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Preliminary 2016 Wide Receiver Redraft Ranking Tiers

July 7, 2016 By Draft Buddy Leave a Comment

A.J. Green

Miss out on the top two RB in your draft? No worries. It might even be better to set your team up with one of these stud WR, including the Cincinnati Bengals A.J. Green.

The last two days we posted preliminary quarterback tiers and running back tiers for the upcoming fantasy football season. Today, the longest list at 70 players, our preliminary wide receiver tiers.

Note the players are only tiered, not ranked within their groups, so focus on the tiers as opposed to where a player is situated relative to other players in their own tier.

Expect detailed projections and rankings, plus some fantasy football player commentary in the coming weeks. Feel free to post your feedback in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

Tier 1

A.J. Green
Antonio Brown
Julio Jones
Odell Beckham Jr.

Tier 2

Allen Robinson
DeAndre Hopkins
Dez Bryant
Mike Evans
T.Y. Hilton

Tier 3

Alshon Jeffery
Amari Cooper
Brandon Marshall
Demaryius Thomas
Jarvis Landry
Jordy Nelson
Larry Fitzgerald

Tier 4

Brandin Cooks
Doug Baldwin
Eric Decker
Golden Tate
Jeremy Maclin
Julian Edelman
Keenan Allen
Kelvin Benjamin

Tier 5

Allen Hurns
DeSean Jackson
Donte Moncrief
Emmanuel Sanders
John Brown
Jordan Matthews
Markus Wheaton
Randall Cobb
Sammy Watkins
Sterling Shepard ®

Tier 6

DeVante Parker
Kendall Wright
Kevin White
Marvin Jones
Michael Crabtree
Michael Floyd
Stefon Diggs
Steve Smith
Tavon Austin
Ted Ginn
Torrey Smith
Tyler Lockett
Vincent Jackson
Willie Snead

Tier 7

Bruce Ellington
Corey Coleman ®
Jerome Simpson
Kamar Aiken
Kenny Britt
Laquon Treadwell ®
Michael Thomas ®
Mike Wallace
Mohamed Sanu
Pierre Garcon
Robert Woods
Terrance Williams

Tier 8

Brandon LaFell
Danny Amendola
Dorial Green-Beckham
Jamison Crowder
Josh Doctson ®
Nelson Agholor
Rueben Randle
Sammie Coates
Travis Benjamin
Tyler Boyd ®

Filed Under: Fantasy Football

Pittsburgh Steelers Team Report

July 8, 2015 By Dave Leave a Comment

Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown is crazy good. He should be considered the league's top fantasy wide receiver in PPR formats.

Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown is crazy good. He should be considered the league’s top fantasy wide receiver in PPR formats.

QB Ben Roethlisberger

After topping 4,000 passing yards just twice during the first nine years of his career, Roethlisberger has accomplished the feat in each of the last two seasons, posting a career high 4,952 passing yards in 2014 to go along with 32 touchdown passes (matching a career high). At 33 years of age, Big Ben is clearly in the prime of his career and with a solid supporting cast of skill position players, he should be in line for another big season in 2015. Having finished as the 8th ranked fantasy quarterback in 2013 and 5th last season, the question is whether he can repeat his 2014 performance. While it’s not always fair to remove a player’s best performances in making this type of decision, in this case it might be fair game. Of Roethlisberger’s 378.3 fantasy points from last year, 91.1 came in two games, meaning that he averaged 20.5 PPG in his other 14 games which ranked 15th amongst quarterbacks that played at least 10 games. Of course, if we simply assumed that Roethlisberger’s two best games averaged 35 PPG, then he would have been the 10th ranked quarterback on a PPG basis. Let’s call that his floor. Given his solid supporting cast, his comfort in Todd Haley’s offense and the not insignificant fact that running back Le’Veon Bell will miss the first three games of the season, we rate Roethlisberger as a mid-tier QB1.

