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2017 Fantasy Football Forecast WRs/TEs: Greener pastures on horizon for D-Jax

Unrestricted free agent, DeSean Jackson, could return to a WR2 level with a new employer. (Getty)
Unrestricted free agent, DeSean Jackson, could return to a WR2 level with a new employer. (Getty)

There wasn’t a ton of drama associated with the wide receiver position in 2016. When healthy, projected monsters Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, Julio Jones and A.J. Green haunted the opposition. Elsewhere, upstarts Michael Thomas, Devante Adams and Tyrell Williams packed quite a scare of their own … With 2016 in the books, here’s a snapshot of what to expect among pass-catchers in 2017.

Some dudes are about to get paid. A handful of high-profiled receivers will hit the free agent market this offseason. Among the group, what money-grabber could cash handsomely for fantasy owners this fall?

Andy — At 30, DeSEAN JACKSON remains one of the league’s elite vertical threats, a field-flipping weapon who can fit in any team’s offense. If he finds his way to, say, Philly or Dallas or Tampa, tied to developing offense and a solid young QB, I think he’s capable of another 1200-yard campaign. (Honorable mention: KENNY BRITT delivered a heroic season for the Rams, despite the miserable team context. Here’s hoping he gets paid for it.)

Scott — It’s DESEAN JACKSON by default; it’s not a great free agent class. I figure it’s about 50-50 Jackson returns to Washington. He’s one of those rare players who significantly improves an offense simply from being on the field; he tilts coverage, petrifies defenses. I’d also love to see KENNY BRITT on a real football team, if someone can make that happen.

Dalton — ALSHON JEFFERY. He’s obviously had a disappointing campaign, highlighted by a PED suspension. But Jeffery is still just 26 years old and quite clearly talented, as he averaged 1,277 yards and scored 17 touchdowns during the second and third years he was in the league (which wasn’t that long ago). Match him with better quarterback play, and it could result in a huge year, and at least he proved he could stay healthy this season.

Outside New Orleans’ Michael Thomas and to a lesser extent Sterling Shepard, the 2017 rookie class at WR/TE was largely uneventful. Looking ahead to 2017, which rookie-to-be titillates you most?

Andy — COREY DAVIS has pretty much every trait the NFL seeks in a receiving prospect — frame (6-foot-3), explosiveness, elite production — and he’s been terrific at Western Michigan over multiple seasons. It’s really a joke he didn’t make it to the Heisman ceremony.

Dalton — MIKE WILLIAMS. He’s getting compared to Andre Johnson and will be an early pick. Of course, it will ultimately matter where he lands for Williams’ fantasy value in year one in the league.

Brad — COREY DAVIS. I concur with Behrens’ assessment of the Western Michigan product. He’s the complete package who is an absolute menace after the catch. Most impressively, he generates ample cushion from defenders with nifty footwork and clean routes. It’s no wonder why he totaled at least 78 receptions, 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns three straight seasons for the Broncos. Some NFL executives will prefer Mike Williams or John Ross, but Davis has “instant impact” all over him.

Seeking console from the oracle, fantasy adventurer, which wide receiver or tight end is set to make the greatest value-leap from this year to next? In other words, who will pull a Davante Adams?

Dalton — DEVANTE PARKER. He’s been a disappointment this season, but he’s battled through injuries, and Miami became run heavy during its improbable 9-1 stretch. I still believe in Parker’s talent, and hopefully the volume will be there more next season (he’s seen 10 targets just once since Week 1 this year).

Brad — MARQISE LEE. Jacksonville, thanks to Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson, left a bitter taste, but Lee certainly tickled the buds down the stretch. His routes sharpened and confidence soared as he not only gashed underneath coverage but also won several contested balls along the sidelines. In PPR settings, he scored at least 13 fantasy points in four of his final six games. It could be argued he’s the Jags’ most reliable receiver. Hopefully the new coaching regime will fully utilize his versatile assets.

Bonus pick: CAMERON MEREDITH. His game advanced in all categories over the regular season’s final two months. With free-agent-to-be Alshon Jeffery likely to sign elsewhere this offseason, Meredith will undoubtedly enter training camp as Chicago’s top receiver. If the case, a top-20 campaign isn’t out of the question in 2017.

Brandon — Lots of candidates here, but one guy that I think could really emerge from the woodwork after doing next-to-nothing his first two seasons in the NFL is BRESHARD PERRIMAN. This has been a get-your-feet-wet season for Perriman after sitting his rookie campaign because of injury. But I recall listening to a Baltimore beat writer on a local Seattle sports radio station this past August predicting 1,200 yards and 8-10 TDs this season! Obviously, he was drinking the crazy sauce, but it speaks to Perriman’s physical abilities. And learning the ropes from Steve Smith can’t hurt, either. In Year 3, don’t be surprised if Perriman is a top WR breakout in ’17.

Scott — We were spoiled by the rookie class of 2014, but usually it’s a learning season for first-year players. JOSH DOCTSON should get a chance to spread his wings with Washington next year; he’ll be one of my closest watches in the summer. Perriman, above, is also a terrific call, and remember Jacksonville’s Lee was actually drafted before Allen Robinson.

Conversely, who’s going to be the DeAndre Hopkins of 2017, a widely defined WR1 we should all circumvent as if he were festering Kung Pow Beef?

