There are less than 100 days until the opening kickoff of the 2019 NFL season. Everyone knows what that means, correct? Yes, it means 2019 Fantasy Football! Fantasy football freaks and geeks are reviewing teams rosters to assure themselves that they are up to date on all of the player movement in the offseason. Well, I am here to help. Which players received the green light to draft? Who should fantasy owners be cautious about? Who encountered the red light and who should we ignore?
I conclude my three-part series in which I break down and review each fantasy position with the wide receiver/tight end position and provide their 2019 fantasy outlook in 2019 Fantasy Football: New Faces in New Places-Wide Receiver/Tight End Edition.
Wide Receivers
[table id=44 /]
Green Light Tier
Odell Beckham Jr. has played in 59 games in his NFL career.
Career stats thru their first 59 games:
OBJ: 5,476 receiving yards and 44 TD's
Jerry Rice: 4,852 yards, 49 TD's
Larry Fitz: 4,373 yards, 32 TD's
Calvin Johnson: 4,139 yards, 33 TD's
Antonio Brown: 4,072 yards, 20 TD's— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 13, 2019
The Cleveland Browns stole Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants in a blockbuster deal that shook the NFL. Beckham is one of the top wide receivers in the league, and in only 12 games last season, he had 77 receptions, over 1,000 yards, and six touchdowns. An aging Eli Manning has degraded Beckham’s stats over the past few seasons. However, he has still averaged 6.6 catches, 92.8 yards and 0.7 touchdowns per game over the last five seasons.
Beckham joins a Browns’ offense led by the ascending Baker Mayfield and bevy of offensive weapons. This type of talent has never surrounded Beckham. He is used to be double and triple-teamed, but that will be quite limited in this offense. He is a stud No.1 receiver in fantasy, and should not fall past the middle of the second round in drafts.
The Antonio Brown drama is over in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their disgruntled wide receiver to the Oakland Raiders for two draft picks, and then signed him to a three-year contract. Brown has been the best wide receiver over the past decade, and it’s quite disappointing that his time in Pittsburgh had to come to an end.
Brown has had six-straight seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards, and he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns last season with 15, despite missing the final game of the season. The majority of those impressive numbers were with Ben Roethlisberger throwing him passes. Brown enters the Derek Carr era in Oakland.
The Oakland Raiders will feature Brown in their offense so he will still receive plenty of targets. Carr is a good enough quarterback to get the ball in Brown’s hands enough that Brown will be worthy of a being a No.1 receiver and a second-round selection in your 2019 Fantasy Football drafts.
Yellow Light Tier
DeSean Jackson finished No. 8 in the NFL in yards per route run & @JimmyKempski’s examination of his 2018 targets confirmed there’s plenty left in D-Jax’s tank: https://t.co/yhFs7WV1CR
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) May 20, 2019
DeSean Jackson returns to the Philadelphia Eagles after playing the last two seasons in Tampa Bay. He will provide substantial overall numbers. However, the hit-or-miss aspect of his production will drive fantasy owners crazy. Jackson should be selected in the middle-to-late rounds and used weekly because the big week is coming, you just don’t know when.
The Indianapolis Colts signed former Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess to a one-year contract to allow the 6-foot-4 receiver to thrive in the high-powered Colts offense. Funchess had his ups-and-downs in Carolina, but the majority of the lack of production can be attributed to the health of quarterback Cam Newton. When both players were healthy, Funchess produced 63 receptions for 840 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017. In half-PPR formats, Funchess is currently going in the middle of the 13th round, per Fantasy Football Calculator. That’s a steal.
The New York Giants will endure another losing season in 2019 and will face negative game scripts in most of their matchups. The Giants decided to bring on Golden Tate to help ease the pain of losing Beckham. Tate has averaged 118 targets per season since 2014 and has had 90 or more receptions in four straight seasons until last season. He will be a fantasy success with New York based on volume alone. Golden Tate is a low-end WR2 in PPR formats, but fantasy owners should avoid him in standard leagues.
Jamison Crowder signed with the New York Jets and will be the slot receiver in Adam Gase’s offense. The slot receiver position has been a significant part of an Adam Gase offense throughout his tenure as a play-caller. Crowder will eat up targets in this offense and be a sneaky PPR selection in 2019 fantasy football drafts.
