In past years, wide receiver was a position that fantasy owners like to wait on, due to its overall depth. It’s true that as the NFL becomes more pass-happy and deploys committee approaches in the running game, the wide receiver position is considered one of the safer ones -- as it remains a gold mine for fantasy points.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Consensus wide receivers for standard leagues, Week 4 Preseason
The SB Nation fantasy staff updated its wide receiver rankings for standard leagues after an eventful preseason thus far.
Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
In 2015, while the receiver position remains deep, there is certainly a tier that separates itself from the rest. Should fantasy owners want an elite receiver on their roster, say, an Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant or Demaryius Thomas, it will likely come at the expense of a first-round pick as a result. Proponents of value-based drafting may scoff at this, but it would be hard to hate having one of these players in your lineup each week.
There isn't much debate among SB Nation's fantasy staff as to which receivers are favored toward the top, but opinions vary widely on players who can be had a little later. For example, Golden Tate, Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Maclin all present a high upside, but questionable floors sparked some disagreement among the staff as to where they should be ranked.
Let’s see how they all stack up:
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AW: Alex Welch; JD: John Daigle; KA: Kenneth Arthur; SK: Scott Kaliska; MG: Michael Gallagher)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Antonio Brown | PIT | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Dez Bryant | DAL | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Julio Jones | ATL | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Calvin Johnson | DET | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | A.J. Green | CIN | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
| 8 | Randall Cobb | GB | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Alshon Jeffery | CHI | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | Mike Evans | TB | 11 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | Brandin Cooks | NO | 13 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 13 |
| 14 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | 16 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| 15 | Jordan Matthews | PHI | 15 | 21 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
| 16 | Keenan Allen | SD | 25 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 17 |
| 17 | Davante Adams | GB | 17 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 25 |
| 18 | Amari Cooper | OAK | 19 | 20 | 28 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | Andre Johnson | IND | 23 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 16 |
| 20 | Golden Tate | DET | 32 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 |
| 21 | DeSean Jackson | WAS | 22 | 17 | 29 | 19 | 22 |
| 22 | Allen Robinson | JAC | 20 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 26 |
| 23 | Jeremy Maclin | KC | 14 | 25 | 31 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | Brandon Marshall | NYJ | 21 | 15 | 32 | 35 | 19 |
| 25 | Julian Edelman | NE | 27 | 27 | 21 | 27 | 21 |
| 26 | Sammy Watkins | BUF | 33 | 26 | 20 | 25 | 24 |
| 27 | Vincent Jackson | TB | 24 | 24 | 23 | 32 | 27 |
| 28 | Jarvis Landry | MIA | 26 | 29 | 25 | 33 | 28 |
| 29 | Charles Johnson | MIN | 35 | 33 | 24 | 30 | 31 |
| 30 | Eric Decker | NYJ | 18 | 30 | 48 | 24 | 34 |
| 31 | Steve Smith Sr. | BAL | 28 | 32 | 37 | 29 | 33 |
| 32 | Nelson Agholor | PHI | 39 | 36 | 27 | 36 | 30 |
| 33 | Anquan Boldin | SF | 37 | 39 | 33 | 23 | 38 |
| 34 | John Brown | ARI | 30 | 43 | 41 | 26 | 37 |
| 35 | Mike Wallace | MIN | 48 | 34 | 36 | 44 | 29 |
| 36 | Victor Cruz | NYG | 29 | 46 | 26 | 45 | 46 |
| 37 | Roddy White | ATL | 42 | 31 | 46 | 41 | 32 |
| 38 | Martavis Bryant | PIT | 49 | 38 | 45 | 28 | 36 |
| 39 | Michael Floyd | ARI | 45 | 28 | 44 | 39 | 42 |
| 40 | Kendall Wright | TEN | 43 | 44 | 30 | 40 | 43 |
| 41 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | 44 | 45 | 34 | 42 | 35 |
| 42 | Devin Funchess | CAR | 40 | 49 | 35 | 37 | 44 |
| 43 | Marques Colston | NO | 47 | 40 | 50 | 38 | 40 |
| 44 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | -- | 41 | 49 | 31 | 45 |
| 45 | Torrey Smith | SF | -- | 37 | 47 | -- | 39 |
| 46 | Kenny Stills | MIA | 31 | 42 | -- | -- | -- |
| 47 | Brandon LaFell | NE | -- | 35 | -- | 49 | 41 |
| 48 | Brian Quick | STL | 38 | 48 | 42 | -- | 50 |
| 49 | Eddie Royal | CHI | 36 | -- | -- | 46 | 47 |
| 50 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | 46 | -- | 38 | -- | -- |
| -- | Marvin Jones | CIN | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Stevie Johnson | SD | -- | -- | 39 | 47 | -- |
| -- | Markus Wheaton | PIT | -- | 50 | 40 | -- | -- |
| -- | Breshad Perriman | BAL | -- | -- | -- | 43 | 48 |
| -- | Doug Baldwin | SEA | 41 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Terrance Williams | DAL | -- | 47 | -- | 48 | 49 |
| -- | Allen Hurns | JAC | -- | -- | 43 | -- | -- |
| -- | Malcom Floyd | SD | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Jeff Janis | GB | -- | -- | -- | 50 | -- |
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SB Nation presents: How to determine fantasy sleepers and busts
