Rankings: Rookie WRs Fantasy Football

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley

1) Will Fuller – Houston Texans

The top three guys on this list should really be labeled 1A, 1B, and 1C as they all have the potential to break out in their rookie season, and they were all drafted to teams that need WR instantly. Fuller tops the list currently because he has the best sidekick in DeAndre Hopkins to line up across the field from and relieve some pressure off of Fuller. Hopkins is going to demand double coverage so that should leave Fuller free to roam the middle and get favorable match-ups with linebackers that won’t be able to cover him. All of Fuller and Hopkins success will ride on how Brock Osweiler handles the pressure of being the starting QB for the Texans.

 

2) Corey Coleman – Cleveland Browns

The Browns have absolutely no one at WR so Coleman instantly becomes RGIII’s go to guy, even though he doesn’t really fit the #1 WR mold. Coleman is going to have great games this season as the best WR on the Browns roster and he is going to have games where he disappears because he doesn’t have all the physical tools to be a #1 in the NFL, however, he does have the tools to be an outstanding #2 WR. Coleman blew everyone away through the first few weeks of college football last season and he could have an equally as fast start to his NFL career.

 

3) Laquon Treadwell – Minnesota Vikings

Treadwell might be #1 on many lists but he has too much competition on his own roster at the WR position to start off at the top of the list, but he does fit the #1 WR mold more closely than the previous two. Treadwell is a stud and finds a way to make catches no matter where they are thrown. He isn’t going to beat many CBs off of the line with his speed but he will win the majority of jump balls. This is also Adrian Peterson’s team, and they are very run heavy as an offense.

 

4) Josh Doctson – Washington Redskins

Doctson is probably the best overall WR out of this rookie class in terms of physical and athletic ability. He is however going to a team with two WRs who can be All-Pro’s in Desean Jackson & Pierre Garcon, and there is all world TE Jordan Reed to compete for receptions with. Washington has a lot of tools on offense, adding Doctson gives them a second true Red-Zone threat to add with Reed. Doctson wins the majority of his jump balls and he is faster than most people think.

 

 

5) Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints

Thomas is coming off a pretty impressive career at Ohio State where there was a lot of hungry mouths to feed on offense. He had almost identical statistical seasons in 2014 and 2015 showing that he is very consistent in production terms. He had 56 catches for 799 yards and nine TDs in 2014, and followed that up with 54 catches for 781 yards and nine TDs in 2015. Given that the Saints don’t really have any true #1 WR, Thomas could come in right away and perform better than everyone on this list above him. Plus Drew Brees and that Saints offense love to air it out. Thomas could be a sleeper for OROY.

 

6) Sterling Shepard – New York Giants

Shepard did nothing but get better each season at Oklahoma and he was playing against legit NFL competition week in and week out. Shepard had 137 receptions for 2,258 yards and 16 TDs over the last two seasons. The Giants do have Victor Cruz & Odell Beckham at WR but Shepard might make just enough noise in his rookie season to make a splash in fantasy football early and often.

 

7) Tyler Boyd – Cincinnati Bengals

Boyd was 74 yards short of having three straight 1,000+ yard seasons in college at a big time program. That is almost unheard of especially when you have pretty awful to mediocre QB play the entire time. Boyd has some off field issues that may have hurt his draft stock a bit but he should be one of the faster producing WRs in this class. The Bengals lost their #2 and #3 WR in the offseason so there is a big need for a young WR to produce often and early. Boyd fits all these needs and could be a top 25 fantasy football WR sooner than later.

 

8) Rashard Higgins – Cleveland Browns

Higgins had one of the best college seasons for a WR in 2014 that comes to recent memory by catching 96 passes for 1,750 yards to go with 17 TDs, then his QB left to the NFL and he saw a drop off in production in 2015. With a new QB & every opposing defenses keying on him he was still able to haul in 75 passes for 1,062 yards and eight TDs. The Browns really have nothing at WR and Higgins is a great route runner and does well with open space, he could come in right away and fight for playing time.