One of life’s great joys I recently lost was the “Around the NFL” podcast. That show hit me in the heart for years. I remember their daily podcasts and videos during the pandemic the most. The hosts and my friend, Ricky Hollywood, felt like close friends who encouraged me to forget about life’s scariness for a little bit each day. I also share a birthday with Dan Hanzus (Dan Hanzus shoutout) and was a fan participant in his surprise 40th Birthday video. They felt like home. Sadly, the podcast was done without warning, leaving myself and thousands of other fans confused and worried about our heroes.
Then, on August 6th, Dan and Marc Sessler announced their new show “Heed the Call.” The anticipation of hearing their voices, playful banter, and the story of their treacherous summer reigned omnipresent as I prepared for a new school year. Finally, the premiere episode was released on August 12th. The wait was over and man, it was worth the wait. I’m excited to have them, Gravedigger, Conor Orr, and their atmosphere back in my life.
As NFL fans, we are in the great anticipation stage with the season’s start merely two weeks away. We are shown young players tease breakouts in the training camp and preseason game clips. Backfield battles are underway. Fantasy drafts are in full throttle. I can’t wait for the NFL football atmosphere to be back in my life.
Check out my first article to understand this season-long study: The Best Side-by-Side WR Ranking Comparison From 10 Sources.
*My favorite player in each tier based on the data alone (ok, and maybe a little personal bias towards Zay Flowers, still)
WR1 TIER
| PLAYER | RANK | Average | Mode | High/Low | Range |
| CeeDee Lamb | 1 | 1.1 | 1 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Tyreek Hill | 2 | 1.9 | 2 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 3 | 3.3 | 3 | 3-4 | 1 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 3-5 | 2 |
| Justin Jefferson | 5 | 4.9 | 5 | 4-6 | 2 |
| *A.J. Brown | 6 | 5.8 | 6 | 5-6 | 1 |
| Garrett Wilson | 7 | 7.3 | 7 | 7-8 | 1 |
| Puka Nacua | 8 | 8.2 | 8 | 7-10 | 3 |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | 9 | 9.7 | 9 | 8-12 | 4 |
| Davante Adams | 10 | 11.3 | 9 | 8-18 | 10 |
| Drake London | 11 | 12.3 | 10 | 8-20 | 12 |
| Chris Olave | 12 | 12.4 | 11 | 10-21 | 11 |
Davante Adams is currently on the Las Vegas Raiders who recently named Gardner Minshew their starting QB. I say currently because of Ari Meirov’s recent report on Adams being traded at the trade deadline if the Raiders have a rough start to the year. 5 of the 10 sources have Adams in their top 10 WRs while Rotoballer, NFL, CBS all have him outside their top 12. CBS anchors his ranking at WR18. Last week, all 10 sources had Adams listed in the WR1 Tier. If Adams starts to fall in your draft and ends up traded to a more prolific offense mid-season, he could be a sneaky playoff darling. There’s a lot of if there though.
WR2 TIER
| PLAYER | RANK | Average | Mode | High/Low | Range |
| Mike Evans | 13 | 13.2 | 13 | 12-15 | 3 |
| Nico Collins | 14 | 14.4 | 15 | 9-19 | 10 |
| Deebo Samuel | 15 | 16.0 | 14 | 9-22 | 13 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 16 | 16.2 | 16 | 11-19 | 8 |
| Cooper Kupp | 17 | 17.5 | 15 | 13-24 | 11 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 18 | 17.7 | 20 | 13-20 | 7 |
| DK Metcalf | 19 | 17.8 | 19 | 14-21 | 7 |
| Devonta Smith | 20 | 19.9 | 22 | 16-24 | 8 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | 21 | 20.7 | 23 | 11-26 | 15 |
| DJ Moore | 22 | 21.2 | 22 | 18-25 | 7 |
| *Malik Nabers | 23 | 23.2 | 23 | 21-26 | 5 |
| Amari Cooper | 24 | 24.1 | 24 | 16-31 | 15 |
The San Francisco 49ers WRs could remain teammates this year after Aiyuk the 49ers have offered him a new deal, even though he somehow could be involved with every NFL team, the University of Alabama, and oddly, a mayoral race in Oshkosh, WI. Deebo Samuel needs some attention though. The Fantasy Footballers have him ranked WR9 while no other source lists him in the WR1 Tier. NFL ranks him lowest at WR22, but ESPN & Goingfor2 are not far above, ranking him WR18 and PFF at WR19. Deebo could be drafted right after Puka Nacua or right before DJ Moore. That’s a lot of ground to cover between those two players.
