Friday, April 19, 2024

Fantasy Football

Dynasty WR Rankings 2020 — 60-51

I was talking with a friend about how interesting the top 80 WR is. WR is not like RB where only the top 25 guys will produce fantasy points. As I wrote this article, almost all of the WR here are players I would want on one or another of my dynasty teams. (You will have to read to see who I want no share of). I do not break down any rookies in this set of players, but we will crack into some in the Top 50.

Most dynasty leagues will start more WR than RB, and even grabbing one of these WR in this grouping as your WR3 is a win to me. I approach dynasty leagues with the mindset that I’m looking to win this year, within reason of course. Enjoy this set of WR and look forward to the next set as I will break down some of my favorite rookie WR.

Don’t forget to check out where I ranked my dynasty QB (Post Combine):1-2526-44

Check out my 2020 Dynasty RB Ranking: 70-6160-5150-4140-3130-2120-1110-1

Catch up with the WR I ranked prior: 80-71; 70-61

60. Preston Williams

Williams was an undrafted free agent for the Dolphins in 2019. The Dolphins lacked overall talent in the WR room after Kenny Stills was traded to the Texans. Williams had a great opportunity in front of him and the Dolphins spent most of their games being down by multiple touchdowns. The best thing about being down so much all the time is that it inflates the passing numbers ( i.e. Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Williams saw a good target share between Weeks 3 and 8 before going down with a season-ending ACL injury.

Williams is a talented receiver but has dealt with some off the field issues while in college and now has suffered his first injury in the NFL. The Dolphins will grab a QB in the 2020 draft, and whether it be Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert, the offense will be much improved. Preston Williams is a great grab in dynasty leagues because most people truly don’t want Dolphins on their teams. Just look at what DeVante Parker did in the latter half of 2019. Williams has a chance to become a stable fantasy WR that is playable from week to week.

59. Mecole Hardman

This is hard for me. Tyreek Hill 2.0. Yes, he probably isn’t as good as Hill but he sure could be. When Mahomes targeted Hardman in 2019, special things would soon happen. Whether it be a slant-route caught 5 yards down the field and then turned into a 40-yard play or hitting Hardman over the middle of the field and soon it was an 80 yard TD. This kid is special. He has elite speed and should fit right in with Andy Reid and his gun-slinger. So why didn’t we see much of Hardman in 2019? Well, Mahomes did miss some games which hurt the offense as a whole.

However, Sammy Watkins, the greatest Week 1 fantasy player to ever live, was a pain in Hardman’s side. I don’t see Watkins in the Chiefs’ long term plans as he is currently being paid $16 million a year. Hardman should and can step into the Cheifs offense as their WR2. Mecole will develop into a star WR under Mahomes and he is currently one of my favorite dynasty targets at the WR position. I believe he will have better chemistry with Mahomes in 2020. Be careful though, don’t draft him too early or trade so much for him that he doesn’t come at a value. Demarcus Robinson is also a free agent, which will help Hardman’s case if he doesn’t return to Kansas City.

58. Sammy Watkins

If only Sammy Watkins could play as he did in Week 1 of 2019 every week… Ugh, we would all be rich and happy. Nonetheless, we didn’t see much of Sammy Watkins after his Week 1– 9 catch, 198 yards, and 3 TD performance. Sammy didn’t have a game the rest of the season in which he surpassed 65 receiving yards. Watkins is currently paid $16 million a year from the Chiefs. If his football career doesn’t work out, at least he has a future as a thief. Watkins has committed straight robbery with his current contract. I can’t see the Chiefs being comfortable with what they are paying him.

His contract is good until 2021, but I can see him getting traded or cut with the Chiefs just eating the dead cap. However, we do have to remember that Watkins plays with the best QB in the NFL. I can see Watkins becoming a more consistent WR in 2020, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I have no interest in Watkins in dynasty formats as he is too much of a disappointment year to year for me. Watkins has only accumulated over 1,000 receiving yards once and that was in 2015. I wouldn’t consider Watkins at any point in my dynasty drafts.

57. Hunter Renfrow

The Oakland Raiders selected Hunter Renfrow in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Well now, the Las Vegas Raiders will look to get Renfrow involved in their offense in 2020. In their new home, everything is about money. Gruden brings in money,.Antonio Brown would have brought in money. But who can bring in the most money? Yes, exactly, Tom Terrific. I can very much see Tom Brady becoming the QB for the Raiders in 2020. Nonetheless, this is about Hunter Renfrow. He was starting to show signs of settling in as he eclipsed over 100 yards in both Weeks 16 and 17.

Renfrow will continue to be the Raiders slot receiver regardless of who the QB is. However, if Brady does come to Las Vegas, I think of Renfrow similar to Julian Edelman. With Brady, Renfrow sees close to 100 targets. Without him, Renfrow will still see over 65 targets and he is a good enough route runner to get open in-between zone defenses. Renfrow is a good dynasty target and it may be worth taking a shot on him if you are a believer in TB12 in Las Vegas.

