We are halfway through this series boys and girls. You all know the drill. These are wide receivers you should draft and ones you definitely should not! Who’s gonna catch and who’s gonna flop? Let’s dive into the endzone and see for ourselves.
1.) Draft; JuJu Smith-Schuster (PIT)
JuJu’s last year didn’t go so great due to constant quarterback changes and some injury issues. However, I firmly believe he bounces back as the Pittsburgh’s number one wideout. Ben is finally healthy (which is a huge plus), and the Steelers will most likely be able to move the ball down the field better with the recent improvements of Dionate Johnson, James Washington, and the recent drafting of Chase Claypool. Get JuJu in your lineups because this is his year to prove to Pittsburgh that he can be their guy! I firmly believe this will be the case.
1.) Avoid; Mike Evans (TB)
Evans is tough because he relies on a powerful arm to throw him the ball downfield. He can even break big, or fall flat. With Tom Brady at quarterback, I just don’t see how he will get that same deep ball connection he did with Jameis Winston. I see Chris Godwin starting to take the reigns as the number one wideout in Tampa Bay with Evans falling to the number two. I just can’t see Brady having that arm strength anymore, hence Evan’s value goes down for me as a drafter.
2.) Draft; Odell Beckham Jr (CLE)
Beckham’s first season with the Browns wasn’t the greatest, but he still managed to get over 1,000 yards on the season catching balls from Baker Mayfield. Beckham’s problem this year relied on two things. One, he played through a sports hernia through a majority of the year. Two, was that he wasn’t used properly thanks to Kitchen’s incompetence. I do firmly believe that he will do a lot better this season because he will be healthy and will be used properly even though Baker won’t be that great. Get him on your team!
2.) Avoid; Terry McLaurin (WAS)
Out of all the rookie receivers last year that came forth and produced, McLaurin was the biggest surprise. Behind Case Keenum throwing him dimes left and right, he was a huge underrated threat in the passing game. When Haskins took over, we didn’t see it as much, and honestly I am a little worried about his production usage this upcoming season. Call it a hunch, but I’d avoid drafting him if I were you.
3.) Draft; Stefon Diggs (BUF)
Diggs finally gets to show the world his value as he will undoubtably be the number one wide receiver in Buffalo after being traded from the Vikings. Diggs should do wonderfully well in Buffalo’s system relying on Josh Allen’s strong arm and decision making to get him the much needed points he craved in Minnesota. Diggs will be the main route runner while Brown goes to his role of the deep threat with Beasley coming in on three receiver plays. It’s the perfect scenario for this kid, so now all he has to do is shine!
3.) Avoid; Tyler Boyd (CIN)
Tyler Boyd was a surprise in Cincinnati when A.J. Green couldn’t compete. He took the reigns as the number one wideout and helped Andy Dalton out in a lot of jams he found himself in. However, A.J. Green is back and healthy. He should be the main concern in the passing game with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow throwing him the ball. Boyd is now left back to his number two role, and I don’t believe that he will have the amount of receptions and points to back up drafting him high. Just avoid his name here folks.
4.) Draft; Emmanuel Sanders (NO)
Going from the 49er’s to the Saints should really be a huge blessing for Sanders. While he won’t be the number one receiver there alongside Thomas, Drew Brees finally has a guy he can toss the ball to other than Thomas as a a receiver. Sanders should be a huge red zone target for Brees to throw to along with trying to throw some vertical threat style passes to him while Thomas handles the route running plays. He should be a fine addition to the Saints and your fantasy team!
4.) Avoid; Julian Edelman (NE)
The hype for picking Edelman always comes late in draft selections, but honestly I would steer clear away from him this year. You have a new quarterback that will be starting in Jarrett Stidham that doesn’t have that connection like Edelman had with Brady. I see a lot of running with the Patriots this year as well as passes to the running backs and tight ends leaving Edelman out of the loop. He’ll do decent, but he won’t put up the numbers like he used to and that will be his downfall heading into the 2020 season.
5.) Draft; Jerry Jeudy (DEN) and CeeDee Lamb (DAL)
If it came down to choosing one rookie wideout between Lamb and Jeudy it would be hard for me. So I decided to throw them both in here as a two-for-one package. I think both of these rookies have a great chance of succeeding and putting up great numbers. Prescott has proven with his passing numbers that Lamb should have a great opportunity to do some damage. Jeudy, on the other hand will be the compliment to Courtland Sutton as the number two receiver. Drew Lock should find Jeudy open on a number of occasions with teams double teaming Sutton. If I had to choose one for the sake of an argument, it would probably be CeeDee Lamb, but both of these guys look great going into the 2020 season.
5.) Avoid; Brandin Cooks (HOU)
Cooks is a good receiver, but there is no way in hell he can step into the shoes and carry the number one position as Hopkins did. What mostly scares me here is his durability. Cooks has had multiple concussions in his career and I don’t trust a number one wideout with those statistics. The Texans are rolling the dice with a lot of injury prone players, and as far as I’m concerned they can stay off my time because of that.
thoughtsfromthebench.com 