Updated Wide Receiver Draft Rankings - Standard Scoring (Non-PPR)

RotoBaller’s 2020 wide receiver rankings for standard fantasy football leagues are looking a little different than they did a few months ago.

The NFL draft, trades, free-agent signings, salary-cap cuts and opt-outs due to the COVID crisis have all affected the wide receiver rankings since the last time our website’s rankings were released. So now that the start of the football season is a couple of weeks away, it is time to take a last look at these updated rankings before your upcoming auctions and drafts.

Here is my analysis of RotoBaller’s current 2020 wide receiver rankings for standard fantasy football leagues:

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best NFL Series, MLB Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

 

Wide Receiver Standard Rankings and Tiers

Position Rank	Position Tier	Player Name	Overall Rank	Overall Tier
1	1	Michael Thomas	5	1
2	1	Julio Jones	8	1
3	1	Davante Adams	10	2
4	1	Tyreek Hill	11	2
5	1	DeAndre Hopkins	14	2
6	1	Chris Godwin	15	2
7	2	Kenny Golladay	19	3
8	2	Mike Evans	25	3
9	2	Allen Robinson II	28	3
10	2	Amari Cooper	30	3
11	2	JuJu Smith-Schuster	32	3
12	2	Adam Thielen	34	3
13	2	Cooper Kupp	36	3
14	2	A.J. Brown	37	3
15	2	Odell Beckham Jr.	38	4
16	2	D.K. Metcalf	39	4
17	2	D.J. Moore	40	4
18	3	Courtland Sutton	42	4
19	3	D.J. Chark	44	4
20	3	Tyler Lockett	45	4
21	3	DeVante Parker	46	4
22	3	Robert Woods	47	4
23	3	Calvin Ridley	48	4
24	3	Keenan Allen	49	4
25	3	T.Y. Hilton	50	4
26	4	Stefon Diggs	60	5
27	4	Terry McLaurin	61	5
28	4	Jarvis Landry	66	5
29	4	A.J. Green	72	5
30	4	Michael Gallup	73	5
31	4	Tyler Boyd	75	6
32	4	Julian Edelman	77	6
33	4	Marquise Brown	78	6
34	4	Marvin Jones Jr.	79	6
35	5	Brandin Cooks	82	6
36	5	Will Fuller V	85	6
37	5	Mike Williams	87	6
38	5	Darius Slayton	95	7
39	5	CeeDee Lamb	98	7
40	5	John Brown	100	7
41	5	Emmanuel Sanders	102	7
42	6	Justin Jefferson	106	7
43	6	Jerry Jeudy	108	7
44	6	Christian Kirk	112	8
45	6	Anthony Miller	114	8
46	6	Golden Tate	116	8
47	6	Deebo Samuel	118	8
48	6	Preston Williams	119	8
49	6	Sterling Shepard	120	8
50	6	Breshad Perriman	121	8
51	7	Diontae Johnson	126	8
52	7	Robby Anderson	128	8
53	7	Jamison Crowder	129	8
54	7	Henry Ruggs III	130	8
55	7	N'Keal Harry	132	8
56	8	Allen Lazard	141	9
57	8	DeSean Jackson	143	9
58	8	Brandon Aiyuk	146	9
59	8	Mecole Hardman	148	9
60	8	Curtis Samuel	150	9
61	8	Jalen Reagor	151	9
62	8	Sammy Watkins	152	9
63	8	Kelvin Harmon	155	10
64	9	Michael Pittman Jr.	161	10
65	9	Hunter Renfrow	167	10
66	9	Parris Campbell	168	10
67	9	Tee Higgins	170	10
68	9	Tyrell Williams	171	11
69	9	Alshon Jeffery	172	11
70	9	Kenny Stills	174	11
71	9	Dede Westbrook	177	11
72	9	Denzel Mims	180	11
73	9	Corey Davis	183	11
74	9	Randall Cobb	184	11
75	9	James Washington	188	11
76	9	Larry Fitzgerald	190	11
77	10	John Ross	195	11
78	10	Devin Funchess	198	12
79	10	Laviska Shenault Jr.	203	12
80	10	Antonio Gandy-Golden	208	12
