bit too far, but Thomas was knocked out for most of the season last year with his high ankle sprain and he and Saints have bungled the injury once again by delaying surgery to the point it affects the season. He’s a league winner if he comes back healthy and returns to form.

2)     Russell Gage | My Rank (78) | ADP (56) | Gage is nominally the second receiver in the Atlanta offense but I think outside of Ridley, Pitts, and Davis I’m not sure I believe or want any other non-Ryan parts of this offense.

3)     DeVante Parker | My Rank (76) | ADP (54) | Parker is the odd man out of the reshuffling and retooling. Fuller and Waddle are more talented, Gaskin has a role out of the backfield, which leaves Parker in the muddle of Preston Williams, Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen, and Albert Wilson as secondary parts of the Dolphins passing game.

4)     Jalen Reagor | My Rank (77) | ADP (59) | Reagor has post-hype sleeper energy and has looked admittedly more comfortable in camp, but he’ll have to perform outside as the Eagles have Ertz and Goedert at TE and presumably the middle of the field. I was never the biggest fan of Reagor’s but I don’t think he’s devoid of talent, just in a difficult situation that could make opportunities, and redemption, more difficult to come by.

5)     Mecole Hardman | My Rank (68) | ADP (51) | Hardman is in a perpetual state of upside without payoff, he’s much more of a Hill replacement than he is a Watkins replacement. Which means he sees similar usage to the past couple of seasons more than soaking up vacated target share.

 

Top Five Positive Differences (Top 5 Tiers)

1)     Nico Collins | My Rank (55) | ADP (94) | I’m lumping the top three together because they’re the same type of differences. They all are at worst top three, I think top two, options on “meh” offenses with limited competition. Collins is a rookie, on a bad offense but he’s talented and he’s a steal if Watson plays at all for Houston…

2)     Bryan Edwards | My Rank (43) | ADP (74) | Edwards is the possession option in a receiver corps with Ruggs and John Brown. Yes, Darren Waller still exists but there are roughly 600 targets in Vegas and they need hands to catch them occasionally.

3)     Breshad Perriman | My Rank (56) | ADP (79) | Perriman had his best season of his career last year in New York and is battling with Swift, Williams, and rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown for the second most targets behind Hockenson.

4)     Jamison Crowder | My Rank (58) | ADP (78) | The Crowder discount has gone too far. I love Elijah Moore, and the addition of Corey Davis brings added competence on the outside. Will no real TE threat to take targets out of the middle of the field Crowder should still be a viable fantasy option if not the 120+ target threat he’s been the last couple of seasons.

5)     Gabriel Davis | My Rank (50) | ADP (67) | This one is simple, John Brown is gone and despite the addition of Emmanuel Sanders I don’t see how Davis doesn’t meet, and most likely surpass, 60+ targets and 600 yards (last year 62 targets, 599 yards), while being the primary vertical threat for Josh Allen.

6)     Sterling Shepard | My Rank (54) | ADP (71) | Shepard is WR2 for the Giants, should be the primary WR while Golladay is working himself back and see less focus from defenses as the offense evolves this season. Considering he’s currently going 12 picks short of Reagor is so incredibly weird to me.