Last season, an unusually high number of elite wide receivers disappointed in fantasy football. Could that provide an opportunity in 2025?
For years, premier wide receivers have been a surer thing than running backs in fantasy football.
Fantasy managers who drafted running backs in the first couple of rounds were often left disappointed due to injury or underperformance. You could win your draft choosing the right running back, but you were more likely to pick a bust as well. But the receivers taken at the top of the draft usually performed closer to expectations and were the safer options.
Last year, everything flipped on its head.
While the top tier of running backs was mostly excellent (the key exception being Christian McCaffrey), there were a lot of managers left disappointed by Tyreek Hill at the top of the first round, or Puka Nacua (due to injury) and Marvin Harrison Jr. late in the first round or early in the second. Disappointments were found further down the top 15 at the position as well, with Brandon Aiyuk and Chris Olave both missing over half the season and Deebo Samuel underperforming.
There’s a good chance this was a one-year aberration and, if it was, it has left managers with an excellent opportunity to grab premium wide receivers at a lower cost this year. The only question is which one to take.
There’s a big tier of the very best wide receivers that can be tough to sort. Fortunately, we can use our fantasy rankings to figure out the best values at the top of the draft and the sleepers that could net managers value later in the draft.
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Ja’Marr Chase finished as the runaway top wide receiver in 2024 and is being drafted as the No. 1 overall pick in drafts according to FantasyPros.
Everything is once again lined up for Chase to be the top receiver in fantasy. He’s one of the most talented wideouts in the NFL playing with one of the most talented quarterbacks in a pass-heavy offense on a team with a bad defense that will ensure the Cincinnati Bengals need to keep scoring to keep pace.
The only quibble is that Chase has to compete with the underrated Tee Higgins for targets. But with the other environmental factors in Cincinnati, there’s enough opportunity for both players to be elite options. Chase can live up to the hype and should be considered with the top pick in most formats.
The selection process gets murkier after Chase, with CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson currently vying for the WR2 in ADP. But our projections have Nico Collins, currently being drafted as WR7 in PPR formats, as the best option after Chase.
Collins was eighth in fantasy points per game in PPR last season and just 23rd in total points because he missed five games. But the context of his season is important.
The Houston Texans offense was nothing short of a disaster last year and figures to improve this year under first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Their running game is in flux with Joe Mixon injured, meaning most of that improvement will have to come through the air. C.J. Stroud projects to have a bounce back season and Collins will be the biggest beneficiary of it. He’s an elite wide receiver who is the clear No. 1 on an offense that could pass more frequently and should be on the upswing. Collins is currently a fringe first-round player and is one of the best values on the board.
Drake London is going a bit after Collins as the WR9 and is another great value. The big wide receiver from USC finished fifth in PPR points among receivers last year with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback for most of the season.
When Michael Penix Jr. became quarterback, he targeted London early and often. London had 39 targets in the final three games of the season after Penix took over, the most of any receiver in the NFL in that stretch.
London should have a decent floor and has massive upside if the Atlanta Falcons offense clicks in Penix’s first full season as the starter. Our projections have him as the WR6 in PPR, but he’s going as the WR9. London could be a league-winner in the second round.
The Sleepers
We already discussed our best value among the middle tier receivers in George Pickens as one of our overall sleepers, so we’ll move even further down the draft board to Keenan Allen, who is being drafted as the WR57.
Allen didn’t have the impact the Chicago Bears were hoping for when they traded for him, but he still had 744 receiving yards for a Bears offense that couldn’t get out of its own way most of the year.
He returned to the Chargers this offseason, where he amassed 1,243 receiving yards in 2023. The Chargers are looking for more consistency behind Ladd McConkey and hope Allen’s rapport with Justin Herbert can help ignite the offense.
Tre Harris was drafted in the second round but hasn’t been particularly impressive in the preseason, and Quentin Johnston bounced back a little last year but has still been a disappointment after being drafted in the first round in 2023. Allen has a real chance to be the No. 2 wideout, and he’s being priced as an afterthought. Our projections have him with a modest rebound to 858 yards and finishing as the WR32 . You could do a lot worse with your last bench receiver.
If you’re in a PPR league, you should keep the PPR cheat code Wan’Dale Robinson on your radar.
In standard leagues, Robinson is our projected WR54 and has an ADP of WR69, which makes him rosterable in deeper leagues and a slight value.
But in full PPR, Robinson’s value shoots up while he’s still only being drafted as the WR63. Our projections have Robinson as the WR36 in PPR, which is exactly where he finished last year. Pay up a few rounds for Robinson in this format and reap the rewards.
The Deep Sleeper
Late-round receivers have wild variations on when they are drafted, so we wanted to highlight an option for deeper leagues currently going outside the top 75 at the position.
The best recipe for value that late in the draft is taking a player who is only one move away from significantly more targets.
Tory Horton fits this description. He’s flown under the radar but is having an excellent preseason for Seattle and is now slated to play heavy minutes in three-receiver sets at outside receiver after Marquez Valdes-Scantling was released.
Cooper Kupp is projected for the second-most targets among Seahawks’ receivers after Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but Kupp looks to be on the downside of his career. Even if he is productive this year, he hasn’t played more than 12 games in a season since 2021. If Kupp falls off or is injured, Horton is in line for a big role.
Horton projects as the WR52 and has the upside to outpace that ranking, meaning he can be drafted in deeper leagues and should be a player whose progress is monitored in all leagues. If Kupp struggles or gets injured, he should be a priority waiver add early in the season.
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Fantasy Football WR Rankings 2025: Everything to Know About the Stars and Sleepers at Wide Receiver Opta Analyst.
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