Dynasty Buckets, a Different Look at Tiers: Wide Receivers

Below, you'll find wide receivers grouped by bucket, along with the tier in which they currently reside in the Footballguys Dynasty Rankings for a little added fine-tuning.

We did our initial run of wide receiver buckets at the end of May. 

For this second edition, I've used the comments to highlight players who have had recent news out of OTAs, or who have moved up or down since our first go-round.

While it's worth noting, don't go too crazy trying to analyze it. At this time of year, people tend to make small adjustments to their rankings when small pieces of news emerge from these camps. Those small tweaks can move a player up or down in the consensus tiers, but you shouldn't take that movement to be all that meaningful in June. A guy who has jumped a tier this month could easily fall a tier next month.

Other Positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End

Last week, we took note of the amount of movement within buckets that had occurred between tight end tiers. There's a decent amount of movement among wide receivers this month as well, but it's less noteworthy simply because of the large number of receivers we roster and start in our dynasty leagues.

Starters (with Footballguys Tier in parentheses)

• Malik Nabers, NYG (1)
• Ja'Marr Chase, CIN (1) 
• CeeDee Lamb, DAL (1)
• Justin Jefferson, MIN (1)
• Puka Nacua, LAR (1)
• Amon-Ra St. Brown (1) Tier 2 last month
• Brian Thomas Jr., JAX (1) Tier 2 last month
• Drake London, ATL (1) Tier 2 last month
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA (2)
• Nico Collins, HOU (1) Tier 2 last month
• Ladd McConkey, LAR (1) Tier 2 last month
• A.J. Brown, PHI (2) I always feel like I want just a liiiiitle more production from him; it also feels like other managers consistently underrate him.
• Garrett Wilson, NYJ (2)
• Marvin Harrison Jr., ARI (2) I expect both Wilson and Harrison to be the next players to reach our first tier in the consensus ranks.
• Tetairoa McMillan, CAR (2)
• Tee Higgins, CIN (2)
• Rashee Rice, KC (2)
• Rome Odunze, CHI (3) Tier 2 last month
• DJ Moore, CHI (3) Tier 2 last month. Here is what I want to believe: Odunze and Moore have dropped a tier because that rumble of thunder getting closer to Soldier Field is named Luther Burden III and is inevitable. Follow Wild Bill's advice, friends: Listen to the thunder.
• DeVonta Smith, PHI (3) Tier 2 last month
• Xavier Worthy, KC (3) Tier 2 last month
• Travis Hunter, JAX (3) Tier 2 last month
• Zay Flowers, BAL (3) Tier 2 last month
• Chris Olave, NO (3)
• Jordan Addison, MIN (3)
• Jaylen Waddle, MIA (3)
• Terry McLaurin, WAS (3)
• DK Metcalf, PIT (3)
• Jameson Williams, DET (3) I don't think he's hit his ceiling yet. I'm afraid that if he does this year, he'll price himself right out of Detroit.
• Brandon Aiyuk, SF (3)
• George Pickens, DAL (4)
• Ricky Pearsall, SF (4)
• Chris Godwin, TB (4)
• Tyreek Hill, MIA (4)
• Mike Evans, TB (4)
• Courtland Sutton, DEN (5) Tier 4 last month
• Davante Adams, LAR (4)
• Stefon Diggs, NEP (5)

Rotation Bucket

• Matthew Golden, GB (4) Tier 3 last month
• Jayden Reed, GB (4) I don't feel very good about any Green Bay pass-catchers, but if I have to I am still betting on Reed, Golden, and Kraft to settle in as the top trio.
• Romeo Doubs, GB (6) Wicks dropped this month (see below), and if I had to guess, it'll be Doubs next month.
• Josh Downs, IND (4) Downs has a chance to jump to the starter bucket for me if (1) he can stay healthy, and (2) Daniel Jones wins the quarterback derby in Indy.
• Jerry Jeudy, CLE (4) Tier 3 last month. I'm unsure if the post-hype breakout he experienced last year is a sign of things to come or an anomaly. 
• Jakobi Meyers, LV (5) Tier 4 last month
• Tre Harris, LAC (4)
• Keon Coleman, BUF (5)
• Khalil Shakir, BUF (4)
• Deebo Samuel Sr., WAS (5)
• Calvin Ridley, TEN (5)
• Jack Bech, LV (5)
• Cooper Kupp, SEA (5)
•  Darnell Mooney, ATL (5)
• Jaylin Noel, HOU (5)
• Christian Kirk, HOU (6) Tier 7 last month
• Jayden Higgins, HOU (4) Tier 7 last month
• Cedric Tillman, CLE (6) Tier 7 last month
• Michael Pittman Jr, IND (5) Tier 7 last month
• Jauan Jennings, SF (5)
• Amari Cooper, FA (FA) Tier 7 last month
• Marquise Brown, KC (6) Tier FA last month
• Alec Pierce, IND (FA)
• Joshua Palmer, BUF (FA) He's the third Buffalo receiver in this bucket, so I guess let's just dump in some wing sauce and go to town. The wide receiver room feels like the one in Green Bay. The sum should be greater than its parts.
• Devaughn Vele, DEN (FA)
• Luther Burden III, CHI (3) Tier 5 last month. I've moved Burden from the Upside/Blocked bucket to the rotation bucket. As we sit on the eve of training camp, I think Burden is going to play himself into a role consistent enough to warrant a spot in your rotation in his rookie year. I could be completely wrong by this time next month, but this is where I'm going to value him as a dynasty asset headed into camp.

