| 25 |
NYG |
Kenny Golladay |
The ex-Lion cashed in for a four-year, $72 million contract with the Giants despite a down 2020 when he missed 11 games with hamstring and hip injuries. Golladay (hamstring) already will miss 2-3 weeks of practice. The jury is still out on Daniel Jones as a starting quarterback but they have no other options. The offense has been conservative with OC Jason Garrett, but that should favor the new No. 1 wideout for the Giants. |
| 26 |
SF |
Brandon Aiyuk |
While Aiyuk’s production varied greatly, he impressed with four games over 90 yards and filled in for the absent Deebo Samuel and George Kittle last year. His stock has fallen a bit as the summer wears on, and the 49ers should spread the ball around more this year. And run the ball more as well. He’s talented, but the offense hasn’t produced any stud wide receivers in a long time. |
| 27 |
CLE |
Odell Beckham Jr |
The move to Cleveland produced the lowest catch totals in his career. And he’s battled injuries since 2016 and then tore his ACL in Week 7 last year. The Browns have a dominating rushing offense, but the the passing stats are already some of the lowest in the NFL. And now he is rehabbing a torn ACL? No thanks. |
| 28 |
CIN |
Tee Higgins |
Higgins already formed chemistry with Joe Burrow last year and ended with 908 yards as a rookie. The addition of Ja’Marr Chase will have an impact to be sure, but Chase did not play last year and will take time. Tyler Boyd will take the bigger hit. This is a great spot for Higgins who could go a bit earlier. |
| 29 |
PIT |
Chase Claypool |
The 6-4 Notre Dame product turned in monster games and a few total whiffs as a rookie. No team threw more than the Steelers and that’s bound to decrease. Upgrading the running game alone will impact the passing. Claypool is still a bit risky given the offense, but he has plenty of upside to merit this pick. |
| 30 |
PHI |
DeVonta Smith |
Smith may struggle through his rookie year with a quarterback who is still learning the job. And he’s oddly lanky at 6-1 but only 175 pounds. But all he has ever done is dominate when given the chance. He won the Heisman as a wideout after he posted 117-1856-23 over 13 games last year. Risk as a rookie? Of course. Upside to surprise? Always has so far. |
| 31 |
DEN |
Courtland Sutton |
Was on the path to big things after posting 1,112 yards and six scores in his second season, but last year he tore his ACL. Until there is proof he is over the injury – physically and mentally – I’m not buying. |
| 32 |
JAX |
D.J. Chark |
The Jaguars are all new for 2021 and Chark is the only receiver cemented in his role. His success rides on the arm of the rookie Trevor Lawrence, but he posted 1,000 yards in 2019 with far less pedigreed quarterbacks. The No. 1 wideout for any team should be this high. Chark has the best offense around him since he was drafted in 2018. |
| 33 |
DEN |
Jerry Jeudy |
The 1.15 pick last year led the Broncos in receiving despite the offense crumbling around him with injuries. Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater are fighting to be the starter, so Jeudy may still be limited by his quarterback play. But he did post two 100-yard efforts as a rookie, including 140 yards in Week 17. |
| 34 |
PIT |
JuJu Smith-Schuster |
Signed a one-year deal to stay in Pittsburgh, but his monster 2018 season is hard to recall. Smith-Schuster caught 97 passes last year while Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t throw deep, but he only averaged a paltry 8.6 yards. Falling this far may mean he is a value, but the Steelers want to run more this year and start throwing deeper again. |
| 35 |
SF |
Deebo Samuel |
The 49ers passing game is hard to call with uncertainty at quarterback. But Brandon Aiyuk looked strong as a rookie and George Kittle will be back. Samuel missed nine games in 2020 because he couldn’t stay healthy. The 49ers want to run more, not pass more to the No. 3 target. |
| 36 |
CAR |
Robby Anderson |
This is a steal if Anderson can repeat the 95 catches of last year, but a change in quarterback to Sam Darnold puts more risk into the equation. They played together at the Jets, so it won’t be all new. But a healthy Christian McCaffrey means fewer passes for the wideouts. |
| 37 |
TB |
Antonio Brown |
Brown is 33 years old, so hardly a youngster. But he caught 45 passes in just eight games with Tom Brady and somehow kept completely out of the news for once. Too many mouths to feed in Tampa Bay to rely on the No. 3 wideout, but he merits a fantasy roster spot and a chance that he eventually offers enough reliabilty to consider starting. |
| 38 |
IND |
Michael Pittman Jr. |
He’s big and fast, but was limited as a rookie to only 40 catches. Now a uncertain situation with Carson Wentz throws risk at least into the early portion of the season. He’s a great pick at this spot and has the talent level to do much more when the Colts secure a decent passing game. |
| 39 |
JAX |
Laviska Shenault Jr. |
Managed to post 58 catches as a rookie on a deteriorating Jacksonville offense but only gained 10.3 yards per catch. Solid pick at this point with some upside if Trevor Lawrence can meet expectations. |
| 40 |
CIN |
Tyler Boyd |
Was a 1,000-yard sort of receiver until last year when Tee Higgins showed up. Now Ja’Marr Chase reunites with his college quarterback and Boyd looks lost in the shuffle. Bigger concern is that he’ll start the season well enough but fade later on as Chase starts to get back into the groove. |
| 41 |
HOU |
Brandin Cooks |
The Texans offense looks like a train wreck, but Cooks managed 1,150 yards and six scores in his first season there. Stepping down from Deshaun Watson to Tyrod Taylor or even Davis Mills naturally drops Cooks’ outlook. But a No. 1 wideout on a team that will need to throw is worth picking up here and maybe even earlier. |
| 42 |
LAC |
Mike Williams |
