X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Biggest Surprises of 2018 - Wide Receivers

Who were the biggest surprises at the wide receiver position in the 2018 fantasy football season? Aaron Schillinger reviews the WRs that surprised owners with great sleeper value or as draft busts.

The 2018 fantasy football season was full of plenty of surprises at the wide receiver position.

The rookie wide receiver class was fairly underwhelming for the most part. We also saw some breakout players who many fantasy owners weren't expecting them to put up the numbers they did. Several of the typical studs like Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and DeAndre Hopkins did perform up to their draft price. On the other hand, some guys like Odell Beckham Jr. or A.J. Green did not.

As the NFL season comes to a close, it's a good time to look back at some of the WR surprises that shaped the 2018 season.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

2018 WR Fantasy Leaders (PPR)

 

Robert Woods - Los Angeles Rams

Rank: WR11 (265.6 PPR Points)

First up on our list of biggest surprises at the wide receiver position is Robert Woods. According to Fantasy Football Calculator, Woods was the 42nd wide receiver off the board and was a 9th round pick in most fantasy football drafts. Woods went from being an afterthought in most drafts, to an every-week starter and fantasy stud. The Rams offense was on fire damn near every week this year, and that whole receiving corps was startable on a weekly basis. Cooper Kupp (WR51) went down after eight games and was averaging 16.9 PPR points per game. Brandin Cooks (WR13) had himself another typical year of borderline WR1 production, averaging 16.2 PPR points per game in 15 total games played on the year.

All in all, the Rams offense was one of the most productive ones of the 2018 season, and the passing game was the fifth most productive on the year. This offense had 4,507 total passing yards on the season, which was good for the fifth-most in the NFL. While all of these Rams wide receivers produced in a big way, being someone that was drafted in the ninth round and finishing as a WR1 puts Woods on this list. Anyone who can produce that far and beyond their ADP is without a doubt, a nice surprise.

 

Tyler Lockett - Seattle Seahawks

Rank: WR16 (222.4 PPR Points)

Seattle's fourth-year wide receiver finishing as the WR16 in fantasy was a very big surprise for fantasy owners. Tyler Lockett stepped up in a big way this year as Doug Baldwin (WR46) was battling injuries for the majority of the season. Baldwin did end up starting in 13 total games but dealt with knee and hip injuries throughout the year. It was tough to trust Baldwin when he did play, as he was listed as questionable on a regular basis. This allowed Lockett to step in and get some nice volume and ultimately, some nice fantasy production. Lockett was coming off the board in the late-11th round or in the 12th round of most drafts. Depending on how deep your leagues and rosters were this year, this is damn-near the end of the draft and potentially someone that came off the waiver wire at some point or another in some leagues.

Lockett did much more than just put up some big plays for his fantasy production like he's done in the past. This year he was getting similar targets as he was in his first three seasons, but this year was different in a big way for him. Touchdowns. Finishing the season with 10 receiving touchdowns was more than any fantasy owner could've asked for. Lockett's 10 receiving touchdowns was tied with Calvin Ridley and Mike Williams, and good for the fourth-most in the NFL this year. While the production out of Lockett wasn't exactly consistent, finishing with 10 touchdowns and ultimately the number 16 wide receiver in fantasy, was a big surprise for everyone.

 

Tyler Boyd - Cincinnati Bengals

Rank: WR17 (221.1 PPR Points)

Next up is the third-year wide receiver in Cincinnati, Tyler Boyd. Boyd wasn't drafted in many leagues last year, and while it did take an injury to the number one receiver for the Bengals in A.J Green (WR44) for Boyd to really breakout, finishing as the number 17 wide receiver in fantasy was a huge surprise. There was even a point where I saw several people on Twitter talking about Boyd being more valuable than Green in dynasty football leagues. I'm not ready to go that far, but Boyd certainly did look the part when he needed to step up, and he has some nice value moving forward.

