Wide Receiver PPR Rankings for Fantasy Football Drafts

With the NFL season almost officially upon us, the RotoBaller team has compiled our fantasy football staff rankings for 2019, and it's time to look at our wide receivers!

Just like everything within the game of fantasy football, there are ebbs and flows within the industry when it comes to basic strategy. Part of your goal as an owner of a team is to decipher what is working and what is not. The ability to get ahead of these common trends can help decide championships, but it is not always as easy as it seems to solve the equation.

After years of gravitating towards the WR position taking over during preseason drafts, the door entirely sprung open in 2016. Of the top four players listed on ESPN's draft day cheat sheet, three of the spots belonged to wideouts, including Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr., who were going off the board in the first and second positions during most drafts. However, that window did not stay open for long and quickly moved back to the more generic RB-heavy approach in 2018. What I am trying to get at is even though there is a consensus around who the big-three players are this season, this trend will not last forever. I've always been more of a proponent when it comes to an aggressive WR approach and wouldn't be surprised to see the script of what is acceptable flip itself upside down once again next season if one of these pass catchers can earn the right to be considered in the top spot in 2020.

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!

 

Updated PPR Wide Receiver Rankings - Redraft

Below are RotoBaller's consensus staff rankings for the 2019 fantasy football season. These rankings are compiled by Nick Mariano, Pierre Camus, Scott Engel, Bill Dubiel, Dominick Petrillo, Spencer Aguiar, and Kev Mahserejian.

In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was the #11 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season, and #9 overall in 2017. Additionally, industry legend Scott Engel recently joined the RotoBaller team and provides his insights as well. Scott is an FSWA Hall Of Famer and award winner.

