Week 16 Rankings (2018): Top 50 Wide Receivers

by Will Overton

Welcome to fantasy football championship week ladies and gentlemen! Congratulations to those reading this and competing for a title, or if your league is doing it “wrong” a chance to make the finals in Week 17. We know this is the big week so we are going to do what we can to help you get those lineups in top shape. Let’s see how the wide receivers shake out:

1. DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans at Philadelphia
2. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons at Carolina
3. Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers at NY Jets
4. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans
5. Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh
6. Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle
7. JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans
8. TY Hilton – Indianapolis Colts vs. NY Giants
9. Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings at Detroit
10. Amari Cooper – Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay
11. Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings at Detroit
12. Robert Woods – Los Angeles Rams at Arizona
13. Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Baltimore
14. Odell Beckham Jr – New York Giants at Indianapolis
15. Julian Edelman – New England Patriots vs. Buffalo
16. Brandin Cooks – Los Angeles Rams at Arizona
17. Alshon Jeffery – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Houston
18. Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas
19. Robby Anderson – New York Jets vs. Green Bay
20. Tyler Lockett – Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City
21. Kenny Golladay – Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota
22. Jarvis Landry – Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati
23. Josh Gordon – New England Patriots vs. Buffalo
24. Allen Robinson – Chicago Bears at San Francisco
25. Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans vs. Washington
26. Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City
27. Josh Reynolds – Los Angeles Rams at Arizona
28. Robert Foster – Buffalo Bills at New England
29. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals vs. LA Rams
30. Calvin Ridley – Atlanta Falcons at Carolina
31. Dante Pettis – San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago
32. Mike Williams – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Baltimore
33. DJ Moore – Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta
34. Courtland Sutton – Denver Broncos at Oakland
35. Chris Godwin – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas
36. Golden Tate – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Houston
37. Adam Humphries – Tampa  Bay Buccaneers at Dallas
38. Sterling Shepard – New York Giants at Indianapolis
39. Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta
40. Dede Westbrook – Jacksonville Jaguars at Miami
41. Demaryius Thomas – Houston Texans at Philadelphia
42. John Ross – Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland
43. Anthony Miller – Chicago Bears at San Francisco
44. Jordy Nelson – Oakland Raiders vs. Denver
45. Chris Conley – Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle
46. Taylor Gabriel – Chicago Bears at San Francisco
47. Kenny Stills – Miami Dolphins vs. Jacksonville
48. Mohamed Sanu – Atlanta Falcons at Carolina
49. Zay Jones – Buffalo Bills at New England
50. DaeSean Hamilton – Denver Broncos at Oakland

Thoughts:

• There were a lot of guys on this list, especially guys at the top, who disappointed fantasy owners down in a big spot last week. You have to have a short memory in fantasy football and that means you play your studs even when they let you down for a week. Tyreek Hill is a prime example. Hill has been one of the very best receivers in fantasy this season and I fully expect him to return to form this week against Seattle.
• All season the ranking of Alshon Jeffery has been a bit all over the place, but he makes his return to the Top 20 this week following his best week of the year. Jeffery has been inconsistent so owners may not want to trust him, and who can blame them, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he went off with Nick Foles returning to quarterback. We saw last week that the Texans can be passed on and I expect Jeffery to have a very nice game.
• Speaking of the Jets being able to pass on the Texans, the guy who did the most damage, Robby Anderson, finds himself in the Top 20 this week as well. Anderson has now strung together two really solid games since Sam Darnold returned. It’s taken a bit more time than you’d like, but Anderson is finally hitting his stride and could be a big contributor for fantasy teams in the playoffs.
• Fantasy writers, myself included, were down on Kenny Golladay last week and he proved the doubters wrong with 7 catches for 146 yards. The concern was that he was facing a very good cover corner, was the only real weapon in the Lions offense and would certainly be targeted by the defense. Those things didn’t matter. While he is facing another really good cornerback this week, it’s really hard to sit him given what he has done this season.
• The question of whether or not you can trust Doug Baldwin in a championship game isn’t an easy one to answer, but its going to be hard to leave him on the bench. He is coming off a 77 yard performance that included two TD grabs, and now he’s set for a prime matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs’ not so great defense. The concern is there are so many guys to throw to in Seattle that you don’t know who is going to show up each week, but at the same time Baldwin has always been Russell Wilson’s favorite target and if he’s heating up Wilson should be looking for him.
• One of the biggest pieces of injury news to watch this week is Keenan Allen. Right now things are very up in the air for him. If he doesn’t play you have to bump Mike Williams up about 10 spots because we saw what he could do last week as the number one target. You also have to add Tyrell Williams to these rankings as a late 30’s guy who could be a sneaky WR3 or flex play.

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