A busy offseason of free agent signings and trades, plus a draft that shook up several seemingly established situations caused quite a lot of change in our post-draft update of the running back rankings. Wide receiver, on the other hand, hasn't seen quite as much of a shake up.
Looking back at the Fantasy Football Today team's January early rankings, you see a lot of the same names in these top 10s. For exactly, Jamey Eisenberg sees eight of 10 players remain in his top 10; Kenny Golladay dropped from 10 to 11, so no big deal; Mike Evans' slide from No. 7 to No. 14 was a more serious drop.
Similarly, while neither Adam Thielen nor Stefon Diggs appeared in anyone's top 10 in January due to concerns about a shared workload in a low-volume Vikings passing attack. However, with Diggs shipped off to Buffalo via trade, Thielen leapt into the top 15 across the board, and is the No. 7 receiver for Adam Aizer and Jamey.
Jamey and Adam, plus Dave Richard, Heath Cummings, and Ben Gretch have all updated and expanded their rankings with free agency and the draft in the rearview mirror. You can see the consensus rank below, along with where each member of the team ranked each player, and I've provided a breakdown of some of the biggest disagreements and most notable ranks below that.
Player | Jamey | Dave | Heath | Ben | Aizer |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | |
6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | |
D.J. Moore | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
9 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 10 | |
Adam Thielen | 7 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 7 |
Kenny Golladay | 11 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 12 |
10 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 8 | |
Mike Evans | 14 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 9 |
12 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 15 | |
15 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 19 | |
18 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 11 | |
13 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 21 | |
20 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 14 | |
A.J. Brown | 19 | 16 | 22 | 11 | 17 |
16 | 14 | 20 | 21 | 16 | |
17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | |
T.Y. Hilton | 23 | 24 | 17 | 19 | 23 |
22 | 18 | - | - | 18 | |
21 | 19 | 24 | - | 22 | |
A.J. Green | 24 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 24 |
Stefon Diggs | - | - | - | 16 | - |
- | - | 23 | - | - | |
D.J. Chark | - | - | - | 24 | - |
Biggest disagreements
DeAndre Hopkins — Dave vs. everyone
With the move to Arizona, Hopkins has dipped to the No. 6 option at best across the board for everyone but Dave. The case against Hopkins is that he posted his lowest touchdown rate and yards per target since 2016 and is switching teams during an offseason that may not allow for as much interaction with teammates as usual. The case for him is, well, he's DeAndre Hopkins. Do you really want to pass him up on Draft Day? The Cardinals are an offense on the rise, and you have to hope we'll see more aggressiveness in the play calling from Kliff Kingsbury now that he has more talent to work with. There could be a ton of opportunity in this passing game, and Kyler Murray just may make the leap to superstardom in Year 2.
Tyreek Hill — Ben vs. everyone
It's not to say that anyone else doesn't like Hill, as he's a consensus top four WR. However, Ben is the only one going out on a limb to put Hill as the No. 2 player, and it's not hard to see the case for it. Hill was the No. 3 WR in PPR leagues in 2018, and if you take out the two games where he played fewer than 20% of the Chiefs snaps, he would have been the No. 3 WR in points per game last season, too. He's in his prime, and so is Patrick Mahomes, so injury should be the only thing that can slow either down.
D.J. Moore — Adam vs. Ben
Ben is the resident D.J. Moore booster, though I'm right there with him. Moore just turned 23 a few weeks ago, making him younger than several incoming rookies — including No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. His 1,963 receiving yards before turning 23 are the eighth-most of the past 20 seasons, and the list ahead of him is littered with Fantasy studs; Josh Gordon and Sammy Watkins are the only ones who haven't become a reliable No. 1 Fantasy WR. Add in the improved play he'll get from Teddy Bridgewater, whose style seems to fit Moore's incredibly well, and this could be a huge season for Moore.
Kenny Golladay — Heath vs. everyone
Golladay is at least a top-12 receiver for everyone, with Dave going as high as No. 8. At some point, we need to see Golladay earn a true No. 1 share of the targets, because it's going to be awfully hard to repeat his league-leading 11 touchdowns or his 10.3 yards per target. With T.J. Hockenson expected to take a step forward in Year 2, there could be more competition for targets, too, though Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola getting another year older could help. It's a pivotal year for Golladay, who could emerge as a true No. 1 Fantasy WR or settle in among the high-end No. 2 crowd.
JuJu Smith-Schuster — Dave vs. everyone
It really is Dave vs. everyone, as he has him 13 spots lower than any other analyst. The Steelers aren't short on interesting wide receivers, with rookie Chase Claypool joining that group, but in a perfect world, Smith-Schuster would be the clear No. 1, with an open competition for the No. 2 spot. Clearly, Dave sees more competition for that top spot than anyone else, and with rumors circling that the team doesn't see him in the long-term plans, it's not impossible.
Other notable rankings
Mike Evans — Jamey and Heath have him outside top 12
Chris Godwin didn't suffer at all from the addition of Tom Brady, who has long loved working with playmaking slot receivers. However, it's been a while since Brady supported a reliable deep threat; in recent memory, it's really only that one Brandin Cooks season. Bruce Arians' offense has always relied on the quarterback pushing the ball aggressively down the field — though maybe a bit less aggressively than Jameis Winston did last season. Does Brady still have that in him as a 43-year-old? It's the biggest question surrounding the Buccaneers after a fascinating offseason, and it will define how Evans' season goes.