Young Upside/Blocked Bucket

• Emeka Egbuka, TB (3) Tier 5 last month. Egbuka feels likely to follow Burden into the rotation bucket by the end of July.
• Jalen McMillan, TB (6)
• Kyle Williams, NEP (6)
• DeMario Douglas, NEP (7)
• Kayshon Boutte, NEP (FA)
• Ja'Lynn Polk, NEP (FA)
• Javon Baker, NEP (FA): Just like last month, I'm keeping my eye on the competition between these young Patriot receivers to see if I can get an idea of who might stick around to grow with Drake Maye. I expect a couple of these guys to emerge through the summer. If I had to bet today, it will be Williams and Douglas. Whoever leads the room is likely a rotational piece for your dynasty teams.
• Xavier Legette, CAR (6)
• Jalen Coker, CAR (6) Tier 7 last month. There should be production available in Carolina behind McMillan. I want to see one of these guys step up and take it.
• Marvin Mims Jr., DEN (6)
• Adonai Mitchell, IND (7)
• Troy Franklin, DEN (FA) Tier 7 last month
• Tai Felton, MIN (FA) Tier 7 last month
• Andrei Iosivas, CIN (FA)
• Pat Bryant, DEN (6) Tier FA last month. The positivity continues to swirl around Bryant.
• Jalen Royals, KC (7) Tier FA last month
• Tory Horton, SEA (FA)
• Elic Ayomanor, TEN (FA)
• Roman Wilson, PIT (FA)
• Isaac TeSlaa, DET (FA)
• Savion Williams, GB (FA)
• Malik Washington, MIA (FA)
• Dont'e Thornton Jr., LV (FA)
• Jaylin Lane, WAS (FA)
• Luke McCaffrey, WAS (FA)
• Dontayvion Wicks, GB (FA) Tier 7 last month: It's still to be determined how things will shake out for the Green Bay receiving corps, but I'm moving Wicks down from the rotation bucket this month. He seems destined to be the one left out when the dust settles.

Veteran Depth Bucket

• Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG (6) I'm as disappointed as anyone to put him here, but I haven't seen enough to count on him week-to-week in my lineups.
• Rashid Shaheed, NO (6)
• Rashod Bateman, BAL (6)
• Keenan Allen, FA (FA)
• DeAndre Hopkins, BAL (FA)
• Diontae Johnson, CLE (FA)
• Darius Slayton, NYG (FA)
• Jalen Tolbert, DAL (FA)
• Elijah Moore, BUF (FA)
• Adam Thielen, CAR (FA)
• Brandin Cooks, NO (FA)
• Gabe Davis, FA (FA)
• Jahan Dotson, PHI (FA)
• Tyler Lockett, TEN (FA)
• Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, MIA (FA)
• Curtis Samuel, BUF (FA)
• Ray-Ray McCloud III, ATL (FA)
• Demarcus Robinson, SF (FA)
• Noah Brown, WAS (FA)
• Mack Hollins, NE (FA)

Scratch-Off Tickets Bucket

• Quentin Johnston, LAC (6)
• Christian Watson, GB (7) Tier FA last month
• Michael Wilson, ARI (FA)
• Jordan Whittington, LAR (FA)
• Tank Dell, HOU (FA)
• Tre Tucker, LV (FA)
• Tez Johnson, TB (FA)
• Chimere Dike, TEN (FA)
• Calvin Austin III, PIT (FA)
• Dyami Brown, JAX (FA)
• Kaden Prather, BUF (FA)
• Arian Smith, NYJ (FA)
• Jalen Nailor, MIN (FA)
• Xavier Restrepo, TEN (FA)
• Keandre Lambert-Smith, LAC (FA)
• Konata Mumpfield, LAR (FA)
• Jordan Watkins, SF (FA)
• Ricky White III, SEA (FA)
• LaJohntay Wester, BAL (FA)
• Parker Washington, JAX (FA)
• Jalin Hyatt, NYG (FA)
• Trey Palmer, TB (FA)
• Malachi Corley, NYJ (FA)
• Nick Nash, ATL (FA)

Conclusion

Wide receiver buckets are probably the most fluid and flexible of all of the fantasy positions. There are a lot of them, and they play various roles from team to team and even from week to week. Defensive matchups and game plans can work to activate a wide receiver one week and render him completely ineffective the next. How many players you are required to start at wide receiver and/or flex on your fantasy teams makes a difference to where you might place some of these guys, too.

Still, even with the added fluidity and flexibility of the receiver position, my approach to these buckets remains similar to that of other positions. I aim to roster as many players as possible from the first three buckets, and I'm looking in the scratch-off bucket for players I think can make the leap to a rotational or starting asset.

Thanks for playing along. We'll be back with our last look at our off-season buckets beginning with quarterbacks in mid-July and moving through training camp and a last look at wide receivers in the run-up to our first pre-season games in August.