2017 fantasy football rankings, pre-draft: Wide receivers for standard leagues

Welcome to the slowest part of the offseason. The draft, OTAs, and training camp are all weeks or months away. Fortunately, this break in the action gives us a chance to review the league post free agency. There are still a few big fish out there, but it’s a good time to take an early look at the wide receiver in fantasy football.

Ranking receivers this early is a tough task. Where do you rank someone like Brandin Cooks, who has been a top 20 player but finds himself in a new situation competing with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski for targets? Do you completely write off Torrey Smith after two wasted seasons in San Francisco? Can he find enough targets to be fantasy relevant alongside newly acquired Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Matthews in Philadelphia?

Ranking this early is an interesting exercise because it shows you the players you may be too high on from the jump. I have Jordy Nelson as my WR1. He’ll need to stay healthy, but he did finish in the top three in 2016. Another year removed from serious injury, and he could be even better. I’m also high on T.Y. Hilton. With Dwayne Allen gone and Donte Moncrief coming off an injury-riddled sophomore year, Hilton just needs to find the end zone more in 2017 (only six in 2016) to make a leap to the top five.

Several big names are doomed to regress in 2017. As long as Allen Robinson is attached to Blake Bortles, he is no more than a borderline WR2/3. Randall Cobb dropped all the way down to #43 for me after his dismal 2016 season. Perhaps he bounces back, but right now I think he is more of a FLEX in non-PPR leagues. I found Odell Beckham Jr. the most difficult to rank. The addition of Brandon Marshall creates a fog of uncertainty around the Giant’s receiver situation. I’ve dropped OBJ to No. 7, expecting a slight decrease in production, but still a legit WR1.

Below are our rankings for wide receivers in standard leagues. Who do you think we have too high or too low? Am I bonkers for not ranking Ted Ginn Jr.? Let us know in the comments.

(SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, DG: Derek Gordon, JM: Jason Marcum)