Sometimes, fantasy point totals can deceive.
Case in point. Mike Evans finished fifth in points per game among wideouts this past season. That seems great, right? Well, he was a top-20 fantasy wideout in just 38.5 percent of his starts. What's more, he scored 62 percent of his points in just four games. That's a much bigger factoid than his overall finish.
So, who were the best players when it came to putting up solid totals on a regular basis, and who was more name than numbers? Here's a look at the wide receivers who finished in the top 20 most often last season (minimum eight games), along with some interesting notes on players to watch as we look ahead to 2020.
Other positions: **Quarterbacks** | **Running Backs** | **Tight Ends**
1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (81.3 percent): Thomas is coming off a historic season, so it's no surprise that he was fantasy's most consistent wideout by a mile. He scored double digits in 15 games, hit the 20-point mark 10 times (no other wideout had more than five), and his eight games with 25-plus points also led the NFL. Surprisingly, Thomas didn't lead the position in scoring in any week.
T-2. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (66.7 percent): Hopkins, the top wide receiver picked in most 2019 fantasy drafts, produced a combined 10 top-20 performances and ranked in a tie for the second-most 20-plus point games at the position. Hopkins also finished second in terms of top-5 finishes with four ... only Thomas (9) had more. Look for Nuk to be a late first-round pick next season.
T-2. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers (66.7 percent): Adams missed four games this past season due to injuries, but he was quite reliable when out on the gridiron. In fact, he was a top-10 wide receiver eight times and scored 20-plus fantasy points in five games. While the value of his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is on the decline, Adams will remain a top-three fantasy wideout in 2020 drafts.
4. D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers (60 percent): Moore is coming off a bust out season, posting 87 catches for 1,175 yards. While he had just one top-5 game, he scored double digits in 12 games and scored 20-plus fantasy points three times. Moore also had a nice seven-game stretch where he scored at least 17.1 points six times. He's a locked in top-10- fantasy wide receiver heading into next season.
T-5. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots (56.3 percent): Edelman was one of the league's most reliable wideouts, scoring double digits in 12 of his 16 games. He finished in the top 20 nine times, which tied for the third-most in the NFL, and he scored 25-plus points twice. Edelman will be 34 when the 2020 season starts, but he's still in the mix as a No. 2 fantasy wideout ... at least if Tom Brady returns.
T-5. Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions (56.3 percent): Golladay tied for third in top-20 finishes among wide receivers, and he tied for the second-most 20-plus points games (5) in 2019. The Lions wideout also tied for sixth in games with 25 or more fantasy points ... and he played half the season without Matthew Stafford. Imagine what he can do with him for a full season? Golladay, who led all wideouts with 11 touchdown catches, is a surefire second-round selection in 2020 drafts.
7. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons (53.5 percent): Jones finished third in fantasy points among wideouts in 2019, due in part to a strong finish to the season. He ranked tied for second in games with 10-plus points and in 20-plus points, and only Thomas had more games with 25-plus points. Jones, who will be 31 years old at the start of next season, will be a second-round pick in most fantasy drafts.
8. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (50 percent): Allen produced eight games in the top 20 this past season, including four games with 20-plus points. He did have a bad six-game stretch around mid-season though, as he failed to score more than 12.3 fantasy points in any game. Allen will also have a new quarterback after the Chargers parted ways with Philip Rivers, but he'll be a WR2 next season.
T-9. Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams (46.7 percent): Woods had a bad first half of the season, scoring fewer than 14 fantasy points in two of his first eight games. He went off after that, however, scoring 16.5 or more points in five of his final seven games including four games with over 20 points. In all, he tied for the second-most 20-plus point performances among fantasy wide receivers in 2019.
T-9. D.J. Chark, Jacksonville Jaguars (46.7 percent): Chark enjoyed a breakout season that saw him post career highs across the board. Unfortunately, most of his success came in the first half as he produced 17-plus points in five of his first eight games. After that, Chark scored 16-plus points just twice. While he is slated to be the Jaguars' top wideout once again in 2020, Chark will need to learn a new system under OC Jay Gruden on a team with questions at the quarterback spot.
11. Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons (46.2 percent): Ridley missed three games due to injuries, but he did produce six top-20 performances while also putting up double digits in 10 of 13 games. Ridley will be a No. 2 wideout in 2020 drafts.
12. Golden Tate, New York Giants (45.5 percent): Tate ranked in the top 20 in points among wideouts in almost half of his games in 2019. He did produce nine games with double-digit points and should remain a nice PPR option in 2020 drafts.
T-13. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (43.8 percent): Kupp went bananas to start the season, scoring 26-plus fantasy points four of his first eight games. While he was less reliable own the stretch, Kupp finished four among wideouts.
T-13. Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears (43.8 percent): Robinson is coming off his best season with the Bears, posting five games with 20-plus fantasy points. He also put up 16-plus points in five of his last six games of the 2019 season.
T-13. Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys (43.8 percent): Cooper produced 22-plus points in three of his first five games, but he scored over 20 points in just two more games the rest of the season. Still, he'll be a top-10 fantasy wideout in 2020.
T-13. DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (43.8 percent): It was a tale of two seasons for Parker in 2019. He had just two top-20 finished in the first half, but had five such performances in the second. He also had four top-10 finishes.
T-13. Jamison Crowder, New York Jets (43.8 percent): Crowder rarely put up top-5 numbers in 2019, but he did produce double digits eight times and scored 20-plus points four times. He'll remain a popular target for Sam Darnold next season.
T-18. Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys (42.9 percent): Gallup put up over 1,000 yards in his second pro season, scoring double digits in nine of 14 games. He still had plenty of room for statistical growth in a talented Cowboys offense.
T-18. Terry McLaurin, Washington Redskins (42.9 percent): McLaurin had one top-10 finish and three top 20s in six games without Dwayne Haskins. In eight games with him, he had just one top-10 and two top 20s. Still, I like McLaurin in 2020.
20. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs (41.7 percent): Surprisingly, Hill failed to finish as a top-20 fantasy wideout in seven of his 12 games in 2019. Still, the speedy playmaker is a likely top-5 fantasy wideout for 2020 drafts.
21. Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (40 percent): Shepard missed six games due to injuries a season ago, but he did have six double-digit performances. In all, Shepard ranked in the top 15 fantasy wide receivers four times.
22. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (38.5 percent): Surprised? Evans was the top-scoring wideout twice and had five top-10 performances, but he also ranked outside of the top 20 eight times and outside of the top 30 in seven contests.
T-23. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (37.5 percent): Lockett was very unreliable in the second half of the season, scoring fewer than nine fantasy points in five of his final seven games. Still, he'll remain a WR2 in most 2020 drafts.
T-23. Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos (37.5 percent): Sutton finished in the top 10 just twice and was a top-15 receiver five times, but his flashes of big time potential will make him a prime bust out candidate for 2020 fantasy drafts.
25. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (35.7 percent): Like Evans, Godwin was the top-scoring wideout twice and was in the top among wide receivers 20 five times. However, he also ranked outside of the top 30 in seven of his 14 games.
Notes: A.J. Brown finished tied for second among wide receivers in top-10 finishes (5), four of which came in his final six games. He'll be firmly on the WR2 radar in 2020 drafts. ... Believe it or not, but Thomas, Hopkins, Adams and Kupp all failed to be the top-scoring wide receiver in a given week during 2019. ... Odell Beckham Jr. averaged a career-low 12.6 fantasy points per game in his first season in Cleveland. He had just one top-5 finish among wideouts and ranked outside of the top 30 nine times. He's fallen into the WR2 tier ahead of 2020 drafts. ... Deebo Samuel scored double-digit fantasy points nine times and scored 20-plus points in three games. That's more than OBJ, T.Y. Hilton and Adam Thielen. ... Stefon Diggs, who broke out in 2018, finished this past season with just eight double-digit games. He scored fewer than 10 points seven times, or in 46.6 percent of his games. ... JuJu Smith-Schuster played in just 12 games this season for the Steelers. He finished with just one top-10 performance and ranked outside of the top 30 nine times. Hopefully things will improve with Ben Roethlisberger back. ... DK Metcalf had a strong rookie season, but he wasn't reliable overall. In fact, he was a top-20 fantasy wideout just three times and ranked outside of the top 30 13 times.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for the latest fantasy football news and analysis!
