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By Steven Van Tassell
Now, it’s really time for the final set of Dynasty Owner Fantasy Football Tiers 2021. Last week, we tackled the Starting WRs for your Dynasty Owner team and this week, we are going to look at the Bench WRs. The Starting WRs were any WR projected to score 200.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021. There were 53 of them out of 552 WRs in the Dynasty Owner player pool as of last week. We aren’t going to go through the remaining 499 WRs in this article since many of them won’t end up on a NFL team or score many Dynasty Owner fantasy points so they shouldn’t appear on your Dynasty Owner Bench or Practice Squad. Instead, we will focus on those WRs most likely to be able to contribute significant points from your Bench. They might stay there all year, or move into your Starting lineup if they produce better than anticipated, due to injury, or if you have another WR (or two) on bye.
There are a lot of WRs to review here and just like in some of the other tiers, many of the differences are minor at some point, whether it be an extra year on their contract or just a slightly higher Dynasty Dollars per Point (DD/PT) value. These minor differences mean that individual Dynasty Owners may differ on where to select these players based on personal preference. It’s hard to differentiate at some point, especially in Dynasty Owner because of the inclusion of contracts and salaries. It doesn’t matter much in a regular dynasty league if a player has one, two, three, or four years left on their contract, but it does in Dynasty Owner and that may be the ultimate difference between selecting one player over another, regardless of position.
Just like RBs, we are not going to have an “Avoid” tier – even at the Bench WR level. There are just too many WRs who should be drafted that there’s no time to go through the players who shouldn’t be taken right now. All of the QBs to avoid were veterans with very large contracts who are productive, but not productive enough to use and take up a significant portion of your Dynasty Owner salary cap. For TEs, the guys to avoid were high-salary, but lightly used players so they just don’t belong on your roster. While WRs make more than RBs, only four make $20 million or more and 27 make $10 million or more. While both Larry Fitzgerald and Alshon Jeffrey are currently listed with salaries of over $10 million, both are free agents and likely to make less if they play in 2021. Out of those 27 WRs making $10 million or more, only one (Sterling Shepard) is projected to have less than 200.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and is listed here as a Bench option. All of the others were in the last article. However, even Shepard is projected to average around 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game, so he could be rostered at that level of production and therefore, appears in one of the Bench 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 August 4th.
More Bench WR Tiers Than Anywhere Else in Dynasty
As mentioned in the Starting WR article, Dynasty Owners need to have a lot of quality WRs on their roster as the prevalence of three WR formations by most NFL teams means more WRs are utilized in a NFL game than any other position in Dynasty Owner. According to Sharp Football Stats, the three WR, one RB, one TE formation was used more than any other formation by every NFL team in 2020 (https://www.sharpfootballstats.com/personnel-grouping-frequency.html). That includes run-heavy teams like the Titans and Vikings who both used it on 35% or less of their plays, but nevertheless, still more than any other formation type. As a result, more WRs have the opportunity to produce the Dynasty Owner fantasy points your team needs to win.
The Bench tiers are listed below and there are 19 of them that capture all 68 WRs projected to score between 100.0 and 200.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 plus an additional 38 WRs who are projected to score less but should still be considered Bench options for 2021 and worthy of a roster spot on your Dynasty Owner team. In order, they are:
- Tier 12a – Very Young WRs Ready to Produce More in 2021
- Tier 12b – Very Young WRs Projected to Perform Much Better in 2021
- Tier 13a – Late First or Second Round Rookie Draft Picks
- Tier 13b – More Rookie Draft Picks Worth Owning
- Tier 14a – Good Value Bench WRs with Two Year Contracts
- Tier 14b – Minimal Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
- Tier 15 – Around $1 Million Bench WRs with Multiple Years Left on That Contract
- Tier 16 – Disappointing Recent First Round Draft Picks who Need to Produce
- Tier 17 – Slightly Higher Salary Veteran Bench WRs on One-Year Contracts
- Tier 18a – Veteran Bench WRs on One Year Contracts
- Tier 18b – Multi-Year, Multi-Million Dollar Salary Bench WRs
- Tier 19a – Lower Production and Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
- Tier 19b – Slightly Lower Production, Low Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
- Tier 20 – WRs on One-Year, $1.13 Million Veteran Contracts
- Tier 21 – Making Just About $1 Million, but Signed for Multiple Years
- Tier 22 – Drafted Rookies Projected for the Practice Squad in 2021
- Tier 23 – Really Cheap Flyers
- Tier 24 – Low-End Bench Production, Multi-Year $5 Million Salary WRs
- Tier 25 – Veterans Making $2 Million or More, but Expected to Produce Fewer than 100 Points
Tier 12a – Very Young WRs Ready to Produce More in 2021
None of these players are over 23 years old, but all of them have played in the NFL for at least one season and played at a pretty high level. With the departure of a veteran WR for each of their NFL teams, they should be ready to produce more in 2021 and provide some great value to their Dynasty Owners. The best part is that they are all very inexpensive and have two or three years left on their rookie contract.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Darnell Mooney, CHI | $894,263 | 3 | 177.3 | $5,044 |
| Gabriel Davis, BUF | $998,595 | 3 | 183.4 | $5,445 |
| Mecole Hardman, KC | $1,248,763 | 2 | 191.4 | $6,524 |
It is very conceivable that all three of these WRs could be the WR2 on their respective teams in 2021 and be worthy of being a Starter on your Dynasty Owner team. For now, they are projected to be a top Bench option.