81	10	Cole Beasley	209	12
82	10	Danny Amendola	211	12
83	10	Chase Claypool	212	12
84	10	Mohamed Sanu	214	12
85	10	KJ Hamler	224	13
86	11	Josh Reynolds	231	13
87	11	Chris Conley	232	13
88	11	Russell Gage	235	13
89	11	Steven Sims	241	13
90	11	Albert Wilson	246	13
91	11	Miles Boykin	250	14
92	11	Tre'Quan Smith	252	14
93	11	Adam Humphries	253	14
94	11	Andy Isabella	255	14
95	11	Demaryius Thomas	257	14
96	11	Tyler Johnson	269	15
97	11	Phillip Dorsett	271	15
98	11	Devin Duvernay	276	15
99	12	Demarcus Robinson	278	15
100	12	Zach Pascal	293	15
101	12	Van Jefferson	304	15
102	12	Bryan Edwards	305	15
103	12	J.J. Arcega-Whiteside	313	16
104	12	OlaBisi Johnson	315	16
105	12	Jake Kumerow	316	16
106	12	Tajae Sharpe	317	16
107	12	Taylor Gabriel	327	16
108	12	Marquise Goodwin	328	16
109	12	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	329	16
110	12	Willie Snead	330	16
111	12	David Moore	337	16
112	12	Scott Miller	339	16
113	12	Nelson Agholor	345	16
114	12	Cody Latimer	350	17
115	12	Auden Tate	351	17
116	12	Javon Wims	361	17
117	12	Trent Taylor	364	17
118	12	Jakobi Meyers	367	17
119	12	Greg Ward	377	17
120	12	Keke Coutee	380	17
121	12	Antonio Brown	381	17
122	13	Kendrick Bourne	385	18
123	13	Ted Ginn	391	18
124	13	Andre Patton	395	18
125	13	Marqise Lee	397	18
126	13	Allen Hurns	398	18
127	13	Dante Pettis	404	18
128	13	Josh Gordon	411	18
129	13	DaeSean Hamilton	417	18
130	13	Paul Richardson Jr.	419	18
131	13	Quincy Enunwa	430	18
132	13	Keith Kirkwood	431	18
133	13	Damiere Byrd	436	18
134	13	Rashard Higgins	437	18
135	13	Jauan Jennings	439	18
136	13	Geronimo Allison	440	18
137	13	Keelan Cole	441	18
138	13	Isaiah Coulter	458	19
139	13	Byron Pringle	460	19
140	13	Justin Watson	462	19
141	13	KeeSean Johnson	463	19
142	13	Trey Quinn	471	19
143	13	Jakeem Grant	473	19
144	13	Kalif Raymond	474	19
145	13	Deon Cain	479	19
146	13	K.J. Osborn	483	20
147	13	John Ursua	486	20
148	13	Tim Patrick	488	20
149	13	Cordarrelle Patterson	489	20
150	13	Zay Jones	491	20
151	13	Hakeem Butler	494	20
152	13	Robert Foster	497	20
153	13	Equanimeous St. Brown	499	20
154	13	Deonte Harris	501	20
155	13	Riley Ridley	504	20
156	13	Collin Johnson	505	20
157	13	Gabriel Davis	506	20
158	13	Isaiah Hodgins	507	20
159	13	Quintez Cephus	508	20
160	13	K.J. Hill	511	20
161	13	Alex Erickson	513	20
162	13	Christian Blake	514	20
163	13	Taywan Taylor	515	20
164	13	Donovan Peoples-Jones	516	20
165	13	Isaiah McKenzie	517	20
166	13	Vyncint Smith	518	20
167	13	Darius Jennings	519	20
168	13	Dezmon Patmon	521	20
169	13	Joe Reed	522	20
170	13	Devin Smith	523	20

 

Tier 1

Michael Thomas led all receivers in receptions, targets and receiving yards in 2019, and he nobody was in his zip code in any of the categories. Considering he is only 27 years old and has trusty future Hall of Famer Drew Brees passing to him again, there is no reason to doubt this Thomas will be the top receiver in fantasy football for a second straight season.