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player Name	Position Tier	Overall Tier
1	4	DeAndre Hopkins	1	1
2	7	Julio Jones	1	1
3	8	Davante Adams	1	1
4	10	Michael Thomas	2	2
5	11	Odell Beckham Jr.	2	2
6	12	JuJu Smith-Schuster	2	2
7	16	Tyreek Hill	2	2
8	18	Mike Evans	2	2
9	21	Keenan Allen	3	3
10	22	T.Y. Hilton	3	3
11	23	Adam Thielen	3	3
12	25	Stefon Diggs	3	3
13	26	Antonio Brown	3	3
14	32	Julian Edelman	3	3
15	33	Amari Cooper	3	3
16	34	Brandin Cooks	4	4
17	36	Robert Woods	4	4
18	41	Chris Godwin	4	4
19	42	Kenny Golladay	4	4
20	43	Cooper Kupp	4	4
21	44	Tyler Lockett	4	4
22	50	Alshon Jeffery	4	4
23	51	Allen Robinson	5	5
24	52	Tyler Boyd	5	5
25	55	D.J. Moore	5	5
26	58	Calvin Ridley	5	5
27	59	Jarvis Landry	5	5
28	62	Mike Williams	5	5
29	66	A.J. Green	6	5
30	70	Robby Anderson	6	5
31	73	Sammy Watkins	6	6
32	74	Dante Pettis	6	6
33	75	Corey Davis	6	6
34	76	Marvin Jones	6	6
35	77	Sterling Shepard	6	6
36	80	Josh Gordon	6	6
37	84	Christian Kirk	6	6
38	87	Curtis Samuel	6	6
39	88	Larry Fitzgerald	6	6
40	90	Will Fuller	6	6
41	94	Dede Westbrook	7	7
42	100	Courtland Sutton	7	7
43	103	Michael Gallup	7	7
44	104	Keke Coutee	7	7
45	106	Geronimo Allison	7	7
46	107	Anthony Miller	7	7
47	108	Emmanuel Sanders	7	7
48	109	Golden Tate	7	7
49	119	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	8	8
50	120	Donte Moncrief	8	8
51	123	DeSean Jackson	8	8
52	124	Tyrell Williams	8	8
53	131	N'Keal Harry	8	8
54	133	Daesean Hamilton	8	9
55	134	Kenny Stills	8	9
56	138	Jamison Crowder	8	9
57	141	Devin Funchess	8	9
58	144	James Washington	8	9
59	151	Albert Wilson	8	9
60	154	Adam Humphries	8	10
61	155	Quincy Enunwa	8	10
62	160	Tre'Quan Smith	9	10
63	162	Robert Foster	9	10
64	163	D.K. Metcalf	9	10
65	164	John Brown	9	10
66	167	Mohamed Sanu	9	10
67	178	Randall Cobb	9	11
68	180	Parris Campbell	9	11
69	181	Marquise Goodwin	9	11
70	183	Zay Jones	9	11
71	185	Trey Quinn	9	11
72	186	Devante Parker	9	11
73	200	Deebo Samuel	10	11
74	203	Taylor Gabriel	10	11
75	204	Andy Isabella	10	11
76	205	David Moore	10	11
77	212	Ted Ginn	10	12
78	215	John Ross	10	12
79	217	Mecole Hardman	10	12
80	218	A.J. Brown	11	12
81	219	Nelson Agholor	11	12
82	220	Marquise Brown	11	12
83	227	Equanimeous St. Brown	11	12
84	228	Terry McLaurin	11	12
85	230	D.J. Chark	11	12
86	231	Marqise Lee	11	12
87	233	Antonio Callaway	11	12
88	234	J.J. Arcega-Whiteside	11	12
89	235	Rashard Higgins	11	12
90	236	Paul Richardson	11	12
91	239	Chad Beebe	11	12
92	241	Miles Boykin	11	12
93	242	Corey Coleman	11	12
94	243	Willie Snead	11	12
95	244	Travis Benjamin	11	13
96	245	Josh Reynolds	12	13
97	246	Cole Beasley	12	13
98	250	Hunter Renfrow	12	13
99	257	Danny Amendola	12	13
100	262	Demaryius Thomas	12	13
101	267	Deon Cain	12	13
102	268	Hakeem Butler	12	13
103	276	Maurice Harris	12	14
104	279	Jalen Hurd	12	14
105	281	Chris Conley	12	14
106	286	Chris Moore	12	14
107	289	Josh Doctson	12	14
108	291	Keelan Cole	12	14
109	292	Keesean Johnson	12	14
110	297	Brice Butler	12	14
111	298	Phillip Dorsett	12	14
112	299	Taywan Taylor	11	14
113	302	Breshad Perriman	11	14
114	306	Chris Hogan	11	14
115	308	Justin Watson	11	14
116	311	Jakobi Meyers	12	14
117	318	Tajae Sharpe	12	15
118	320	Cody Latimer	12	15
119	321	Demarcus Robinson	12	15
120	325	Jaron Brown	12	15
121	327	Preston Williams	13	15
122	328	Trent Taylor	13	15
123	335	Trent Sherfield	13	15
124	338	Cordarrelle Patterson	13	15
125	340	Ryan Switzer	13	15
126	342	Dez Bryant	13	15
127	347	Jake Kumerow	13	15
128	352	Bennie Fowler	13	15
129	355	Diontae Johnson	13	15
130	356	Michael Crabtree	13	15
131	363	Pierre Garcon	13	16
132	368	Kelvin Benjamin	13	16
133	372	Kelvin Harmon	13	16
134	375	Keith Kirkwood	13	16
135	381	Alex Erickson	14	16
136	382	Russell Shepard	14	16
137	384	Emmanuel Butler	14	16
138	386	Seth Roberts	14	16
139	387	Tavon Austin	14	16
140	389	Cameron Meredith	14	16
141	390	Jordan Taylor	14	16
142	393	Andre Roberts	14	16
143	395	J.J. Nelson	14	16
144	397	J'mon Moore	14	16
145	398	Riley Ridley	14	16
146	406	Jarius Wright	14	16
147	407	Kendrick Bourne	14	17
148	411	Ryan Grant	14	17
149	412	Braxton Berrios	14	17
150	415	Auden Tate	14	17
151	416	Darius Slayton	14	17
152	417	Jakeem Grant	14	17
153	419	Juwann Winfree	14	17
154	423	Emanuel Hall	14	17
155	428	Charles Johnson	14	17
156	431	Rishard Matthews	14	17
157	433	Aldrick Robinson	14	17
158	435	Jordan Matthews	14	17
159	437	Marvin Hall	14	17
160	440	Josh Bellamy	14	17
161	441	Eli Rogers	14	17
162	442	Kevin White	14	17
163	444	Josh Malone	14	17
164	445	Austin Carr	14	17
165	450	Marcell Ateman	14	18
166	451	Keelan Doss	14	18
167	453	Tim Patrick	14	18
168	454	Daurice Fountain	14	18
169	458	Brandon Powell	14	18
170	459	Chester Rogers	14	18
171	460	Dontrelle Inman	14	18
172	465	Deandre Carter	14	18
173	466	Mack Hollins	14	18
174	467	Torrey Smith	14	18
175	468	Cody Core	14	18
176	469	Byron Pringle	14	18
177	470	Richie James	14	18
178	471	Justin Hardy	14	18
179	472	Isaiah McKenzie	14	18
180	473	Bruce Ellington	14	18
181	477	Noah Brown	14	18
182	478	Allen Hurns	14	18
183	479	Gary Jennings	14	18
184	480	Laquon Treadwell	14	18
185	481	Zach Pascal	14	18
186	482	Vyncint Smith	14	18
187	484	Anthony Johnson	14	18
188	487	Scott Miller	14	18
189	488	Allen Lazard	14	18
190	490	Darius Jennings	14	18
191	493	Chad Williams	14	18
192	496	Damion Ratley	14	18

