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Dynasty Owner WR Tiers – Part One (The Starters)

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By Steven Van Tassell

It’s time for the final set of Dynasty Owner Fantasy Football Tiers 2021. At least that was the plan. Because there are so many wide receivers, after much work and deliberation, it was decided that we really need two weeks to cover all of them.

First, we’ll tier and rank the 53 WRs projected to score 200.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. These will be referred to as the Starting WRs. Including that many WRs will give us all of the Starters since every Dynasty Owner team needs to have two Starting WRs. There is also the FLEX position in the Starting lineup, so a minimum of 24 WRs, up to 36 WRs, will be in getting the full complement of Dynasty Owner fantasy points every single week.

These WR tiers were the most difficult to put together because of the sheer volume of players to rank and place in tiers. The range of salaries for just these 53 WRs, from under $1 million annually up to $27.25 million, means there is a wide range of Dynasty Dollars per Point (DD/PT) values. These Starter WR tiers aren’t perfect by any measure, and many Dynasty Owners might have a difference of opinion on some player placements. There were several instances where a player could have had his own tier (as Darren Waller and Kyle Pitts did in the TE tiers), but with so many players to include, it was difficult to justify a tier with one WR, so those players were folded into a nearby tier. There was nobody among the WRs who stood out on their own as much as Waller did because of the much lower salary he carries compared to the other elite TEs. Same with Pitts as there are a few rookie WRs drafted highly in the 2021 NFL draft, so several players fit together.

Ranking the tiers proved to be challenging as well. There are nine elite WRs who are all projected to score 300.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. After that, there is a gap, but 21 more WRs are projected for between 240.0 and 280.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021, followed by 23 WRs expected to score between 200.0 and 240.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. When you factor in salaries and contract years, it makes for a lot of tiers and for interesting debates on where to rank each tier. For example, it is better to have a WR who is going to score around 250.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, but will cost around only a couple of a million dollars in salary for a couple of years, or is it worth $12 million to $15 million or more in salary to get an additional 50.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. That’s around 3.0 points per game, on average. However, WR seems the most likely position outside of QB to spend your salary cap on, so why not use it and get those extra points?  It’s a good debate because while value is at a premium in Dynasty Owner, in the end, you still need to score enough points to win your weekly matchup. The value versus extra points is something that I went back and forth on many times while ranking the Starting WR tiers.

All 2021 projections come from Rotowire and are based on the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system as outlined in the updated Dynasty Owner Constitution. Standard Dynasty Owner scoring gives you .1 points for every yard rushing or receiving, .1 point for every 2 yards passing, 1 point per reception, 6 points for a rushing, receiving or passing touchdown and 2 points for a successful 2-point conversion (rushing, receiving, or passing). Interceptions or fumbles lost cost you 3 points, while a fumble that is recovered by the player’s team is a loss of only 1 point. Bonus points are available for 100-199 yards rushing (2 points), 200 yards rushing or receiving (6 points), 300-399 yards passing (1 point) and 400 yards passing (4 points). There is also a 3 point bonus for clutch scoring, which is a score that results in a lead change in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime. Kickoff and punt return touchdowns are worth 6 points for the player and kickoff and punt returns are worth 1 point for every 40 yards.

All 2021 Dynasty Owner fantasy points projections were accurate as of the morning of July 28th.

Fourteen Tiers of Starting WRs

As stated in all of the other tiers articles, Dynasty Owner tiers are not the same as tiers for other fantasy football leagues or on other fantasy football websites. There are multiple factors to consider in Dynasty Owner including current salary, future salaries, 2021 projected stats and long-term potential. Dynasty Owners also need to have two Starting WRs and two Bench WRs every week. There is also a FLEX position in your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup that can be filled by a WR. As a result, more WRs will be used by Dynasty Owners on a weekly basis than in most fantasy leagues. That’s why we have more WR tiers, and more players listed than in other tiers articles.

