There’s some major hype surrounding rookie running backs right now. Rookie wide receivers? Not so much. Last year JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cooper Kupp, and Keenan Cole finished among the top 50 wide receivers for standard and PPR scoring, but the rest of the rookies were mostly out of the picture.
Top 5 rookie wide receivers heading into the 2018 fantasy football season
These new WRs on the scene are worth keeping an eye on. Check out our full 2018 Fantasy Football Draft guide!
This year is shaping up to be a deeper group of fliers than standouts. Let’s see if we can determine the top five rookie wideouts for 2018.
Moore makes the top of most rookie wide receiver ranks, at least for the 2018 season. He’s not coming off the board before the double-digit rounds, though. Moore looks “more than ready” to contribute, and his versatile skillset should allow the Panthers to keep him in the mix as much as they can. Devin Funchess, Christian McCaffrey, and Greg Olsen all take precedence. Moore might start off slow, but he offers upside if he can earn more targets in Norv Turner’s offense. He should move around plenty, and given his breakaway ability, he’s an intriguing later-round target.
The Falcons made a bit of a splash by drafting Ridley at pick No. 26. It’s an exciting addition to an offense that took a step back in 2017. Unfortunately for Ridley, there aren’t of a ton of free targets in Atlanta. Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu accounted for 47 percent of the Falcons’ targets last season. Steve Sarkisian will need to get the offense back to 2016 levels for Ridley to really stand out. Ridley is an excellent route runner who will likely see some easy targets underneath. Grabbing him as a WR4 and hoping, like Moore, he moves into a bigger role seems reasonable.
Dez Bryant is gone, so there’s one easy reason to pick Gallup as your top sleeper among the rookie wide receivers. Gallup scored 21 touchdowns in just two seasons at Colorado State. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan already talked up the rookie’s red zone ability and catch radius. Those are all promising points. Dallas ranked No. 26 in pass yards per game last year, though, and their current receiving corps is kind of a mess. Keep an eye on their depth chart. Gallup could easily move into an expanded role as gets more experience under his belt.
Miller caught 238 passes for 3,590 yards and 37 touchdowns over three years at Memphis. That’s quite the resume. Upon first glance at the Bears’ roster, you might think he has plenty of room to grow. But Jordan Howard is a focal point, Allen Robinson and Trey Burton figure to be heavily relied on, and Tarik Cohen and Taylor Gabriel are also vying for more targets. Miller looks like Chicago’s slot man right now, and his talent easily makes him another solid sleeper pick. There’s just too much uncertainty about Mitchell Trubisky and this offense.
Like Miller, Kirk compiled big numbers in college, catching 234 passes at Texas A&M. He was arguably the best slot receiver in this year’s draft, and he landed on a team with Larry Fitzgerald, so you can do the math there. Kirk could start the 2018 season as the Cardinals No. 2 wideout, but lining up on the outside might be a tougher transition for him. His long-term outlook is promising whenever Fitzgerald decides to call it quits. It’s too early to make a call for 2018. Kirk is one of several talented rookies who you could put here at No. 5.
