ESPN Fantasy Analysts provides fantasy football draft strategy and overviews for each major position. Be sure to check them all out: Quarterback | running backwards | wide receiver | narrow end (friday)
In an NFL era of greatly increased passing offense, it makes sense, naturally, that wide receivers would take on a greater importance in your fantasy football strategy in recent seasons. When we’re talking big passing numbers, it’s generally the wide receivers who benefit the most.
WR position status/strategy draft
The wide receiver position as a whole has delivered three of the six highest seasons in history in the past three years – not only in total points (due to more games played) but also average points scored per NFL team – and every single event of those six since 2015. In addition, seven out of 20 individual wide receiver seasons of at least 350 fantasy points for PPR have occurred in the past nine seasons.
However, this rise in positional point scoring didn’t make the wide receiver position “a dime a dozen” in fantasy terms. In fact, it has cemented its importance in roster building and is largely behind the increasingly used zero RB strategy. With elite wide receivers putting up historic fantasy point totals, not to mention some of the game’s most prolific positional talents ever topping the standings—Davante Adams, Stephon Diggs, Tyrek Hill, Justin Jefferson, and Cooper Cobb. Hall of Fame Tracks – It is essential that you address this situation early in your drafts.
Consider last season, in which the site saw a slight decrease in fantasy output compared to the two seasons before it. Six of the top 16 PPR scorers (points per reception) were wide receivers, the highest of any center (quarterback five, running back four and tight ends one). Digging deeper, 19 of the top 50 overall scorers have been wide receivers, which says a lot when you consider the advantages most scoring systems provide to quarterbacks (only 16 of them are among the top 50).
Settings for your league DoIt does, however, have a major bearing on how important it is to target wide receivers with your closest selections. In a standard ESPN game, which uses two wide receivers to start and a flex (which can also be an RB or a TE), the depth of position gives managers more leeway to wait or go the sleeper-in-position route. However, recent data supports that, more often than not, your optimal flex should be a wide receiver. Additionally, in non-PPR leagues, a wide receiver’s scoring tends to be more contractionary compared to running backs.
Know your rules!
The most important events of 2023
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Although not a single member of the 2023 WR’s rookie class has that “definitely should get this guy” zeal — at least right after the NFL Draft — there’s no doubt that this group of freshmen will It’s in the imagination. History backs it up. In the past three seasons, seven wide receivers have ranked among the top 25 PPR fantasy points spots, including last season’s Garrett Wilson. Although Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks), Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers), Zay Flowers (Baltimore Ravens) and Jordan Addison (Minnesota Vikings) – who are respectively first-round picks – will certainly be the hottest commodities of the This entry-level class, it is entirely possible that a lesser-known name like Marvin Mims Jr. will appear. (Denver Broncos) or Nathaniel “Tank” Dell (Houston Texans) or even Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) as upset rookie of the year.
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You don’t need to be the first receiver on the team to make a fantasy difference. Last season alone, the No. 2 wide receivers finished for the Miami Dolphins (Jaylen Waddle), Philadelphia Eagles (DeVonta Smith), Seahawks (DK Metcalf), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Chris Godwin), and Cincinnati Bengals (Tee Higgins). The 19th center, all five scored more fantasy points for the PPR than the #1 wide receivers for 18 of the NFL’s 32 teams. Ultimately, you want wide receivers of productive offense more than you want the leading man from just about any team, and that’s why The reason why fantasy directors shouldn’t be afraid to craft secondary targets like Smith, Brandin Cooks, Higgins, Waddle, and Mike Williams, all of whom are more likely to outperform “leading men” like DJ Chark, Nico Collins, and Odell Beckham Jr.
Breaking down WR layers
Fantasy Football’s wide receiver class begins in 2023 just as it did in 2022, with Jefferson, Cobb, and Jamar Chase widely considered the cream of the first caliber of the crop. They are game-changing talent, representing three of the four starting quarterbacks who averaged over 20 PPR fantasy points per game last season.
This does not mean that placement is detrimental to depth in either of the two upper layers. Up to 10 people can make up the second tier, including the three other aforementioned players in the Hall of Fame track – Adams, Diggs and Hale (effective 2A of this level) – Amen-Ra’s target hound Saint Brown, rising star Garrett Wilson and a host of Loaded receivers of traffic offenses—Lamb (Cowboys), Waddle (Dolphins), Brown and Smith (Eagles), and Higgins (Bengals)—as the effective 2B of the level. All are among the receivers most likely to cross the 15 PPG threshold.
Level 3 includes some newcomers in questionable passing offenses, such as Chris Olaf and Christian Watson; oldies but goodies like DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Williams, Amari Cooper, Diontae Johnson, Mike Evans, Godwin and Terry McLaurin; and major age choices including Metcalf, Deebo Samuel, and DJ Moore. After just this group, the fantasy team must risk a role expansion or skill boom faster than expected, and the fantasy team is wise to have drawn up a roster of at least wide receivers from the aforementioned three groups by this point in the draft.
Potential hack and busts
Three sophomore offenses that saw quarterback changes offseason stand out on the “breakout” side, as the Jets’ Wilson could benefit greatly from the team’s acquisition of Aaron Rodgers, the best quarterback the team has had in decades; Olaf of the Saints should enjoy a boost as a result of Derek Carr’s strong arming; And the Packers’ Watson, despite handling the development of Jordan Love as a starter in the NFL, has proven to be an impact receiver through the second half of 2022.
Digging deeper, Jahan Dotson could take a bigger role in his second season with the leaders, having finished the 2022 campaign on a high note (top 20 WR during the last month of the season).
One of the top 20 wide receivers in each of the past two seasons, Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts will likely struggle to make it for the third year in a row while working with rookie quarterback in development Anthony Richardson. Speaking of rookies, Smith-Njigba’s arrival in Seattle cuts target stocks in Metcalf and Lockett, with the latter at risk of a drop in fantasy production especially after a 2022 season that has him outperforming expectations.