Fantasy Football: Top 20 Wide Receivers to Target in 2019
By Shade Piper
FANTASY FOOTBALL WIDE RECEIVERS TO TARGET IN 2019
NUMBER 9 – ANTONIO BROWN
2018 Standard Scoring: 2nd (219.7)
2018 PPR Scoring: 5th (323.7)
Ninth overall might seem a little low for Antonio Brown and this ranking is definitely the lowest in years for Brown. This is not meant as any disrespect to him, but let’s take a look and how his move to Oakland affects his fantasy value (I know we are going to have Derek Carr slander two rankings in a row. Sorry, not sorry).
Last year Brown had Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback, slinging it at a rate of 42 passes per game, which totaled at 675 attempts last year. This year he will be catching passes from Derek Carr who threw the ball 553 times last year or 34.5 times per game on average.
Brown isn’t going to have near as many opportunities this year as he had last year in Pittsburgh.
Not only does Roethlisberger throw it more than Carr, but he turned those added attempts into 1,080 more yards and 15 more touchdowns last season. Not having Roethlisberger slinging it around 40+ times a game is likely going to affect Brown more than most fantasy players are considering.
Even so, Brown may be the most talented receiver in the league and if not he is for sure top five and we have seen top wide receivers overcome much worse in the past (i.e. Odell Beckham Jr last year, DeAndre Hopkins basically his whole career until last year, etc.). So while he may not be as good as he’s been in the past, he will still be a reliable fantasy option.
I would, however, feel much more comfortable drafting Antonio Brown in the second round than in the first this year because of the factors mentioned.