Tier 12b – Very Young WRs Projected to Perform Much Better in 2021
All four of these WRs were taken by their NFL teams in either the second or third round in the 2020 NFL draft. Dynasty Owners drafted them with high expectations for good production for between $1 million and $2 million in salary for 2020, but that didn’t happen. Slightly lower projected production and higher salaries than Tier 12a, but the potential is still there.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Bryan Edwards, LV | $1,173,113 | 3 | 164.6 | $7,127 |
| Van Jefferson, LA | $1,402,784 | 3 | 173.4 | $8,090 |
| Denzel Mims, NYJ | $1,358,425 | 3 | 156.5 | $8,680 |
| K.J. Hamler, DEN | $1,784,282 | 3 | 149.1 | $11,967 |
All of them had less than 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2020. Three out of the four are expected to have over 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points than they did last year. K.J. Hamler is “only” projected for 56.7 more points, but that’s still a significant increase.
Tier 13a – Late First or Second Round Rookie Draft Picks
Based on the 2021 projections, these five rookie late first or second round draft picks should average a very similar number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. That’s pretty much why they are all together in one tier. Very little difference in production and all of them have four year rookie contracts.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Terrace Marshall, CAR | $1,432,372 | 4 | 166.5 | $8,603 |
| Rondale Moore, ARI | $1,731,060 | 4 | 166.6 | $10,391 |
| Elijah Moore, NYJ | $2,235,107 | 4 | 171.5 | $12,036 |
| Rashod Bateman, BAL | $3,149,853 | 4 | 166.5 | $18,918 |
| Kadarius Toney, NYG | $3,429,877 | 4 | 159.5 | $21,504 |
The order is in reverse order of draft selection with Terrace Marshall, the latest pick in this tier, having the best DD/PT value and Kadarius Toney, the #20 overall pick, having the worst. It’s not out of the question that these WRs could be elite or almost elite in another year or two because of their affordable rookie contracts and be in one of the top Tiers, but for now, they start here.
Tier 13b – More Rookie Draft Picks Worth Owning
These WRs were also drafted in 2021, but were either drafted a round or two later, or were taken in the second round, but expected to produce less than the second round picks in Tier 13a. However, they are all expected to score more than 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points this year.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET | $1,066,313 | 4 | 153.7 | $6,938 |
| Shi Smith, CAR | $913,105 | 4 | 123.5 | $7,394 |
| Nico Collins, HOU | $1,217,879 | 4 | 159.2 | $7,650 |
| Dyami Brown, WAS | $1,236,000 | 4 | 147.0 | $8,408 |
| Amari Rodgers, GB | $1,224,974 | 4 | 142.7 | $8,584 |
| Tylan Wallace, BAL | $1,041,341 | 4 | 113.4 | $9,183 |
| Anthony Schwartz, CLE | $1,215,755 | 4 | 118.0 | $10,303 |
| Dez Fitzpatrick, TEN | $1,069,951 | 4 | 101.7 | $10,521 |
| Tutu Atwell, LA | $1,477,175 | 4 | 128.5 | $11,496 |
| D’Wayne Eskridge, SEA | $1,488,376 | 4 | 100.9 | $14,751 |
Only time will tell if they play well and turn into Starting WRs, such as Terry McLaurin, DK Metcalf or Diontae Johnson, or even Tier 12 Bench WRs. They might also not do very well and be the next J. J. Arcega-Whiteside or Andy Isabella or another mid-to-late round WR drafted in the past couple of years who didn’t make the roster or are possibly on the verge of being cut this year.
