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Aaron Schillinger looks back at 2019's biggest surprises at the wide receiver position for fantasy football.
The wide receiver position was probably the most exciting position of the 2019 fantasy football seasons, with so many different breakouts and busts. We saw stud wide receivers like Odell Beckham and JuJu Smith-Schuster become extremely hard to trust and frustrating to own. We also saw a handful of rookie wide receivers out-perform their pre-season expectations and a handful of wide receivers come out of nowhere to finish with nice seasons.
In this piece, I'll touch on some of the biggest surprises we saw at the wide receiver position this year, for better or worse.
When you're done, read up on the biggest surprises at running back and tight end.
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Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
First up is one of my favorite assets in dynasty football at the moment and, as a Tampa Bay fan, someone I absolutely love. Heading into the 2019 fantasy football season, Godwin was someone who was a potential breakout candidate that fantasy owners were very excited about. It's safe to say that he lived up to expectations and then some. Godwin finished as the WR2 in both standard and PPR scoring leagues despite playing in 14 games after dealing with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Mike Evans played in 13 games and finished as the WR8 in standard and WR15 in PPR scoring leagues.
While Godwin appears to be an extremely talented wide receiver in a high-powered offense, I'd definitely temper expectations a bit. Evans technically played in 13 games, but that's including Week 14 and Week 15 where he didn't see the field for more than 23% of the snaps thanks to his hamstring injury. Both of these wide receivers can be productive in this offense, that's clear. As long as Jameis Winston returns and continues to air it out in Bruce Arians' offense, Godwin and Evans will both be great fantasy options. Let's just hope they can share production week-in and week-out a little more, rather than alternating each week.
D.J. Chark - Jacksonville Jaguars
Entering his second season in the NFL, it's safe to say that there weren't many fantasy owners targetting D.J. Chark in their drafts. The one wide receiver in Jacksonville that was being targeted late was Dede Westbrook, but the real winner in this offense was Chark. After Gardner Minshew was forced into action with Nick Foles getting injured in Week 1, Minshew took over and Chark was clearly his favorite wide receiver to target. Chark started off the season on fire and was a must-start option week in and week out. He became a bit inconsistent as the season progressed, but he still finished as the WR17 in PPR leagues and as the WR16 in standard-scoring leagues. He finished the season with 118 targets, 73 receptions, 1,008 yards, and eight touchdowns.
Chark was a nice surprise for fantasy owners and if you were lucky enough to grab him off the waiver wire, he was a great surprise as a borderline WR1 option all season long. It's hard to say if the Jags are sold on Minshew as their QB of the present but even if they don't make a move at the position, Chark showed he can shine.
Devante Parker, Miami Dolphins
Next up is DeVante Parker of the Miami Dolphins after his classic 'Year-Five Breakout' season. Parker was basically undrafted this year and has been a prospect that many owners loved as a rookie, but he really just never panned out. During his first four seasons, he was not even worth owning in fantasy leagues and the best finish he had was WR50 in PPR scoring leagues, which happened in 2016 and 2017. So naturally, Parker finished the season with a career-high in almost every category after being forgotten by fantasy owners. He finished with 128 targets, 72 receptions, 1,202 yards, and nine touchdowns. If you still play in standard-scoring leagues, he was even better as he finished as the WR6 in that format.
Parker was consistent pretty much all season long and was successful even against teams with tough pass defenses like the Patriots. With Ryan Fitzpatrick running this offense and a new coaching staff, it looks like we're seeing a whole new Parker, and as long as Fitzpatrick is the quarterback next year (he's already said he isn't retiring and wants to come back), I'd expect Parker to continue being productive in fantasy leagues.
Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns
After falling a bit to wayside when the team traded for Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry ending up being a positive surprise this year. He finished as the WR14 in standard scoring and as the WR12 in PPR leagues. Landry has always made his money in fantasy football with target volume alone but this year he broke that trend. The 138 targets he saw was the lowest number he’s seen in the past three years, yet Landry had a career-high in yards with 1,174.
His 83 receptions were the second-fewest number of receptions he’s recorded in his six years in the NFL. Landry finished the season with more targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns than Beckham did, which was definitely a surprise for fantasy owners. As a low-end WR1, Landry provided an excellent return on draft capital and should continue to produce in this offense moving forward.
John Brown, Buffalo Bills
The 29-year-old wide receiver now in Buffalo, John Brown, just had his most productive fantasy season of his six years in the NFL. Brown was one of the most consistent producers at the wide receiver position, finishing with just two games where he saw fewer than 10 fantasy points in PPR scoring (9.5 in Week 3 and 5.6 in Week 14). He finished the season as the WR19 in standard-scoring leagues and the WR20 in PPR leagues.
Over the past three seasons, Brown has finished as the WR45, WR86, and WR74. He's gone from being impossible to trust to becoming a very consistent option and that's largely due to the success we saw Josh Allen have this year. Brown saw a career-high in targets (115), receptions (72), and yards (1,060). I do expect the Bills address the wide receiver position over the off-season or in the 2020 NFL Draft, but Brown will be a nice complimentary piece of this offense and should continue to produce so long as he's in Buffalo with Allen.
2019 Rookies
It's tough to pick out just one rookie wide receiver who was a surprise this year, so I'm going to touch on a few. Heading into the 2019 season, this wide receiver draft class was not getting much hype and was really being viewed as a pretty underwhelming one.
A.J. Brown came on very strong over the second half of the season, developing a very nice rapport with Ryan Tannehill. Brown finished the season as the WR9 in standard scoring and as the WR21 in PPR scoring leagues.
Terry McLaurin took off early on and was fairly consistent over the season. He finished as the WR24 in standard scoring and as the WR29 in PPR scoring leagues.
Deebo Samuel is another one that came on strong over the second half of the season and looks like a very intriguing weapon for the 49ers. He's been involved in a big way during the playoffs and even as a runner in the Super Bowl; he should continue to be a weapon for that offense for years to come. Samuel finished as the WR26 in standard scoring and as the WR31 in PPR scoring leagues.
D.K. Metcalf is the main rookie that showed out this year. Although he may not be the most consistent player on a weekly basis, he's going to be a key piece of this Seahawks offense moving forward. Metcalf finished as the WR30 in Standard scoring and as the WR33 in PPR scoring leagues.
When you drafted your fantasy teams last offseason, there's probably a good chance that many of these rookies were either not drafted, or taken very late as late-round flyers. It'll be interesting to see where they get drafted next year, but all of these rookies showed flashes or put up enough production that they can't be ignored.
Honorable Mention Rookies: Darius Slayton (NYG) and Marquise Brown (BAL)
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