Wide receivers are about to be drafted higher than they’ve ever been. While some might argue that strong running backs are still more valuable, it’s hard to ignore some receivers simply because of their point output. Guys like Ja’marr Chase and Justin Jefferson can score close to 30 points every week. Players need to know who they want to target if they pick later on in the first round, though, because Chase and Jefferson will likely be off the board by then.
10. Tyreek Hill
For the top 10 options, almost nobody is mentioning Tyreek Hill, who is two years removed from being the best receiver in football. Of course, his last year wasn’t too impressive, but it wasn’t his fault Tua Tagovailoa was injured. Hill started to come into his own once Tua came back, scoring 20+ points in a couple of weeks back-to-back. Assuming Tua can stay healthy this year, it’s quite possible that Hill will start looking like his old self.
9. Drake London
London has both great talent and is in a great situation. He had to compete with Darnell Mooney through much of last season, but once Michael Penix Jr. took over, London’s stats saw a huge jump. In fact, in the last game of the season against Carolina, London had 187 yards and two touchdowns. It’s quite possible he sees more targets with Penix Jr. under center, which would mean more fantasy points for London week to week.
8. A.J. Brown
Brown is a great player on an offense that didn’t really change much after winning the Super Bowl. Brown is simply the epitome of reliability; there were only two weeks last season when he scored less than 10 fantasy points. As the primary deep option for Philadelphia, he is also a good bet to get in the endzone at least once per game.
7. Amon Ra St. Brown
St. Brown put on a statistical clinic last season. Most people think he’s a top-five option; however, there are a couple of red flags for him going into this season. First of all, he’s lost coordinator Ben Johnson, so the Detroit offense will likely take a hit. The new coaching staff is talking a lot about how they want to throw deep to Jameson Williams more as well, which would take targets away from St. Brown. Either way, it would be crazy to rank him below seventh.
6. Nico Collins
Some NFL fans forget the beginning of last season when Nico Collins was on pace to finish as WR1. Unfortunately, he got injured, and then the Texans’ season went south without him on the field. Even with the poor pass blocking from Houston (which didn’t get better when Laremy Tunsil left), C.J. Stroud still found ways to get the ball to Collins. Even if their offense takes a step back, that shouldn’t affect Collins putting up some impressive numbers.
5. Malik Nabers
It’s hard to give too much praise to Nabers, considering the team he was on last season. Before leaving for Indianapolis, Daniel Jones still managed to give Nabers the ball each week, where he put up amazing numbers like 10+ fantasy points in all but one of the 17 games. Now that he gets Russell Wilson, it’s only natural that his numbers would increase from last season, which qualifies for a top-five pick.
4. Puka Nacua
With the exception of some early-season duds, Puka Nacua was a lock in every fantasy football week. He was just short of having more than 100 yards in half of his games. Not only does he get another year to work with Matthew Stafford, but Davante Adams should draw some of the attention of the defense away. Anyway you slice it, Nacua is stepping into what should be a great season for him.
3. CeeDee Lamb
Is it weird that the acquisition of George Pickens might be the best thing for CeeDee Lamb? Defenders won’t be able to zero focus on him because Pickens is still a threat catching the ball. That should give Dak Prescott more freedom when he drops back, but he really wants to get Lamb the ball as much as possible. Keep in mind that Lamb was scoring 20+ fantasy points with Cooper Rush at quarterback as well.
2. Justin Jefferson
There are some who think that Jefferson might take a step back this season with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback. Here’s the issue, though: people said the same thing when Sam Darnold took the quarterback position, and the same could be said for Joshua Dobbs, Kirk Cousins, etc. The bottom line is that, regardless of who is behind center, Jefferson is going to create separation, catch long balls, and find that endzone.
1. Ja’Marr Chase
Although Jefferson was slightly more consistent than Chase last year, the Bengal receiver had a much higher ceiling. 55 fantasy points in one week is not easy to pull off. The big reason why Chase is being ranked higher than Jefferson, though, is their respective teams. The Vikings can beat some teams just by running the football and playing elite defense. The Bengals, on the other hand, need to throw as much as possible to beat some of their rivals in their division. With that in mind, Chase should have a slightly better year than Jefferson.