Tier 14a – Good Value Bench WRs with Two Year Contracts
Plain and simple. These Bench WRs are a great value. They aren’t likely to end up as the WR1 on their NFL team or make their way into your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup too many weeks, but are expected to contribute close to 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. Not bad for around $700,000 in salary for two years!
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Hunter Renfrow, LV | $708,987 | 2 | 163.6 | $4,334 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | $688,497 | 2 | 158.2 | $4,352 |
| Scott Miller, TB | $661,960 | 2 | 133.9 | $4,944 |
The problem with all three WRs here is that their 2021 projected points are all more than what they produced in 2020. Slayton did have more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2019 than projected this year though.
Tier 14b – Minimal Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
Here are a bunch of either undrafted rookie free agents still on their initial deal or late round 2018 draft picks who have become a valuable part of their NFL team, providing middle of the road WR production for minimal salary. All of them stand to get significant raises next year, so draft them now, get the value from those minimal salaries on your Bench (or in your Starting lineup occasionally) and see how they do.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Jalen Guyton, LAC | $540,000 | 1 | 147.9 | $3,651 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus, ATL | $586,667 | 1 | 155.5 | $3,773 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB | $669,388 | 1 | 170.6 | $3,924 |
| Jakobi Meyers, NE | $588,333 | 1 | 148.8 | $3,954 |
| Preston Williams, MIA | $588,333 | 1 | 142.3 | $4,134 |
| Russell Gage, ATL | $654,049 | 1 | 155.4 | $4,209 |
Because they only have one year left on those entry level contracts, these WRs are just below the Tier 14a WRs who are projected to score a similar number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points and produce similar DD/PT value in 2021. In fact, all of them are better values for 2021. However, all of them should get at least a decent raise next year, which puts them slightly below the WRs with two years left on their contracts.
Tier 15 – Around $1 Million Bench WRs with Multiple Years Left on That Contract
Late second round or third round picks in the 2019 NFL draft and third round or later picks in the 2020 NFL draft comprise this tier of Bench WRs making around $1 million for the next two or three years.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones, CLE | $870,402 | 3 | 158.0 | $5,509 |
| Quintez Cephus, DET | $899,822 | 3 | 155.0 | $5,805 |
| Tyler Johnson, TB | $902,355 | 3 | 131.9 | $6,841 |
| Parris Campbell, IND | $1,193,984 | 2 | 161.6 | $7,389 |
| Jalen Hurd, SF | $1,069,920 | 2 | 124.9 | $8,566 |
| Miles Boykin, BAL | $893,732 | 2 | 104.3 | $8,569 |
| Devin Duvernay, BAL | $1,143,952 | 3 | 112.0 | $10,214 |
Their higher draft status than the WRs in both Tier 14a and 14b means their DD/PT values are also higher, which explains why they are one tier lower. It’s only a couple of thousand dollars saved for similar production, but that’s how close some of the players in these tiers are to one another at this point.
Tier 16 – Disappointing Recent First Round Draft Picks who Need to Produce
Sadly, all three of these former first round picks are considered high-end Dynasty Owner Bench options at best just one or two years into their NFL careers and slotted several tiers below many WRs drafted after them in either 2019 or 2020.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Jalen Reagor, PHI | $3,317,669 | 3 | 176.9 | $18,754 |
| N’Keal Harry, NE | $2,524,587 | 2 | 129.8 | $19,450 |
| Henry Ruggs, LV | $4,167,906 | 3 | 177.5 | $23,481 |
Their higher salaries as a result of being taken in the first round combined with a lack of production in 2020 means you’ll pay more for Ruggs and Reagor than you do for Justin Jefferson ($3.28 million), but likely get far fewer Dynasty Owner fantasy points. All three of them scored less than 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game in 2020. In contrast, their fellow NFL first round picks in previous tiers averaged 134.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game (Lamb), 15.4 (Aiyuk) and 17.1 (Jefferson) as rookies.
