Fantasy football rankings: Eric Karabell's wide receiver tiers

Time moves quickly in any fantasy football draft, and preparation is critical. Many fantasy managers simply rely on the overall rankings in the draft application, but draft rankings are rarely enough. They offer no context for how much more valuable one player portends to be over another, or how a fantasy manager should covet them based on perceived value of later options. Each pick has an opportunity cost, and we can and should do better than bare-bones rankings by seeing the bigger picture.

Positionally tiered systems add the necessary context, especially as the seconds tick off in the draft room and the sounds pulsate in a pressure situation. Value is the key word in any fantasy football draft, and following a tiered system is critical to properly grouping what may appear to be similarly valued players. Those top available players may be indistinguishable from each other, or perhaps not.

Regardless, decisions must be made quickly on draft day, analyzing expected supply and demand within one position and compared to others, so here are one analyst's always-evolving tiers for wide receivers, based on 10-team standard, PPR leagues. The order and tiers of some players will change as news (roles, injuries, etc.) dictates through August, but mostly, these are your drafts, so follow your own tiered rankings.

Check out more tiered rankings: QB | RB | TE

Tier 1: Round 1

1. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
2. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
3. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
4. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Notes: What a fantastic, highly productive crew. You cannot go wrong with any of these stars as your first selection. The great Christian McCaffrey goes No. 1 in most drafts, but these reasonably may be the next five picks, though one can debate the order.

Tier 2: Rounds 1/2

6. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
8. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Notes: These options do not feel like Tier 1 choices, but if any or all of them slip to the Round 1/2 turn, snagging a pair of them is hardly a reach. Brown is more established, clearly, but the Eagles struggled down the stretch last season. Nacua was a revelation. Wilson performed well despite shoddy quarterback play. There is upside for top-five WR performance here.

Tier 3: Round 3

9. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
10. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
11. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
13. Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Notes: There are strong, veteran producers here, some likely paving a path to the Hall of Fame, even if they currently get average quarterback play. And then, in what does not seem an aggressive move, a rookie might just lead the tier after all. If you really, really covet Harrison, go for it. Move him up.

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Tier 4: Rounds 3/4

14. Deebo Samuel Sr., San Francisco 49ers
15. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
16. Nico Collins, Houston Texans
17. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
18. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
19. DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
20. Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
21. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

Notes: This is a large but productive tier. London and Moore should improve their numbers as their respective offenses have upgraded at quarterback. Smith is the first receiver listed who isn't (likely) No. 1 in his own offense, but do not read into that much. The numbers are there.

Tier 5: Rounds 4/5

22. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
23. Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans
24. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
25. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
26. Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
27. Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears

Notes: Question marks start to populate the wide receiver pool at this point, starting with Kupp, who is still aiming to recapture prior glory. Diggs and Allen moved on to new teams, and fantasy managers should not assume they will repeat prior statistics. Higgins wants to move on. Quarterback play will be key, but these are proven producers.

Tier 6: Rounds 6/7

28. George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
29. Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
30. Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
31. Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

Notes: Fantasy managers still find the No. 1 receivers for several teams this late, but that hardly guarantees top performance. Pickens and McLaurin led their franchises in catches and receiving yards last season, but they were barely overall WR3 options. Cooper had 1,250 receiving yards. Better quarterback play may push them into WR2 range.

Tier 7: Rounds 7/8

32. Tank Dell, Houston Texans
33. Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars
34. Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers

Notes: This feels like an underrated crew. Dell shined as a rookie, but now the WR room is a bit more crowded with Diggs arriving. Perhaps we should not assume Diggs outshines Dell. Kirk and Johnson seem primed for their second 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Tier 8: Round 8

35. Malik Nabers, New York Giants

Notes: There might be nobody quite like Nabers. The touted rookie from LSU is not in the same situation as Harrison Jr., but Nabers isn't like the safe veterans in this region, either. Some grab Nabers as early as Round 4. Others let him slide past Round 7, citing the Giants' dysfunction and limited QB Daniel Jones. Time will tell.

Tier 9: Rounds 8/9

36. Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
37. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
38. Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
39. Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings

Notes: Rice and Addison might face league discipline for offseason incidents, and perhaps they drop a bit in the rankings in that case, but we are late enough in the draft that their upside remains worth it. After all, few expect Watson to play every game. This tier boasts upside.

Tier 10: Round 9

40. Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
41. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
42. Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
43. Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
44. Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

Notes: Rookies! Unlike running back, these players were mostly selected in the same range, all by pick No. 35 in the draft. At this point, what happened in the NFL draft is quite meaningless. Opportunity is more relevant. These players should have strong opportunity to emerge as key fantasy options, but alas, they are rookies. Most do not emerge like Puka Nacua, as least not initially.

Tier 11: Rounds 9/10

45. Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
46. Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders
47. Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
48. Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons
49. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
50. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
51. DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans
52. Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

Notes: You will not find this level of depth at running back. Meyers and Reed were solid WR3 options last season. Williams, the No. 12 pick in the 2022 NFL draft, seems poised for a breakout. Smith-Njigba went top 20 in the 2023 draft and competes with Lockett for Geno Smith's love.

Tier 12: Round 11 and later

53. Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
54. Mike Williams, New York Jets
55. Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers
56. Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars
57. Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
58. Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
59. Curtis Samuel, Buffalo Bills
60. Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
61. Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers
62. Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys
63. Ja'Lynn Polk, New England Patriots
64. Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts
65. Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers