Fantasy Football: 2016 Wide Receiver PPR Rankings

The Angle Pursuit Podcast team has the first installment of their wide receiver PPR rankings for 2016. If you missed it we released our rankings for every position including running back, where we have you covered for both standard and PPR scoring. Let us know where you think we are right and where we went horribly wrong.

QB | RB Standard | RB PPR | WR Standard | WR PPR | TE

PLAYER	TEAM	BYE	KYLE	RON	DAMIAN	CONSENSUS
Antonio Brown	PIT	8	1	1	1	1
Julio Jones	ATL	11	3	2	2	2
Odell Beckham Jr	NYG	8	2	4	3	3
DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	9	6	3	4	4
A.J. Green	CIN	9	4	7	5	5
Dez Bryant	DAL	7	7	5	6	6
Jordy Nelson	GB	4	5	8	8	7
Keenan Allen	SD	11	8	11	9	8
Brandin Cooks	NO	5	9	6	15	9
Alshon Jeffery	CHI	9	10	10	11	10
Allen Robinson	JAC	5	16	9	7	11
Brandon Marshall	NYJ	11	14	13	10	12
Demaryius Thomas	DEN	11	12	15	14	13
T.Y. Hilton	IND	10	11	16	16	14
Randall Cobb	GB	4	13	12	19	15
Mike Evans	TB	6	15	17	12	16
Amari Cooper	OAK	10	22	14	13	17
Jarvis Landry	MIA	8	18	18	20	18
Julian Edelman	NE	9	19	22	17	19
Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	9	17	19	27	20
Doug Baldwin	SEA	5	21	20	22	21
Golden Tate	DET	10	26	25	18	22
Jeremy Maclin	KC	5	27	21	21	23
Donte Moncrief	IND	10	20	27	25	24
Sammy Watkins	BUF	10	25	24	23	25
Jordan Matthews	PHI	4	24	23	28	26
Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	7	28	26	26	27
Eric Decker	NYJ	11	30	29	24	28
Michael Floyd	ARI	9	23	31	31	29
Tyler Lockett	SEA	5	29	28	35	30
John Brown	ARI	9	31	30	32	31
Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	11	34	32	29	32
Allen Hurns	JAC	5	32	34	30	33
Michael Crabtree	OAK	10	36	33	34	34
Marvin Jones	DET	10	37	39	36	35
Kevin White	CHI	9	38	36	40	36
Willie Snead	NO	5	42	37	37	37
DeVante Parker	MIA	8	55	35	33	38
Kamar Aiken	BAL	8	35	49	42	39
Travis Benjamin	SD	11	39	38	53	40
Corey Coleman	CLE	13	53	40	38	41
Stefon Diggs	MIN	6	41	42	50	42
Tavon Austin	LA	8	43	45	45	43
Sterling Shepard	NYG	8	59	41	39	44
DeSean Jackson	WAS	9	48	51	41	45
Dorial Green-Beckham	TEN	13	49	43	51	46
Michael Thomas	NO	5	40	44	60	47
Laquon Treadwell	MIN	6	54	46	44	48
Torrey Smith	SF	8	50	47	49	49
Vincent Jackson	TB	6	45	61	48	50
Josh Doctson	WAS	9	47	48	59	51
Josh Gordon	CLE	13	33	85	43	52
Phillip Dorsett	IND	10	46	63	57	53
Rishard Matthews	TEN	13	58	50	63	54
Steve Smith	BAL	8	60	59	52	55
Mohamed Sanu	ATL	11	52	65	55	56
Devin Funchess	CAR	7	62	52	58	57
Kendall Wright	TEN	13	71	55	47	58
Nelson Agholor	PHI	4	56	57	62	59
Markus Wheaton	PIT	8	72	60	46	60
Pierre Garcon	WAS	9	51	75	56	61
Mike Wallace	BAL	8	68	53	66	62
Jamison Crowder	WAS	9	64	58	70	63
Sammie Coates	PIT	8	70	54	68	64
Tyler Boyd	CIN	9	44	71	78	65
Chris Hogan	NE	9	73	67	54	66
Terrance Williams	DAL	7	66	64	67	67
Ty Montgomery	GB	4	57	56	87	68
Jeff Janis	GB	4	74	66	61	69
Brandon Lafell	CIN	9	63	69	74	70
Jaelen Strong	HOU	9	78	62	77	71
Bruce Ellington	SF	8	75	73	71	72
Ted Ginn Jr	CAR	7	65	79	76	73
Malcolm Mitchell	NE	9	67	68	86	74
Will Fuller	HOU	9	69	72	85	75
Danny Amendola	NE	9	79	83	64	76
Darrius Heyward-Bey	PIT	8	61	86	80	77
Albert Wilson	KC	5	76	80	72	78
Reuben Randle	PHI	4	81	81	69	79
Leonte Caroo	MIA	8	80	70	83	80
Pharoh Copper	LA	8	84	77	73	81
Jermaine Kearse	SEA	5	77	78	82	82
Tajae Sharpe	TEN	13	82	74	84	83
Rashad Greene	JAC	5	83	76	81	84
Breshad Perriman	BAL	8	86	82	75	85
Kenny Britt	LA	8	85	84	79	86

