2017 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Wide Receiver Tiers 1.0
Do shifting league-wide trends make it less important to grab an elite wide receiver this season? Dave Richard takes a look at what Fantasy owners should expect for the position.
By
Dave Richard
•
1 min read
If the most obvious storyline from the 2016 season was that running backs re-emerged into Fantasy prominence, the most untold storyline was the quiet decline of stats from wide receivers.
Not one of them amassed 1,500 yards, only five had 10-plus touchdowns and the Top 12 receivers averaged just 10.7 Fantasy points per week.
This is what happens when teams decide to spread the ball around more. It shouldn't diminish the receiver position, but it should make you re-think your expectations and, more importantly, your draft strategies.
The good news is that the receiver position continues to be really deep. You'll find receivers you'll be fine with on your team well into Round 8. In fact, you might even consider waiting on receivers -- the difference between the 13th-best and the 36th-best Fantasy receivers last year was 28 Fantasy points, or 1.8 Fantasy points per week in standard (43 total points, 2.7 per week in full-point PPR). It means the best-of-the-best from the No. 2 receiver pool was barely better than the bottom-of-the-barrel No. 3 Fantasy receiver.
With the trend of quarterbacks making the most of their receivers expected to continue, couldn't the argument be made to platoon your Nos. 2 and 3 Fantasy receivers and play the matchups from week to week?
If you go in that direction, you'll not only be able to focus earlier in the draft on other positions (running back, tight end), but you'll be able to take advantage of some nice bargains among sleeper receivers all the way down to your last couple of picks.
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