RB Le’Veon Bell

After a successful rookie season that saw him accumulate 860 rushing yards and 408 receiving yards with eight touchdowns, Bell emerged as one of the league’s top running backs in 2014. Somewhat of a plodder in his rookie season when he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, Bell averaged an impressive 4.7 yards per carry last season while chalking up 1,361 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also ranked amongst the league’s top receiving threats out of the backfield, catching 83 of his 105 targets (an outstanding 79.0% catch rate) for 854 yards and three touchdowns. With an upper tier quarterback running the show together with one of the league’s better offensive lines, Bell is set for another upper tier RB1 season in 2015. Of course, that won’t start until Week 4, courtesy of a three-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. If you are confident you can find a quality replacement in the later rounds of your draft to substitute for Bell during those weeks, then you should feel fine grabbing him with your 1st round pick.

RB DeAngelo Williams

The Panthers finally cut bait on Williams during the offseason, ending his nine-year run in Carolina. Signed to a mammoth contract based on a pair of 1,000 yard seasons in 2008 and 2009 (the only two of his career), Williams never returned to elite form as the injuries, the presence of Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart, and the Panthers inability to consistently put together a solid offensive line kept him from reaching his potential. Having joined the Steelers in the offseason, Williams will back up Le’Veon Bell and start the first three games of the season with Bell suspended. Don’t expect him to approach Bell’s production. Williams’ yards per carry has declined in each of the last three seasons to just 3.5 last season when he played just six games due to injury. He is little more than a low level handcuff since we expect the Steelers to rely heavily on their passing attack when Bell is out of the lineup.

RB Josh Harris

Having done little to establish himself as a viable option in the event of Le’Veon Bell’s absence, Harris was presumably bypassed on the depth chart when the Steelers signed DeAngelo Williams in the offseason. Since the Steelers don’t view Harris as a potential handcuff to Bell, he has no fantasy value barring an injury to either Bell or Williams.

RB Dri Archer

The Steelers squandered a 3rd round pick in last year’s NFL Draft on the diminutive Archer. While they hoped that he could deliver some big plays, the 5’8″, 173 pound Kent State product amassed just 40 yards on 10 carries and 23 yards on seven receptions. Since the Steelers were seemingly at a loss with respect to how to get him the ball in space, he has no fantasy appeal despite possessing blazing speed (4.26 40 time).

WR Antonio Brown

After posting a career year in 2013 with 110 receptions for 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns, Brown was even better in 2014, once again setting career highs across the board with 181 targets, 129 receptions, 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. Even more impressive was his consistency as he posted seven or more fantasy points in all 16 games after doing so in 13 of 16 games in 2013. In 2015, we expect that Martavis Bryant’s emergence will eat into his target count slightly as well as his red zone opportunities. However, along with Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant, Brown rates as a Tier 1 fantasy wide receiver this season in standard scoring formats and quite likely should be considered the league’s top wide receiver in PPR formats.

WR Martavis Bryant

The Steelers selected Bryant in the 4th round of last year’s NFL Draft and the expectation was that he would spend the season buried on the depth chart behind Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Lance Moore. Considered somewhat of a raw product coming out of college, the 6’5″, 200 pound former Clemson Tiger used his size and speed (4.42 40 time) to earn a more significant role beginning in Week 7 when he went on a four game terror, catching 14 passes for 310 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the season with 26 receptions for 549 yards and eight touchdowns despite appearing in just 10 games and receiving more than five targets in just three of those contests. Given his ability as a deep threat as well as in the red zone, we expect Bryant to have an expanded role in the Steelers offense in 2015. He rates as a mid to upper tier WR3 with breakout potential.

WR Markus Wheaton

After opening the 2014 season in the starting lineup opposite Antonio Brown, Wheaton was eventually passed on the depth chart by rookie Martavis Bryant. After an impressive 97 yard performance to open the season, he managed just 549 yards in his final 15 games while scoring two touchdowns. At 5’11” and 182 pounds, Wheaton doesn’t possess Bryant’s impressive size and the Steelers have said that he will operate out of the slot in 2015. That limits his breakout potential but the truth is that we expect Brown and Bryant to eat up a large amount of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s targets this season with Wheaton likely to see fewer than 100 targets operating out of the slot. Another 650-700 yard season with between 2-4 touchdowns seems likely for Wheaton in 2015.

