2016 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Wide Receiver Tiers 1.0

For years, Fantasy receivers have been plentiful. If you don't land a stud early on, you could always pick up a very good one a few rounds later, plus there's a pretty good chance you can nail a sleeper in the middle rounds.

If there's one change it's that more receivers are getting taken in Round 1 than in years past. Depending on league scoring and lineup requirements, as many as seven wideouts could get taken within the first 12 picks. Many presume receivers to be safer, steadier Fantasy choices than running backs, and no one wants to make a bad first-round pick. On the flipside, you can find very capable receivers who can reliably score highly well into Round 4.

The receivers in the first two tiers are well known. They have 1,500-yard, 10-touchdown potential, including second-year receiver Amari Cooper. As a rookie he caught 72 passes for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns. The sentiment is he takes on more responsibility in 2016 and leads the Raiders in targets, catches and scores (Michael Crabtree did that in 2015).

You'll also recognize the receivers in the third and fourth tiers as mostly reliable choices. Alshon Jeffery isn't higher up because he's only been a serious touchdown threat once and figures to lose some work to a healthy Kevin White. Brandon Marshall was a Top 3 receiver last season and a Top 5 finisher in three of the last four years. Legitimate concerns about who is throwing him the ball along with worries about his age hold him back from being any higher, yet he's still considered a Top 12 selection. Kelvin Benjamin is coming off of a torn ACL but if Ted Ginn can get 10 touchdowns in Carolina, so can Benjamin. Maybe the biggest wild card of all is Demaryius Thomas, who has tallied at least 1,300 yards each of his last four seasons but really fell off a cliff over his last 10 games including the playoffs, catching 44 of 95 targets for 548 yards. He also has some quarterback concerns to overcome but has the upside everyone is familiar with.

There's a clear drop-off from the first 20 or so wideouts in the tiers to the rest of the talent pool, but it doesn't mean the rest of the receivers in Tier 5 and on are trash. There are plenty of bounce-back candidates, sleepers, rookies and fellas coming off of great seasons to bank on. No Fantasy owner should be hurting on receiver depth this season.