Top 10 Fantasy Wide Receivers for 2019

Wide receivers are the second-most important commodity in fantasy behind running backs. Employing two (and potentially three) high-end receivers is a time-tested strategy to ensure you’re in the mix come playoff time. There’s a whole lot of talent at the position right now, so it’s harder to go wrong with this position than others. Here are the 10 best receivers to pick up in your fantasy draft for the 2019 NFL season.

10. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

For all of the woes Kirk Cousins and the rest of the Vikings offense suffered through in 2018, Adam Thielen still further established himself as one of the top receivers the league has to offer and a Class A fantasy option. Despite sharing the receiving room with another elite talent in Stefon Diggs, Thielen was targeted 153 times and caught 113 balls — WR1 numbers. No matter the opponent or the quality of defense, Cousins will throw to Thielen, and there’s something to be said for consistency after he averaged 85 yards and seven catches per game.

His touchdown count (9) was high for a guy who can’t physically dominate his opponent and isn’t a classic deep threat, so despite notching the seventh-most points out of any wideout last year, it’s reasonable to think there will be a bit of regression. Add in the drops, and Thielen becomes a very good option, but ultimately resides at the bottom of these power rankings.

9. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay has a new sheriff in town, and it may end up working out in Mike Evans’ benefit. One of the most physically imposing receivers in the league, Evans was third in the NFL in yards last year with 1,524, but scored only eight touchdowns, and his catch rate was rather low (although Jameis Winston isn’t the most accurate of QBs, so we can cut him some slack there).

Most notably, Evans averaged 17.4 yards per reception in 2018. He’s a big-play threat who is liable to go off and carry your fantasy team to victory by himself on any given week. While there’s reason to be optimistic about Bruce Arians’ new offense, Winston is a total question mark, and if he’s not throwing Evans the ball, the fantasy value drops for the big receiver. Evans has a high ceiling and a higher floor than most receivers, even if he isn’t particularly reliable given the QB situation.

8. Antonio Brown, Oakland Raiders

Oh, Antonio Brown. Whatever will we do with you? When everything is going right, Brown is a top-three fantasy option at receiver, good for double-digit touchdowns, triple-digit catches, and over 1,200 yards every year. Even now that he’s a Raider, there’s reason to believe in high fantasy upside; Derek Carr doesn’t exactly have anyone else to throw to, and the defense looks to once again be bad enough to leave the team in comeback situations.

However, nothing Brown does happens in a vacuum. While he seems likely to play, preferred helmet or not, nothing about the last two weeks have inspired any sort of confidence that Brown can be relied upon to literally show up every week. No other player in the league has that sort of doubt surrounding them. Brown should be a good fantasy option, but there are gigantic, flashing red flags around him that say, “DRAFT AT YOUR OWN RISK.”

7. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers

There’s a lot to like about Juju Smith-Schuster. He caught 111 balls for 1,426 yards and eight touchdowns as the No. 2 option in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger is getting older, but can still put up big numbers and get the ball to his receivers. Smith-Schuster is a threat at every level of the field, and is still only entering his third year.

But he’ll be receiving the full attention of defenses this year, and it’s hard to see Roethlisberger targeting him more than 166 times like he did in 2018. Those are ridiculous numbers, even for a Steelers offense. He didn’t score many touchdowns as the No. 2 guy, and will now have an even harder time of it. He’s a talented receiver and valuable fantasy asset with a high floor, but the upside is in question.

6. Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns

Odell Beckham Jr., when healthy, is one of the best receivers in the league, a threat to take it to the house on any given play and elite at every level. Health is indeed the caveat, however; the star receiver missed the last quarter of the season last year with a torn quad and has only played in half of his team’s games over the last two years.

He is going from Eli Manning to Baker Mayfield, a substantial uptick. But while we’re all optimistic on Mayfield, he only has one season of production. The Browns have several other options opposite Beckham with Jarvis Landry and Cleveland’s array of pass-catchers and running backs. How Beckham, who has let his emotions get the better of him in the past, will adjust to a new team and environment is anyone’s guess, and crucial to his fantasy output. He could end up playing in every game and make a solid case for best receiver in the team this year, or he could play in 10 games, pout, and end up with the fantasy production of a sixth-round pick, not a first-or-second-round pick. That kind of variation is rare, and he’s only a slightly better bet than Mr. Big Chest out west.

5. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints

Now that we’ve covered high-upside but risky guys, let’s move on to Michael Thomas, a model of consistency on the football field last year. The newly-made $100 million man had the highest catch rate in the league at 85 percent while posting 125 catches for 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s the first option for a Hall of Fame quarterback in an offense designed by a borderline Hall of Fame coach. He’ll consistently get you five to 10 catches, high value in any sort of PPR league.

The downside is that Thomas isn’t anything resembling a big-play threat and he had a tendency to disappear at times with the defense focused on him. The consistency is worth something, and he’s just now going into the prime of his career. Thomas is a classic high-floor, low-ceiling prospect, and for fantasy rankings before the season begins, I put a lot of value in said consistency.

4. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

Now that it’s official Tyreek Hill will not miss any time, his fantasy value rises back to where it was at season’s end– which is to say, quite high. He was the most dangerous deep threat in the game paired with the strongest arm in the game. Hill’s setup in Kansas City couldn’t be more ideal for fantasy production.

Hill’s downside is that he can be inconsistent. If defenses are running deep coverage and allowing everything except the deep ball, he won’t make as big of an impact as you’re looking for from a presumed WR1. He’ll still make his money with a broken play here and there, but nothing compared to his usual stats. I’m not saying it’s easy to shut him down, per se, but smart teams can do it with bracket coverage. Still, he should be just as good, if not better, than last year. He’s well worth a high pick.

3. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

At this point, we know what we’re getting with Julio Jones. He’s bigger, faster, and stronger than anyone an opposing defense can throw at him. He’ll catch anything in his general direction in every manner possible. Matt Ryan is an above-average QB who knows how and when to get him the ball. He puts up numbers that rival every other fantasy wideout, and even some of the top running backs, when he’s on.

The caveat, of course, is his health. Jones can’t be relied upon to play 16 games a season, and even when he does there’s some kind of injury hampering him more often than not. That prevents him from being considered one of the best fantasy options out there, regardless of position. As is, Jones is worth taking a risk on every time. But for these rankings, that risk factor drops him from the top spot.

2. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans

DeAndre Hopkins checked all three boxes one looks for in a fantasy receiver: volume (115 catches), yards (1,572), and touchdowns (11). It was the holy triumvirate as Hopkins caught everything thrown in his area code and racked up big numbers on a consistent basis. He should be a force again this year as Houston’s undisputed No. 1 option and with some more improvement from young quarterback Deshaun Watson.

The reason Hopkins doesn’t claim the top spot is no real fault of his own, but it remains a fact that Houston’s offensive line is so porous it affects the passing game. It’s hard for Watson to find Hopkins if he has less than two seconds to go through his options before a defensive lineman ends up in his lap. There are points left on the fantasy table as a result, and while Hopkins is worthy of even a first-round selection, he isn’t the true WR1.

1. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

That title belongs to a certain wideout up in the cold pastures of Wisconsin. Davante Adams has worked his way into becoming Aaron Rodgers’ go-to target in a post-Jordy Nelson world, and his fantasy stock is thriving as a result. He had 13 touchdowns with 1,386 yards on 111 catches as a threat at every level of the field, including Rodgers’ favorite red-zone target.

The offense is changing, but that will likely be for the better. Even so, the time of transition will do nothing but help Adams improve off one of the best fantasy receiver statlines in 2018. If Rodgers is uncomfortable in the new offense, what is he gonna do? Look to his trusty pal Adams. His past season would be the baseline for this year, and given the team didn’t add any other red zone threats, he should reach that touchdown number once more, and perhaps even top it. There’s no definitive No. 2 wide receiver. Adams isn’t as explosive as some of his counterparts, but he’s as steady as they come as far as game-to-game production goes. It’s a tough choice between Adams, Jones, and Hopkins, and it’s hard to go wrong with any of them. But ahead of the first regular season snap, Adams wins out.