The wide receiver position is very top heavy in 2023. The top guys are flying off the board in the first 15-18 picks and the drop off from tiers is more severe than we see at other positions. This is not the year to wait on high end WR options, especially in a redraft format. You might be able to get away with it in a best ball format and attack the position with volume. When you have to set a weekly fantasy football lineup, it is not going to be easy to choose correctly on a team littered with wide receiver options in that middle rankings tier. Here’s how I have broken down my fantasy football WR rankings in 2023.
Fantasy Football WR Rankings-By Benny Ricciardi
Tier 1 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp
These four guys are all going in the top six picks of most fantasy football drafts in 2023. They sometimes are drafted as the first four picks. Justin Jefferson is the clear #1 WR and #1 overall pick in full or half PPR. You can make a case against it in leagues with no reception bonus, but he even belongs as the #1 pick in that format. Ja’Marr Chase is the consensus #2 and if the recent Joe Burrow injury scare has him on the board for you at pick four or later, just auto-click his name onto your roster. An argument can be made for Cooper Kupp vs. Tyreek Hill and maybe even Tyreek Hill vs. Chase as the #2 WR off the board. I prefer the tier 1 WR options in the order listed above, which also happens to be the ADP currently on Underdog. The only two players who should even be mentioned in the top six of drafts with this group are Christian McCaffrey and Travis Kelce. If any of these four WR options are available at pick six or later in non-superflex drafts you want to take them.
Tier 2 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, AJ Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams
You SHOULD be drafting Davante Adams in fantasy football
Davante Adams is one of the best WR options in the NFL. Jimmy G is a horrible fit for his skill set, but so was Derek Carr and he still produced last season. Adams finished third in overall WR fantasy points, behind only Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill. Many even said that was a bad season for Adams. He had six games of 20+ fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. He went over 30 fantasy points 5 times in full PPR on his way to averaging 19.7 fantasy points per game. Only nine WR options in the entire NFL averaged 15 or more PPR points per game last season. He finished with 100 receptions, over 1500 yards and 14 touchdowns. To be able to get a guy with that skill set in the second round feels criminal. So make sure you lock it up.
Tier 3 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Jaylen Waddle, Chris Olave, Devonta Smith, Tee Higgins, Calvin Ridley, DK Metcalf
You SHOULD be drafting DK Metcalf in fantasy football
You actually should be drafting all of these guys, but the more I looked into DK Metcalf, the more I had to put him in tier 3. He is going a full round later than Jaylen Waddle is on Underdog at an ADP just shy of 30. That makes him a third round guy who projects just as well as anyone else on this list. You can make an argument that the other five guys on this list are not the #1 WR option on their own teams. I guess you can make one for Metcalf too with Tyler Lockett and the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but it’s a much weaker case. With Calvin Ridley rocketing up draft boards with his ADP climbing daily, Metcalf is about to be the only guy in this tier available in the early part of round three. I like all six WR options on this list, but do not think the separation between any of the is big enough to justify taking any of them in the second round when you can snag DK in the top part of round three.
Tier 4 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, Jerry Juedy, Christian Watson, Drake London
You SHOULD be drafting Keenan Allen in fantasy football
This was a tough tier for me, because I am pretty high on both Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen. I ultimately went with Allen as my top choice here, because I have clicked his name over Cooper a few times, even though Cooper has the lower ADP. I do think the gap between those two and the rest of this list is noticeable. If you read the QB rankings article, you can see why I am so high on all the Los Angeles Chargers passing game pieces. Allen had some injury issues last season, but was stellar when he returned. He returned for the last eight games of the season and averaged over 10 targets per game in the home stretch. He caught 60 passes for 675 yards and 4 touchdowns in those contests. The pace of play for the Chargers is expected to be higher this year as well, so we could see him match or exceed those numbers.
Tier 5 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Deebo Samuel, Mike Williams, Terry McLaurin, DJ Moore, DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Brandon Aiyuk, Diontae Johnson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
You SHOULD be drafting Mike Williams in fantasy football
Mike Williams is expected to play a little more out of the slot for a uptempo offense in 2023. Big Mike as a big slot guy is intriguing. He will still be used downfield and on jump balls near the goal line, but the added targets could really make him a steal as a round four or five draft pick. I know it seems counterintuitive to be so in love with a pair of WR options in back-to-back tiers of my rankings, but I am super high on the Chargers passing offense this year. They have too much talent and a new scheme that will help them maximize it. I also have reservations about a lot of the other options in this tier of players going between pick 45 and pick 60 in most underdog drafts. Deebo Samuel is a guy I hate because of usage concerns. Terry McLaurin is breaking in another new quarterback. DJ Moore has a very inaccurate passer throwing him balls. DeAndre Hopkins signed with a run heavy team. Christian Kirk has a lot of target competition with the addition of Calvin Ridley. Diontae Johnson has a young QB and target competition from George Pickens. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is basically the third best WR on his own team. None of these guys are bad picks, but none really stand out as great ones either. I would not be shocked to see multiple guys in this range not produce a season close to their ADP and for that reason I prefer looking at other positions in this range if Mike Williams is already off the board.