 

Tier One

DeAndre Hopkins is listed as our top-ranked wide receiver, but this did not come as a unanimous selection. Three of our seven experts ranked Hopkins within the top six overall players and first WR off their board, although three of us, myself included, had the Texans wideout placed exactly 10th overall. Hopkins' safety is unquestioned, his floor is about as high as anyone at the position when we consider all factors, but there was another player that we will get to later that garnered three first-place votes himself.

At this point in Julio Jones' career, I am not sure what else we can say. Five straight seasons of at least 1,409 yards have highlighted who he is as a player, but if we are looking for any sort of a negative to place on the 30-year-old outside of injury potential, Jones has only recorded an average of 6.2 TDs per year since 2014. If we ever experience a season where Jones jumps off the board with positive touchdown regression, watch out!

Rounding out our tier-one pass catchers is Davante Adams. The 26-year-old was our most divisive of the three wideouts, coming in ranked first on my list to go along with two others but was also featured outside the top-four at the position by two of our experts. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm a huge fan of Adams this season. If we extrapolated his worst fantasy performance of 2018 out over a 16-game campaign, he still would have finished as WR13 for the season. In my opinion, there is no safer player to grab than Adams, and I believe he should be the first player off your board after the big three RBs.

 

Tier Two

There is a slight dropoff between tier one and tier two, but nobody should be shocked if we see a few of these guys challenge for the season-long points title. Michael Thomas' catch rate of 85 percent last season might be on the high-end of what to expect this year, but his floor presents him as one of the safest options on the board at any position. New Orleans' offense isn't quite what it used to be from a tempo standpoint, ranking 29th in the league in seconds per play in 2018, but Thomas is locked in for 140+ targets on a high-scoring offense.

Speaking of targets, Odell Beckham Jr. is a wild card when it comes to what we should expect in 2019. I have him projected to receive a 26.2% target share in Cleveland's offense - good for 147 pass attempts, but those numbers might need to see a small increase if he wants a chance to enter tier-one potential. The Browns featured the fifth quickest-paced offense in 2018, running a play every 26.99 seconds, so there is a possibility that Beckham could see a boost in production with the sheer number of snaps the offense has the potential to reach.

