Seven wide receiver tips for fantasy football owners to follow

In the misguided age of PPR, wide receivers have come to rule fantasy football. Sure, running backs still checker the top of draft boards, but it ain’t like the old days. Receivers populate 15 of the Madman’s top 21 overall rankings — partly because WR health is less volatile, they score on par with RBs on a level playing field, then they get an artificial PPR boost.

But anyone who has ever played fantasy sports knows rankings and projections are not the same as results. Here are some of the WR areas where the Madman seems to stray from the masses.

Don’t freak out about holdouts

Normally the business side of football takes care of itself before interfering with the season. Normally. Sure, there are rare holdouts that extend into the season. We can think of two: Emmitt Smith missed two games more than 20 years ago (1993), and Le’Veon Bell sat out an entire season in 2018.

So we’re not sweating the den of discontent around CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase. We’re drafting them as if they will play all season.

Brandon Aiyuk is a bit different, since we think it is possible he gets traded, which could alter his forecast.

A full Kupp

The 2021 top fantasy WR dealt with ankle issues in 2022 then hamstring and ankle last season. By all accounts he is fully healthy this season, and it is 2023 breakout Puka Nacua who is nursing a knee injury. We expect a bounce-back from Kupp and regression by Nacua, enough that Kupp ranks slightly ahead — despite Nacua’s strong edge in average draft position.

Terry gonna be scary

With the trade of Jahan Dotson to the Eagles, we expect Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels to lean even more heavily on top WR Terry McLaurin than initially thought. Note: We’re also giving a bump to tight end Zach Ertz, from way off to barely on the radar.

Gárbage á trois

Beware of teams that have three standout wideouts. People can guess, but no one is certain what the target distribution is going to be between Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs in Houston, or DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze in Chicago, or the foursome of Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks for the Packers. If we target any of these guys, might as well be the cheapest.

The QB problem

Just as Sam Darnold is dragging down our Justin Jefferson projections, so is Daniel Jones for rookie WR Malik Nabers. To a lesser degree, we put Chris Olave in this category — his cost is too high to rely on David Carr.

Another Bird bath

The Falcons have burned us before — because they have talented players, but the coaching staff kept defying common sense in their usage. Now Arthur Smith is gone, and they have a QB upgrade in Kirk Cousins. So normally Drake London (or Kyle Pitts, or Bijan Robinson) would have burned us too often to revisit. But we’re giving them one more pass on the past and keeping them on our board.

Late heaves

Once you reach the middle-late rounds, shoot for upside. Dodge guys like DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Lockett, etc. Find guys with good QBs and unclear target distribution. Specifically, it is odd that Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are still available as late as they are — particularly after the injury to Hollywood Brown.

We’re interested in Christian Kirk or Brian Thomas Jr. at similar draft spots. Joshua Palmer or Ladd McConkey from the Chargers have late-round upside. We’ll roll the dice on Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir or Curtis Samuel late just because we have confidence Josh Allen will establish a connection with one of them.

Nab the right WRs at the right times, and they can carry you to a title.