Tier 17 – Slightly Higher Salary Veteran Bench WRs on One-Year Contracts
This tier has a lot of players who are all on one-year contracts that run over $1 million in salary, but less than $4 million. Each one has been out of college for at least three years so they have a track record that Dynasty Owners can use to evaluate them and see if they want them on their roster.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Christian Kirk, ARI | $1,473,717 | 1 | 183.2 | $8,044 |
| Anthony Miller, HOU | $1,338,425 | 1 | 152.8 | $8,759 |
| Damiere Byrd, CHI | $1,127,500 | 1 | 125.8 | $8,963 |
| James Washington, PIT | $1,125,336 | 1 | 117.3 | $9,594 |
| Breshad Perriman, DET | $2,500,000 | 1 | 176.0 | $14,205 |
| Josh Reynolds, TEN | $1,750,000 | 1 | 120.6 | $14,511 |
| Cam Sims, WAS | $2,133,000 | 1 | 137.2 | $15,547 |
| Rashard Higgins, CLE | $2,377,500 | 1 | 137.9 | $17,241 |
| Devin Funchess, GB | $2,500,000 | 1 | 114.3 | $21,872 |
| John Brown, LV | $3,750,000 | 1 | 169.2 | $22,163 |
| Tim Patrick, DEN | $3,384,000 | 1 | 151.6 | $22,322 |
| Zach Pascal, IND | $3,384,000 | 1 | 147.6 | $22,927 |
| Tyrell Williams, DET | $4,000,000 | 1 | 139.1 | $28,756 |
If they don’t produce in 2021, they could be looking at less money in 2022, or maybe a big contract if they have a good year. Either way, you don’t have to keep them on your team for more than this year. There is a bit of a range in terms of projected 2021 scoring and DD/PT value with Christian Kirk being the best of both worlds since he didn’t really fit into any of the other Bench tiers above and isn’t supposed to score over 200.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points so he couldn’t be listed as a Starting WR. Anthony Miller joined this tier only after being traded from Chicago to Houston, which boosted his 2021 projection over 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.
Tier 18a – Veteran Bench WRs on One Year Contracts
Here are a six-pack of veteran Bench WRs who are on one-year contracts of between $5 million and $9.5 million. They aren’t likely to produce as well as they have at some point in their careers, but will still be able to fill in as a Starter for bye weeks and when the inevitable injuries come. The rest of the time, they will fit nicely on your Bench if you can afford to own them.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Sammy Watkins, BAL | $5,000,000 | 1 | 157.5 | $31,746 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, BUF | $6,000,000 | 1 | 171.2 | $35,047 |
| Keelan Cole, NYJ | $5,500,000 | 1 | 148.7 | $36,987 |
| T.Y. Hilton, IND | $8,000,000 | 1 | 193.7 | $41,301 |
| A.J. Green, ARI | $6,000,000 | 1 | 129.5 | $46,332 |
| Jamison Crowder, NYJ | $9,500,000 | 1 | 162.2 | $58,570 |
Only Watkins, Cole and Crowder are under 30 years of age (they are all 28), so it’s good that all of these WRs are on one-year contracts.
Tier 18b – Multi-Year, Multi-Million Dollar Salary Bench WRs
Every Dynasty Owner needs to have quality Bench WRs. These guys might move into your Starting lineup if they have a good matchup, or if your Starter has a poor matchup, if someone is injured or on bye. They are high-end Bench WRs, but because of their pricey, multi-year salaries, they will cost you quite a lot more in salary than many of the WRs in earlier tiers.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Cole Beasley, BUF | $7,250,000 | 2 | 174.5 | $41,547 |
| Randall Cobb, GB | $9,000,000 | 2 | 165.1 | $54,512 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | $10,250,000 | 3 | 170.0 | $60,294 |
Randall Cobb got traded to Green Bay and it really improved his projections as he was barely projected to get over 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points as a member of the Houston Texans. Sterling Shepard is as close to an “avoid” player as you can find here because he has the highest salary and worst DD/PT value, and his Dynasty Owners are saddled with his contract for three years, compared to two years for Beasley and Cobb.
Tier 19a – Lower Production and Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
These WRs make around the same salary as the WRs in Tier 14a, but are also projected for fewer Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 and thus, slightly higher DD/PT values and a fewer tiers lower. However, they are ranked higher than the “b” tier since they are all projected to score 100.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Keke Coutee, HOU | $797,257 | 1 | 134.4 | $5,932 |
| Allen Lazard, GB | $675,000 | 1 | 112.2 | $6,016 |
| Travis Fulgham, PHI | $762,500 | 1 | 106.2 | $7,180 |
Because they only have one year left their contracts, these WRs are a few tiers below even the players at the bottom of Tier 15 who are projected to score a similar number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021.
