The draft accuracy rankings for Fantasy Pros came out on Sunday morning and for my first year competing in the contest, I think that I did alright. I finished 57th out of 154 competitors and I would have done a lot better if it weren’t for those meddling running backs! Rex Burkhead, David Johnson, and Peyton Barber wrecked my running back chances to the tune of a finish of 126th at that position. On positive notes: I finished 8th in quarterback accuracy, 35th in wide receiver accuracy, and 12th in tight end accuracy. Also if you need kicker advice holler at your boy, I finished 2nd in kickers. I’m guessing that kickers don’t figure heavily into the algorithm. In year two, my goal is a top 10 finish.Â
I struggled with whether I wanted to rank these wide receivers as full PPR or rank them at 0.5 PPR to split the difference between standard rankings and full PPR. I decided that I’m going to keep them at full PPR since that is the format that seems to dominate the industry. Out of the dozen or so leagues that I play in, I think that I only play in one standard scoring league. Here are my top 15 wide receivers for PPR.
Tier 1
1. DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins finished 4th last season in PPR scoring in 2018 and that was the follow up to a 2nd place finish in 2017 by a half of a point behind Antonio Brown. I guess that you could call this a hedge on my ranking of Deshaun Watson, but I think regardless of Watson’s health throughout the season due to an abysmal offensive line, Hopkins will always eat. Hopkins is just 27 years old so we are living in the middle of his prime.
2. Davante Adams
Experts were telling you a couple of preseasons ago that touchdown regression was coming for Davante Adams and it simply hasn’t happened. Davante has scored double digit touchdowns three seasons in a row in Green Bay. Adams will be the favorite target of Aaron Rodgers once again and I expect it to be fruitful in 2019.Â
3. Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell will finally be playing for a team with a dynamic quarterback under center and we can get back to the seasons of 1,300+ yard and double digit touchdown output. Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham both succeed on deep routes so I think that this will be a match made in heaven. I would not be surprised if Beckham finishes as the overall WR1.Â
4. Julio Jones
All of those catches and yards couldn’t equal a better PPR finish than WR7 for Julio Jones in 2018. Lack of touchdowns was once again the downfall for Julio but it was still a good season. I expect Calvin Ridley to be more involved, but I predict Julio to still compete for a top 5 WR finish.
5. Michael ThomasÂ
Michael Thomas led the NFL with 125 receptions last season and that was enough for a WR3 overall finish in PPR. I expect regression in the reception department especially with the way that Brees finished the season so double digit touchdowns will probably be necessary for Thomas to repeat in the top 3.Â
Tier 2
6. Keenan Allen
I expect a big jump for Keenan Allen after he failed to crack the top 10 in PPR last season and finished 11th. Tyrell Williams is off to Oakland and I expect Allen to eat up some of those targets. Keenan’s downfall has always been in the touchdown department but we are just one season removed from Allen falling 7 yards short of 1,400 yards.Â
7. JuJu Smith-Schuster
Juju had an incredible year in 2018 and now Antonio Brown is gone. Besides targets, the departure of AB isn’t very beneficial for J2S2. I’m not sure that he’ll see more than the 166 targets that he saw last year with the increases in double teams that he’ll see.
8. Mike Evans
Mike Evans is another wide receiver that struggles to find the end zone like the elite guys. Mike was a beneficiary of aggressive QB play in Tampa last season and ripped through 1,500 yards for a career high. With Bruce Arians at the helm, I believe 100 catches is in play with a little regression on the yards. An increase in red zone production puts Evans right up there with the elite guys.
Tier 3Â
9. Tyreek Hill
Tyreek won’t be suspended at all for the 2019 season and that puts him right into the top 10 for WRs for PPR. He may have only caught 86 passes in 2018, but he adds rushing yards in this offense as well.Â
10. Amari Cooper
Amari had a resurgence when he arrived in Dallas. He had a couple of monster games with Dak Prescott and a lot of the concerns that followed him from Oakland to Dallas were alleviated. Amari should live up to his ADP and compete to finish as a WR1.
11. Julian Edelman
Following his suspension, Julian Edelman finished as WR10 from weeks 5-16 in PPR. Rob Gronkowski is retired for now so Edelman should see a heavy target share. The only real concerns are red zone production and the amount of attention that he’ll get from secondaries.Â
12. Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has been the king of fantasy wide receivers for the past few years, but his situation has greatly changed by going to Oakland. Brown was a bit more big-play dependent to get his production last season and it would be tough to expect 169 targets from Derek Carr in 2019. After all, Carr is not going to attempt 675 passes like Brown’s former QB.Â
Tier 4
13. T.Y. Hilton
A return to 2016 form when Hilton caught 91 balls for 1,448 yards and 6 TDs would be ideal. It’s very possible considering Andrew Luck’s return to form in 2018. Hilton did well enough to finish as the WR13 last season, but Hilton has a tendency to not be on the field for all 16 games.Â
14. Stefon Diggs
Splitting target share with Adam Thielen isn’t detrimental for Diggs. Diggs finished 8th in the NFL in WR targets to Adam Thielen’s 6th. Diggs finally had the 100 catch and 1,000 yard season that we were looking for. If Kirk Cousins can have a better finish to the season in 2019, we can see Diggs build onto those numbers.Â
15. A.J. Green
A.J. Green seems to get ranked higher every year because of his name. In the past four years Green only has 2 1,000 yard seasons. Granted, he’s seen his share of injuries. I just don’t think that he has the upside that others see in him and would much rather take my chances on Tyler Boyd a few rounds later.