A.J. Brown — Ben has him No. 11
Ben and I have had extensive conversations about Brown, because I just don't see the upside he does. Brown was historically efficient in 2019, averaging 12.5 yards per target with a 9.5% touchdown rate. Only six other rookies have averaged even 10 yards per target on at least 60 targets since 2000, and Mike Wallace is the only one to improve on that figure in the next season; Julio Jones is the only one not to see a drop of at least 2.5 yards. Regression is coming for Brown, and the question is whether the volume will be there to make up for it. Ben is betting on thing not being quite as easy for the Titans in 2020 as they were a year ago, meaning more pass attempts, and a higher concentration going Brown's way.
Amari Cooper — Only Heath and Adam have him in top 17
The Cowboys took the significant step of adding CeeDee Lamb in the first round, adding to what was already a pretty competitive receiving corps. However, Cooper doesn't need a ton of targets to be a very valuable Fantasy option — he has averaged 16.6 PPR points per game since joining the Cowboys on 7.8 targets per game. This is a highly efficient passing offense, and Cooper should still lead the way. I'm with Adam and Heath.
Robert Woods — Dave has him 14th
Woods finished as the No. 14 wide receiver in 2019, which is a lot more impressive when you consider he somehow scored just two touchdowns on his 82 catches, with one more on the ground. With Brandin Cooks out of the picture, a third straight 130-target season seems easily with Woods' grasp, and there's no reason to think the Rams won't continue to give him a carry or two every game — he has 40 in his past 34 games, including the playoffs. Not that anyone is asking me, but I'd have him ranked ahead of Kupp.
Stefon Diggs — Only Ben has him ranked
This one seems to cut to a philosophical disagreement that became a topic of conversation quite often last season around Diggs: How valuable is a boom-or-bust player? Diggs certainly was one last season, and with his move to Buffalo to play with the erratic Josh Allen, that doesn't figure to change. Diggs is one of the most talented receivers in the league and can take the ball to the house every time he touches it. That led to some big performances in 2019, but also some real duds — he had more games with eight or fewer PPR points than with 16 or more. Playing on another run-first team, Diggs' volume figures to remain low, so he'll rely on touchdowns and big plays once again.
Jamey Eisenberg's top-24 WRs
1. Michael Thomas
2. Davante Adams
3. Julio Jones
4. Tyreek Hill
5. Chris Godwin
6. DeAndre Hopkins
7. Adam Thielen
8. D.J. Moore
9. Cooper Kupp
10. JuJu Smith-Schuster
11. Kenny Golladay
12. Calvin Ridley
13. Tyler Lockett
14. Mike Evans
15. Allen Robinson
16. Robert Woods
17. Keenan Allen
18. Amari Cooper
19. A.J. Brown
20. Odell Beckham
21. Terry McLaurin
22. DK Metcalf
23. T.Y. Hilton
24. A.J. Green
Dave Richard's top-24 WRs
1. Michael Thomas
2. Davante Adams
3. DeAndre Hopkins
4. Julio Jones
5. Tyreek Hill
6. Chris Godwin
7. Cooper Kupp
8. Kenny Golladay
9. D.J. Moore
10. Tyler Lockett
11. Calvin Ridley
12. Mike Evans
13. Adam Thielen
14. Robert Woods
15. Allen Robinson
16. A.J. Brown
17. Keenan Allen
18. DK Metcalf
19. Terry McLaurin
20. Amari Cooper
21. Odell Beckham
22. A.J. Green
23. JuJu Smith-Schuster
24. T.Y. Hilton
Heath Cummings' top-24 WRs
1. Michael Thomas
2. Davante Adams
3. Julio Jones
4. Tyreek Hill
5. Chris Godwin
6. DeAndre Hopkins
7. Cooper Kupp
8. D.J. Moore
9. JuJu Smith-Schuster
10. Allen Robinson
11. Amari Cooper
12. Adam Thielen
13. Tyler Lockett
14. Odell Beckham
15. Kenny Golladay
16. Calvin Ridley
17. T.Y. Hilton
18. Mike Evans
19. Keenan Allen
20. Robert Woods
21. A.J. Green
22. A.J. Brown
23. Courtland Sutton
24. Terry McLaurin
Ben Gretch's top-24 WRs
1. Michael Thomas
2. Tyreek Hill
3. Davante Adams
4. Julio Jones
5. D.J. Moore
6. Chris Godwin
7. DeAndre Hopkins
8. Mike Evans
9. Kenny Golladay
10. JuJu Smith-Schuster
11. A.J. Brown
12. Calvin Ridley
13. Allen Robinson
14. Odell Beckham
15. Adam Thielen
16. Stefon Diggs
17. Cooper Kupp
18. Amari Cooper
19. T.Y. Hilton
20. Keenan Allen
21. Robert Woods
22. Tyler Lockett
23. A.J. Green
24. D.J. Chark
Adam Aizer's top-24 WRs
1. Michael Thomas
2. Davante Adams
3. Julio Jones
4. Tyreek Hill
5. Chris Godwin
6. DeAndre Hopkins
7. Adam Thielen
8. JuJu Smith-Schuster
9. Mike Evans
10. Cooper Kupp
11. Amari Cooper
12. Kenny Golladay
13. D.J. Moore
14. Odell Beckham
15. Calvin Ridley
16. Robert Woods
17. A.J. Brown
18. DK Metcalf
19. Allen Robinson
20. Keenan Allen
21. Tyler Lockett
22. Terry McLaurin
23. T.Y. Hilton
24. A.J. Green
Which players are poised for breakouts, which sleepers do you need to jump on, and which busts should you avoid at all costs in your Fantasy football league? Visit SportsLine now to get early rankings, plus see which WR is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