Amari Cooper | Oakland Raiders
Kyle’s Ranks: 22
Consensus: 17

While there were many players we were relatively close on, one player stood out for me as someone I am lower on and by a good margin. Let me preface this by saying I don’t think Amari Cooper is bad by any means but I’m lower than my fellow rankers who put him at 13 (Damian) and 14 (Ron). It was Michael Crabtree and not Cooper who led the Raiders in targets a season ago. Crabtree had more receptions and more touchdowns as well. I expect Cooper to be a big part of the pass game but Crabtree, Clive Walford, Seth Roberts, and DeAndre Washington should garner plenty of targets. Im also worried Cooper will be getting the Sammy Watkins treatment, getting only a handful of targets per game making his less valuable in PPR formats.

This is also still a Raiders team that will be focused on the run. Latavius Murray had the 266 attempts last season good for third in the NFL. Coach Jack Del Rio has been a run oriented guy including 4th most rushes in his final season as the Jaguars head coach. Their defense should be improved allowing the Raiders to play even more ball control in 2016.

Where Damian Differs

Markus Wheaton | Pittsburg Steelers
Damian’s Rank: 46
Consensus: 59

I actually didn’t think I was particularly high on Wheaton, but after seeing Kyle and Ron rank him 72^nd and 60^th respectively, I feel a need to explain my relative optimism. Look I’m not trying to tell you that Markus Wheaton is an exceptional talent, just that he’s in a great situation and has the opportunity to produce a career season. Between the suspensions of Martavis Bryant and Le’Veon Bell there are plenty of targets up for grabs in what still projects as a top-level Pittsburgh offense. Many are hyping up Sammie Coats and/or Darius Heyward-Bey and while I can see their logic, those guys are one trick ponies. Sure they’re going to make some explosive plays downfield, but they’re not the type of receivers who can be counted on for a high volume of catches.

Conversely, Wheaton really seemed to develop a strong connection with Roethlisberger towards the end of last year. He saw 47 targets over the last six weeks of the season and scored four touchdowns during that stretch. With Bryant gone for the whole year this time around instead of just four games like in 2015, Wheaton’s involvement in this offense will only continue to increase. I know it’s still early, but at this point I could easily see him delivering a 70-catch campaign in 2016.

Where Ron Differs

Sammie Coates | Pittsburg Steelers 
Ron’s Rank: 54
Consensus: 64

The recent news of upcoming four game suspension for Le’Veon Bell has rocked the fantasy world. While this is a major blow to his dynasty owners I see this as an even bigger opportunity for second-year wide receiver Sammie Coates. It’s tough to trust anyone who only has two regular season receptions and another two grabs for 61 yards in the playoffs to his resume. Sammie Coates was drafted by the Steelers’ brass last year as  a Martavis Bryant insurance policy and for good reason considering his latest suspension. Early reports out of Steelers’ OTA’s are that Coates is turning heads and gaining the trust of his coaches and teammates. The knock on Coates coming out of Auburn was that he was very raw, struggled running a full route tree, and had issues with drops. These are all flaws that can be overcome with good coaching and the proper motivation. I see no reason why Coates can’t assume Bryants’ deep-threat role in the Steelers’ vertical passing game and inherit the 92 targets Bryant amassed in only 11 games last year. Coates is an athletic specimen who just needs to work hard to clean up his game in order to make the most of this golden opportunity. I’m willing to gamble on Coates as evidenced by my #54 overall ranking in PPR leagues. I feel strongly that Coates will develop into a trusted deep threat for Big Ben this year. In doing so he should exceed the expectations of the majority of experts in the fantasy industry.  

For more Fantasy Football rankings talk, check out Fake Pigskin’s Angle of Pursuit podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

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