WR Sammie Coates

Taken in the 3rd round of this year’s draft, Coates joins a Steelers roster that features arguably the league’s top wide receiver in Antonio Brown as well as emerging youngsters Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton. While Coates boasts impressive speed and playmaking ability, the 6’2″, 201 pound Auburn product faces an uphill battle to earn significant playing time as a rookie. With Wheaton expected to operate out of the slot and Bryant coming off an impressive rookie campaign where he displayed solid potential as a deep threat, Coates’ will need to have an outstanding preseason to enter the season as anything more than a WR4. While he is waiver wire material in redraft formats, he is a mid-tier prospect in dynasty leagues.

TE Heath Miller

At 32 years of age (33 in October), there isn’t much that is appealing about Heath Miller. Although he racked up the 11th most targets amongst tight ends last season and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for the most yards of his career, Miller still managed to record just 761 yards with three touchdowns. For fantasy purposes, he needs to find the end zone more regularly to be worthy of TE1 status but he has just four touchdowns over the last two seasons. Going a little further back, he has three or fewer touchdowns in four of the last five seasons. Since we don’t expect his usage in the red zone to increase, he rates as a mid to lower tier TE2 with little upside.

Also see: Pittsburgh Steelers IDP Team Report | Cincinnati Bengals Team Report

Filed Under: Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Dynasty League Rookie Mock Draft—Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon First Off The Board?

May 5, 2015 By Dave 1 Comment

Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon, who should go fisrt in fantasy football dynasty rookie drafts? Gurley has an edge in talent. Gordon has an edge in situation, and isn't rehabbing a torn ACL. And the pick is...

Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon, who should go first in fantasy football dynasty rookie drafts? Gurley has an edge in talent. Gordon has an edge in situation, and isn’t rehabbing a torn ACL. And the pick is…

The NFL Draft is in the books, and as a result many fantasy football dynasty owners are coming out of short hibernation to get their league rookie-only drafts underway. These are the golden children of the fantasy football landscape. The next superstars in the making to set your dynasty team on the winning path for years to come.

Who is the next Odell Beckham Jr. or Jeremy Hill? Who is the next Bishop Sankey, Tavon Austin or Cordarrelle Patterson? Hmm…

While dynasty owners have stars in their eyes for the incoming rookie class, it is always good to keep things in perspective. Early returns on last year’s class are very good, but that was very likely an exceptional year. It isn’t like that every year.

Very good and even great players emerge each season, and the rookies are a good place to start searching for those, but if your fellow owners are gaga for some of these guys and you can parlay it into a bounty of future draft picks, then you have to consider it.

All that said, we still have to think about the short and long-term fantasy outlook for this crop of rookies, and judge how they should be valued or ranked relative to their peers. Here is a three round, 12-team mock draft that does exactly that.

Round 1

1. RB Melvin Gordon, Chargers

While Gordon rates a hair below Todd Gurley in pure ability, he gets to join a Chargers offense that is light years ahead of where the Rams are, in particular at quarterback and along the offensive line.

2. RB Todd Gurley, Rams

One highlight is all it takes to see that Gurley is a special player. However, he is coming off a torn ACL and joins a Rams team with major issues along the offensive line and which currently only has two players that would rate as starters on most NFL teams.

3. WR Amari Cooper, Raiders

The choice between Cooper and Kevin White amounts to polish vs. potential. We’re going with polish and also recognizing that, while David Carr currently rates below Jay Cutler, we like the long term quarterback potential more in Oakland than we do in Chicago.

4. WR Kevin White, Bears

White has potential superstar written all over him but it was a little disconcerting to notice that, despite his blazing speed, his highlight reel didn’t show a player capable of gaining consistent separation.

