The Fantasy Footballers Rankings: WRs Part 2 Recap
The Fantasy Footballers continued breaking down their WR rankings this week. If you missed 1-10 you can listen here or read the recap that Matthew Betz did here. This time around they cover 11-20 and if you haven’t had time to listen to the episode yet, I’ll recap the entire show below.
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11. Adam Thielen – Andy: 15 / Jason: 11 / Mike: 13
Current ADP: 3.06 / WR9
Injuries killed his 2019 after finishing top-10 in 2017 and 2018 and now he enters the season without Stefon Diggs on the other side of the field. The Vikings transitioned to a very low passing volume team in 2019 and it certainly affected their WRs for fantasy. Thielen ended up finishing as the WR61, though the injuries played a big part in that, missing six games. Through the first six games, he had 391 yards and 6 TDs, though he was only on pace for 60 receptions. Now that there is no 1a/1b situation, Thielen will be the first look and that should help his own volume, even in the low pass volume environment. With the Vikings defense likely to take a step back, they should be throwing more than last year as well.
12. Cooper Kupp – Andy: 10 / Jason: 9 / Mike: 22
Current ADP: 4.04 / WR15
Another solid year in 2019 but his numbers came way down in the 2nd half of the season. As the team started running more two-TE sets, Kupp’s snap counts dropped pretty severely. Kupp thrives in the slot and in 12 personnel, there are fewer opportunities there. Kupp is very TD dependent and he is a favorite red-zone target but it’s hard banking on TDs all the time, though Kupp has delivered. The faith for Kupp comes from a faith in Sean McVay. He knows football and he will put Kupp in a position to succeed.
13. Allen Robinson II – Andy: 11 / Jason: 21 / Mike: 9
Current ADP: 3.12 / WR12
Robinson is a guy that is undervalued every year…and usually stuck with the wrong QB every year. There is hope that he could be buoyed (Shout out to Sam Bowie) by the addition of Nick Foles but we aren’t even sure he gets the job. Robinson was on the field 94% of the snaps in 2019 and if the QB play improves, there is hope that he can repeat his 2019, maybe even improve. However, two years ago, Robinson was not nearly as good as he was in 2019. The truth about Robinson likely lies in the middle of those two seasons.
14. Mike Evans – Andy: 14 / Jason: 19 / Mike: 8
Current ADP: 3.03 / WR8
Jason fully owns up to dragging Evans down the consensus. He loves Evans, understands he is a great WR, but cannot find the way to move him up his rankings. While he is great, he also plays with another great WR in Chris Godwin. There were times when Evans flat out disappeared in 2019. Evans is not a high volume guy, he is a big-play guy and that could hurt him with Tom Brady at QB. Typically, new QBs do very well in Bruce Arians’ system, so there is no reason to expect a step back in this offense but the question is: Can Brady throw the deep ball?
Getty Images / Frederick Breedon
15. DJ Chark Jr – Andy: 18 / Jason: 12 / Mike: 11
Current ADP: 5.02 / WR20
Arguably one of the best values at WR heading into 2020. Chark is a former 2nd Round pick that seemingly came out of nowhere last year. Gardner Minshew was 6-6 as a starter last year and had the best passer rating in the NFL on deep throws. From weeks 1-11, Chark was the WR5. He has already broken out, you’re just not drafting him that way. Chark was the best separator in the league last year, he gets open downfield, which likely helped Minshew’s passer rating.
16. A.J. Brown – Andy: 13 / Jason: 17 / Mike: 18
Current ADP: 4.08 / WR18
You are living the boom-or-bust life with A.J. Brown. The biggest question around Brown is: what Ryan Tannehill will you get? Brown took off once Tannehill took over and had over 20 YPC, which he is unlikely to repeat. He paced for 66 receptions once he started to really take off in Week 12. He’s a perfect WR2 in fantasy football and right now his ADP isn’t overinflated.
17. Calvin Ridley – Andy: 16 / Jason: 16 / Mike: 16
Current ADP: 4.05 / WR16
The world feels the exact same about Calvin Ridley. Each of the hosts has him ranked at 16 and his ADP is WR16. He is one of only eight WRs to have 17+ TDs and 1,600+ yards combined in his first two seasons. He was the WR25 last season but only played 13 games, he actually paced as a WR1 in 2019. With the departures of Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper, we are almost certain to see more volume head Ridley’s way. Could he be this year’s Chris Godwin? After the Falcons traded Sanu, Ridley averaged 6 receptions and 82 yards per game last year.
18. Odell Beckham Jr. – Andy: 19 / Jason: 14 / Mike: 15
Current ADP: 3.09 / WR10
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Between injuries and disappointment, Beckham was the WR26 last year. You no longer have to pay a premium for him. With this new offense, it is hard to project the kind of targets that would be needed to make him a top-tier guy again. The talent is still there and he was hurt pretty much all of last season, so there is hope for a bounce-back in 2020. There are just so many questions surrounding his situation.
19. T.Y. Hilton – Andy: 17 / Jason: 16 / Mike: 19
Current ADP: 5.09 / WR24
Hilton is one of Andy’s favorite picks in any fantasy drafts. He is an excellent WR2 with WR1 upside. He is being drafted at his floor with a better QB coming into 2020. There has already been an injury scare in 2020, but he has been activated and is good-to-go. The addition of Philip Rivers means there will be more, and better, deep balls and that will lead to more fantasy points for Hilton. Injury concerns are the only thing keeping Hilton down in most rankings.
20. Juju Smith-Schuster – Andy: 28 / Jason: 13 / Mike: 25
Current ADP: 3.11 / WR11
Jason is by far the highest on Juju heading into the season but nobody loves his ADP right now. The return of Ben Roethlisberger is the best hope for a return to glory for Smith-Schuster. Juju is best suited for the slot role and Ben knows how to use him in that role. Last year was a disappointment for Juju, to say the least, but so was the entire offense. If you draft him at his current, you have to play him, but it’s hard to imagine he ever hits the target numbers he put up in 2018. Unfortunately, right now, his risk is not reflected in his ADP.