The 2017 Wide Receiver Landscape
About 45 wide receivers crack my “startable” list, meaning there’s some solid depth at the position. Yet, true, bonafide #1 target hogs are tough to come by, and this year there’s seven guys (Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, AJ Green, Jordy Nelson, and Michael Thomas) who I truly trust to be my #1 option; all the above names are worth consideration in round one. Sure, Dez Bryant, TY Hilton, and DeAndre Hopkins all make worthy second round selections to pair up with an ace runner, but each carries a few more warts than the names above them.
If I’ve decided to go RB, RB and build a stacked stable of horses (certainly viable), Amari Cooper, Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, and Doug Baldwin are all acceptable WR1s and well worth a late second round selection, but I’d want to be sure to invest heavily in the deep pool of upside WR2s. Tier Three starts at WR15 with Tyreek Hill (who’s criminally undervalued by the experts) and runs through WR21 with Martavis Bryant (similarly a steal right now). Either of those two, plus Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, Sammy Watkins, Terrelle Pryor, or Michael Crabtree can provide WR1 numbers, and all are ideal #2 WRs — many available far later than they should be. If you’ve secured one as a WR3, your team’s in seriously good-shape.
Yet, even if you miss on this tier, perhaps making up some RB ground if you went WR heavy early, Tier 4 features plenty of worthy WR2 options. This grouping opens with two of the most overrated prospects in Alshon Jeffery and Allen Robinson, who both carry real WR1 talent, but have many barriers to overcome in order to realize it. Overall, this tier is packed with less sexy, but higher floor options such as Golden Tate, Willie Snead, Julian Edelman, and Larry Fitzgerald to balance out a riskier squad. Consider any of these names in the late fourth, early fifth.
Though the above options bring a higher floor/ ceiling combination, plenty of enticing WR3s still remain in Tier 5. We are far higher on DeSean Jackson than most, and feel he’s the ideal WR3 with a week-winning ceiling and a buoyed out floor thanks to more creative usage (if you missed Trevor Sikkema, do yourself a favor and listen up). Stefon Diggs, Jarvis Landry (who we are far lower on, despite loving his talent), Brandon Marshall, and Emmanuel Sanders all join Jackson as these high-ceiling options that come with just enough floor to be considered WR3s. You could do a lot worse in round six.
From here, we turn our attention to the “Sexy Flexy’s,” who all carry too many question marks to initially be trusted as an every week starter, but definitely have the ceilings to explode. Any one of Donte Moncrief, Eric Decker, Corey Davis, and DeVante Parker could blow up for WR2, or even WR1, numbers if the cards fall right… but all come with borderline nothing floors. Any that fall into, or even past, round seven need to be gobbled up.
By now, I really hope I have at least three wideouts, as the talent drops significantly. This is especially true if my league rewards reception points AND comes with three WRs + a flex (meaning up to 48 WRs could be starting in a given week). Still, Kelvin Benjamin remains a startable option (especially if he loses weight), as do Quincy Enunwa, Ted Ginn, Mike Wallace, and Robert Woods. Gross, indeed, but still startable in a pinch.
The rest of the list ranks out 15 more “Penny Stocks” to throw on the bench for cheap in hopes of an explosion. Personal favorites include Josh Doctson, Breshad Perriman and John Brown. At this stage, shoot for the talent over anything, hoping the usage works itself out.
Overall, the wide receiver position is quite deep, but thins off fast after the top-40 options. The investing strategy really depends on what RBs are available early on, but I genuinely love the upside of Tier 3, and would have little problem rolling two out in my top WR spots if my backfield features two bonafide workhorses. As always, follow that draft flow.
This wraps up our 2017 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings & Stock Scores. Where is The Wolf insane? Where is he spot on? Are Jarvis Landry and Alshon Jeffery insultingly low? Do you agree Tyreek Hill is the real deal? Sound off below!
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