Answering crucial fantasy football draft questions at wide receiver

Wide receivers go under the microscope as our fantasy football roundtable series works through the skill positions, which started with the quarterbacks and running backs. As with the previous two position roundtables, The Athletic fantasy football crew of Jake Ciely, Michael Salfino, Andy Behrens and Dalton Del Don return to offer their opinions on hot-button questions at the WR position.

What are the offensive statistical expectations for lauded rookie Travis Hunter? Who are the WRs to target among the Top 15 in ADP in addition to those falling outside the Top 30? What is the best QB-WR stack to target in drafts? Read on for our answers to these questions, and stay tuned in later this week for our tight end roundtable.

Note: All ADPs mentioned below are from Fantasy Pros.

Which WR has the best chance of usurping Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson as the WR1 for fantasy football this season?

Photo of Drake London: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Ciely: The easy answer is CeeDee Lamb because he’s done it before, but to be less obvious, I’ll say Drake London. We need to find a wideout with the potential for 1500+ yards and 12+ touchdowns. It’s far from likely, even with Michael Penix targeting London eleventy billion times down the stretch last season. Still, another 160 targets for London would allow him to improve on his 1,271 and 9 from last year, and if he reached the 175 mark like Chase did last season, a line of 120-1500-12 is in play.

Salfino: Nico Collins. Last season, he had a 17-game pace of 96-1,425-10 with 153 targets. He basically missed six games as he got hurt very early in one game on a long TD. Collins had three explosive games (25+ PPR points), tied for second in the league.

Behrens: The boring-yet-correct answer here is Lamb. He already has a WR1 season to his credit, so we don’t need to speculate about his ceiling. Lamb is also tied to a fully functional quarterback, which cannot be said for every top-of-draft receiver.

Del Don: Lamb has averaged 11.1 targets, 100 receiving yards and has been fantasy’s WR1 during games with Dak Prescott over the past two seasons. His setup remains terrific, including the addition of George Pickens. The alternative answer here is Malik Nabers. I have both ranked ahead of Justin Jefferson.

Funston: London. He just logged perhaps the most unassuming Top 5 WR fantasy campaign in recent memory. He’s probably right there with Nabers for the best odds to lead the NFL in Target%. He managed his Top 5 finish despite Kirk Cousins’ mid-season crash at QB. Penix has a Howitzer attached to his shoulder, opening the entire field for London. The three-game sample of this duo at work last season was enticing, to say the least — combined 39 targets, 22 catches, 352 receiving yards, 2 TDs.

Based on the ADP acquisition cost, what is your favorite QB-WR stack?

Photo of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb: Harry How / Getty Images

Ciely: Prescott and Lamb or Jordan Love and Matthew Golden.

Salfino: Nico Collins and C.J. Stroud. It’s just last year’s cheat sheet for Stroud, who was being drafted as the QB5 last year (hated that price). Now all those guys have run and hidden, the cowards, and I’m there to scoop up Stroud if I have Collins — basically whenever I feel like it.

Behrens: Given the current contract-related staredown in Washington, it’s never been easier to pair Terry McLaurin with Jayden Daniels. That’s a stellar duo. It would be ridiculous if the team and player can’t settle on a number soon.

Del Don: The Lamb and Prescott pairing is nice, but give me Brian Thomas/Travis Hunter and Trevor Lawrence. The Jacksonville combo(s) is affordable, and I fully believe that Liam Coen will dramatically improve the Jaguars’ offense. A Lawrence/BTJ/Hunter stack will help “feed families” this season.

Funston: Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton. I’m not a stack-or-die fantasy manager, but if I miss on an elite QB, I’d be good with a Nix/Sutton stack, especially if you can land Nix closer to QB10. If Nix goes off, there’s very little chance Sutton will not be part of the fireworks show. In fact, when Nix found his stride in his rookie campaign from Weeks 8-18, he was QB6 in that span, and Sutton was WR7.

Which Top 15 WR, according to ADP, are you targeting most at their price?

Photo of Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Jane Gershovich / Getty Images

Ciely: London would be my answer, but since he was the No. 1 WR answer (above), I’ll say Davante Adams. He was putting up WR1 numbers with the Jets and Aaron Rodgers (and Garrett Wilson), which makes me believe there is a non-zero chance Adams can outscore Puka Nacua, regardless of Nacua’s health. No, I wouldn’t put an even-money bet on it, but Adams showed he’s still playing at a peak level, and only scored one fewer PPG than Nacua, despite the differences in offensive effectiveness.

Salfino: Easy, it’s London. His full-season pace in the three games with Penix was 221 targets, 124-1,995-11. Those aren’t typos.

Behrens: I will gladly take Jaxon Smith-Njigba several spots above ADP. He’s coming off a 100-catch season and should find himself used all over the formation in the year ahead. JSN is actually a sneaky-good bet to lead the NFL in receptions.

Del Don: Nabers earned the second-most targets in the league last year as a 21-year-old rookie despite missing two contests. He now gets a real quarterback upgrade while remaining the only game in town for the Giants. Nabers is my favorite to be fantasy’s No. 1 overall pick in 2026. If I miss on Nabers, then it’s Brian Thomas.

