If we rewind back to the NFL draft in April, it wasn’t considered a great year for wide receivers. None were selected in the top 20, and it was discussed whether any would even be picked in the first round. But as we hit the halfway point of the season, it’s a group that’s looking a lot more respectable.
For those in dynasty leagues, I would argue that seven rookie wide receivers should be among the first 50 chosen. That’s based not on what they’re doing right now, but what I think they’ll do in the upcoming seasons.
I’ve got rookies tagged with black dots. None of them have hit it out of the park, but there are many that look like they’re going to be solid pros for years.
Calvin Ridley, certainly. He doesn’t have elite size or speed but ripped off 6 TDs in a three-game stretch. He’s going to be fine.
DJ Moore has been good on running plays and caught 5 passes for 90 yards last week. He had a 50-yard touchdown earlier in the year. He’s just moving into the starting lineup now, and he could have a breakout-type game tomorrow against a really bad Bucs defense.
Similarly, Courtland Sutton has made a handful of big plays, averaging 19 yards per catch. The Broncos just traded away Demaryius Thomas, elevating Sutton into the starting lineup. We have recently seen four notable wide receivers traded: Thomas, Golden Tate and Amari Cooper. In a dynasty league (with owners allowed to keep players year after year) I would select Sutton before all of those guys.
Christian Kirk has made a handful of good catches for Arizona. I think he’s going to be just fine. I’ve got Kirk as the No. 3 rookie wide receiver on my board right now.
TreQuan Smith has been starting for the Saints. He hasn’t done a ton on the field year, but I think he’s going to be an NFL starter. With Smith being only 22, I have ranked him higher than that some older receivers who are better right now – like 30-year-olds Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate.
There’s a knucklehead factor with Antonio Callaway, who was kicked off the team at Florida for multiple transgressions and was pulled over with marijuana in his car during the preseason. But he’s definitely talented, and we seen some evidence of that translating to the field – could be a really nice player.
Also sneaking into my top 50, I’ve got Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Packers used three later-round picks on wide receivers, and he seems to be the one with the best chance of developing into a starter. Anybody starting on a team for the next five years with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, I’m interested.
WIDE RECEIVERS / DYNASTY LEAGUES | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Player | Age |
1. | HOU | DeAndre Hopkins | 26 |
2. | NO | Michael Thomas | 25 |
3. | KC | Tyreek Hill | 24 |
4. | GB | Davante Adams | 25 |
5. | NYG | Odell Beckham | 25 |
6. | PIT | Antonio Brown | 30 |
7. | TB | Mike Evans | 25 |
8. | MIN | Adam Thielen | 28 |
9. | PIT | JuJu Smith-Schuster | 21 |
10. | IND | T.Y. Hilton | 28 |
11. | CIN | A.J. Green | 30 |
12. | MIN | Stefon Diggs | 24 |
13. | LAR | Brandin Cooks | 25 |
14. | DET | Kenny Golladay | 25 |
15. | ATL | Julio Jones | 29 |
16. | LAR | Cooper Kupp | 25 |
17. | TEN | Corey Davis | 23 |
18. | CLE | Jarvis Landry | 25 |
19. | CAR | • DJ Moore | 21 |
20. | LAR | Robert Woods | 26 |
21. | PHI | Alshon Jeffery | 28 |
22. | ATL | • Calvin Ridley | 23 |
23. | CIN | Tyler Boyd | 23 |
24. | NYG | Sterling Shepard | 24 |
25. | LAC | Keenan Allen | 26 |
26. | CAR | Devin Funchess | 24 |
27. | DET | Marvin Jones | 28 |
28. | LAC | Mike Williams | 24 |
29. | SEA | Tyler Lockett | 26 |
30. | HOU | Will Fuller | 24 |
31. | DEN | Emmanuel Sanders | 31 |
32. | ARI | • Christian Kirk | 21 |
33. | TB | Chris Godwin | 22 |
34. | MIA | Kenny Stills | 26 |
35. | CHI | Allen Robinson | 25 |
36. | DEN | • Courtland Sutton | 23 |
37. | BAL | John Brown | 28 |
38. | JAC | Dede Westbrook | 24 |
39. | DAL | Amari Cooper | 24 |
40. | NO | • TreQuan Smith | 22 |
41. | SEA | Doug Baldwin | 30 |
42. | NYJ | Robby Anderson | 25 |
43. | CLE | • Antonio Calloway | 21 |
44. | PHI | Golden Tate | 30 |
45. | SF | Marquise Goodwin | 27 |
46. | GB | Geronimo Allison | 24 |
47. | LAC | Tyrell Williams | 26 |
48. | KC | Sammy Watkins | 25 |
49. | GB | • Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 24 |
50. | SEA | David Moore | 23 |
51. | CHI | • Anthony Miller | 24 |
52. | MIA | DeVante Parker | 25 |
53. | NE | Julian Edelman | 32 |
54. | NYJ | Quincy Enunwa | 26 |
55. | NE | Josh Gordon | 27 |
56. | ARI | Larry Fitzgerald | 35 |
57. | WAS | Paul Richardson | 26 |
58. | BAL | Michael Crabtree | 31 |
59. | DAL | • Michael Gallup | 22 |
60. | BUF | Zay Jones | 23 |
61. | PIT | • James Washington | 22 |
62. | TEN | Taywan Taylor | 23 |
63. | HOU | Demaryius Thomas | 30 |
64. | CLE | Rashard Higgins | 24 |
65. | CIN | John Ross | 22 |
66. | WAS | Josh Doctson | 25 |
67. | CHI | Taylor Gabriel | 27 |
68. | JAC | Donte Moncrief | 25 |
69. | TEN | Tajae Sharpe | 23 |
70. | TB | DeSean Jackson | 31 |
71. | DAL | Cole Beasley | 29 |
72. | ATL | Mohamed Sanu | 29 |
73. | PHI | Nelson Agholor | 25 |
74. | BUF | Kelvin Benjamin | 27 |
75. | MIA | Danny Amendola | 33 |
76. | BAL | Willie Snead | 26 |
77. | JAC | • DJ Chark | 22 |
78. | GB | Randall Cobb | 28 |
79. | NE | Chris Hogan | 30 |
80. | WAS | Jamison Crowder | 25 |
81. | IND | Chester Rogers | 24 |
82. | TB | Adam Humphries | 25 |
83. | KC | Chris Conley | 26 |
84. | MIN | Laquon Treadwell | 23 |
85. | BUF | Terrelle Pryor | 29 |
86. | MIA | Albert Wilson | 26 |
87. | DET | • Brandon Powell | 23 |
88. | NO | Cameron Meredith | 26 |
89. | JAC | Keelan Cole | 25 |
90. | SF | Kendrick Bourne | 23 |
91. | OAK | Martavis Bryant | 26 |
92. | MIA | Jakeem Grant | 26 |
93. | KC | Demarcus Robinson | 24 |
94. | DEN | • Daesan Hamilton | 23 |
95. | NYJ | Jermaine Kearse | 28 |
96. | OAK | Brandon LaFell | 32 |
97. | IND | Zach Pascal | 23 |
98. | PHI | Jordan Matthews | 26 |
99. | NE | Phillip Dorsett | 25 |
100. | SF | • Dante Pettis | 23 |
Last week: tight ends.
Next week: quarterbacks.
—Ian Allan