I am the third-lowest on the team when it comes to Tyreek Hill, ranking him 15th overall, but you can't count out the speedster from being able to emerge from the pack. My biggest concern for the Chiefs wideout comes down to two factors. For starters, we aren't looking at a player that is going to bring in much more than 140 targets on the year. He is a big-play threat that can take it to the house anytime he touches the ball, but there is a lack of opportunity available compared to some of the other big names in this section. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Hill's 13 touchdowns last season exceeded his expected value by 6.3 scores, making him a prime candidate to suffer some regression in 2019. None of this is meant to talk you out of selecting him since he is still my WR8, but his weekly floor is about as boom-or-bust as anyone you will find in this range.

And then we have Juju Smith-Schuster and Mike Evans, who are two of my favorite players to pinpoint because of their potential workloads. For what it is worth, I don't expect either to be wildly effective in their roles, but both players have a chance to see over 170 targets on the year, and that alone makes them valuable assets to consider.

 

Tier Three

Tier three is where we get to three players that are going to cause a ton of discussion moving forward. I am thrilled that we were able to get Julian Edelman to sneak into this section because I do have him as my WR9 this season and believe he deserves to be included at the top-end of this mix, and while my views might be somewhat different from the others when it comes to where exactly Keenan Allen, Adam Thielen, and Stefon Diggs should be ranked, you aren't going to hear any gripes from me with them being listed in this segment.

Sadly, things are not so easy when it comes to T.Y. Hilton, Antonio Brown, and Amari Cooper. Hilton is the only one that is actually healthy at this moment from the group, but the question marks that surround his QB make him one of the most dangerous players to touch at his current ADP. We've seen this story before with Hilton struggling to perform as a top-tier WR without Luck healthy, and you should be closely monitoring his situation as your draft approaches.

I am stealing this quote from our very own Garage Guy Chase here at RotoBaller because it is so good, but it is almost as if Antonio Brown is out here trying to get nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal on 'Hard Knocks.' I legitimately don't even know what is going on anymore with the 31-year-old, and it is evident that the seven of us here at RotoBaller feel the same confusion. Two of us have Brown ranked inside the top 20 (myself included), two between 21 and 23 and three between 31 and 39. It is going to come down to how much of a gamble you are willing to take. I wouldn't blame you for ignoring him, but I also look at his skill and potential and have issues with moving him too far down my board.

As far as Amari Cooper is concerned, I had him ranked 38th overall before the announcement that he was dealing with plantar fascia irritation. I haven't budged quite yet on moving him down further because I assume this is something that he will be able to play through and hopefully get improved by the time the season rolls around, but I wouldn't be jumping for joy if I had my eyes on the former Alabama product. I am out at his current ADP of 32, but I seem to be in the minority on that statement when it comes to our team.

 

Tier Four

We have a large group here in tier four, featuring three Rams wideouts and some high-upside options on other teams. Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods just missed out on tier three of our rankings, and I could argue that both deserve to be considered for the back-end of that tier. All our rankers placed Woods in the 30s, while Cooks did see more variance, coming in between 28th and 40th.

In my opinion, all the players in this range possess WR1 upside, but we are about at the time where opinions begin to change drastically from one ranker to the next. Chris Godwin has an opening for targets in Tampa Bay, but he is still the number two wideout behind Mike Evans. Cooper Kupp is the perceived third option in the passing game behind the aforementioned Cooks and Woods, and a player like Tyler Lockett is stuck on a run-first team where targets will be limited. The point I am trying to make is that nobody occupies a perfect path for production. For me, Cooks, Woods, Godwin, Golladay, and Kupp would have probably been where I drew my line on this tier, but we have so many opinions going on that one of the other writers could present a completely different take and make just as robust of an argument. It is essential to go with your gut, and I think our diverse range shows just how many variables are possible.