Julio Jones has every right to be ranked right up with the best of the receivers, but his major drawback is he does not find the end zone nearly as often as other upper-echelon pass catchers. He has not had a double-digit touchdown season since 2012 and has only scored 17 times over this past three seasons despite being targeted 475 times. When a receiver is seeing that volume of passes, he has to get himself into the end zone more, especially when he is as talented as Jones is.

DeAndre Hopkins was already in a superb situation in Houston with Deshaun Watson throwing to him and having the Texans passing attack revolve around him, but now he gets to go to Arizona’s pass-first offense that is designed to open up space and create big-play opportunities for its playmakers. Fantasy players can bank on Hopkins gifting them 110 receptions, 1,400 yards and a dozen touchdowns in 2020.

Chris Godwin is coming off a breakout season (86-1,333-9) and will enjoy a humongous quarterback upgrade going from interception machine Jameis Winston to Hall of Famer Tom Brady. It is hard to place Godwin any higher, though, because you have to wonder how the targets in Tampa will be divided among him, Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski and everyone else involved in Bruce Arians’ offense.

 

Tier 2

Golladay racked up 1,190 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns last year even though he had Jeff Driskel and David Blough throwing dying quails at him for half the season after Matthew Stafford was injured. His 2020 numbers will be even better if Stafford suits up for 16 games.

Smith-Schuster has a lot to prove coming off his injury-riddled 2019 campaign. He still has to show that he can post big numbers when Antonio Brown is not on the opposite side of the field distracting defenders.

Now that Brandin Cooks has been traded to Houston, Kupp’s targets should increase and so should his role in the Rams passing attack. Scattershot Jared Goff might not throw the prettiest passes, but they always seem to find Kupp’s sticky hands when they head his way.

A.J. Brown has four 100-yard games and five touchdowns over the final half-dozen games of the regular season, but he was shut down in the playoffs (five catches for 64 in three contests). Which Brown will fantasy players get in 2020? He deserves his Tier 2 ranking, but do not be surprised if he ends up as a Tier 1.

 

Tier 3

Both Sutton and Chark are young, exciting receivers who had breakout years in 2019 and have tremendous upsides. That said, they are in Tier 3 and not Tier 2 because they do not have proven track records and neither do the quarterbacks that will be throwing to them this season.

Keenan Allen was Philip Rivers’ top target and thanks to the veteran quarterback was able to post three consecutive seasons of at least 97 catches, 1190 yards and six touchdowns. Now that Rivers is in Indianapolis and Allen is stuck with either rookie Justin Herbert or mediocre veteran Tyrod Taylor, look for Allen’s numbers to trail off.

Not only is DeVante Parker coming off a career year that saw him rack up 1202 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, he has less competition for targets now that No. 3 and No. 4 receivers Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson have opted out of the upcoming season. He is the one to watch out of the Tier 3 group.

Hilton is coming off a season where he missed a career-high six games and averaged a career-low 11.1 yards per catch, plus he is 30 and will turn 31 in November. He has also never scored eight touchdowns in a season, which is a mild surprise considering how successful he has been. But since he has five 1,000-yard seasons to his credit and Philip Rivers coming in as his QB, Hilton deserves a spot in this tier rather than a tier or two below.

 

Tier 4

Stefon Diggs is one of the most explosive receivers in the business, is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard years in Minnesota and is escaping Adam Thielen’s shadow now that he is in Buffalo. But will Diggs be able to escape Buffalo’s winter weather in December when Mother Nature is causing him more headaches than sticky cornerbacks? Switching offenses will not be a fantasy upgrade for Diggs, either.

