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Fantasy football roundtable: Who is the best WR after Michael Thomas?

It's unanimous: Michael Thomas is the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy rankings, at least according to our ESPN Fantasy staff. Who should be the second WR taken in drafts? We had a summit to tackle that question and many more.

The ESPN Fantasy Football virtual summit highlighted many key storylines as we look forward to 2020 fantasy football drafts. Our composite rankings, which will be updated throughout the offseason, are always a great starting point for fantasy owners as they prepare for draft day.

To give you a peek behind the curtain of some of our best discussions, we introduce our fantasy football roundtable series. Each entry will feature members of our ESPN Fantasy team offering their analysis on the hottest topics that came out of this year's summit, which hopefully will get you thinking about how you want to approach your drafts in the months ahead.


Who should be WR2 in drafts?

Stephania Bell: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
My love for Julio Jones is unwavering (is this finally his year?), but I'm going to award the No. 2 spot to DeAndre Hopkins, who is again paired with a dual-threat quarterback and now in a more dynamic offense. Everyone has witnessed Hopkins' physical agility and strength in one-on-one matchups, observed his notable catch radius and remarked on his all-around über-talent, but perhaps most impressive of all is his ability to show up on game day ... to the tune of only two missed games in seven seasons.

Matthew Berry: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
Since 2016, Davante Adams leads all players with 40 receiving touchdowns. Yes, an injury derailed some of his 2019 season, but he was still top-three among WRs in targets per game, red zone targets per game and receptions per game, and he was fifth in yards per game. He has double-digit scores in three of his past four seasons, and Green Bay (once again) did not add any significant pass-catchers for Aaron Rodgers, so Adams will continue to be a target monster for one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.

Matt Bowen: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

In PPR formats, it's Adams. In just 12 games last season, Adams saw 127 targets and finished with 83 receptions. The route-running jumps, and so does his ability to shake coverage at the line. With Green Bay passing on the wide receiver position in the draft, we know where quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going with the ball in 2020, right? There's even more volume on tap for Adams this season.

Mike Clay: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
It bothers me a bit that the Packers want to run the ball more and that Adams has missed at least one regular-season game because of injury in each of the past three seasons, but we can't ignore Adams' incredible connection with Aaron Rodgers. During 12 active weeks last season, Adams handled a career-high 31% target share and was fantasy's No. 2 WR. Green Bay inexplicably didn't add a surefire WR upgrade during the offseason, which only adds to Adams' appeal.

Tristan H. Cockcroft: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
It's a virtual coin toss for me between Hopkins and Davante Adams, but there's something about the depth in receivers in Arizona compared to Green Bay that has me preferring the newest Cardinal. Hopkins is a scoring machine: Since 2017, he's the NFL's leader in end zone targets (54) and receiving touchdowns (31), and he is sixth in red zone targets (56). That said, in a non-PPR league, I'd take Tyreek Hill second among wide receivers.

Daniel Dopp: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
Although you could make the case for Davante Adams, Julio Jones or Tyreek Hill here, Nuk is my guy. Since he entered the league in 2013, he has missed two games. Two. He's also WR1 in routes run and targets during that span. Simply put, it does not matter who his QB is. He will put up top-tier WR1 numbers, and he doesn't miss games. That's exactly what you're looking for when drafting a WR in the first round.

Eric Karabell: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
I will admit to not feeling strongly about this, since I could easily be convinced it should be Davante Adams, Julio Jones, Tyreek Hill or even one of two Buccaneers. I think Hopkins is a tad safer for catch volume in a PPR format, he offers a high floor for yards and touchdowns, and his QB is about to get a whole lot better.

Field Yates: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
Hopkins is my pick, but if you told me I had to argue for any number of other wide receivers, I could do so (Davante Adams and Julio Jones, for example). But Hopkins' floor is too darn good to ignore, and he should be his typical target monster in his debut season in Arizona.