Fantasy Football ‘25: WR rankings and tiers

Welcome to Part III of my preliminary rankings and tiers for each major position for fantasy. My quarterback and running back rankings dropped last week, and you can find the rest of my preseason fantasy content here. I’ll round it out with the tight end position next, and I’ll update them all in August. Hopefully, these initial looks will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.

Before we get to the rankings and commentary, here are some quick comments on the wide receiver position.

1. 2024 was a rough year for WRs. In my running back rankings column, I called 2024 the year of the RB. A related event was the underperformance of the wide receiver position. The number of high-profile receivers that got hurt for long stretches in 2024, or whose production suffered significantly because their quarterback got hurt, was unusually high. A bunch of receivers taken in the first six or so rounds of fantasy drafts last year ended up being big disappointments. The scoring at the top reflects that. Of the top eight non-quarterback fantasy scorers last season (Half PPR), seven were running backs and the other was receiving triple crown winner Ja’Marr Chase. If we go back and look at each of 2021, 2022, and 2023, that same metric was split evenly, 4-4, between running backs and wide receivers.

2. What will we get from the 2025 rookies? Once upon a time, rookie wide receivers usually needed time to adjust to the complexity of NFL passing offenses. Those days are mostly over. We’ve seen a lot of rookie wide receivers excel in recent seasons, and 2024 was no exception as L.S.U. teammates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas, Jr. both finished inside the Top 10 at the position. Ladd McConkey and Xavier Worthy came on during the second half and were both Top-20 WRs from Weeks 11-17. It wasn’t all roses though, as Top-10 NFL draft picks Marvin Harrison, Jr. and Rome Odunze both underwhelmed. It’s still the case that years 2 and 3 are the most common for wide receiver breakouts.

This year’s rookie receiver class doesn’t profile as being comparable to last year’s excellent crop. Top-10 NFL draft picks Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan both landed in good spots to produce right away, but I don’t think either of them will approach the production we saw from Nabers or Thomas last season. That said, there are some rookies that make for decent later-round dart throws this season, and you’ll have to be patient with them.

3. Watch for camp news. Remember what I said above about receiver injuries in 2024? Chris Godwin, Rashee Rice, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian Watson, Stefon Diggs, and Rashid Shaheed all suffered season-ending injuries at various points during 2024. Watson will almost surely miss the start of the season and probably more, but most of the rest should be ready. Rice and Jordan Addison face possible suspensions, and Terry McLaurin and Jauan Jennings are potential holdouts (or hold-ins) as they seek new contracts. My rankings reflect news as it stands today, but they’ll change as we learn more.

I’ve organized the wide receivers into tiers, as I do at every position. You should do the same. To reiterate what I said in the quarterback and running back columns, everyone wants the best players, and a tiered approach allows fantasy managers to have a great view of (a) ranges of players who can be expected to have similar fantasy production, (b) where the drop-offs are between those ranges, and (c) how many players in a range remain available at any given time. Tiers really help when position runs come, and they facilitate more effective drafting, regardless of whether you use a snake or auction format.

My WR rankings and tiers are for Half-Point PPR. In Full PPR, the target hogs climb the rankings some. Season-long rankings shown are on a Fantasy Points Per Game (PPPG) basis and exclude the final week of the season. Finally, how you approach this position depends in part on the size of your league and its starting lineup requirements.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Tier I – The Triple Crown Threats

1. Ja’Marr Chase

2. Justin Jefferson

3. CeeDee Lamb

Commentary: All three of these players should be gone by the sixth or seventh pick of most drafts in 1-QB leagues, and with good reason. If you want to worry about whether J.J. McCarthy can support Jefferson as an elite WR, go ahead, but remember what happened last year with Sam Darnold. Jefferson has proven over and over that he’s QB-proof and especially with Kevin O’Connell at the helm. Chase might only be scratching the surface of his enormous potential, and as long as Dak Prescott is upright, Lamb should be among the league leaders in targets, catches, and yards.

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Tier II – Studs, continued

4. Malik Nabers

5. Puka Nacua

6. Nico Collins

7. Amon-Ra St. Brown

8. Brian Thomas, Jr.

9. Drake London

Commentary: This is the epitome of a flat tier, in my view. I can make a case for ranking these players in almost any order. The oldest player here is Collins (26), so it’s a very young group of stars that’s still ascending. The players in this tier all have a realistic shot at 150 targets, and all should be long gone by pick 20 in most drafts. Fun fact 1: Collins led all WRs in fantasy points for the first month of the 2024 season, before getting hurt in Week 5. Fun fact 2: Nabers led the NFL in targets per game in 2024, with 11.3. Fun fact 3: In the three games started by Michael Penix at the end of last season, London had 22 catches for 352 yards and two TDs, on 39 targets.

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Tier III – Fringe WR1s/Solid WR2s

10. A.J. Brown

11. Tyreek Hill

12. Ladd McConkey

13. Tee Higgins

14. Mike Evans

15. Garrett Wilson

16. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

17. Terry McLaurin

18. Davante Adams

19. D.K. Metcalf

20. Rashee Rice

Commentary: Here’s where things get interesting. I debated putting Brown at the back end of Tier II, and he certainly has the talent and resume to be there. But two things happened last season that give me pause. The Eagles’ defense improved significantly vs. 2023, and the team added Saquon Barkley. The result of these developments was the most run-heavy offense in the NFL, with Brown’s volume dropping by almost two targets per game. Hill is another tough call. Just two years ago, he led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards. That dropped by almost half last year as he played through injuries and Tua Tagovailoa missed multiple games. I have him ranked higher than most and he could be an absolute steal in Round 3, but the possibility exists that the decline for the cheetah has already arrived.

Speaking of guys over 30, Evans is perennially underrated, and I should probably move him up, age be damned. Ditto for Adams. Meanwhile, Rice could be suspended for multiple games so his presence at the bottom of this tier is tenuous, at best. Wilson should again be among the league leader in targets, but what will he do with them, and can Justin Fields support him as a Top-10 WR, as he did with D.J. Moore in 2022? Questions abound for Tier III, but there are some excellent players here. I prefer all of these guys as my second wide receiver, but depending on my build and league size, can live with most of them as my WR1.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Tier IV – WR2s

21. Courtland Sutton

22. D.J. Moore

23. Xavier Worthy

24. Marvin Harrison, Jr.

25. Devonta Smith

26. Zay Flowers

27. Jaylen Waddle

28. Jameson Williams

29. Chris Godwin

30. George Pickens

31. Tet McMillan (R)

32. Calvin Ridley

Commentary: Speaking of the aforementioned D.J. Moore, I had a lot of trouble ranking the Bears’ pass catchers, what with all the positive changes happening in Chicago, and Caleb Williams entering year two. This tier is full of players with upside to beat these rankings, and I feel like I’ll have one or two of these guys on every fantasy team I have in 2024. Quick thoughts: I like Waddle for a big bounce-back. I worry that Flowers is limited by the offense he plays in. I don’t think Harrison is going to have a major breakout in 2025. Worthy gets a decent bump for however long Rice is out. Finally, I’m slightly worried that Godwin will miss the start of the season and ramp up slowly, as he recovers from a serious ankle injury (and surgery). He’d be ranked near the top of this tier if he was 100% healthy.

Tier V – WR3s/Strong Flexes

33. Chris Olave

34. Jerry Jeudy

35. Travis Hunter (R)

36. Jordan Addison

37. Jauan Jennings

38. Khalil Shakir

39. Rome Odunze

40. Jakobi Meyers

41. Deebo Samuel, Sr.

42. Jayden Reed

43. Stefon Diggs

44. Darnell Mooney

Commentary: Similar to the prior tier, there might be more questions here than answers, but you’ve got players that could easily outperform their ranking, and in some cases by a lot. Difference-makers that you get in the middle rounds can win you a league championship. If Joe Flacco starts most of the year, Jeudy could be a thing. Olave is extremely talented, but he could be one hit away from never playing again, and the quarterback situation in New Orleans might be the league’s worst. Can Deebo revert to earlier form, with a new start in D.C.? Will Odunze break out in year two, with Ben Johnson in town? You get the picture. The good news is some of these players will come cheap. Hunter won’t though, and I won’t be grabbing much of him unless his price drops a bit. In IDP leagues, he’s more interesting.

Tier VI – Flexier Flexes

45. Josh Downs

46. Cooper Kupp

47. Ricky Pearsall

48. Keon Coleman

49. Brandon Aiyuk

50. Matthew Golden (R)

51. Michael Pittman, Jr.

52. Christian Kirk

53. Emeka Egbuka (R)

54. Rashod Bateman

55. Rashid Shaheed

Commentary: You wanted even more guys with upside? Fine, here they are. Receiver is deep, and it’s a bit hard to predict who from this range will be worthy of weekly starts, but we know that some will. I want to take a couple of swings in this tier if I can, and I also think you can find some OK “floor” players here, to fill those WR3 and flex spots in deeper leagues. If you want to think of Tiers V and VI as one big blob of receivers, I’ve got no issue with that. There’s definitely a drop from top to bottom (who both happen to be on the Saints), but in the final analysis not all that much separates these 23 receivers.

Tier VII – Solid WR Depth

56. Luther Burden III (R)

57. Adam Thielen

58. Cedric Tillman

59. Romeo Doubs

60. Hollywood Brown

61. Jayden Higgins (R)

62. Marvin Mims, Jr.

63. DeAndre Hopkins

64. Wan’Dale Robinson

65. Tre Harris (R)

66. Josh Palmer

67. Michael Wilson

68. Xavier Legette

69. Kyle Williams (R)

70. Jalen McMillan

71. Quentin Johnston

72. Jack Bech (R)

73. Alec Pierce

74. Dontayvion Wicks

75. Darius Slayton

76. Jalen Coker

77. Jaylin Noel (R)

78. Calvin Austin III

79. Tyler Lockett

80. Adonai Mitchell

81. Demario Douglas

82. Keenan Allen

83. Tutu Atwell

Commentary: I decided to cut off my rankings at WR83, because it’s late and I want to go to bed. I could list at least another dozen receivers that have roughly the same chance as most of the guys in this tier of being fantasy-relevant at some point this season. I can almost guarantee this: Someone in this tier will blow up on your bench in Week 1 or 2, causing you to wonder whether to start them the following week. Enjoy that. It’s why we love this game…

Coming next: TE rankings and tiers.