2019 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Dynasty Rankings: Any rookies crack the top 24?

Heath Cummings says his rookie receiver rankings were shaken up by landing spots, but he sees a lot of No. 2 receivers in this draft.

By Heath Cummings

May 6, 2019 at 5:24 pm ET • 2 min read

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Dynasty: RB | WR | QB | TE | Rookies

Situation and opportunity matter to every position, but maybe none as much as wide receiver. If you're looking for evidence, check out the industry consensus on Mecole Hardman. Pre-draft he was viewed as a gadget player who had a lot to work on and needed a perfect landing spot. He got the perfect landing spot with the Chiefs, and it sure seems like all of the other concerns vanished. Well, they haven't.

Hardman does have elite speed and his highlight reel does look a lot like Tyreek Hill, at least rookie Tyreek Hill. But Hill improved a lot as a receiver his first three years in the league, most receivers do. The thing is, the Chiefs have a fourth-year receiver on the roster in Demarcus Robinson, who may just be the beneficiary of the role Hardman is being given by the Fantasy community. No, Robinson can't do the things Hill did either, but he's a big riser in the rankings below.

I'd still rather have Hardman than Robinson, but only if their cost is the same. Based on what their cost is actually going to be, I'll take Robinson.

The Rookies

The flip side of Hardman is all the very talented receivers who ended up in questionable situations. Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin will rely on Lamar Jackson improving as a passer. Hakeem Butler fell to the fourth round and now has to beat out Christian Kirk and a receiver the Cardinals drafted ahead of him (Andy Isabella). A.J. Brown was drafted by a run-heavy team that already had a young receiver we believed had No. 1 upside (Corey Davis). And D.K. Metcalf's initial landing spot may not be great either.

The positive? Either Brown or Boykin is going to be a No. 1 receiver on their own team. Butler possesses size and skills unmatched in the Cardinals receiving corps. Metcalf will be paired with one of the best deep ball passers in the league.

This is a remarkably deep class, as evidenced by the fact that 10 of them made my top-60 receivers and I left out a few that other people like better. I wouldn't be all that surprised if 10 of these guys are in the top-40 in a couple of years.