McLaurin struggled at first when franchise quarterback Dwayne Haskins took over the offense in Washington, but the pair’s chemistry improved at the end of the season when McLaurin piled up 16 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns over his last three contests. Washington might not have a team name, but they have an undeniable No. 1 WR.

Fantasy players cannot afford to forget about A.J. Green. Sure, he cannot be ranked higher since he missed all of 2019 due to injury and was banged-up the year before, too. But Green was a top-five fantasy receiver before his injuries and has No. 1 pick overall Joe Burrow as his battery mate. If Green drinks his milk, takes his vitamins and stays healthy, his fantasy value will be a couple tiers higher than where it is now.

Edelman’s fantasy value will be decimated by the departure of longtime passing partner Tom Brady. His new quarterback and passing partner, Cam Newton, has not done his wideouts any fantasy favors in recent years. No Carolina WR topped the 1,000-yard mark when Newton was at the helm between 2015 and 2018.

Marquise Brown has the makings of being the next DeSean Jackson. He is going to be a hit-or-miss fantasy receiver who could hit a home run or two in a game and give fantasy owners 150 yards and two touchdowns one week, then be held to two catches for 30 yards the next. He will just not be targeted enough to be a top-tier fantasy WR because of Baltimore’s run-first offense. Hollywood was not targeted more than seven times in any of last 11 regular-season games last year.

 

Tier 5

Brandin Cooks was a money-in-the-bank fantasy producer between 2015 and 2018, breaking the 1,000-yard barrier with three different teams during those glory years. Of course, he was part of three tremendous offenses and benefitted greatly from the schemes and quarterbacks in those situations. Now Cooks will be part of a reshuffled receiver corps in Houston and is one concussion away from possibly having from having his career ended, so those risks keep him from reaching Tier 4 status right now.

Mike Williams is dealing with a sprained shoulder, which could impact his availability for Week 1. Nagging injuries have hampered him at times throughout his young career, and while his 20.4 YPC in 2019 was quite impressive, finding the end zone only two times after 10 scores in 2018 was not.

The door is wide open for Will Fuller to make a huge fantasy impact in Houston now that Hopkins has been dealt away, but will his harmed hamstrings and knobby knees allow him to? Fuller has missed 22 games during his four-year career and is too risky to rank any higher.

Emmanuel Sanders finds himself on his third team in less than a calendar year. Signing with the Saints might sound like it makes fantasy sense on paper, but No. 2 receivers never post quality numbers in New Orleans with Michael Thomas, tight end Jared Cook and top tailback Alvin Kamara all higher on the target totem pole.

CeeDee Lamb is a greyhound and would be ranked a tier or two higher if he was not drafted by Dallas. He might have a hard time finding consistent targets with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup already entrenched as the top two receivers in “Big D.”

 

Tier 6

Golden Tate’s 2019 numbers were skewed by a drug suspension that cost him the first month of the season. He would have finished with 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns over a full season if he was around all 16 weeks. Keep that in mind when ranking your receivers on your cheat sheet.

This year that other talented young receivers who might have their fantasy values stunted by issues beyond their control. Christian Kirk is on the verge of becoming a star, but now Nuk is in Arizona to assume the No. 1 WR role and take most of the targets.

Jerry Jeudy will be a future star in Denver, but what kind of quarterback play can he expect?

Perriman shows flashes of brilliance in limited time with Tampa Bay towards the end of last year, but can he be consistent and injury-free as a member of the New York Jets offense?

 

Tier 7 and Below

Diontae Johnson is an intriguing late-round option as long as Ben Roethlisberger does not suffer another season-ending injury.

Give Watkins credit for sticking with Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes for at least one more season even though he had to take a pay cut. Winning means more to him than putting up fantastic stats. That makes him a great guy but not the best fantasy receiver to hang your helmet on.

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