By Brandon Silva:
This has been a very interesting fantasy football season, to say the least. There have been so many ups and downs at every position throughout this season. It’s safe to say the only guy drafted at the top of his position that currently leads his position in fantasy points this season is Travis Kelce. This season has been very chaotic and chaos is what keeps it so interesting.
Throughout this season so far, there has been a small group at the wide receiver position that have emerged though. These guys aren’t all at the top of their position, but they all do share something in common. This elite group of Wide receivers consists of the only guys at the position that have been able to score double digits in every game that they have played this season. That is for full PPR leagues. This list includes Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, and Diontae Johnson.
That’s it.
All of them are within the top 20 for their position group, but what they have been able to produce on the field this season has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve come to expect these kinds of performances from Davante Adams on a weekly basis due to the popular belief that he is the best receiver in the entire league.
Cooper Kupp has been balling and putting on a show that is a must-see every week. In fact, he has been so good this season so far that his dad will no longer be receiving the family discount of automatically getting his son in his fantasy league. Kupp has over a 30 point lead for total points scored for the position. With the loss of Robert Woods, Kupp should only continue to receive more looks. I wouldn’t let the idea of Odell joining the team worry me at all. Besides Jonathan Taylor, Kupp is my number one player to have going forward in the season.
Next and most surprising is Deebo Samuel. The 3rd year player was an exciting prospect coming into the league being drafted out of South Carolina. He lived up to the hype his rookie season but seemed to regress in his sophomore year. Deebo has been nothing short of electric this season. He is being utilized all over the field and even has 13 carries in his last 2 games. He is the clear top dog in San Francisco and that has landed him as PRK 3 for the position. Deebo will continue to lead the team in touches and will stay towards the top of the position rank.
Next would be the only player on this list that I manage to have on any of my teams. That is the most underrated and underappreciated superstar in the league, Keenan Allen. Keenan has been doing what he is doing this year on yearly basis regardless of it was Phillip Rivers or Justin Herbert throwing him the ball. He only has below 8 targets in one game this season. Keenan is a player who runs his routes hard and makes the most of his opportunities. He has made a career out of his amazing route running abilities. He and Justin Herbert appear to always be on the same page and that has lead to him having 4 straight 17+ point games coming out of the Chargers bye week.
Last but not least is breakout wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson has all the skills and intangibles to be a stud receiver in this league. He has blown away the rest of the Steelers’ depth chart to make him the clear best receiver on the team. I wasn’t a complete believer of his last season, but that thought has certainly been put to rest. He has 13 targets in 4 of his last 5 games. He makes tough catches look routine at this point. Diontae Johnson is here to stay.
My rankings of these receivers for the rest of the season would be Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, Deebo Samuel, and then Diontae Johnson. This shouldn’t discourage you from trying to acquire any of them though before the trade deadline as all will continue to be top 15 plays for the remainder of the season. These guys have certainly made fantasy owners very happy this season and they would be players that I would look to continue to ride to victory for the remainder of the season. Playoffs are only a few short weeks away, so do what you have to to be able to secure your spot. Good luck this week!