2024 was a wild year for WRs, as we saw three Rookies crash the top-12; perennial underachievers Terry McLaurin and Courtland Sutton finally put it all together for top-15 finishes; and a couple of old dawgs (Mike Evans, Davante Adams) continued bolstering their Hall of Fame resumes.
As the first full preseason weekend approaches, the Ballers count down their top-ranked half-PPR WRs, beginning with WRs 20-11.
To hear the Ballers’ complete breakdown of WRs 20-11, head here to watch the episode on YouTube!
A reminder that Andy, Mike, and Jason are now back to shows FIVE days a week until the end of the season, so make sure to find The Fantasy Footballers Podcast on all of your devices.
For a deeper dive into the WR rankings, check out the UDK, and a reminder that The Ballers update their rankings daily, so check the most up-to-date rankings here.
20. Jameson Williams (DET)
Andy: 14 / Jason: 23 / Mike: 22
Sleeper ADP: 5.11 (WR27)
Andy’s love for Jameson Williams is well-documented, and I got on board and laid out the case for Jamo as a WR1 in a previous article as well. But Jason and Mike are also coming around and have him ranked just outside their top-20s this year.
Between off-field issues, trade rumors, an interesting draft pick of Isaac Teslaa, and a new Offensive Coordinator in Detroit, there is a legitimate argument against Williams. But you can’t deny his talent on the field. And after cracking the top 20 in 2024, his story looks to be trending in the right direction. At only 24 years old, Williams has plenty of good football ahead of him.
Jameson Williams, ladies and gents:
(via @Lions) pic.twitter.com/F7XFDEta0Z
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) July 28, 2025
First Four Matchups: @GB / CHI / @BAL / CLE
19. Davante Adams (LAR)
Andy: 22 / Jason: 17 / Mike: 18
Sleeper ADP: 4.05 (WR19)
Adams lands on his fourth team in five years (GB, LV, NYJ, and now LAR), but he just keeps producing despite the chaos around him. Adams has stayed above 11.0 Y/C every season of his career, except for Year Two in 2015, and he has consistently averaged over 65 yards per game since 2018. He has the most targets of any player over the last 3 years (and 10 years, for that matter), and he’s top-10 in yards, yards per game, and receiving TDs in that span as well.
The excitement of pairing Adams with a reliable and accurate QB in Matthew Stafford has dwindled a bit amid Stafford’s recent injury concerns. But the Rams targeted WRs on a league-high 74% of targets last year, so there is still plenty of optimism for Adams in 2025.
First Four Matchups: HOU / @TEN / @PHI / IND
18. Garrett Wilson (NYJ)
Andy: 24 / Jason: 15 / Mike: 16
Sleeper ADP: 3.10 (WR15)
Wilson has had the pleasure of playing with a real cast of characters at QB in his young career: Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle, Mike White, Joe Flacco, and Aaron Rodgers, to name a few (the latter two at age 37+ seasons). But he has still managed to break 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. He’s a target monster on a team with no true WR2 (sorry, Josh Reynolds truthers). This year, he reunites with his college QB, Justin Fields, who has seen some stuff since entering the league.
There are many questions surrounding the Jets’ passing game this year, but we expect Garrett Wilson to continue to get his.
First Four Matchups: PIT / BUF / @TB / @MIA
17. DK Metcalf (PIT)
Andy: 15 / Jason: 20 / Mike: 20
Sleeper ADP: 5.01 (WR22)
Metcalf strung together four top-20 WR seasons in Years 2-5 of his NFL career, but things fell off a bit in 2024, as he finished as WR32. One curious knock on DK is that he has eclipsed 75 receptions in only two of his six seasons (just 4.5 receptions per game over his career). He’s an imposing red zone figure and has legitimate deep-threat speed, yet he averages eight TDs per year. Something just doesn’t add up in his story.
Perhaps a change of scenery will unlock his true potential, as Metcalf joins Aaron Rodgers and an otherwise underwhelming WR room in Pittsburgh this year. Rodgers has a history of hyper-targeting his top WR, and there’s no question that will be DK Metcalf this season.
| Pittsburgh Steelers Career Receptions by WR | ||||||
| Robert Woods | DK Metcalf | Scotty Miller | Ben Skowronek | Calvin Austin | Roman Wilson | |
| Career Receptions | 683 | 438 | 90 | 63 | 53 | 0 |
First Four Matchups: @NYJ / SEA / @NE / MIN
16. Ladd McConkey (LAC)
Andy: 18 / Jason: 20 / Mike: 9
Sleeper ADP: 2.11 (WR11)
McConkey is a recent faller in the ranks, due to the Chargers’ recent signing of Borgognoni Bestie, Keenan Allen. Jason dropped him the most, from WR15 to WR20. But the Ballers all agree that Ladd is a stud, do-it-all WR and will be the primary target in this offense. The knocks against Ladd are the “Har-Dawg and G-Ro” super-run-heavy scheme, the addition of target competition from the Keenan Allen and Najee Harris signings, and the drafting of Omarion Hampton, Tre Harris, and Keandre Lambert-Smith. These new RBs are more competent pass-catchers than last year’s batch, and Allen/Harris/Lambert-Smith should be upgrades over last year’s WR room as well.