5. WR DeVante Parker, Dolphins

At some point, Parker will emerge as the Dolphins top wide receiver and it just might happen during his rookie season. Of all of the Dolphins receivers, he is the only one who possesses the ability to emerge as a long term top wideout. The only caveat here is quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s lack of touch on the deep ball.

6. RB Tevin Coleman, Falcons

While not the shiftiest running back, Coleman possesses blazing speed and a willingness to take on opposing tacklers. He fits best in a zone blocking scheme and has a clear lane to a starting position with only the disappointing Devonta Freeman ahead of him.

7. WR Breshad Perriman, Ravens

Let’s run down the check marks: good size, outstanding speed, opportunity to start from Day 1. Yep, Perriman has all that and a strong armed quarterback in Joe Flacco that is a good fit to Perriman’s ability to make plays down the field. He may struggle early but he has tremendous upside.

8. RB T.J. Yeldon, Jaguars

The good news is that Yeldon has a chance to open the season as a starter with Jacksonville. The bad news is that Yeldon was drafted by Jacksonville. While Yeldon lacks the upside of some of his fellow rookie running backs, as the third running back taken in the draft, he will be in the starting line up early in the season, if not on opening day.

9. WR Nelson Agholor, Eagles

Agholor possesses solid, not outstanding speed and lacks ideal size at 6’1” and 190 pounds. While he can line up outside, he may spend most of his time working out of the slot and that would limit his upside.

10. WR Jaelen Strong, Texans

By all accounts, the Texans got a steal by selecting Strong in the 3rd round of the draft. While DeAndre Hopkins is entrenched as the team’s leading wide receiver, Strong figures to unseat Cecil Shorts for a starting position by mid-season.

11. RB Jeremy Langford, Bears

While Matt Forte is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, initial reports indicate that Langford is unlikely to be viewed as a potential long term replacement should Forte leave Chicago.

12. WR Dorial Green-Beckham, Titans

Green-Beckham has solid upside and comparisons to Brandon Marshall and Kelvin Benjamin are warranted. However, the Titans in general lack leadership and this pick would look a whole lot better if the team had a veteran wide receiver to mentor him. This is as boom or bust as it gets.

Round 2

1. RB Matt Jones, Redskins

Doesn’t possess major upside but, with Alfred Morris scheduled for free agency at season’s end, could have an opportunity to start in 2016.

2. RB Jay Ajayi, Dolphins

Miami’s backfield is devoid of depth and they had little choice but to end Ajayi’s draft freefall in the 5th round. He has little chance of supplanting Lamar Miller in 2015.

3. TE Maxx Williams, Ravens

Williams is a talented player and the Ravens draft well so there is a solid chance that he will have a long, productive career provided he remains healthy. I would have him ranked higher except for the fact that there are so many tight ends that fit within a certain tier of ability that there isn’t a need to use a high pick on Williams unless you think he will emerge as a superstar. The track record at TE for that is not happening is not stellar.

4. RB Ameer Abdullah, Lions

Not that big, not that fast, Abdullah will most likely work as a chance of pace and receiving option in his rookie year. However, the 2nd round pick has a chance to take over for Joique Bell as early as next season provided he can prove adept at running between the tackles. He will almost certainly never emerge as a workhorse type back.

5. WR Devin Funchess, Panthers

His selection by Carolina in the 2nd round rates as a head scratcher as he is basically a slightly less talented version of 2014 1st round pick Kelvin Benjamin.

6. WR Chris Conley, Chiefs

By now you’ve heard that Kansas City wide receivers failed to catch a single touchdown pass last season and Jeremy Maclin was brought in from Philadelphia to lead the rebuilding project. Well, Conley rates as the second piece of the project and he has a decent chance to emerge as a starter in his rookie season.

7. RB David Johnson, Cardinals

There are two narratives on Johnson. One is that he rates as Andre Ellington’s replacement in Arizona’s starting lineup. The other is that he’s strictly a soft running, 224 lb. backup with little upside.