In 14 total games started this year, Boyd finished the season with 1,028 receiving yards on 76 receptions with seven receiving touchdowns. He did have 108 targets which was all very promising for him moving forward in Cincinnati across from Green. It's safe to say Boyd was a pretty surprising breakout candidate this year. Whether it be largely due to Green's injury or not, it was very nice to see Boyd step up when he needed to, and prove that he could offer some nice value for fantasy purposes moving forward.

 

Chris Hogan - New England Patriots

Rank: WR69 (106.2 PPR Points)

The last name on this list is Chris Hogan, who was one of the biggest surprises of the year for fantasy purposes, in a bad way. Hogan was roughly a fourth-round fantasy draft pick a year ago, and he finished nowhere relatively close to that price. Despite playing in all 16 games this year, Hogan simply wasn't involved enough to be fantasy relevant and was likely available on the waiver wire after he had just 11 total receptions after Week 5. The odd part with Hogan was that he really never has produced more than he did this year, but for whatever reason, he was seen as a massive breakout candidate and his pre-season ADP reflected that.

Hogan has been in New England since 2016, and has seen 58, 59, and 55 targets respectively in each of those seasons. In addition to Hogan being a massive disappointment for fantasy owners, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were also very disappointing to fantasy owners. The entire New England offense outside of Julian Edelman (WR20) was a surprise this year, and as someone who was being drafted inside the top-20 for wide receivers, Hogan was a surprise for fantasy owners in a bad way.

More Fantasy Football Year-in-Review




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Camilo Doval45 mins ago

Earns Third Save
Hunter Brown59 mins ago

Hurls Gem Monday
Francisco Lindor1 hour ago

Launches Two Big Flies On Monday
Sean Murphy1 hour ago

Blasts Three-Run Homer
Agustín Ramírez1 hour ago

Agustin Ramirez Notches Two Hits In MLB Debut
Kyle Manzardo1 hour ago

Stays Hot With Homer In Third Consecutive Game
Walker Buehler2 hours ago

Sharp In Win Over White Sox
Justin Crawford3 hours ago

Continues To Show Well At Triple-A
Kyle Teel3 hours ago

Hits Third Home Run Of 2025 On Sunday
Tennessee Titans3 hours ago

Titans Have Turned Down Offers For No. 1 Overall Pick
3 hours ago

Saints Targeting Jaxson Dart?
Asbel Gonzalez3 hours ago

Running Wild At Single-A
Kirk Cousins4 hours ago

Falcons Have Had Trade Discussions Regarding Kirk Cousins
Gustavo Campero4 hours ago

Leads Minors In Hits After Four-Hit Day
Atlanta Falcons4 hours ago

Falcons Could Take A Tight End On Day 2 Of The Draft
4 hours ago

Steelers Very Interested In Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders
Sam Howell4 hours ago

Seahawks Open To Trading Sam Howell
Las Vegas Raiders4 hours ago

Raiders Not Afraid To Take A Running Back Early In The Draft
James Triantos4 hours ago

Dealing With Leg Tightness
NFL4 hours ago

Shavon Revel Expected Back Around The Start Of Training Camp
Tylor Megill5 hours ago

Looks Excellent On Monday
Gavin Williams5 hours ago

Records Eight Strikeouts
Cade Smith5 hours ago

Earns First Save
Jesus Tinoco5 hours ago

Notches Second Save
Max Meyer6 hours ago

Records 14 Strikeouts
Drew Pomeranz6 hours ago

Acquired By Cubs
Aaron Gordon6 hours ago

Cleared For Action
NFL7 hours ago

Josh Simmons May Not Be Cleared Until August
NFL7 hours ago

Jihaad Campbell A Candidate To Start On PUP List
NFL7 hours ago

Mykel Williams Still Hampered By Ankle Injury
NFL7 hours ago

Will Johnson Could Fall In Draft Due To Knee Injury
7 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Could Fall Out Of First Round
8 hours ago

Cam Skattebo Visiting With Lions, Titans
Dallas Cowboys8 hours ago

Cowboys Expected To Pick Up Tyler Smith's Fifth-Year Option
Philadelphia Eagles8 hours ago