56. Diontae Johnson

Diontae Johnson had a better than expected rookie campaign for the Steelers. The third-round draft pick out of Toledo produced a stat line of 59/680/5. He finished first in receptions and touchdowns for the Steelers receiving core. Everyone knows how bad the QB situation was in Pittsburgh and didn’t expect much out of anyone. With Big Ben coming back next season, Johnson can fill the hole that was left by Antonio Brown. Johnson will be a late-round pick in fantasy leagues, which is great news to me because I will own multiple shares of him.

55. Will Fuller

If I had to take a bet on which WR could go for 200 yards and 3 TD in a game, I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself placing my money on Will Fuller. A couple of questions arise about Will Fuller though. 1) Will he be able to play this week and, 2) in which quarter will he get injured this week. I would love to see Fuller remain healthy as I know that he is very talented. Fuller has 4 seasons now and the most games he has played in a season is 13, in his rookie year. Fuller played in 7 games in 2018 and 11 in 2019. The Texans did pick up his fifth-year option so he will remain with the team on a $10 million contract.

I’m not a general manager but it would be hard for me to pay that much to a WR who struggles to stay on the field, but I guess that is probably why the Texans don’t have a GM. I have no interest in Will Fuller and I probably have him ranked too high. If healthy, Fuller has the tangibles to tear it up but it is almost guaranteed that he will miss time in 2020. Fuller’s ADP isn’t something I am comfortable with and there will be other options around his draft position.

54. Sterling Shepard

Sep 30, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard (87) catches a touchdown pass against New Orleans Saints cornerback Ken Crawley (20) during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

When looking into Sterling Shepard, I was shocked to learn that he is already 27 years old. No, I am not calling him old at all. I bring up his age because most of us are still hoping for his “breakout” season. Shepard played in 10 games in 2019 and brought in 57 catches for 576 yards. With new QB Daniel Jones given the starting job going forward, I am curious to see what Shepard can do. Injury hurt Shepard’s rapport with Jones, and this is why we saw Darius Slayton rise to the occasion. With the departure of OBJ, I thought Shepard would step up and take over the WR1 role for the Giants.

Shepard was the third-best WR for the Giants in receiving yards behind Golden Tate and Darius Slayton. I do believe Jones will take the next step in 2020, but I don’t think Shepard is the WR that gets him there. If healthy, Shepard could help the Giants offense in 2020. I do not doubt that, but I do doubt the idea that Shepard is still going to break out. Even if his best year comes in 2020, he will be 28 and his game will decline due to injuries and age. I’m not interested in him in dynasty leagues, but if the value is right, I would draft him and send him in a trade to someone who still is waiting for him to breakout.

53. A.J. Green

I’ll be honest, I miss the days when A.J. Green was a top-three fantasy WR. I would always pair him up with Matt Forte or Le’Veon Bell in his prime Steelers days. Oh, the good ol’ days. A.J. Green sat out all of 2019 with an ankle injury that kept on nagging him and never felt good enough to play on. The Bengals record also made the decision easier for Green who didn’t want to risk another injury for a team that couldn’t win football games. Green is set to be a free agent in 2020 but the feeling currently is that the Bengals will use the franchise tag on Green.

Green is a seven-time pro-bowler so he will draw interest from teams despite his injury history. I just don’t have much trust that he will stay healthy in 2020. Sports Injury Predictor has Green at a 53 percent chance of injury in 2020. I think Green will be a Bengal again in 2020 but I would monitor how that situation progresses. Green does have an ADP that I would buy and would consider a value. He has shown that he could be the best fantasy WR before but that was close to five seasons ago now. Two words- be cautious.

52. Dede Westbrook

I was interested in what Dede could do for my fantasy team in 2019. Westbrook played in 15 of 16 games in 2019, and he was very consistent despite not having much consistency at the QB position. Yes, Foles went down in Week 1 and #mustachemania was born. However, there were some games where it felt like Gardner wasn’t capable of moving the ball for even a first down. The Jaguars offense was very stagnant and the only highlight of their season was the emergence of D.J. Chark.

Westbrook has seen over 100 targets in each of the last 2 seasons. If you told me that a receiver was going to get over 100 targets a season, and he would be outside of the top 100 picks, I would be in love. Dede Westbrook will get the target share but will need to bring in more catches and then do something with those catches. He had only three TD in 2019, and it would awesome to see him double that TD number going forward. I think Dede is one of the cheapest buys in dynasty leagues, and if he can bring in 80+ balls in 2020, you will be a happy owner.

51. Darius Slayton

Darius Slayton was a fifth-round draft pick out of Auburn. I’m going to be honest, I was not expecting him to have a role on this team and especially produce the numbers he did. Slayton finished the 2019 year with 48/740/8. These numbers can be misleading because Slayton had three different instances of two-touchdown games. It was a stressful year of wondering when to start Slayton and owners either won their week because of them or completely busted. It is rare for rookies to be consistent studs in the league, but Slayton looks poised for more opportunities in 2020. Slayton could be a flex option or WR3 in dynasty. I would much rather own Slayton than Shepard in dynasty leagues.

Don’t forget to check out where I ranked my dynasty QB (Post Combine): 1-2526-44

Check out my 2020 Dynasty RB Ranking: 70-6160-5150-4140-3130-2120-1110-1

Catch up with the WR I ranked prior: 80-71; 70-61

Follow my work on Twitter @FinalDriveFF and check out other Belly Up Fantasy Sports articles.