Ladd should still command 20%+ target share, but with an improved running game and more crowded receiving room, the total opportunities may be somewhat limited.
First Four Matchups: KC / @LV / DEN / @NYG
15. Tyreek Hill (MIA)
Andy: 13 / Jason: 16 / Mike: 14
Sleeper ADP: 3.06 (WR13)
This feels more like a hedge between what we all know Hill is capable of and his surprising fall from grace last year. If last year’s fall was truly related to his wrist injury, perhaps we’ll see a rebound in 2025. But if it’s the beginning of an inevitable slide, this ranking could be too high.
On a positive note, with the departure of Jonnu Smith (and the ambiguous injury status of newly signed Darren Waller), Hill is only really splitting targets with Jaylen Waddle. And now that he’s actually taking notes and learning the offense, maybe the sky’s the limit…
Tyreek Hill on the new additions to the coaching staff, revealing he is taking notes in meetings for the time time in his career:
"I'll be completely honest, I didn't understand the offense for the first three years of me being here… we're taking notes in the meeting rooms,… pic.twitter.com/wbMIUv7V7T
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) August 1, 2025
First Four Matchups: @IND / NE / @BUF / NYJ
14. Mike Evans (TB)
Andy: 19 / Jason: 12 / Mike: 17
Sleeper ADP: 4.02 (WR18)
Fantasy Football is a fickle beast! Just two years ago, Andy correctly tabbed Mike Evans as a “My Guy,” and he reaped the rewards of that prediction to the tune of 79 receptions, 1,255 yards, 13 TDs, and a WR5 finish. Fast-forward two years, and Andy is now lowest on Evans in the ranks and is going so far as to “water bet” Jason that he breaks his 1,000 yards streak this season.
The main questions in Tampa Bay are:
- When does Chris Godwin return from his injury?
- Can Baker Mayfield put together another career-best season?
- What does this offense look like without Liam Coen at OC?
- How much of the target share do promising second-year WR Jalen McMillan and first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka command?
First Four Matchups: @ATL / @HOU / NYJ / PHI
13. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA)
Andy: 10 / Jason: 14 / Mike: 15
Sleeper ADP: 3.04 (WR12)
JSN forced his way to the top of the pecking order in Seattle last year and showed all the promise we hoped to see when he was drafted in the first round of the 2023 draft. He finished 2024 as WR10, but there are several changes in Seattle this year as well. He’ll no longer be contending for targets against DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Noah Fant, and he’ll no longer be catching passes from Geno Smith.
The Seahawks brought in Cooper Kupp with the hopes of reviving his career, and they drafted playmaking TE Elijah Arroyo in the second round and WR Tory Horton in the fifth round of this year’s draft. They also brought in brick-handed speedster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, to run wind sprints during the games.
But the biggest question, as far as JSN’s production is concerned, is whether or not new QB Sam Darnold can run this offense as efficiently as he ran Minnesota’s offense last year.
First Four Matchups: SF / @PIT / NO / @ARI
12. Marvin Harrison Jr. (ARI)
Andy: 12 / Jason: 13 / Mike: 13
Sleeper ADP: 3.11 (WR16)
The Ballers are ready to be hurt again, ranking Marvin Harrison Jr. 3-4 spots ahead of ADP again this year. MHJ’s 2024 season was a bit of a let-down, with his useable weeks being directly correlated to the weeks in which he scored TDs. Although Trey McBride is a target machine, the hope is that Harrison can get more short-yardage targets this year (69% of his targets in 2024 were 10+ yards down the field), putting the ball in his hands and letting him break tackles and make plays after the catch.
Kyler Murray has vowed to scramble more this year, which could keep defenses honest enough to open up opportunities for MHJ to see broken coverage. Here’s hoping their chemistry takes a leap in Year Two. If not, this homer pick may be fading into the bushes.
First Four Matchups: @NO / CAR / @SF / SEA
11. Tee Higgins (CIN)
Andy: 16 / Jason: 11 / Mike: 12
Sleeper ADP: 3.07 (WR14)
Tee Higgins should be able to return this value if he can just stay healthy for a full season. But after two consecutive seasons only appearing in 12 games, “Meat Higgins” could turn out an A5 Wagyu season or a SPAM season.
In 2024, he averaged 15.5 pts/game, which comes out to 263.5 points in a 17-game season. This would have been good enough for WR3 last season. And that’s with Ja’Marr Chase winning the Triple Crown! When both players are healthy, their target stats are more similar than you’d think:
| TGT % | TGT/RR | Y/RR | 1st Read TGT % | |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 26% | 25% | 2.4 yards | 34% |
| Tee Higgins | 23% | 24% | 2.1 yards | 30% |
The defense in Cincinnati is so bad, and the QB play is so good, there is absolutely room for two WR1s on this team. Higgins’ 2025 finish comes down to health and consistency.
First Four Matchups: @CLE / JAX / @MIN / @DEN
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