If you were one of the people who selected Tyreek Hill late in a fantasy draft the last few months, congratulations. That mid- to late-round flier might produce a top-10 fantasy wideout. Probably top-5.
"Based on the evidence presently available, the NFL cannot conclude that Mr. Hill violated the Personal Conduct Policy," reads the league's statement. "Accordingly, he may attend Kansas City's training camp and participate in all club activities."
The league's statement leaves open the door for possible future discipline ("If further information becomes available..."), but that's basically true for every player. Hill should be out there for the preseason, and also when the season kicks off in Week 1.
Hill was the top fantasy receiver (standard scoring) a year ago, and that kind of performance is again in play. Not that we expect Patrick Mahomes to throw 50 TDs again, but even a step or two back would leave Hill up among the very best wideouts.
| TOP FANTASY WIDEOUTS, 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Rec | Avg | Run | TD | FF |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 87 | 1479 | 17.0 | 151 | 14 | 247.0 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | -7 | 11 | 222.5 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 104 | 1297 | 12.5 | 0 | 15 | 219.7 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 111 | 1386 | 12.5 | 0 | 13 | 218.6 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 113 | 1677 | 14.8 | 12 | 8 | 216.9 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 0 | 9 | 206.4 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 30 | 9 | 196.3 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 0 | 9 | 194.5 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 111 | 1426 | 12.8 | 13 | 7 | 187.9 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 86 | 1219 | 14.2 | 157 | 7 | 179.6 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 57 | 965 | 16.9 | 69 | 10 | 165.4 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 97 | 1196 | 12.3 | 75 | 6 | 165.1 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 102 | 1021 | 10.0 | 62 | 9 | 164.3 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 80 | 1204 | 15.1 | 68 | 6 | 163.2 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 76 | 1270 | 16.7 | 0 | 6 | 163.0 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 76 | 1028 | 13.5 | 3 | 7 | 145.1 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 64 | 821 | 12.8 | 27 | 10 | 144.8 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dal. | 75 | 1005 | 13.4 | 20 | 7 | 144.5 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 77 | 1052 | 13.7 | 19 | 6 | 143.1 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 43 | 664 | 15.4 | 28 | 11 | 137.2 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 70 | 1063 | 15.2 | 8 | 5 | 137.1 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 81 | 976 | 12.0 | 60 | 5 | 135.6 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 74 | 850 | 11.5 | 107 | 6 | 131.7 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 59 | 842 | 14.3 | 0 | 7 | 128.2 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 71 | 868 | 12.2 | 53 | 5 | 126.1 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 65 | 843 | 13.0 | 0 | 6 | 120.3 |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 65 | 891 | 13.7 | 55 | 4 | 118.6 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 44 | 4 | 118.2 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 717 | 10.9 | 98 | 6 | 117.5 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 66 | 872 | 13.2 | 33 | 4 | 116.5 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 0 | 6 | 115.4 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 11 | 5 | 112.7 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 50 | 752 | 15.0 | -8 | 6 | 110.4 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 41 | 774 | 18.9 | 29 | 5 | 110.3 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 56 | 652 | 11.6 | 0 | 7 | 109.2 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 74 | 795 | 10.7 | 34 | 4 | 108.9 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 55 | 788 | 14.3 | 172 | 2 | 108.0 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 46 | 694 | 15.1 | 0 | 6 | 105.4 |
| John Brown, Balt. | 42 | 715 | 17.0 | 4 | 5 | 101.9 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 64 | 736 | 11.5 | 32 | 4 | 100.8 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 55 | 754 | 13.7 | 9 | 4 | 100.3 |
We'll see where Hill grades out when the Internet Update comes out on Monday morning, but I'm guessing Hill will be up in the top 5 -- Hopkins-Adams-Thomas-JuJu range.
Taking a big hit are Sammy Watkins (no longer the likely No. 1) and Demarcus Robinson, and I think we can scratch Mecole Hardman off draft boards. Travis Kelce and Hill are the top targets, Watkins is probably 3rd in line, and then you need to factor in Damien Williams.
I think we can say there's some small amount of risk with Hill. Maybe something new comes out, or maybe he has a domestic-related misstep. A little more risk with him than the other wideouts you select in the first couple of rounds of the draft. Maybe Ian Allan, when factoring in that risk, doesn't rank him quite as high as I expect.
But looks like an elite fantasy wideout when he's on the field. And as things currently stand, he'll be on the field in Week 1.
--Andy Richardson