Brad — BRANDIN COOKS. “Strange” best summarizes Cooks’ 2016. Though he landed inside the position’s top-10 in total fantasy points, his terrible inconsistency left much to be desired. He surpassed 75 yards in a game just five times and found the end zone in six contests. People will invest solely on the superficial data, but I expect more steadiness from a top receiver. Also consider the advancements Michael Thomas is sure to make and Cooks is a middling WR2 masquerading as an overpriced WR1.

Brandon — DAVANTE ADAMS. I could see Adams scoring a few less touchdowns and gaining a few less yards as Green Bay comes back next in better shape in the running game. Also, Adams was a rollercoaster this season, recording less than 5.0 fantasy points in five games and 14.0-plus fantasy points in five games through Week 16. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he went from being a top 10 WR in ’16 to outside the top 20 next season.

Scott — LARRY FITZGERALD enters his age-34 season on the heels of a major 2016 slump (he hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 5, and he’s managed a mere 295 yards over his last six games). The circus leaves town for everyone, eventually, and I’m also not confident in Carson Palmer any longer. I’m also reluctant to take JULIO JONES in the first round, given his Fred G. Sanford hobbling around, and his usual lack of touchdowns. The Falcons no longer force red-zone opportunity to Jones, or even general targets; this is Andre Johnson 2.0, for the good and the bad.

Let’s get down to business. Please rank your top-17 wide receivers AND your top-10 TEs for 2017, if we were drafting today…

Dalton — WR: 1) Antonio Brown 2) Odell Beckham 3) Julio Jones 4) Mike Evans 5) A.J. Green 6) Jordy Nelson 7) T.Y. Hilton 8) Sammy Watkins 9) Dez Bryant 10) Brandin Cooks 11) Keenan Allen 12) Michael Thomas 13) Allen Robinson 14) Doug Baldwin 15) Alshon Jeffery 16) Amari Cooper 17) Davante Adams

TE: 1) Rob Gronkowski 2) Greg Olsen 3) Jordan Reed 4) Travis Kelce 5) Delanie Walker 6) Tyler Eifert 7) Jimmy Graham 8) Cameron Brate 9) Zach Ertz 10) Hunter Henry

Brandon — WR: 1) Antonio Brown, 2) Odell Beckham, 3) Julio Jones, 4) Mike Evans, 5) A.J. Green, 6) Dez Bryant, 7) Michael Thomas, 8) Jordy Nelson, 9) T.Y. Hilton, 10) DeAndre Hopkins, 11) Demaryius Thomas, 12) Alshon Jeffery, 13) Amari Cooper, 14) Tyrell Williams, 15) Allen Robinson, 16) Brandin Cooks, 17) Doug Baldwin

Scott — WR: 1) Antonio Brown, 2) Odell Beckham, 3) Mike Evans, 4) Jordy Nelson, 5) Julio Jones (but I’m not taking him), 6) T.Y. Hilton, 7) Doug Baldwin, 8) Brandon Cooks, 9) Michael Thomas, 10) Amari Cooper, 11) Emmanuel Sanders, 12) Michael Crabtree, 13) Allen Robinson, 14) Demaryius Thomas, 15) Sammy Watkins, 16) DeAndre Hopkins, 17) Davante Adams

TE: 1) Rob Gronkowski (doubt I’lll take him though), 2) Greg Olsen, 3) Travis Kelce, 4) Jimmy Graham, 5) Jordan Reed, 6) Delanie Walker, 7) Cameron Brate, 8) Zach Ertz, 9) Kyle Rudolph, 10) Hunter Henry

Andy — WR: 1) Antonio Brown, 2) Odell Beckham, 3) Julio Jones, 4) Mike Evans, 5) A.J. Green, 6) T.Y. Hilton, 7) Jordy Nelson, 8) Amari Cooper, 9) Michael Thomas, 10) Dez Bryant, 11) Davante Adams, 12) DeAndre Hopkins, 13) Emmanuel Sanders, 14) Doug Baldwin, 15) Demaryius Thomas, 16) Tyreek Hill, 17) Alshon Jeffery.

TE: 1) Jordan Reed, 2) Travis Kelce, 3) Greg Olsen, 4) Jimmy Graham, 5) Tyler Eifert, 6) Gronk, 7) Hunter Henry, 8) Cameron Brate, 9) Delanie Walker, 10) Zach Ertz.

Brad — WR: 1) Antonio Brown, 2) Odell Beckham, 3) Julio Jones, 4) Mike Evans, 5) A.J. Green, 6) Michael Thomas, 7) Dez Bryant, 8) Jordy Nelson, 9) Michael Crabtree, 10) DeAndre Hopkins, 11) Allen Robinson, 12) Alshon Jeffery, 13) Kennan Allen, 14) T.Y. Hilton, 15) Amari Cooper, 16) Doug Baldwin, 17) Tyreek Hill

TE: 1) Travis Kelce, 2) Greg Olsen, 3) Tyler Eifert, 4) Delanie Waker, 5) Gronk, 6) Jordan Reed, 7) Cameron Brate, 8) Kyle Rudolph, 9) Hunter Henry, 10) Zach Ertz

Follow Brad (@YahooNoise), Brandon (@BrandonFunston), Andy (@Andy_Behrens), Scott (@Scott_Pianowski) and Dalton (@DaltonDelDon) on Twitter