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FFL: Preseason | NFL: Week 1

WR Strength of Schedule

Tue Jun 1 1:49pm ET
By JEFF PAUR
Sr Fantasy Writer

Related photo caption below

Fantasy schedule favors Thomas


Using our rules for our money leagues, we came up with a schedule strength ranking for the wide receiver position. We are using our fantasy defenses report to calculate the rankings. This report can be found in all of our leagues under the "reports" heading. We took the schedule of each team and entered the average number of fantasy points allowed to receivers last season from all of their opponents to get our fantasy points allowed number. This is a good indication of the receivers with the most favorable schedules for fantasy scoring for the coming season.

  2021 WR SOS  
1. Raiders 565.4
2. Browns 572.9
3. Seahawks 575.7
4. Ravens 576.8
5. Vikings 578.1
6. Bengals 579.1
7. Lions 580.7
8. Chiefs 581.8
9. Cowboys 582.6
10. Packers 584.5
11. Broncos 585.4
12. Titans 585.7
13. LA Chargers 585.8
14. NY Giants 586.1
15. Bucs 587.6
16. Steelers 592.5
17. Eagles 593.8
18. Falcons 595.6
19. Bears 596.6
20. Dolphins 598.8
21. Bills 599.7
22. Texans 600.0
23. Washington 600.5
24. NY Jets 604.4
25. Cardinals 604.7
26. 49ers 610.0
27. LA Rams 611.0
28. Colts 612.1
29. Panthers 612.7
30. Jaguars 613.7
  Patriots 613.7
32. Saints 613.8

Saints receiver Michael Thomas had a season to forget last year but he might be setup for a turnaround. He has the easiest fantasy schedule for receivers this year. This also bodes well for new starter Tre’Quan Smith. These two Saints could be ready for big seasons. The Panthers duo of Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore had great seasons last year. It could be more of the same for both of them with a new quarterback and a schedule that allowed the fourth most fantasy points to receivers.

The Jaguars, Patriots and Colts are three other teams with very favorable fantasy schedules for running backs this year. Michael Pittman seems setup for a breakout year in Indy. D.J. Chark is the top target in Jacksonville and get Trevor Lawrence to throw him passes. Chark is ready to up his game this year. And the Patriots added some receivers this offseason, including Nelson Agholor. New England receivers could be worth a gamble late in drafts because of their schedule.

The Raiders were a mess at receiver last year and are facing a similar uphill battle. Las Vegas has the most challenging fantasy schedule for receivers. Henry Ruggs might have to wait another season before he has the breakout year. The Browns, Seahwaks, Ravens and Vikings also have some daunting schedules for receivers. This doesn’t mean you need to avoid all receivers on these teams but just remember they could have some bumps along the way this year. Guys like Odell Beckham and Marquise Brown might be a little shaky to take because of the schedules and seasons last year.

We also wanted to look at playoff schedules for fantasy receivers. So we crunched the numbers of all the schedules from Week 15-17, which is the fantasy playoffs for most leagues. We know you have to get to the playoffs first, but knowing the receivers with the easiest playoff schedules doesn’t hurt by any means, especially in the big money contests.

   WR PLAYOFF SOS  
1. Vikings 488.7
2. Ravens 511.6
3. Eagles 516.1
4. Bengals 538.9
5. Cowboys 545.4
6. Chiefs 550.9
7. Seahawks 560.2
8. Browns 560.4
9. Texans 571.4
10. Panthers 573.2
11. LA Chargers 575.2
12. Patriots 575.9
13. Titans 583.4
14. Broncos 584.2
15. Bucs 586.0
16. Colts 590.8
17. Raiders 596.8
18. Falcons 602.7
19. Jaguars 603.7
20. Packers 606.7
21. Saints 607.4
22. NY Giants 613.3
23. Bills 613.7
24. Steelers 618.6
25. NY Jets 622.7
26. LA Rams 629.3
27. Bears 635.2
28. Dolphins 637.4
29. Washington 654.9
30. Cardinals 659.7
31. Lions 667.7
32. 49ers 699.7


The 49ers have a great playoff schedule, making Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel a little more appealing for fantasy teams. The Lions also have a great schedule for the playoffs but their lack of top options in the passing game make them less appealing. Washington, Arizona and Miami round out the top five most favorable playoff schedules. DeAndre Hopkins looks as good as ever for the Cardinals this year. And Terry McLaurin has his arrow pointing up with a new quarterback this coming season. His fantasy playoff schedule is even more encouraging for him.

The teams with not-so-friendly playoff schedules are the Vikings, Ravens, Eagles, Bengals and Cowboys. There are some big-time receivers on these teams. We aren’t saying avoid these guys altogether but maybe have some other options ready for the playoffs if the matchups don’t look too appealing when those games come around. It is never too early to start planning ahead.

Jeff Paur is a two-time finalist for FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and won the FSWA award for Best Fantasy Football Article on the Web in 2011. He also was the most accurate expert in 2012, winning the FSTA Fantasy Football Accuracy Award. If you have any questions for Jeff, email him at jeff@rtsports.com. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpaur.

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