Who’s the WR1? : Parsing out the go-to receiver in some of the more convoluted receiving corps, AFC Edition

Not every team has their Antonio Brown, a receiver who gets first consideration over all Pittsburgh pass catchers. Some teams have more complicated situations to sift through to find the best WR for fantasy purposes…

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New England Patriots: I’ll start out with the hardest one. Before the addition of Brandin Cooks from New Orleans, I’d say Julian Edelman had a pretty safe hold as the Pats’ no.1 WR. Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell are working their way to every week fantasy relevancy, but they’re predominantly outside receivers, and Brady prefers his inside men on a regular basis. Cooks is the kind of guy you can line up anywhere though, and he’s more of a deep threat than Edelman is or ever was. Both Edelman and Cooks had 1,000+ seasons last year, Cooks with 20 fewer receptions, with Edelman leading in TDs(12 to 8). You have to imagine a healthy Gronk, and James White for the matter, is going to take back some(most) of those red zone looks though, so TDs for either of those two are going to be fewer and farther between. Cooks is the fresher player; he’s only 23 to Edelman’s 31 which is almost ancient in the NFL. Edelman does have the distinction of being Brady’s safety blanket for 4 years running though, and that goes a long way with veteran QBs, who tend to prefer going with what has worked in the past, and in this case it’s worked extraordinarily well. That being said, owner Robert Kraft has stated that Cooks could have a Randy Moss like impact on the offense, and I’m guessing he got that info from within the coaching staff. The Brady – Moss seasons were the halcyon days of the Patriots offense in which records were set, and fantasy seasons were won, so I’ll take my chances aiming for Cooks before any other Patriots WR. I think he and Edelman will have similar floors, but Cooks’ upside could be the stuff of history.

Baltimore Ravens: It seems strange that the absence of a battered and broken Steve Smith would leave such a vacuum in the Ravens’ WRs corp, and yet here we are. Veteran field stretcher Mike Wallace seems like the de jure go-to for Joe Flacco. They’ve got history and Wallace is coming off of his first 1,000+ season in 5 years, but you can’t dismiss Breshard Perriman. The athletic specimen has had some of the worst luck in pro football, missing his rookie year to physical injury and having to deal with the loss of close friend CB Tray Walker and a debilitating illness to his father. The staff in Baltimore thinks that Perriman can be a game changer, and we agree – He’s been a RosterWatch favorite since he came to the league. Bigger and just as fast as Wallace, Perriman has marquee player potential should he say healthy. And then there’s Chris Moore, a 4th round pick in 2016 who was beleaguered by injury last year. He’s primarily a deep threat who popped in camp last year when neither Perriman or Wallace were on the field. Of the three, I like Perriman the most for 2017 fantasy production. Word from camp is that he’s making the most plays, and he’s finally building some chemistry with Flacco. I also like the fact that you’re going to be able to get him later in drafts that Wallace – except in any league that has Byron, Alex or myself as owners.

Cleveland Browns: This may all be irrelevant, as underwhelming 2nd year QB Cody Kessler is likely to be the man under center for the Browns this season, but you can never take unchecked potential for granted in fantasy. In March, coach Hue Jackson stated that Corey Coleman was “the guy” for the Browns for the near future, and that was a couple weeks after they picked up Kenny Britt. Britt wasn’t supposed to be the no.1 in St. Louis either when they picked him up, but opportunity, and what seems to have been a light that finally “clicked”, for Britt turned him into their main target. Things already seem to be taking a turn in Britt’s favor as Coleman had another freak injury in camp from falling on a football. He should be fine come season time, but he’ll have lost precious time to create chemistry with Kessler. The dark spectre hovering over the entire situation is the speculative return of Josh Gordon to the team. Yes, we’ve seen this song and dance before, but that doesn’t make it any less plausible. Gordon is up for reinstatement in the fall, and in the off chance he actually decides to prioritize football, he would be the best player on the field in my opinion, no questions asked. As things stand now, Coleman has a tenuous hold on the top spot in Cleveland. Hopefully that ends up mattering.

Tennessee Titans: Tough luck for Rishard Matthews. Just when it seemed like he’d finally reached the top of the heap in Tennessee, the Titans go and add the NCAA’s all time leader in receiving yards Corey Davis. To add insult to injury they also picked up Senior Bowl stud Taiwan Taylor to the mix. Taylor doesn’t have Davis’ pedigree, but he’s no slouch either – he broke every receiving record at his alma mater Western Kentucky. Oh, and Tajae Sharpe is still kicking around, and knocking people out – allegedly, as the other contender to the throne in Nashville. The writing seems to be on the wall for Sharpe though, and he seems to know it – the alleged incident was supposedly due to a man telling Sharpe that he was going to lose considerable playing time to Davis. Matthews should put up a good fight, but Davis is more imposing and faster on the field. I’d say Taylor is just as strong a candidate, but I don’t think he’ll get the same opportunities from the outset.

Kansas City Chiefs: After two straight 1,000+ 10 and 8 TD seasons, Maclin fell off a cliff last year, and I’m still not certain why. I guess he could bounce back this year, but Tyreek Hill is going to make a run for the go-to guy in K.C., if they can find a way to keep him on the field. Why you can’t get regular snaps for a player with his savvy is beyond me, but so is the fact that Alex Smith is a starting QB in the NFL. Maybe having rookie Patrick Mahomes in the wings will light a fire under Smith, but I’m not confident, I don’t think we’ll see weekly consistent numbers from any Chiefs wide receiver this year. If I had to take one of them it would have to be Hill though. He’s going to have some huge outings, but it’s your guess as to when.

San Diego Chargers: All of a sudden, the Chargers have too much talent in their WR corps. Allen is healthy, Ty Williams is holding steady, and rookie Mike Williams is the new big(biggest) man on campus in the role that Vincent Jackson once held. Travis Benjamin is there too, and though he’s not a sexy player for fantasy, he can’t be forgotten just yet with Mike dealing with a persistent back injury throughout camp – an integral learning phase for first year players. Conventional wisdom would peg Allen as the premier WR here, but Ty had a season in 2016 that rivals Allen’s best year. Their numbers were almost identical, save one fewer TD for Williams. With both players likely to split targets, I’m going for the guy I can get on the cheap and that is going to be Ty WIlliams. He has comparable upside, and less name recognition. Mike Williams is the guy to go with in dynasty leagues though.

New York Jets: One would assume that the competition here would be between Eric Decker and late riser Robby Anderson, but Quincy Enunwa actually led the Jets in receiving in 2016. We don’t know how Anderson will perform with a healthy Decker around, and a healthy Decker is not a given for long, so Enunwa may be the best player and the best value in drafts. He’s also going to play some X receiver in addition to his usual slot role. With Josh McCown at QB, he’s got a real chance to boost your fantasy roster for peanuts.