Set a Lineup at Underdog Picks!
The wide receiver position is one of the most difficult to navigate this year, as there is a ton of depth to be found here, with 14 wideouts rating as elite candidates in my rankings system and another 29 earning strong starter ratings.
This review will assist you in determining how to cull out the best value here by giving you rankings and draft strategies for those 43 players and the top backup candidates.
As initially detailed in the QB rankings article, there are five color-coded tiers the rankings system used in my draft guide (which can be found here). Blue is reserved for elite players. Green signifies a strong starter candidate. Yellow is a quality backup. Orange is a solid backup in deep leagues but shouldn't be rostered in moderate or shallow leagues. Red players should not be rostered outside of ridiculously deep leagues.
Here are this year's blue-rated wide receivers (starting with the highest rated and moving down from there).
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
- CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
- A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
- Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
- Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
- Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
- Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
- Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
- Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
- Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
- Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
- Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
The wildcard here is CeeDee Lamb, who is still in a contract holdout as of this writing. The expectation is that Lamb's representatives and Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones will reach an agreement in time for the season, but the non-zero chance that this doesn't occur does make Lamb the riskiest of these candidates.
Chase is in a similar situation with Cincinnati, but there is a difference in that he has two years to go on his contract. It's likely that Chase will play this year even if a new contract isn't forthcoming, but the potential for missed time also makes him a riskier prospect.
Add that to A.J. Brown being in what could be a more run-heavy Eagles offense, and it makes Amon-Ra St. Brown currently the hands down best player in this bunch.
Given the huge amount of depth at wide receiver, it makes sense for most fantasy managers to aim to get at least one blue-rated player and then only get a second one if one of these players falls in a draft or possibly in full PPR leagues that have three wide receivers and two running backs.
Now let's look at the green-rated wide receivers.
- DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
- Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
- Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
- DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
- Marvin Harrison Jr, Arizona Cardinals
- Nico Collins, Houston Texans
- Tank Dell, Houston Texans
- Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
- DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
- Michael Pittman Jr, Indianapolis Colts
- Malik Nabers, New York Giants
- Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans
- Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
- Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
- Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears
- Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers
- Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs
- George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
- DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans
- Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
- Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
- Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
- Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys
- Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
- Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
- Hollywood Brown, Kansas City Chiefs
- Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
- Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
That's a huge glut of starter-caliber candidates, so much so that fantasy managers in 12-team leagues with three starting wide receivers should often be able to get three green-rated wideouts to go along with the 1-2 blue-rated starters.
Aiyuk is the wildcard here, as he still hasn't come to an agreement with the San Francisco 49ers as of this writing, but it does look like he will be returning to the 49ers starting lineup soon. If that changes during fantasy draft season, this article will be updated to reflect that, but fantasy managers who have to draft before then can still rest assured that he should be a green-rated starter even with a franchise change.
One thing to note is that the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans both have three strong start candidates in this group. Stefon Diggs is the riskiest of this group, as his vertical YPA dropped off significantly in the second half of the 2023 season, but even if he has lost something off his fastball, Diggs should still provide WR3-caliber value in the powerhouse Texans offense.
Next up are the yellow-rated wide receivers
- Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
- Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
- Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
- Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
- Mike Williams, New York Jets
- Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers
- Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
- Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
- Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders
- Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers
- Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons
- Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
- Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts
- Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
- Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jahan Dotson, Philadelphia Eagles
- Curtis Samuel, Buffalo Bills
The key to remember when drafting yellow-rated wide receivers is that they are the floor setters for this position, as having players of this quality should keep your team from posting abysmal numbers (or even goose eggs) during bye weeks or when your squad has to fight through injuries.
Those looking to play for upside at this level can focus on two candidates. The first is Jameson Williams, who had fantastic big-play ability in college and is going to be showcased by the Lions offense this year. Ditto for Mike Williams, who could be an impact pass catcher if Aaron Rodgers returns to close to his elite passing form.