Tier 6 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Chris Godwin, Marquise Brown, Tyler Lockett, Mike Evans, Gabe Davis
You SHOULD be drafting Chris Godwin in fantasy football
I think all of the WR options here are solid draft picks. In fact, I think the reason I am so down on drafting guys in tier 5 is that you can usually get one of these other guys in tier 6 one round later and expect the same or better production. Gabe Davis is the wild card, but also has the ability for those big spike games we love in a best ball format. Marquise Brown has a QB issue that is scaring people away, despite his #1 WR status on the Cardinals. Lcokett and Evans are both solid, but Godwin is the guy I trust the most here for a solid weekly floor. I do not expect Tampa to be very good this year, which actually is a positive for the WR duo. The more they trail, the more they will throw the ball and Godwin tends to be the top target getter here. Mike Evans may be more of the home run threat for bigger games, but Godwin is the more consistently solid of the two. Baker Mayfield is no Tom Brady, but I will take a talented target whore on a bad offense that should be forced to throw often and not think twice about it.
Tier 7 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Michael Pittman, Jordan Addison, George Pickens, Jahan Dotson, Quentin Johnson, Zay Flowers, Brandin Cooks, Elijah Moore, Treylon Burks, Skyy Moore
You SHOULD be drafting Skyy Moore in Fantasy Football
These are the group of players with ADP between 70 and 90 on underdog. You have a long list of talented young players and Brandin Cooks to choose from. The question I find myself asking is which of these guys can be a league winner? Which one can absolutely crush their ADP. Skyy Moore is definitely risky, but so are all the other options here and his ADP is the lowest, although rapidly climbing. Skyy and Zay Flowers are the two guys I find myself targeting most in this range. The Chiefs are one of the best offenses in football. I am not sold on their defense actually being good. That means they could find themselves in more shootouts. They still have the best quarterback on the planet and his WR group is nothing special. Travis Kelce should remain the top target getter on this team, but Skyy Moore should soak up a lot of the targets that walked out the door with Mecole Hardman and Juju Smith-Schuster. Maybe I am wrong and got caught up in theHype train, but let’s bring this full circle. Which guy on this list has the path to absolutely smash his round seven or round eight price tag? I do not think you have a lot of horrible flops in this tier, but Flowers is the only one outside of Skyy Moore that I can see smashing his ceiling if the chips fall right.
Tier 8 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Cortland Sutton, Kardarius Toney, Rashod Bateman, Michael Thomas, Odell Beckham, Tyler Boyd, Nico Collins
You SHOULD be draftings Nico Collins in fantasy Football
Nico Collins is a big target, which gives him a chance for touchdown equity. He is also the de facto #1 WR for a very bad Texans team. They should play from behind most of the season. They should be forced to throw in garbage time nearly every week. Brandin Cooks is gone, so they have a target void to fill as well. Collins is going in the tenth round of drafts.
Tier 9 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Jameson Williams, Juju Smith-Schuster, Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, Zay Jones, Jakobi Meyers, Darnell Mooney
You SHOULD be drafting Juju Smith-Schuster in Fantasy Football
If you are looking to round out a receiver group in the double digit rounds, Juju Smith-Schuster checks a lot of the boxes. He is a new guy in town, but he has flashed upside that most of the other players in this range never have. He is also slated to be a #1 WR option, which none of the other players on this list can claim. The New England passing game is nothing special, but they are by far the worst team in an otherwise stacked division. That means they are likely to be throwing more often near the end of games and that could really benefit a high target player like Juju. Jakobi Meyers carved out a nice role on the PAtriots and for fantasy last year doing what Juju is expected to do this year. He fills a target void, has talent, and is going well below expectations. All of those are reasons you should be drafting Juju Smith-Schuster for fantasy football.
Tier 10 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Rondale Moore, Michael Gallup, Rashee Rice, Van Jefferson, Jonathan Mingo, Marques Valdes-Scantling, Marvin Mims, K.J. Osborn, Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, Alec Pierce
You SHOULD be drafting Jonathan Mingo in fantasy Football
Jonathon Mingo was a highly drafted prospect who steps into a bad team in a horrible division. He could end up being the #1 WR in Carolina this year. Carolina brought in a whole new WR group for 2023 to pair with rookie QB Bryce Young. Adam Thielen is an aging Vet that plays the slot. DJ Chark is an aging Vet that is more of a downfield threat. Mingo is the guy who could end up running the entire route tree for a team that projects for very few wins and a lot of garbage time throws. I would not expect Mingo to come out of the gates crushing fantasy in the first few weeks of the season. Then again, you should not expect that from anyone you draft in round 12 or 13. By the end of the season he could be the top target getter on a bad offense that may be forced to throw for many of the second halves of games. If so, he could be a sneaky late round pick that consistently sees 5-8 targets per game when the fantasy playoffs roll around and that is very useful as a WR3 or flex option late in the year.
Honorable Mention: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashid Shaheed, Parris Campbell, Nathaniel (Tank) Dell
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