8. RB David Cobb, Titans

While many are going to predict that Cobb has a chance to supplant second year player Bishop Sankey in the starting lineup, it says here that he is more likely to force Shonn Greene off the roster.

9. WR Sammie Coates, Steelers

Coates has some pretty serious talent and upside for a 3rd round pick but alas the path to playing time in Pittsburgh is somewhat blocked with Antonio Brown and a pair of productive youngsters in Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton in the way.

10. WR Phillip Dorsett, Colts

Not sure why the Colts felt the need to add Dorsett unless there are some concerns about T.Y. Hilton’s availability. We don’t see much of a role for him in 2015 especially since the Colts often line up in two tight end sets.

Jameis Winston

Yep, he went there.

11. QB Jameis Winston, Bucs

With so many solid fantasy options at quarterback, it just doesn’t make sense to reach for one in dynasty rookie drafts. Especially one with Winston’s checkered past and concerns of maturity issues. And he’s joining the Bucs, who just can’t seem to ever get it right.

12. QB Marcus Mariota, Titans

You have to be skeptical of his ability to transfer his college strengths to the pros, especially if coach Ken Whisenhunt fails to appropriately tailor his deep passing offensive philosophy. And where exactly are the playmakers on the Titans offense to help shoulder the load?

Round 3

1. RB Duke Johnson, Browns

Johnson has some serious agility skills but in Cleveland he will likely operate as a change of pace, receiving back behind Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West in an offense that will struggle to move the ball.

2. RB Javorius Allen, Ravens

Allen will enter training camp fighting with Lorenzo Taliaferro for the top spot behind Baltimore’s lead back, Justin Forsett.

3. WR Devin Smith, Jets

Smith’s solid speed and big play ability fill an obvious need in the Jets offense but new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s affinity for short and intermediate throws don’t bode well for Smith’s target count as a rookie nor does the presence of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.

4. RB Cameron Artis-Payne, Panthers

Aging Mike Tolbert is joined by a cast of retreads on Carolina’s depth chart behind Jonathan Stewart. Artis-Payne could emerge as Stewart’s handcuff, making him a potential contributor given Stewart’s lengthy injury history.

5. WR Ty Montgomery, Packers

Any wide receiver selected by Green Bay in the 3rd round warrants fantasy consideration. It’s just hard to predict much of a role for him until Jordy Nelson departs since Randall Cobb and Davante Adams are young, productive players.

6. TE Clive Walford, Raiders

A late-comer to football, Walford lacks the speed necessary to emerge as an upper tier tight end. However, he figures to ascend to the starting lineup early in his career.

7. WR Vince Mayle, Browns

Despite the abundance of talent at the wide receiver position in each of the last two drafts, Cleveland failed to address the position last year and waited until the 4th round this year before draft Mayle, who shapes up as a possession receiver.

8. RB Mike Davis, 49ers

While San Francisco’s current running back depth chart runs three deep with Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter, there is a decent chance that only Hyde will return to the team for the 2016 season, giving Davis a shot at earning some carries in 2016.

9. QB Bryce Petty, Jets

Geno Smith isn’t the answer and Ryan Fitzpatrick has never been the answer either. Petty likely redshirts as a rookie in 2015 with a chance to start next season.

10. WR Tyler Lockett, Seahawks

I have pretty much zero faith in the Seahawks ability to either develop or properly utilize their wide receivers. It’s that point in the draft, folks.

11. WR Rashad Greene, Jaguars

Despite having a solid trio of promising second year wide receivers, Jacksonville added Greene to the mix as their 5th round pick. Puzzling.

12. QB Sean Mannion, Rams

Recently acquired starter Nick Foles isn’t signed beyond this year and will need a solid season to earn a new contract. Given the current state of the team’s wide receivers and offensive line, the odds of that happening aren’t great.

2015 Early Rankings Series

Top 150 | Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends
Rookie-Only Mock Draft

Filed Under: Fantasy Football

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