WR3 TIER
| PLAYER | RANK | Average | Mode | High/Low | Range |
| George Pickens | 25 | 25.7 | 28 | 19-32 | 13 |
| Stefon Diggs | 26 | 26.6 | 25 | 21-31 | 10 |
| Tee Higgins | 27 | 27.7 | 30 | 21-31 | 10 |
| Rashee Rice | 28 | 28.7 | 29 | 20-38 | 18 |
| Tank Dell | 29 | 28.8 | 28 | 23-36 | 13 |
| *Zay Flowers | 30 | 29.7 | 29 | 24-37 | 13 |
| Terry McLaurin | 31 | 30.7 | 28 | 28-36 | 8 |
| Calvin Ridley | 32 | 31.5 | 34 | 26-35 | 9 |
| Christian Kirk | 33 | 32.4 | 33 | 27-43 | 16 |
| Diontae Johnson | 34 | 33.6 | 35 | 29-37 | 8 |
| Chris Godwin | 35 | 33.8 | 34 | 29-41 | 12 |
| Keenan Allen | 36 | 35.8 | 36 | 31-42 | 11 |
How do you know which Houston Texans WR should be the second one taken? CBS and The Fantasy Footballers side with Tank Dell, while the other 8 sources believe Stefon Diggs will take that title. The Tank Dell truthers are the only 2 sources that list Diggs below WR30. Surprisingly enough, only two sources rank Dell below WR30, those being Goingfor2 and NFL. Goingfor2 has Dell at WR36, “tanking” his ranking. The sources lean towards Diggs, but only by a few ranks. Me personally? I dealt with Diggs in my main dynasty league last year. I’m not about to venture down that path again. I’m running away with Tank Dell in this situation.
WR4 TIER
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| PLAYER | RANK | Average | Mode | High/Low | Range |
| Jayden Reed | 37 | 37.5 | 37 | 33-44 | 11 |
| Christian Watson | 38 | 40.8 | 38 | 35-52 | 17 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | 39 | 41.3 | 40 | 37-47 | 10 |
| Xavier Worthy | 40 | 42.0 | 43 | 35-53 | 18 |
| Rome Odunze | 41 | 42.2 | 42 | 36-52 | 16 |
| Courtland Sutton | 42 | 42.8 | 41 | 38-55 | 17 |
| Marquise Brown | 43 | 43.2 | 38 | 37-66 | 29 |
| *Brian Thomas | 44 | 44.1 | 48 | 39-49 | 10 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 45 | 44.3 | 40 | 38-51 | 13 |
| Ladd McConkey | 46 | 46.0 | 45 | 41-50 | 9 |
| Jordan Addison | 47 | 46.5 | 47 | 41-53 | 12 |
| Keon Coleman | 48 | 48.3 | 51 | 39-55 | 16 |
The first time I wrote about a player in the WR4 Tier, I focused on a new Kansas City Chiefs receiver, Marquise Hollywood Brown. This week, I will focus on a new Kansas City Chiefs receiver, Xavier Worthy. Two weeks ago, he resided atop the WR5 Tier, with a High/Low of 40-61 and an Average of 47.6. This week, he surpassed fellow rookie Rome Odunze with a High/Low of 35-53 and an Average of 42.0. His buy-low window vanished after last week’s preseason game. 4 of the 10 sources rank him above WR40, with only 2 sources placing him below WR45. No sources ranked him above WR40 two weeks ago.
WR5 TIER
| PLAYER | RANK | Average | Mode | High/Low | Range |
| Tyler Lockett | 49 | 48.3 | 46 | 39-55 | 16 |
| Jameson Williams | 50 | 50.1 | 54 | 44-59 | 15 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 51 | 51.1 | 50 | 45-57 | 12 |
| Rashid Shaheed | 52 | 53.6 | 58 | 47-58 | 11 |
| Curtis Samuel | 53 | 53.6 | 55 | 49-65 | 16 |
| Romeo Doubs | 54 | 53.8 | 53 | 51-59 | 8 |
| *Joshua Palmer | 55 | 54.3 | 52 | 43-65 | 22 |
| Khalil Shakir | 56 | 55.4 | 58 | 43-67 | 24 |
| Brandin Cooks | 57 | 55.9 | 60 | 49-62 | 13 |
| Mike Williams | 58 | 56.9 | 60 | 50-61 | 11 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 59 | 57.7 | 57 | 53-67 | 14 |
| Darnell Mooney | 60 | 60.0 | 62 | 42-70 | 28 |
I feel gross talking about two Las Vegas WRs in one article, but Jakobi Meyers is a player getting no press and needs a little spotlight. Mac, Jones, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Aidan O’Connell have been his QBs the past three seasons and yet, he’s produced 800+ yards per season. He’s averaged 109 targets and 74 receptions during that same time. He’s not a sexy pick, but he could be boosted to the team’s WR1 halfway through the season. Only 2 sources rank him at WR48 or above. The rest see him as a solid fit for the WR5 Tier. Keep him in the back of your mind as you in the upper to mid-teen rounds of your drafts.
Some quick takeaways:
- Las Vegas receivers could be sneaky players in the second half of the season.
- The WR2, WR3, WR4, and WR5 tiers all contain at least one pair of teammates. Know who is your favorite and get them before you’re stuck with the one you either don’t believe in or believe in less.
- We are bound to have one more WR skyrocket up the rankings. Consider who that might be and get your fill of them in the later rounds.
- Experts have been consistent on who the top 36 WRs are. Who are players you like in the WR4 and WR5 Tiers that could be a top 36 receive by the end of the season (hint; Jakobi Meyers has been that dude the past three seasons)
- Keep reviewing your sources and your leaguemates sources. Some of these ranges are outrageous. Look back at my first article and read about Marquise Hollywood Brown for deeper insight.
The season is ALMOST here y’all!!
Always hit me up on Twitter (X) @topherk44 with any questions/comments/concerns/compliments/copayments for my student loans!
ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.
