2015 NFL Draft Fantasy Fallout – Immediate Thoughts at WR

A few of our thoughts on the receiver picks from last weekend’s draft, by team:

Arizona

The Cardinals keep adding speed to their WR corps, but J.J. Nelson projects to be more of a return specialist than an every down player. John Brown’s spot is safe.

Atlanta

Justin Hardy is a slick route runner with reliable hands. Harry Douglas’ immediate replacement, and eventually Roddy White’s, he makes for a great dynasty stash.

Baltimore

Bottom line, Breshad Perriman is going to get so many targets in Baltimore a few drops won’t matter. He’s a perfect match downfield for Flacco’s rocket arm and should become at least as good as Torrey Smith was, with Demaryius Thomas-like upside. Darren Waller could be a TD machine in the making. He’s raw, but his almost tight end like size (6’6’’, 238lbs) makes him a potential red-zone lightning rod.

Buffalo

Buffalo finally has their big target in Dezmin Lewis, but he’s going to take some time to develop coming out of a small school with questionable competition.

Carolina

Dave Gettleman has always been a “Don’t tell me what he can’t do, tell me what he can do”-kind of personnel evaluator. It’s why he snatched up Kelvin Benjamin last year. Apparently, he was riding high and decided to double down on one of our favorite sleepers Devin Funchess. He knows Cam is an inaccurate QB, who needs bail out targets – Benjamin and Funchess fit the bill perfectly. We aren’t worried about Kelvin’s value this year, but Funchess could eat into his red-zone prowess in coming seasons.

Chicago

The only thing potentially holding Kevin White back now is his QB. Jay Cutler is as unpredictable as they come, but we know he has the potential to put up big numbers with big targets. White should pick up right where Brandon Marshall left off which is absolutely huge for dynasty owners.

Cincinnati

Mario Alford is a return man lacking true receiver skills. He should be treated as such in fantasy.

Cleveland

Vince Mayle is a possession receiver on a team with too many question marks at QB. He’s a non-issue right now.

Green-Bay

Ty Montgomery is buried on Green Bay’s depth chart, but the offense is a perfect fit for his run-after-catch skill set, kind of an Anquan Boldin body and hands with a Cordarrelle Patterson profile. With future upside, he’s worth late round dynasty flyer.

Houston

We knew after Seattle moved way up for Lockett, that Houston was worried about the run on receivers and had to be trading up only for Jaelen Strong. He wasn’t one of our favorite NFL-ready prospects, he’s raw, but he’s got tons of upside and physical ability. Great pick by Houston, he has a chance to be a poor man’s Andre Johnson-type of receiver in due time. We aren’t worried one bit for DeAndre Hopkins, who we continue to be really high on. Keith Mumphrey is a physical receiver, but he’s an average athlete. Could cover the middle of the field if he sticks.

Indianapolis

Phillip Dorsett helps to perpetuate an embarrassment of riches at the WR position in Indy. His world-class speed and solid hands should put him on the fast track to starting, but the depth at the position could relegate him to being a situational deep threat and kick-returner for the time being.

Jacksonville

Rashad Greene and Neal Sterling are both project picks for a Jaguar team replete with receiving options. We are far less sold on Greene than many who had him slotted as a second or third-round talent and apparently the NFL agreed with us. Greene’s arrival could spell trouble for Ace Sanders as the slot go-to though, and Sterling may end up playing more tight-end than receiver.

Kansas City

The Chiefs added a Combine standout in Chris Conley, though he stood out in every area except for catching the ball, which is just about the only prerequisite for playing with Alex Smith. Da’Ron Brown isn’t especially physically gifted, but he does have good hands. Don’t be surprised if they get more use out of Brown. Brown could be this year’s version of Albert Wilson.

Miami

The Dolphins added size with big-bodied DeVante Parker and Tony Lippett. Parker is tough and high points the ball with natural ease. He could end up as Miami’s No.1 WR in short time. Lippett plays both sides of the ball and could actually see time at corner.

Minnesota

Stefon Diggs is sick with Teddy Bridgewater in Minnesota for years to come, it’s most likey Minnesota’s QB/WR combo of the future. Very similar to Cordarrelle but much better hands. Why don’t they just trade Patterson now? The team seems to hate him. UDFA Davaris Daniels makes for a nice developmental signing. He could move up the depth chart quickly.

New York Giants

Geremy Davis a great fit from a football perspective for Giants – we aren’t quite sure about his fantasy impact just yet, but Randle and Cruz could be out by next year. We could see Davis replacing somebody like Randle on the outside and possibly becoming valuable.

New York Jets

Devin Smith was drafted exactly as he should have been, as a WR3 with upside. He is a perfect complement to the Jets offensive scheme as well as Decker and Marshall. He’s going to flash and has long term uspide but we aren’t expecting much in 2015 – maybe a fantasy WR4 or WR5 with occasional garbage-grab flex appeal.

Oakland

Amari Cooper is going to be Derek Carr’s best friend on the field, as an inside/outside ball magnet. UDFA Josh Harper is going to be Carr’s best friend off the field, as they played college ball together. You can’t underestimate that connection, and Harper may end up being his safety blanket. Speedster Andre Dubose adds even more depth to a WR corps that needed revamping.

Philadelphia

Nelson Agholor may be safest rookie WR option in dynasty, but he also has massive upside as Jeremy Maclin’s replacement. He’s a Top 3-5 pick in dynasty leagues post-NFL-draft and his ADP will begin to show that in the coming months. We’ll be instructing RosterWatch Nation to bet the house on Agholor in Dynasty leagues.

Pittsburgh

Don’t worry about Martavis Bryant, he’s a legit NFL WR2 with huge upside. Sammie Coates has hands of stone and poor route-running ability. He is an unreliable option albeit beastly physical specimen – he reminds us of some combo of Justin Hunter, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

San Francisco

DeAndre Smelter adds needed depth to an underwhelming 49ers WR corps. He’s coming off an ACL tear, but he’s young enough to bounce back.

Seattle

Tyler Lockett is what Schneider wanted out of Harvin, without the headaches or the big contract. He and Graham will be kind of like Graham and Sproles were in NO with Wilson being a young Drew Brees-like passer. Look out in leagues who score for special teams production.

St. Louis

The Rams added another big target in Bud Sasser, but like many of the guys they already have, he needs time to develop. Don’t expect much from him this year.

Tampa Bay

Rannell Hall and Kaelin Clay– these signings show the the team is looking for its jitterbug kick return slot guy to pair with their monsters. Lanky Kenny Bell could be Vincent Jackson’s heir apparent but we’re not sold on him at this time.

Tennessee

Dorial Green-Beckham and Tre McBride are not dissimilar to Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright, but they get fresh starts with Mariota. Hopefully they can create something that resembles consistency.

Washington

As we said in February here, Pierre Garcon a possible post 6/1 causalty – likely by 2016 either he or DeSean Jackson is gone. I don’t really see Jamison Crowder or Evan Parker as fitting replacements, though. Crowder’s size relegates him to the slot/return duties, and Parker is a smart but unspectacular player.

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