With 60% of offensive formations in 2020 utilizing 3 WRs plus a RB and a TE according to Sharp Football Stats (https://www.sharpfootballstats.com/personnel-grouping-frequency.html), it’s important for Dynasty Owners to have a lot of quality WRs on their roster. An additional 5% of formations used either three WRs with two TEs or two RBs, 4 WRs or even 5 WRs. That’s nearly two-thirds of formations with at least three WRs on the field at once.

Because of that utilization, there are at least three WRs on pretty much every team who is worthy of having on your Dynasty Owner roster. With so many WRs to place into tiers, it was necessary to break them up into two sets – Starters and Bench. The Starter tiers are listed below and there are 14 of them that capture all 53 WRs projected to score at least 200.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. In order, they are:

  • Tier 1a – Elite Cheap WRs
  • Tier 1b – Almost Elite Cheap WRs
  • Tier 2a – Elite, Slightly More Expensive WRs
  • Tier 2b – Almost Elite, Slightly More Expensive WRs
  • Tier 3a – Elite and Expensive WRs with Long-Term Contracts
  • Tier 3b – Elite/High-End and Expensive WRs on One-Year Contracts
  • Tier 4 – Great Value Second Year WRs
  • Tier 5 – Rookie, Early First Round Draft Pick WRs
  • Tier 6 – Great Value Young WRs with One-Year Left on Contract
  • Tier 7 – High End, $16 Million WRs with Multi-Year Contracts
  • Tier 8 – High End, Very Expensive WRs with Long-Term Contracts
  • Tier 9 – Low-End, $3 Million Starting WRs
  • Tier 10 – Very Good Production, Mid-Range Salary WRs on One Year Contracts
  • Tier 11 – Multi-Year, Mid-Range Salary Potential Starters

Tier 1a – Elite Cheap WRs

There are nine WRs who are projected to score 300.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. Out of those nine, three of them have been in the league for two years, are 25 years of age or younger, scored 180.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in their rookie season and then scored more in their second year and make less than $1.5 million in salary. In order from lowest (aka Best) Dynasty Dollars per Point (DD/PT) to highest, they are:

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Terry McLaurin, WAS$961,9182305.0$3,154
DK Metcalf, SEA$1,146,5132305.5$3,753
A.J. Brown, TEN$1,413,0922305.0$4,633

As you can see, all three of them have two years left on their contracts and are projected to have 2021 DD/PT values of less than $5,000. They are projected to score an almost identical number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 and should be the first three WRs off the board in Dynasty Owner drafts.

Tier 1b – Almost Elite Cheap WRs

The next two players have very similar profiles as the Elite Cheap WRs in Tier 1a. However, they are projected to score around 40 to 50 fewer Dynasty Owner fantasy points than Brown, McLaurin and Metcalf. That sets them apart as just a step below and “almost” elite.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Diontae Johnson, PIT$1,070,2412262.3$4,080
Deebo Samuel, SF$1,811,8692252.6$7,173

In addition, both Johnson and Samuel have competition from another cheap second year WR on their roster. Those second year players will take away enough receptions, yards and TDs from these WRs to keep them from being in Tier 1a.

Tier 2a – Elite, Slightly More Expensive WRs

Here are two additional elite WRs projected to score 300.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021, but who make slightly more than the Tier 1a Elite WRs. As a result, their 2021 projected DD/PT values are higher which puts them a tier below.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Calvin Ridley, ATL$2,725,1782305.6$8,917
Justin Jefferson, MIN$3,280,7013305.4$10,742

In terms of ADP, both of them are being selected earlier than the WRs in Tier 1a (except DK Metcalf), so Dynasty Owners don’t appear to be worried about the extra salary they need to pay Ridley and Jefferson. However, in terms of categorizing the Elite WRs, they are a small step lower due to those slightly higher salaries.

