Rich Hribar has you covered with the best fantasy football rankings for Wide Receivers (WR) based on playoff match-ups.
NFL Playoffs Wide Receiver Rankings
- Michael Thomas
- Tyreek Hill
- Davante Adams
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Julian Edelman
- Deebo Samuel
- Tyler Lockett
- D.K. Metcalf
- Emmanuel Sanders
- Marquise Brown
- John Brown
- A.J. Brown
- Stefon Diggs
- Tre’Quan Smith
- Mecole Hardman
- Adam Thielen
- Cole Beasley
- Allen Lazard
- Sammy Watkins
- Demarcus Robinson
- Will Fuller
- Kenny Stills
- Greg Ward
- David Moore
- Corey Davis
- N’Keal Harry
- Mohamed Sanu
- Kendrick Bourne
- Geronimo Allison
- Ted Ginn
- Willie Snead
- Seth Roberts
- Miles Boykin
- Jakobi Meyers
- Robert Davis
- Olabisi Johnson
- Tajae Sharpe
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling
- DeAndre Carter
- Keke Coutee
The best fantasy wideout of the season is available for immediate use in Michael Thomas. Thomas has eight or more receptions in 13 games this season on his way to an NFL record 149 receptions.
After Thomas, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams are the best options you have to wait a week on while DeAndre Hopkins and Julian Edelman are the best remaining WR1 options on Wild Card weekend. Hopkins gets a tough draw against the Bills, but is a home favorite that you can potentially get multiple games out of. Edelman has dealt with shoulder and knee issues to close the season, catching 10-of-13 targets for 107 yards over the past three weeks, with two of those three games coming against the Bengals and Dolphins.
Deebo Samuel has elevated to the top option for the 49ers receiving corps. In the 10 games that both Samuel and Emmanuel Sanders have played together, Samuel has 59 targets (42-634-2) while Sanders has 53 (36-502-3). Samuel also has the added involvement in the rushing game, rushing nine times for 122 yards and two touchdowns over the past four games.
The Seattle wideouts who get to play this weekend are in a similar pocket as the 49ers ones in terms of equal usage, with both offering a wide range of outcomes. Over their past seven games, Tyler Lockett has 39 targets (23-290-2) while D.K. Metcalf has 36 targets (23-305-3). Metcalf led all players this season in end zone targets (18).
Once we clear the top-10, we run into a bucket of high-risk, high-reward options in John Brown, A.J. Brown, and Stefon Diggs. A.J. Brown is arguably the most interesting due to his finish. He was the WR7 in overall scoring since Ryan Tannehill took over as the starter in Week 7. He’s gone over 100 yards in four of his past six games, but runs into a tough assignment to open the postseason against Stephon Gilmore. Brown has matched up with just one strong cornerback over his hot stretch, and was limited to one catch on two targets for 34 yards against Marshon Lattimore in Week 16.
John Brown set career-highs with 72 catches for 1,060 yards. He gets a favorable draw to open the playoffs against a Houston team that has struggled with speed receivers this season and at worst can be a bridge option if you are allowed transactions.
Marquise Brown is a complete wildcard. He’s an explosive playmaker attached to the highest-scoring offense in the league, but also has gone dormant for a large portion of his rookie season. Brown has seven touchdowns, but hasn’t reached 50 yards in just one of his past 12 games and has just 10.0% of the team targets over the past five games.
Speaking of wildcards, there’s no bigger one than Will Fuller. You have to approach every game wondering if Fuller will make it through completely, and when he does he still comes with high variance. Fuller has reached 70 yards in just two games this season, but when he has, he’s had games of 7-140-0 and 14-217-3.
Tre’Quan Smith has surpassed Ted Ginn as the second wideout for the Saints, out-snapping Ginn 126-62 over the past three games while catching a touchdown pass in four of the past six games.
The same can be said for Allen Lazard, who has played 76% of the snaps the past three weeks. Over the past two games, Lazard has received nine (5-45-0) and eight targets (4-69-1).
