The Fantasy Footballers WR Rankings for 2019: Part 2
On Wednesday, The Fantasy Footballers finished out their Top 20 WR rankings. All of these ranks are the consensus of the 3 hosts personal rankings. The individual rankings for Andy, Mike, and Jason are listed with each player as well. A reminder from the Top 10 WRs show, these ranks are based on projected statistics, not personal preference. The guys have put in the hard work so you don’t have to…which happens to be the motto for the 2019 Ultimate Draft Kit (pro tip: BUY IT!)
11. Adam Thielen – MIN
Andy – 15 | Jason – 10 | Mike – 12
Current ADP: 3.04 / WR11
2018: Consistency Rank #13 — Season Finish WR7
16 games — 113/1373/9 on 155 targets
It was the tale of two halves for Mr. Hooked on a Thielen in 2018. In Weeks 1-9, nobody in the league could touch him and he was the overall WR1. Over the second half of the year, he disappeared. The debate on Thielen is whether or not you are comfortable having him as your WR1. He has the proven talent but with the Vikings likely transitioning to a much more run-heavy offense, the volume is the major question mark. He is not as bad as he was during 2018’s final eight weeks, but it is tough to predict how good he will be in 2019. Based on what we’ve seen over the last two seasons as a whole, the guys agree that he is the WR1 for Minnesota and you can draft him as your WR1.
12. Julian Edelman – NE
Andy – 17 | Jason – 12 | Mike – 9
Current ADP: 4.02 / WR15
2018: Consistency Rank #2 — Season Finish WR22
12 games — 74/850/6 on 108 targets
Andy starts the segment mentioning the reasons that Edelman is lower on his list than both Mike and Jason. His age and injury concerns make Andy question how likely it is that he plays a full season. Edelman has never finished better than the WR16, he is very PPR-dependent and TDs are not guaranteed to come his way. Neither Mike nor Jason necessarily disagrees, but the counter-argument is that during the weeks he DOES play, he will be a top-15 WR during those games. His target share is guaranteed and he is one of the safest players in fantasy football. He may not give you great games, but he will never give you a bad game.
13. Robert Woods – LAR
Andy – 14 | Jason – 11 | Mike – 13
Current ADP: 4.06 / WR17
2018: Consistency Rank #11 — Season Finish WR10
16 games — 86/1219/6 on 130 targets
For everything you need to know about Robert Woods, just listen to the live “My Guys” episode. Jason waxed poetically about his love of the St. Louis Rams WR (he hardly mentions the guy that plays in Los Angeles). The belief is that Woods is the Rams WR1 and being the WR1 for one of the top offenses in the league should lead to a top-15 season. The major question for Robert Woods is just figuring out how the Rams WR corps shakes out…which may come up later in the list.
14. Keenan Allen – LAC
Andy – 9 | Jason – 15 | Mike – 14
Current ADP: 3.01 / WR10
2018: Consistency Rank #17 — Season Finish WR12
16 games — 97/1196/6 on 136 targets
The converse of Julian Edelman, Andy is higher on Allen than Jason and Mike have him ranked. If Melvin Gordon misses time, Allen is likely to feast. He tends to gain three more targets and 25 yards, and about six fantasy points, in games that Melvin Gordon misses. The emergence of Mike Williams and the return of Hunter Henry hurt Allen’s TD upside. If the volume is there, he will be a top-15 guy.
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15. Amari Cooper – DAL
Andy – 10 | Jason – 16 | Mike – 16
Current ADP: 3.07 / WR13
2018: Consistency Rank #28 — Season Finish WR18
15 games — 75/1004/7 on 107 targets
Amari Cooper has already shown us what he is capable of, his problem is consistency. As Dallas’ offense improves, we should see a stabilization of Cooper’s floor and combining that with his insane BOOM weeks, he’ll win you a few fantasy matchups. He stats out great in Matt Harmon‘s Reception Perception (found in the Ultimate Draft Kit), which shows that he runs almost every route very well. He just needs to stop disappearing in games. The trust issues are tough to overcome as Mike and Jason admitted that they have Amari Cooper off their draft board altogether.
16. Stefon Diggs – MIN
Andy – 16 | Jason – 14 | Mike – 15
Current ADP: 3.12 / WR14
2018: Consistency Rank #16 — Season Finish WR11
15 games — 102/1021/9 on 150 targets
Last season, Diggs had the 3rd worst YPR in football. He became a short-yardage outlet in the offense and if that changes in 2019, which he has proven it can, he has a higher upside than he did last year. He will need to score TDs to keep his rankings high enough to match his ADP. He has a Jarvis Landry-esque floor, with a lot of receptions but not a lot of yards being very high in his range of outcomes.
17. Brandin Cooks – LAR
Andy – 13 | Jason – 17 | Mike – 17
Current ADP: 4.06 / WR16
2018: Consistency Rank #22 — Season Finish WR13
16 games — 80/1204/5 on 117 targets
Back-to-back Rams in the rankings, and three in the top 20. Cooks edges out Cooper Kupp in the Ballers consensus. Like Amari Cooper, Cooks gives you a roller coaster of Boom and Bust games. He fell apart to end 2018, much like Adam Thielen. His ADP makes him more stomachable but the threat of him disappearing keeps him a risk. With the turnover in the Rams offensive line, the deep-threat WR is most likely to suffer if the Rams offense takes a step back and that is most certainly Cooks’ ‘role in the offense.
18. Cooper Kupp – LAR
Andy – 19 | Jason – 20 | Mike – 19
Current ADP: 5.02 / WR21
2018: Consistency Rank #8 — Season Finish WR52
8 games — 40/566/6 on 56 targets
Through the first five weeks of the season, Kupp was the overall WR2. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL a few games later and we never got to see what might have been in 2018. Kupp is the red zone guy in this offense. He had 6 TDs in eight games in 2018, and 23 red-zone targets in 2017, scoring five TDs. If Gurley were to miss any time, Kupp could be a major benefactor in the TD department.
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
19. Tyler Lockett – SEA
Andy – 22 | Jason – 18 | Mike – 22
Current ADP: 5.03 / WR22
2018: Consistency Rank #19 — Season Finish WR15
16 games — 57/965/10 on 71 targets
Lockett had a very solid 2018, but the final numbers hardly compute with the volume. His targets remained the same but his yardage and TDs skyrocketed. Somehow, Lockett had more yards-after-catch than Air Yards, meaning he did more of the work on his receptions than his QB. It does not happen like that…EVER..and a repeat seems unlikely. But what is very possible, with the retirement of Doug Baldwin, is that he sees more target volume. He has great Reception Perception numbers and certainly has his QBs trust. At his current ADP, you are likely getting Lockett at his fantasy floor.
20. Kenny Golladay – DET
Andy – 21 | Jason – 22 | Mike – 21
Current ADP: 4.09 / WR18
2018: Consistency Rank #20 — Season Finish WR21
15 games — 70/1063/5 on 119 targets
To end the top-20, we get the smooth-jazz routes of Kenny G. Last year, Golladay’s preseason was full of hype. He finished with respectable numbers and finished as the WR21. This season, no one is talking about him, and he is being drafted as the WR21. Matt Stafford was one of the worst QBs in the league and seems primed to bounce back in 2019. If that happens, Golladay will have an even better season and could be a dominant WR for this Lions team. The only debate is how much will he and Marvin Jones split targets and will it devolve into a 1A/1B situation?
Check out how The Fantasy Footballers rank the rest of the WRs.
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