Cam Jurgens, Eagles Agree On Four-Year Extension
C.J. Stroud8 hours ago

Expects To Be "Running The Show" In New Offense
J.J. McCarthy8 hours ago

"No Limitations" For J.J. McCarthy
San Francisco 49ers8 hours ago

Fred Warner Could Stay Away From Offseason Program
Ousmane Dieng8 hours ago

Still Out On Tuesday
George Kittle8 hours ago

May Not Take Part In Offseason Workouts
Kevin Love9 hours ago

Remains Away From Team
Brock Purdy9 hours ago

Might Not Participate In Voluntary Workouts
Terry Rozier9 hours ago

Hurts Ankle Monday
Damian Lillard9 hours ago

Officially Listed As Questionable For Game 2
Isaiah Stewart9 hours ago

Ruled Out For Game 2 Against Knicks
Spencer Strider9 hours ago

Placed On 15-Day Injured List With Hamstring Strain
Tobias Myers9 hours ago

To Start On Thursday Against Giants
Trent Frederic9 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Monday
Leon Draisaitl9 hours ago

Returns To Oilers Lineup For Postseason Opener
Logan Henderson9 hours ago

Heading Back To Triple-A
Jake Walman10 hours ago

Available For Game 1
Brett Kulak10 hours ago

Ready To Play Monday
Aliaksei Protas10 hours ago

Expected To Return During First-Round Series
Miro Heiskanen10 hours ago

Out On Monday
Ross Colton10 hours ago

Uncertain For Game 2
Gabriel Landeskog10 hours ago

Activated From Injured Reserve
Auston Matthews18 hours ago

Finishes Game 1 With Two Assists
Mitchell Marner18 hours ago

Totals Three Points In Postseason Opener
Matt Boldy18 hours ago

Bags Two Goals In Losing Effort
Brett Howden19 hours ago

Scores Twice In Sunday's Win
Logan Stankoven19 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Game 1 Victory
Brenden Dillon19 hours ago

Makes Early Exit Sunday
Cody Glass19 hours ago

Injured In Game 1 Loss
Isaiah Stewart1 day ago

Iffy For Monday Night
Aaron Gordon1 day ago

Listed As Probable For Game 2
Gabriel Vilardi1 day ago

To Remain Out For Game 2
Logan Thompson1 day ago

Could Be An Option Monday
Martin Fehérváry1 day ago

Martin Fehervary Iffy For Game 1
Tanner Jeannot1 day ago

Remains Week-To-Week, Out For Game 1
Zeev Buium1 day ago

Makes NHL Debut In Playoff Opener
Anthony Stolarz1 day ago

Makes First Career Postseason Start
Jaylen Brown2 days ago

Not Expected To Be Limited On Sunday
Ja Morant3 days ago

Cleared To Play Friday
Brandon Williams3 days ago

Available Against Grizzlies
Anthony Davis3 days ago

Will Play Friday Night
Gary Trent Jr.3 days ago

Available For Game 1 Against Pacers
Taurean Prince3 days ago

Returns To Bucks Lineup Saturday
Isaiah Stewart3 days ago

To Return For Game 1
Ausar Thompson3 days ago

Available For Game 1
Rui Hachimura3 days ago

On Track To Play Saturday
Austin Reaves3 days ago

Ready To Go For Game 1
Luka Dončić3 days ago

Luka Doncic Removed From Injury Report
LeBron James3 days ago

Listed As Probable For Game 1
Ben Sheppard3 days ago

Probable For Saturday's Game 1
Ryan Blaney5 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
Lucas Glover5 days ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Daniel Berger5 days ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka5 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
Justin Thomas6 days ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele6 days ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Austin Dillon6 days ago

Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Maverick McNealy6 days ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry6 days ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris6 days ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland6 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns6 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala6 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
Aaron Rai6 days ago

Might Be That Guy For Hilton Head
Robert MacIntyre6 days ago

All Or Nothing At RBC Heritage
Tom Hoge6 days ago

Still Playing Solid Heading To Hilton Head
Nick Dunlap6 days ago

Continues To Have Rough Stretch
Keegan Bradley6 days ago

Looks To Move On From Masters Performance
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF