Wide Receiver (WR) Fantasy Football Rankings

There are a number of wide receivers who can be drafted with confidence early on this season, and guys like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and DeAndre Hopkins have been consistently elite. Stefon Diggs has joined that top tier after a breakthrough season in his first year with the Bills. Young wide receivers such as Calvin Ridley, Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, and Terry McLaurin are on the cusp of joining this group, as well.

While there are a number of wide receivers who I like in the first or second round this year, I don’t have to think too hard to decide that Davante Adams is my favorite. He finished as the WR1 last year despite missing two games and is attached to one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers. Adams and Rodgers posted an image of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on Instagram over the offseason, and if this is their “Last Dance”, it’s going to lead to a heap of fantasy points.

Generally, a fantasy league is going to roster between two and four wide receivers. You have your FLEX spots that can include a wide receiver, but it also depends on if you have to roster two or three true wide receiver spots. Either way, having some depth at the position is not a bad idea. It gives you options on a week-to-week basis, where receivers can be more matchup dependent than other positions. It gives you the flexibility to start someone against a weaker defense that was on your bench over a weekly starter who is in a matchup against the top secondary in the league. I would shoot between 5-7 wide receivers on a standard roster. Once the season gets going and bye weeks kick in, it is always nice to have some options.

When looking at your WR1, you are going to want a player who brings you stability on a weekly basis. They can get to that 14-15 fantasy point mark generally without having to find the end zone to get there. DeAndre Hopkins is great at this as he averaged 7.1 catches for 87.9 yards last season. This puts you on a weekly floor of about 16 fantasy points in PPR leagues. Hopkins is also a great mix of upside because he has those games where he can produce 100+ receiving yards and find the end zone. Generally, the Tier One and Two receivers are going to give you that perfect balance.

Now looking at the position as a whole, volume is your best friend. It is no surprise to see most of the top scorers also rank high in targets. When receivers see 8+ targets a week, this is good news for their fantasy potential. The lower you go, the more dependent they are on those big home run plays or finding the end zone. Allen Robinson was a great example of that, where he had to deal with poor quarterback play from Mitch Trubisky and Allen Robinson, and while the efficiency wasn’t great, he finished 9th in PPR fantasy scoring. If Robinson’s volume wasn’t as high, there is no way he is producing the fantasy production that he did. If there is a lack of volume, you want to find the efficiency and also the opportunity for the home run balls, like a Will Fuller.

Red zone targets are also something to keep an eye on, as you can find most of the big named fantasy scorers were also high in red zone targets. Teams with bad defenses also can produce more fantasy points in the passing game. We saw a lot of fantasy-relevant wide receivers from teams with bad defenses for that reason. Teams that throw a low amount, you have to focus on where the volume is going. Minnesota doesn’t throw a ton, but Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen get the bulk of it.

There are three different popular fantasy football formats including standard, half-PPR, and full PPR. Each of the three will alter the projections and rankings of fantasy players. Here’s an example of how drastically the rankings can be affected, with two 2020 players used:

Player A’s Scoring

PPR - WR23
Half-PPR - WR19
Standard - WR14

Player B’s Scoring

PPR - WR16
Half-PPR - WR18
Standard - WR22

Chase Claypool is Player A and JuJu Smith-Schuster is Player B. Claypool only had 62 catches last year, but he had 873 yards and 11 total touchdowns from scrimmage. Smith-Schuster, meanwhile, had 97 catches but for only 831 yards and 9 touchdowns. Whether you were in a standard or PPR league, it drastically altered which of the two Steelers’ teammate was more valuable to your team. Make sure you know what scoring format your league uses.