 

Tier Five

Tier five features Allen Robinson, Calvin Ridley, Jarvis Landry, Mike Williams, A.J. Green, Robby Anderson, Sammy Watkins, and Dante Pettis. For myself, I have a hard time including Pettis into this range. All reports out of San Francisco have centered around Pettis struggling to find a rhythm during training camp and word has it that his starting job isn't entirely safe. I wouldn't go that far, but red flags are beginning to form around the 23-year-old.

Robby Anderson and Sammy Watkins are high-risk/high-reward selections that can be had around pick 75. That value sounds about right given their volatile nature, and while they aren't exactly my favorite candidates for consistent production, I have no issues with them serving as a back-end WR3 or WR4 for your team. Give them a considerable boost in best-ball leagues, but it would be nice if both units could find a way to make them less one dimensional.

I have A.J. Green ranked a little higher than the rest of the group but agree he should be a WR3 when you do finally pull the trigger. I believe we end up seeing him miss a few games before eventually returning, and WR29 is a very acceptable place to take a chance on the star-studded Bengals wideout.

Jarvis Landry, Mike Williams, Calvin Ridley, and Allen Robinson are all WR3s for me also, but I do expect Ridley and Williams to suffer some slight touchdown regression. Both players exceeded their expected value by more than five scores last year, but that anticipated reduction is already being baked into their current ADPs, so I wouldn't downgrade them based off of that information.

 

Tier Six

Minus Larry Fitzgerald, tier six would be a blast to own in best-ball leagues. Marvin Jones is in a great spot to rebound after his disappointing 2018 season and is worth a swing for the fences at his ADP of 95th overall. Will Fuller hasn't finished any of the last three seasons better than WR61, but if he can stay healthy, he has shown the metrics to provide a breakout campaign for the Texans. In 2018, Fuller finished first in true catch rate, second in yards per target and 10th in yards per reception.

Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald will have to fight for targets on the Cardinals, but there should be enough targets to go around for both. If I was shooting for pure upside, the choice is obviously Kirk, but Fitzgerald is still as sure-handed as ever and isn't going away. And perhaps no player has received more buzz than Curtis Samuel this offseason. I think he will be terrific at times, but it all comes down to where you are able to snag the third-year wide receiver. I prefer him in the eighth or ninth round, but it never shocks me anymore to see some of the places where people are willing to select him. He will still most likely be third in the pecking order behind Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore, so I would be careful when it comes to overdrafting him and taking away his upside.

 

Tier Seven and Beyond

Three rankers have Dede Westbrook listed between 57 and 78, while four have him ranked 96th to 181st. I'm a huge believer in the 25-year-old this season and would have placed him in the same tier as Calvin Ridley and Mike Williams. There seems to be a strong possibility that he could challenge a 23 to 25 percent target share in Jacksonville's offense, and that presents him the upside to finish the year as a WR2.

At the time of our rankings being released, Josh Gordon had not been reinstated back into the NFL. Not everyone has ranked him quite yet, but there seems to be a broad spectrum of outcomes between the few that have. One ranker has him 48th overall, one has him 84th and I have him placed 98th (WR46.) That is obviously on the pessimistic side of things, but I have a difficult time envisioning a scenario where he is posting much higher than a 17.5% target share in New England's offense. Perhaps the Patriots shock the NFL and sling it around the field over 550 times, but between Gordon's off the field issues and Brady's regression in throwing the deep ball, I have a hard time pulling the trigger as anything other than a WR4 for my squad. Here are my projections for him in 2019:

WR	Targets	Receptions	Average	Yards	Rec. TD	Rush Yards	Rush TD	PPR Projection
Josh Gordon	94	53	16.8	890.4	4	0	0	166.04

Last but not least, I am a fan of the values we can get on Donte Moncrief, Daesean Hamilton, Albert Wilson, and Jamison Crowder, to name a few options. Hamilton and Wilson are going undrafted in some setting but have the opportunity to produce as WR3s for your fantasy teams this season. Their upside may not be as high as other alternatives that can be had late, but both players possess a massive window of value for those searching to find a PPR specialist.

More Fantasy Football Analysis

Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.