Tier 19b – Slightly Lower Production, Low Salary Bench WRs with One Year Left on Those Contracts
Low salaries just like the “a” tier, so they should still be on Dynasty Owner rosters, but expected to produce less than 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 so you don’t want to have to rely on them as a Bench option.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Auden Tate, CIN | $570,000 | 1 | 88.4 | $6,448 |
| Tyron Johnson, LAC | $695,000 | 1 | 91.5 | $7,596 |
| Greg Ward, PHI | $850,000 | 1 | 78.6 | $10,814 |
Each one of them saw their team draft a WR early in the 2021 NFL draft which may explain these projections. Ward did better last year, while Johnson’s production was similar to what is expected in 2021. Only Tate is supposed to do better than 2020 and almost return to his 2019 level of production.
Tier 20 – WRs on One-Year, $1.13 Million Veteran Contracts
All four WRs in this tier as making the same amount – $1,127,500 for one year – and expected to produce far less than 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points this season. That’s good enough to have their own tier and keep an eye on if they do well at the beginning of the season.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Demarcus Robinson, KC | $1,127,500 | 1 | 64.4 | $17,508 |
| Willie Snead, LV | $1,127,500 | 1 | 63.2 | $17,840 |
| Isaiah McKenzie, BUF | $1,127,500 | 1 | 51.6 | $21,851 |
| Kalif Raymond, DET | $1,127,500 | 1 | 20.4 | $55,270 |
Demarcus Robinson is much higher owned (48%) than the rest of these guys who are all owned in less than 10% of Dynasty Owner leagues.
Tier 21 – Making Just About $1 Million, but Signed for Multiple Years
Here are six WRs who all have multi-year contracts that are very affordable, around $1 million or so and still young (25 or younger). However, none are projected for over 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| KeeSean Johnson, ARI | $682,328 | 2 | 97.2 | $7,020 |
| Lynn Bowden, MIA | $1,177,354 | 3 | 96.5 | $12,201 |
| John Hightower, PHI | $898,763 | 3 | 62.8 | $14,312 |
| Quez Watkins, PHI | $866,166 | 3 | 56.8 | $15,249 |
| Andy Isabella, ARI | $1,157,469 | 2 | 69.9 | $16,559 |
| Freddie Swain, SEA | $856,103 | 3 | 46.8 | $18,293 |
There are a lot of WRs in this salary range with multiple years left on their similarly priced contracts who are projected to score more points in 2021 (Tiers 12a and 15). Maybe one of these WRs here plays well and moves up into a tier with those guys next year.
Tier 22 – Drafted Rookies Projected for the Practice Squad in 2021
All of these rookies were drafted by their team in the 2021 NFL draft, so you have to think that they have confidence in their abilities. They are all on four-year rookie contracts. However, none are projected to score 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points this year, so they may end up on your Practice Squad all year.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Jaelon Darden, TB | $1,044,476 | 4 | 63.0 | $16,579 |
| Josh Palmer, LAC | $1,258,365 | 4 | 73.4 | $17,144 |
| Frank Darby, ATL | $921,125 | 4 | 43.2 | $21,322 |
| Ben Skowronek, LA | $891,131 | 4 | 33.8 | $26,365 |
| Dazz Newsome, CHI | $902,677 | 4 | 24.6 | $36,694 |
| Racey McMath, TEN | $912,840 | 4 | 24.6 | $37,107 |
| Marquez Stevenson, BUF | $913,136 | 4 | 24.4 | $37,424 |
| Dax Milne, WAS | $889,317 | 4 | 23.3 | $38,168 |
| Kawaan Baker, NO | $890,018 | 4 | 19.1 | $46,598 |
| Tre Nixon, NE | $894,670 | 4 | 17.5 | $51,124 |
| Mike Strachan, IND | $898,708 | 4 | 17.1 | $52,556 |
| Cornell Powell, KC | $930,038 | 4 | 17.1 | $54,388 |
| Ihmir Smith-Marsette, MIN | $949,740 | 4 | 16.8 | $56,532 |
| Jalen Camp, JAC | $911,073 | 4 | 14.7 | $61,978 |
| Seth Williams, DEN | $902,677 | 4 | 13.7 | $65,889 |
| Simi Fehoko, DAL | $930,038 | 4 | 12.7 | $73,231 |
The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Josh Palmer in the middle of the third round at #77 overall which is the highest of any player in this tier. If his projection was higher for this year, he’d be in Tier 13b. All of the others were drafted in the fourth to seventh rounds with Dax Milne being the next to last player chosen in the seventh round (#258 overall). If you hear good things about them in training camp, then take a chance and draft them or grab them off the Free Agent Auction if you’ve drafted already. It’ll cost you less than $1 million for almost all of them.