Tier 2b – Almost Elite, Slightly More Expensive WRs

In the same spirit as Tier 1a and Tier 1b, we have Tier 2b. All four of these WRs are projected to score a similar number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points as Diontae Johnson and Deebo Samuel, but will cost more in salary and have higher DD/PT values.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
D.J. Moore, CAR$2,792,8292266.4$10,484
Brandon Aiyuk, SF$3,132,8353252.3$12,417
CeeDee Lamb, DAL$3,502,5033266.2$13,157
Jerry Jeudy, DEN$3,798,2433238.7$15,912

All of them have the potential to move into the elite level tier. However, none have reached that point yet in their career or are projected to do so in 2021. Admittedly, Aiyuk, Lamb and Jeudy are only in their second year, but each is still projected to score more than 40.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points than they did as a rookie in 2020. Justin Jefferson scored more than all three of these rookies in 2020 and is projected to do so again in 2021, which is why he is ahead of them in Tier 2a. Jeudy seems to be an outlier in this tier with the highest salary and lowest projected points for 2021, but it was the best placement for him.

Tier 3a – Elite and Expensive WRs with Long-Term Contracts

There is a stark difference in salary among the nine WRs who are projected to score more than 300.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. The gap between the fifth most expensive elite WR (Justin Jefferson at $3.28 million) and the sixth most expensive elite WR is over $11 million per year plus these two elite WRs in their own tier.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Stefon Diggs, BUF$14,400,0003305.7$47,105
Tyreek Hill, KC$18,000,0002328.3$54,828

Stefon Diggs is the sixth most expensive elite WR and his annual salary is $14.4 million, while Tyreek Hill is eighth at $18 million. There is no age difference as both are 27 years old, have multiple years left on their contracts and each one is the unquestioned WR1 on their NFL team.

Tier 3b – Elite/High-End and Expensive WRs on One-Year Contracts

We have our final elite WR appearing here, as well as two other WRs who are high-end WR and playing in 2021 as “franchise” players with the one-year franchise tag designation and salary.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Davante Adams, GB$14,500,0001330.2$43,913
Chris Godwin, TB$15,983,0001263.5$60,657
Allen Robinson, CHI$17,880,0001278.7$64,155

While Davante Adams would appear to fit better in Tier 3a based on his 2021 projected points and value, the fact that he has only one year left on his contract, compared to two years for both Hill and Diggs, drops him down slightly. Since both Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin also have one-year contracts, although with slightly higher salaries, and fewer projected Dynasty Owner fantasy points, they appear here as well. All of them have the potential to have a great year in 2021 and get a contract in free agency that will have them making $20 million or more per season for multiple years. The potential of a bigger deal in 2022 and beyond puts all of them slightly below Hill and Diggs and their already known 2022 salaries.

Tier 4 – Great Value Second Year WRs

The second round of the 2020 NFL draft was a great place for NFL teams to find WRs. Seven WRs were drafted in that round and four of them appear in this list. The other three will be included in Part 2 as they are more likely Bench options at this point in their short NFL career.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Chase Claypool, PIT$1,654,1563250.2$6,611
Tee Higgins, CIN$2,171,6963250.1$8,683
Laviska Shenault, JAC$1,924,0173212.5$9,054
Michael Pittman, IND$2,153,2123210.8$10,214

Chase Claypool and Tee Higgins are projected to be the players in this tier with the most Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. They scored the most points in 2020 as well. Each has to contend with two other high-quality WRs for receptions, so both are slotted here instead of in an earlier tier.

Tier 5 – Rookie, Early First Round Draft Pick WRs

As early first round draft picks, each of these WRs is expected to jump into the elite tier in the next year or two. For now, they reside here as their salaries are higher than the young elite WRs. Because of those salaries, it’s impossible for them to produce the same value as those inexpensive elite WRs, but if they produce in 2021 as expected and improve in the future, their Dynasty Owners won’t mind.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
DeVonta Smith, PHI$5,035,3484234.1$21,509
Ja’Marr Chase, CIN$7,547,4104240.0$31,448
Jaylen Waddle, MIA$6,771,4984204.8$33,064

This tier is limited to just the three WRs drafted in the Top 10 of the 2021 NFL draft. Look for the two late round first round picks in next week’s article along with plenty of other rookies.

