Fantasy Football: Post-NFL Draft WR Depth Chart
2018’s rookie class is highly regarded as a deep running back class. However, there’s still some interesting talent entering the league at the wide receiver position. The NFL Draft never disappoints, providing excitement and intrigue about your NFL’s team’s new additions to the roster. Now that the dust has settled, I’ve provided an updated depth chart for each team’s wide receivers. I’ll highlight a few of the biggest changes for fantasy purposes in more detail below, but for a more detailed view of the depth chart before the NFL Draft, check out my article here. You can also view my updated running back depth chart here.
[lptw_table id=”53420″ style=”default”]Veteran Winners
I’ll preface the ‘veteran winners’ section with saying that these “winners” may not be top tier options in fantasy leagues. However, these players find themselves with either more opportunity or another opportunity to produce in 2018. So, here we go!
DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins
The hype train surrounding Parker seems to have yet one more year to fuel the engine. Parker has shown flashes throughout his time in Miami but has yet to live up to the hype surrounding him ever since he entered the NFL in 2015. Miami is definitely in the midst of a rebuild, so they could have added some talent at the receiver position, but they chose to go in other directions. It looks like Parker will have one last chance to prove he’s for real in the NFL.
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
Disclaimer: This is assuming Andrew Luck is back in 2018, but that’s a topic for another day. After letting Donte Moncrief walk in free agency, the Colts have a hole to fill at their WR2 position. They could have easily chosen a top receiver in this class, but they chose to address other positions (which was a smart move in my opinion). If Luck is back, T.Y. will dominate targets and should be a top 10 fantasy option at the position in 2018.
Josh Doctson, Washington Redskins
The Redskins offense will look very different in 2018. They’ve got a new quarterback in Alex Smith, a new running back in Derrius Guice, and a new receiver in Paul Richardson. However, they chose to pass on top tier receiver talent in the NFL Draft, leaving Josh Doctson the opportunity to be Alex Smith’s number one option this season. He was drafted in 2016 to be the team’s top option in the receiving game. Can he live up to these expectations in 2018?
Rookie Winners
Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals
Kirk was drafted in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals and finds himself in a dream scenario. He projects as a slot receiver in the NFL, and he gets to learn from arguably the best slot receiver in the league in Larry Fitzgerald. Kirk could push for playing time early given the lack of talent ahead of him on the depth chart, but he will need to play on the outside to find fantasy relevance in 2018.
Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons
Just like Kirk, Ridley finds himself in a situation where he gets to learn from one of the best in Julio Jones. The Falcons’ first round pick should start immediately across from Jones while Mohamed Sanu slides back into the slot. With defenses providing extra attention to Jones across the field, Ridley should face single coverage and find success early in his NFL career.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
After the NFL Draft, Gallup found himself in one of the most wide receiver friendly depth charts in the league. When the Cowboys released Dez Bryant, they were left with a major hole in their roster with the WR1 position completely up for grabs. For now, Allen Hurns and Terrance Williams should start, but Gallup could easily earn a starting role early in the season.