Marquise Goodwin – I spent the whole offseason convinced that Goodwin, a journeyman at best thus far in his career, would be passed on the 49ers target totem pole by both Pierre Garcon and rookie Dante Pettis. Now we are entering the second week of preseason and Jimmy G’s affinity for Goodwin is still readily apparent causing us to move Goodwin past Garcon in our latest rankings. Now while Goodwin was solid last year while Garcon was injured one could surmise this would all change when Garcon returned as he had tremendous success playing under K-Shan in Washington; this does not seem to matter to Jimmy who is the one who makes the reads under center. We currently have Goodwin cautiously ranked as a WR3 with WR2 upside but it is wholly conceivable that we have him ranked among the top-25 receivers by the start of the regular season as anything less than 1,000+ receiving yards and six touchdowns would be a monumental disappointment for the wideout.
Corey Davis – Corey Davis seems to be in line for a major sophomore jump after a disappointing rookie season that saw him have only three good games, one in week one, one in week 16 and one in the playoffs versus the Patriots which saw him post five receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Davis is one of the brighter talents in the NFL and is someone we are really high on in dynasty leagues due to his immense upside. Davis should be operating as the clear-cut number one wideout this season and thus should amass more targets and receptions per game this season leading him to crack the 100 target barrier at the very least. Projecting a 65-70% catch rate due to his ability to operate underneath and well as on the perimeter we have Davis at 75 receptions, 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns this season and the touchdown number is admittedly a little bit conservative. Davis is a rock solid WR3 with WR2 upside this season, in fact when all is said and done he may enter 2019 as a locked and loaded WR1.
Donte Moncrief – Oh the enigma that is Donte Moncrief. One of the NFL’s true number one wideout talents Moncrief has languished in the Colts offense for years only teasing his upside in 2016 while facing by all accounts a lost season with Jacoby Brissett under center in 2017 who was only capable of supporting one fantasy receiver. Moncrief now finds himself as a $9.6 million dollar man in Jacksonville after they declined to even make an offer to keep star wideout Allen Robinson. Now while Jacksonville has a talented depth chart and players Bortles already has more chemistry with, the fact of the matter is none of those wideouts will ever project to have the upside or talent of a Moncrief. If Bortles and Moncrief can build a rapport Moncrief has Allen Robinson upside; remember Robinson went bonkers in 2015 to the tune of 80-1,400-14 with a far less polished Blake Bortles under center. We currently have Moncrief ranked as a WR3 with WR1 upside. We have him as a WR3 currently because his floor is lower than most of those names above him as long as he is truly competing for snaps against DeDe Westbrook and Marqise Lee.
Will Fuller – Will Fuller went crazy for 13-269-7 in the four games he played with Deshaun Watson in 2016 so it is easy to see why Fuller will make everyone’s breakout list this season. Now while that touchdown rate is unsustainable the fact is that the speed demon wideout will continue to feast against single coverage across from DeAndre Hopkins and should continue to light up fantasy scoreboards. We currently have Fuller conservatively ranked as a WR3 option with WR2 upside, his upside is a tad volume dependent in PPR leagues while in standard leagues his touchdown upside makes him a solid target with a WR3 floor.
Mike Williams – Mike Williams is another one of the 2017 rookie wideouts who had a terribly disappointing rookie season. He spent most of it injured while Tyrell Williams soaked up most of his snaps and production. Mike Williams with Rivers at the helm in operating in single coverage every single snap due to the presence of fantasy stud Keenan Allen is the stuff dreams are made of. Williams is another receiver on this list with true number one receiver talent and upside and it is only a matter of time before Philip Rivers unlocks it. We currently have Williams pegged as a WR3 with WR2 upside, however if we were to rank based on upside alone Williams would be a top-25 receiver.
John Brown – John Brown continues to impress at Ravens camp which is not much of a surprise considering how talented the young yet often ill receiver is. Brown’s availability issues have been said to have been related to his diagnosis of sickle cell trait but he says that was not the real underlying issue rather that it was a cyst on his spine which has since been remedied. If this is true the sky is truly the limit this year for the wideout, even with Joe Flacco under center. Flacco has proven in the past that he can utilize vertical threats with the best of them even if he has a propensity to go away from them for quarters at a time in favor of underneath throws. Brown has true WR2 upside and should be a tremendous value on draft day as someone you can draft as your WR4. Brown is currently the 84th receiver off of draft boards and is going undrafted in yahoo drafts.