Tier 6 – Great Value Young WRs with One-Year Left on Contract

None of these guys have reached the elite level yet and none are projected to rank in the Top 24 WRs in 2021 scoring, but several are pretty close. Therefore, none is an automatic Starting WR for your Dynasty Owner team. However, they are likely starting in the FLEX position. All of them are young (25 or younger), on their rookie contract and will likely be getting paid a lot more money in 2022 and beyond.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Tre’Quan Smith, NO$855,1311210.2$4,068
Michael Gallup, DAL$880,9951215.3$4,092
D.J. Chark, JAC$1,111,8071250.2$4,444
Courtland Sutton, DEN$1,710,4801234.3$7,300

Another interesting point about all four of these players. All of them are projected to have more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 than they have in any previous season. A few are very close, but all of them are projected for more, so this value is really their peak in Dynasty Owner. Tre’Quan Smith has moved up to the top of this tier when ranked by 2021 DD/PT after the Michael Thomas injury news. He was below D.J. Chark up until then. 

Tier 7 – High End, $16 Million WRs with Multi-Year Contracts

The title of this tier is a bit off as not all of these WRs make $16 million per year. In fact, none of them make exactly that much, unlike the three player, $6.013 million TE tier in last week’s article (https://dynastyowner.com/2021/07/dynasty-owner-te-tiers/). Instead, all six WRs in this tier make between $15.1 million and $16.5 million and have at least two years left on their contracts.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Cooper Kupp, LA$15,750,0003268.8$58,594
Robert Woods, LA$16,250,0005263.1$61,764
Mike Evans, TB$16,500,0003266.0$62,030
Adam Thielen, MIN$16,050,0004258.6$62,065
Jarvis Landry, CLE$15,100,0002231.0$65,368
Brandin Cooks, HOU$16,200,0002228.1$71,021

All of them are between 27 and 30 years of age, so they are veterans who have been around the NFL for a few years, but aren’t “too old” quite yet. Jarvis Landry and Brandin Cooks have the lowest projected 2021 points, but also have only two years left on their contracts, while the others have three or more. Robert Woods is the only one of the group with five years left on his contract.

Tier 8 – High End, Very Expensive WRs with Long-Term Contracts

Dynasty Owners pretty much know what they are going to get with these players. They cost a lot of salary ($18 million or more) because they have all been a true WR1 in the past and, if healthy, will produce plenty of Dynasty Owner fantasy points. However, all of them are signed to long-term contracts that make them prohibitively expensive to own.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Kenny Golladay, NYG$18,000,0004245.4$73,350
Keenan Allen, LAC$20,025,0004272.7$73,432
Odell Beckham, CLE$18,000,0003238.8$75,377
Amari Cooper, DAL$20,000,0004261.6$76,453
Julio Jones, TEN$22,000,0003254.4$86,478
DeAndre Hopkins, ARI$27,250,0004305.6$89,169
Michael Thomas, NO$19,250,0004214.9$89,577

The age range for these seven players is between 27 and 29 years old, except Jones who is 32. Only one (DeAndre Hopkins) is expected to produce at an elite level in 2021 with over 300.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. However, he is also the most expensive WR by far as his annual salary is $5.25 million more than Julio Jones who ranks second. The recent news about Michael Thomas has reduced his projections to make him the worst value with the fewest projected points for 2021. Before this news, Thomas’ value was more in line with the other WRs in this tier in the $18 – $20 million salary range.

Tier 9 – Low-End, $3 Million Starting WRs

Other than sharing the same last name and making in the $3 million salary range for 2021, there’s not a lot of similarities between the two players in this tier.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Antonio Brown, TB$3,075,0001227.4$13,522
Marquise Brown, BAL$2,946,8352210.8$13,979

Antonio is 33 years old, while Marquise is only 24. Antonio has played for several NFL teams, while Marquise has only been with the Ravens. Antonio is on a one-year deal after re-signing with the Buccaneers, while Marquise still has two years left on his rookie contract. However, what they both do have in common is being on the very low-end of consideration for inclusion in your projected Dynasty Owner Starting lineup.

