Six years ago, the 2014 NFL Draft injected a new wave of stud fantasy football wide receivers into the league. This year’s draft can surpass the class that produced Davante Adams, Odell Beckham, and Mike Evans.
More than five wide receivers from the 2020 class possess high upside. However, I shrunk the list to five players poised to fill significant roles on their new teams. That doesn’t mean other rookie receivers won’t reach incredible heights.
Several promising rookies missed the cut because I don’t think they’ll thrive as fantasy football options this season. The biggest snub by far is Denver’s Jerry Jeudy. The polished route runner didn’t crack the top five because we don’t know what Drew Lock is yet, and Jeudy sits behind Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton on Denver’s depth chart.
Philadelphia’s Jalen Reagor also missed the top five. The TCU product is more of a raw athlete than a polished receiver at this point, and the Eagles added plenty of other receivers to their depth chart this summer.
Tee Higgins didn’t crack the list either. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Higgins with the 33rd overall pick, but he’s joining a loaded wide receiver room. With Tyler Boyd entrenched as a reliable No. 2 and A.J. Green returning from injury, Higgins isn’t guaranteed many targets in 2020.
Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson, New York’s Denzel Mims, and Jacksonville’s Laviska Shenault Jr. claim the final honorable mention spots. All three are toss-up players who might not even receive large roles as rookies. There’s the potential for them to overachieve in 2020. However, that’s not enough to attract attention from a fantasy football perspective.