Red Light Tier
A suddenly crowded house at WR could leave Demaryius Thomas on the outs in New England https://t.co/cSpAtci9uI
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 2, 2019
Danny Amendola was let go by the Miami Dolphins in a cost-cutting move even though he led the team in catches (59) and yards (575). Amendola then signed with the Detroit Lions this offseason to take over the slot receiver role vacated by Golden Tate. He will have to fight for targets among Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and talented rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson. Amendola is a sneaky PPR selection late in drafts, but fantasy owners shouldn’t expect much in the touchdown department with a career-high of just four touchdowns in a season.
Tyrell Williams is a legit deep threat who will help open up the underneath routes for Antonio Brown with the Oakland Raiders. Williams will not receive a large target share and will have big games on occasion. His 6-foot-4 frame could be utilized in the red zone with the loss of tight end Jared Cook. Look at Williams as a No.3 receiver or a Flex option.
Adam Humphries had a breakout 2018 campaign. He caught 76 passes on 103 targets for 816 yards and five touchdowns in Tampa Bay. Humphries cashed in on his career season by signing a four-year deal with the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are a run-first team who ranked 31st with just 436 pass attempts. Humphries’ success was based on volume, but he will not experience the same in Tennessee.
Demaryius Thomas signed with the New England Patriots this past offseason, where he will reunite with the man who drafted him in Denver, Josh McDaniels. Thomas is recovering from a ruptured Achilles and a serious car accident in February. Health is not the only obstacle standing in his way of catching passes from Tom Brady. The Patriots have loaded up at wide receiver this past offseason. Avoid Demaryius Thomas!
Tight Ends
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Green Light Tier
In 2018. Jared Cook had 68 receptions for 896 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per reception and a catch percentage of 67.3 percent ⚜️
5 things to know about Jared Cook: https://t.co/wdYewyRRRf pic.twitter.com/ZiryA5HvS2
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 27, 2019
There was only one tight end that improved their value significantly when they moved to a different zip code. Jared Cook left the Oakland Raiders and signed a three-year deal to join the New Orleans Saints. Cook had an outstanding 2018 campaign with the Raiders. He caught 68 passes on 101 targets for 896 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Additionally, Cook accomplished those numbers with inconsistent Derek Carr leading an offense that only threw 19 total touchdown passes.
He fits nicely in a Saints offense that will have defenses focusing on wide receiver Michael Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara. Additionally, it will not hurt to have future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees, who has thrown more than 30 touchdowns in 10 of the past 11 seasons, throwing passes to Cook. Cook will outperform his ADP and a tight end that should be a high target early in fantasy drafts.
Yellow Light Tier
? Ben Watson's four-game suspension became official today, so he won't be on the #Patriots 53-man roster to start the season.https://t.co/xOUnyDXODH pic.twitter.com/w0WIkim2DK
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) May 30, 2019
How are the New England Patriots going to replace the retired Rob Gronkowski? They chose to sign veteran tight end Ben Watson. Watson had a pathetic start in his second tour with the Patriots. Watson has been suspended the first four games of the 2019 season and is no more than a streaming option. However, he is a smart stash in leagues with deep rosters and best ball formats.
Red Light Tier
#Bills TE Tyler Kroft Suffers Broken Foot#billsmafia https://t.co/RNuFLrHoK2
— PigskinNut (@PigskinNut) May 31, 2019
Tyler Kroft left the Cincinnati Bengals and signed with the Buffalo Bills this offseason. Kroft was a non-factor last season and will be invincible for several months with Kroft breaking his foot in OTA’s with the Bills. Charles Clay, Luke Wilson, and Jesse James can all be ignored in your 2019 Fantasy Football drafts.
Final Thoughts
Which NFL team helped itself the most from their offseason acquisitions? What NFL team had a disappointing offseason? Which players that switched teams are you targeting in your 2019 Fantasy Football drafts?
Hit us up on twitter @PFN365 with your teams and players. Also, continue to visit the Pro Football Network for NFL news and in-depth analysis while also visiting our new Fantasy Football section.
Dennis Sosic is a writer for PFN covering the Cleveland Browns and Fantasy Football. You can follow him @CALL_ME_SOS on Twitter.