Tier 10 – Very Good Production, Mid-Range Salary WRs on One Year Contracts

If you have about $10 million in salary and need a starter in your FLEX spot but don’t want to draft someone with a multi-year contract, here’s a list of WRs who will fit that spot pretty nicely.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT$8,000,0001231.8$34,513
Tyler Lockett, SEA$10,250,0001251.5$40,755
Robby Anderson, CAR$10,000,0001247.4$40,420
Will Fuller, MIA$10,625,0111205.2$51,779
Mike Williams, LAC$15,680,0001232.4$67,470

Mike Williams is the most expensive WR here and well over the $10 million salary figure, but he didn’t really fit in the other tier with WRs with similar salaries and years left on their contract (Tier 3b) because of lower production than Davante Adams, Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin. There’s a reason why the Chargers exercised his fifth year option, but didn’t sign him to a long-term extension.

While Tyler Lockett is included here, we do know his salary for the next four years. It’s $17.25 million per year for the next four years and the information is listed under Contract on his player profile page. However, since Dynasty Owners will be able to drop him without penalty after that contract kicks in next year, he’s listed here with the guys who don’t have a contract for 2022.

Tier 11 – Multi-Year, Mid-Range Salary Potential Starters

These guys are considered “potential” starters. They might move into your Starting lineup if they have a good matchup, or if your Starter has a poor matchup, or if someone is injured or on bye. All of them have multi-year contracts, so you have the stability of knowing their salary for the next two to three years.

PlayerYearly SalaryYears2021 Projected Points2021 DD/PT
Marvin Jones, JAC$6,250,0002204.8$30,518
DeVante Parker, MIA$7,625,0003208.4$36,588
Curtis Samuel, WAS$11,500,0003237.8$48,360
Tyler Boyd, CIN$10,750,0003217.3$49,471
Nelson Agholor, NE$11,000,0002208.8$52,682
Corey Davis, NYJ$12,500,0003203.9$61,305

Three of the biggest off-season free agent WR signees are here (Curtis Samuel, Nelson Agholor and Corey Davis). While they are listed as “potential” starters, Curtis Samuel is projected as the WR33, so he might be in the FLEX position on a weekly basis. The NFL teams for each of these WRs are paying a lot for their services, so each should have the opportunities to score their projected point totals at the minimum and maybe exceed it.

Conclusion

There are so many WRs listed already, but believe it or not, since we only did 53. That’s less than 10% of the 566 WRs listed in the Dynasty Owner database. We started with the cream of the crop, but that doesn’t mean these are the only WRs who will work their way into your Starting lineup. An injury to Michael Thomas added Tre’Quan Smith to the ranks, while others will move up during training camp or during the season as injuries to other players mount or they play better than expected.

As stated at the beginning of this article, I’m sure there will be differences of opinion on these Starting WR tiers. Let me know what you think of these Starting WR tiers (or any of the other tiers) on Twitter (@SteveVT33) or in the comments section on YouTube.

Next week, we’ll look at even more WRs as there are many more players who could earn a spot on your Dynasty Owner Bench. There are over 60 WRs projected to score between 100.0 and 200.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, not to mention some projected to score fewer than that but with rock bottom salaries. Those rock bottom salaries make them tempting to have on your roster and stash away on your Practice Squad for the future, or in case they break out this year.

In addition to tiers, Dynasty Owner has plenty of other great content to help you draft your dynasty. We can also provide guidance as you continue to tweak your roster after your rookie or start-up draft is over so you can win your league. My articles and videos to get you ready for your 2021 Dynasty Owner start-up league team are being released on Wednesdays. Keep an eye out for new articles from the rest of our team of Dynasty Owner writers as well. Matt Morrison – The Jerk (@Dynastyjerk) is doing a deep dive on individual teams that you can check out on Mondays, while Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl) looks at how to rebuild your Dynasty Owner roster on Fridays. All of the articles will be released at 1 PM (Eastern) with videos and podcast released at 3 PM (Eastern).

Please read all of their articles and follow all three of us plus Dynasty Owner (@Dynasty_Owner) on Twitter. Hopefully this article is helpful for everyone who has a 2021 start-up draft coming soon, and at least interesting for those of you who have already drafted or have an established team. Maybe it’ll give you and other Dynasty Owners some ideas for potential trades too. Thanks, and have a great day!

Steven Van Tassell is the Head of Content for Dynasty Owner

Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33 and @Dynasty_Owner

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