Tier 23 – Really Cheap Flyers
If you have a very limited amount of salary and need another practice squad WR, all of these players are available for less than the cost of an undrafted rookie free agent. Each has played in the NFL for at least a year or two and seemingly carved out a role as a fourth or fifth WR, gadget play guy or returner. None of them are expected to average even 4.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game, but at the cost, almost every Dynasty Owner can afford to have them on their roster. Just don’t expect them to do as well as the WRs similar salaries in earlier tiers.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Richie James, SF | $634,143 | 1 | 62.1 | $10,212 |
| Steven Sims, WAS | $590,000 | 1 | 54.5 | $10,826 |
| Deonte Harris, NO | $588,333 | 1 | 36.8 | $15,987 |
| Gunner Olszewski, NE | $585,833 | 1 | 25.3 | $23,155 |
They should have better odds than most undrafted free agents to make their NFL team. And if you have to drop them because they get released during training camp, it will cost hardly any Dynasty Dollars to do so.
Tier 24 – Low-End Bench Production, Multi-Year $5 Million Salary WRs
While both of these players could have fit in Tier 18b, they are just a shade below those WRs in terms of projected fantasy production. Both are less expensive at around $5 million in salary per year, but your Dynasty Owner team has to pay that for the next three years.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| Kendrick Bourne, NE | $5,000,000 | 3 | 139.3 | $35,894 |
| Jakeem Grant, MIA | $4,925,000 | 3 | 108.0 | $45,602 |
Both Bourne and Grant had the best fantasy season of their career last year and are expected to slightly improve in 2021. Since their career years were 8.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game (Bourne) and 6.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game (Grant), their salaries seem a bit high.
Tier 25 – Veterans Making $2 Million or More, but Expected to Produce Fewer than 100 Points
All of these veterans are making $2 million or more in salary and expected to produce less than 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021.
| Player | Yearly Salary | Years | 2021 Projected Points | 2021 DD/PT |
| John Ross, NYG | $2,250,000 | 1 | 98.9 | $22,750 |
| David Moore, CAR | $2,375,000 | 2 | 90.5 | $26,243 |
| Cedrick Wilson, DAL | $2,183,000 | 1 | 57.8 | $37,768 |
| DeSean Jackson, LA | $4,500,000 | 1 | 94.5 | $47,619 |
| Byron Pringle, KC | $2,133,000 | 1 | 42.8 | $49,836 |
Most of them have had good years in the past and they might rekindle that past glory and be worth paying for one year to find out. David Moore is the exception as he has a two-year contract with Carolina.
Conclusion
We did exactly double the number of WRs in these Bench tiers than Starters (106 Bench vs. 53 Starters). Even so, that’s still only around 20% of the overall WR draft pool on the Dynasty Owner platform.
Just like at RB, there are WRs who will end up being productive who aren’t listed here. The WR with the lowest projection in a Bench tier is Dallas rookie Simi Fehoko with 12.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. There are 189 WRs projected to score at least some Dynasty Owner fantasy points so we didn’t get all of them. We also left out all of the undrafted rookie free agents plus some veterans mostly on minimum salary contracts. The rookie free agents are mostly on three year contracts for $808,333 per season, while the veterans will cost more than that and some of them are even over $1 million.
Just because those players aren’t listed, they might still help your Dynasty Owner team. After all, there’s going to somebody who comes completely out of nowhere, just like Travis Fulgham did last season when he logged five consecutive weeks with double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points (Weeks 4-8) after going undrafted in every single Dynasty Owner league. If you have space under the salary cap and 30 player limit, go ahead and take a chance, you never know what might happen!
There were also no free agents listed in these tiers, so Golden Tate, Larry Fitzgerald, Alshon Jeffrey, Danny Amendola plus countless other lower profile WRs are all absent. If any of these veteran WRs sign with a NFL team, their contract (both years and salary) will determine which tier they should be placed in. For now, there’s no tier for them.
I’m sure there will be differences of opinion on these Bench WR tiers. Let me know what you think of these Bench WR tiers (or any of the other tiers) on Twitter (@SteveVT33) or in the comments section on YouTube.
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