He’s had touchdowns with no yards, and then yards with no touchdowns. First year with Justin Herbert ended with 48 catches for 756 yards and five scores so in the middle for once. The 6-4 Williams offers a nice target for the developing Hebert, and losing Hunter Henry may help Williams. |
| 43 |
MIA |
Will Fuller |
Four 100-yard games last year, missed five others and was mediocre in the rest. Fuller has the talent but not the durability. He’s missed at least five games in each of the last four seasons. Suspended to open the year. |
| 44 |
CLE |
Jarvis Landry |
Landry offers a safe WR3 production at the cost of a backup. He’s a great bye week filler and can offer double-digit fantasy points in a PPR league as the possession receiver. No real upside but a solid performer worth plugging in when needed. |
| 45 |
WAS |
Curtis Samuel |
He gets dinged up, but Samuel enters his fifth season and yet is only 24 years old. He finally became a decent receiver with 77 catches in Carolina, and he ran 41 times for 200 yards. Washington needs the help and should have improved passing. Samuel is finally stepping beyond being just a gimmick. |
| 46 |
MIA |
Jaylen Waddle |
This is almost certainly an appropriate spot for a wideout that never produced more than 45 catches in any season for Alabama. He reunites with Tua Tagovailoa, but the Fins don’t seem completely sold on the quarterback so far. But Waddle played on a talent-rich Crimson Tide and should become the No. 1 wideout in Miami, if only eventually. He runs a 4.3 40-yard time and was drafted 1.06. Tons of upside and the Fins have one of the lightest passing schedules and yet a mediocre-looking run game. |
| 47 |
KC |
Mecole Hardman |
He has a better opportunity with Sammy Watkins gone but then again – what did Watkins do? Hardman hasn’t made much dent into the prolific passing offense for the last two years. Demarcus Robinson also figures in so someone else can let Hardman disappoint for the third year in a row. |
| 48 |
BAL |
Marquise Brown |
He hasn’t remotely made good on his selection in 2019 when he was the first wideout drafted. The Ravens brought in Sammy Watkins and drafted Rashod Bateman, so Brown’s road to relevancy may be even harder this year. Still – he was dynamic at Oklahoma and the Ravens have a much better passing schedule. |
| 49 |
LV |
Henry Ruggs III |
Ruggs was just another Marquise Brown who offered speed but delivered an underwhelming rookie season. His 26 catches for 452 yards suggest he’s due for only an incremental increase for Year 2. |
| 50 |
ATL |
Russell Gage |
Gage is a great pick at this spot. He replaces Julio Jones and already totaled 72 receptions last year. Granted – he doesn’t tack on much after the catch and, like Julio, hasn’t added many touchdowns. But he’s in a solid situation to see an uptick in production. He’s a great bye week cover and potential weekly plug-in if your roster goes bad. |
| 51 |
DAL |
Michael Gallup |
Gallup fell to No. 3 with the addition of CeeDee Lamb. His 59 catches for 843 yards of 2020 feels more like his ceiling than floor. He’ll still offer some fantasy value, but any chance of a big game is almost impossible. |
| 52 |
CHI |
Darnell Mooney |
He’s small at only 5-10 and 176 yards, but the fifth-round pick from Tulane surprised with 61 receptions for 631 yards as a rookie. He holds onto the No. 2 role across from Allen Robinson and was the No. 49 fantasy wideout in his first year. Once Andy Dalton falls to the wayside, Mooney can start gaining chemistry with Justin Fields, who can buy time and let Mooney use his 4.38 speed. |
| 53 |
IND |
T.Y. Hilton |
At 31 years old, Hilton is on the downside of his career and only managed around 50 catches in each of the last two seasons. That seemed to be looking up with the stronger arm of Carson Wentz but now he’s out for an unknown amount of time. Hilton’s fine as a backup to see if he is safe to play, but his time as a no-brainer fantasy starter is over. |
| 54 |
NYJ |
Corey Davis |
Davis looked like moving to the Jets would help his career. But then they added Keelan Cole and drafted Elijah Moore and retained Jamison Crowder. Add in a rookie quarterback on a rebuilding team with new coaches and schemes, and Davis looks like more risk than reward. |
| 55 |
NYJ |
Elijah Moore |
The Ole Miss product runs a 4.35 40-time and will become the slot receiver. But the Jets also kept Jamison Crowder so Moore’s path to more receptions may take some time. This deep, he’s a decent roster add if you can wait a month or two. |
| 56 |
BUF |
Cole Beasley |
Beasley made references to retiring because of COVID restrictions but has remained. The Bills added Emmanuel Sanders and want more from Gabriel Davis, so Beasley’s role is more likely to decline than increase. |
| 57 |
MIA |
DeVante Parker |
His freakishly productive end to 2019 did not repeat and Parker floated back down to a more standard 63 catches for 793 yards last year. Adding Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller will not help Parker to rekindle the temporary mojo of 2019. |
| 58 |
JAX |
Marvin Jones |
The 31-year-old moves to Jacksonville after a solid 2020 with 978 yards and nine touchdowns. But the aging receiver mixes in with DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault on a completely revamped offense with new coaches and a rookie quarterback. He signed a two-year deal, but the Jaguars can get out of it after this year. |
| 59 |
BAL |
Sammy Watkins |
Moving from the Chiefs to the Ravens seems like a major downgrade, but Watkins had no chance behind Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. In Baltimore, all there is ahead of him is Marquise Brown, who has been a bust. Watkins drew rave reviews from the coaching staff and the Ravens want to throw more downfield. As a final draft pick, Watkins offers some upside. |
| 60 |
NO |
Tre’Quan Smith |
The Saints haven’t decided on a quarterback and may not the entire year. Smith could actually benefit from Drew Brees leaving if they opt for Jameis Winston throwing deep balls. Worthy fantasy depth to see what happens. |