Funston: London, for the reason I and others have already mentioned. That said, I also like a JSN pick at the back end of the Top 15.

Which Top 15 WR, according to ADP, are you fading most at their price?

Photo of Nico Collins: Tim Warner / Getty Images

Ciely: Similar to my RB roundtable answer, there isn’t a “must avoid” player in the Top 15, but I have almost no shares of Ladd McConkey, and that was before Keenan Allen’s arrival. I love McConkey and was extremely high on him last year. Nevertheless, I think McConkey surprised many people and skewed the perception of his ceiling. I still believe McConkey can do even better, but I don’t see a ceiling much higher than his rookie debut, and it would take a decent target bump. Given the Chargers’ offense, I think 130 could be McConkey’s target ceiling, and while that would make him a back-end WR1, he’d slide in only a few spots higher than last season. Honestly, I’m being nitpicky here, trying to find an answer.

Salfino: Nacua absolutely despises touchdowns — hates them with the intensity of a thousand suns. Hates them to a degree commensurate with Davante Adams’ love for them.

Behrens: I can’t say there’s anyone I’m actively avoiding inside the Top 15, but I don’t have Adams ranked quite that high on my personal board. However, that’s more about my belief in guys like McLaurin and Mike Evans, and less about Adams specifically. Ideally, he would not be in a situation where his value was tied to a 37-year-old quarterback dealing with a medley of minor injuries.

Del Don: Amon-Ra St. Brown is going too high as a Top 5 WR in such a loaded tier. The Lions lost Ben Johnson, Detroit will score fewer points in 2025, and Jameson Williams will continue to emerge. I’m not a St. Brown hater; I just slightly prefer other WRs in the same ADP range.

Funston: Nico Collins. He’s averaged more than four DNPs a season in his four-year career; he’s been under a 20% target rate in each of the past two seasons (his 18.3% mark last season ranked 38th at WR); Houston might have the league’s worst offensive line; and at least until Joe Mixon proves his foot is not an issue or rookie Jayden Higgins proves he’s a force to be reckoned with (for the record, I do like his odds of that), there’s no reason a defense shouldn’t put extra emphasis on shutting Collins down.

Which WR outside the Top 30 in ADP are you targeting most, based on ADP value?

Photo of Ricky Pearsall: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images

Ciely: Can I just share a list? Rome Odunze, Jakobi Meyers, Matthew Golden, Jayden Higgins, Ricky Pearsall and Cooper Kupp (he’s so cheap that the risk is worth it, and you can make him one of your first drops if he looks toast).

Salfino: Is Jauan Jennings’ ADP of WR43 some kind of joke? In his 10 starts, Jennings went 59-767-6. Over 17 games, that works out to 100-1,304-10.

Behrens: There’s a very real chance Golden emerges quickly as Green Bay’s top target. He’s certainly worth a modest reach in drafts. Golden has been the subject of several tantalizing camp hype videos, for what it’s worth, and everyone surrounding the team seems to be buzzing about his talent.

Del Don: Calvin Ridley should continue to dominate targets in Tennessee, but with a big upgrade at quarterback with Cam Ward. Ridley led the league in air yards last season, but just 56% were catchable. Also, Emeka Egbuka’s ADP (WR47) looks like a misprint — he’s my WR34.

Funston: Pearsall. Deebo Samuel is gone, and we can’t assume Brandon Aiyuk will hit the ground at full speed upon his return, even if he’s back by the Week 6 target date the team is suggesting. And then there’s Jennings, who wants a new contract while also dealing with a calf injury. Pearsall should have no problem seeing a heavy share of targets and, after being shot in the chest just before the start of his rookie season, he left us with a couple of games to dream on at the end of the 2024 campaign — a combined 14 catches, 210 receiving yards, 2 TDs in Weeks 17-18.

What is your Travis Hunter statline prediction for his rookie campaign?

Photo of Travis Hunter: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images

As you can see below, Salfino was most bullish about Hunter’s first-year fantasy contributions, projecting a line that would yield 254.5 PPR points — which would have landed him at No. 8 at WR last season, ahead of Garrett Wilson (253.9) and behind Lamb (263.4). That said, Del Don initially responded to the question with this: “120/2000/20 (in all seriousness, make Hunter a priority target!)” I asked him for an “all-seriousness” revision of his numbers, and he came back with a line that would have landed him as the No. 20 WR last season (216.1 PPR points, just ahead of Jakobi Meyers). Funston’s line was the lowest at 194 PPR points, which would have returned a WR32 value last season.

Which post-prime WR do you see having the highest fantasy ceiling this season — Stefon Diggs, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel or Keenan Allen?

Photo of Stefon Diggs: Eric Canha / Imagn Images

Ciely: It’s Kupp. If he’s even 90% of what we used to know, Kupp benefits from Klint Kubiak’s system, which can maximize wideout upside, especially with a narrow two-receiver focus. Kubiak enjoys deploying a tight end (or two) in the short area, often including a running back coming out of the backfield, which frees his top two wideouts downfield. This should help Kupp’s late-career concern with a lack of separation while improving his bounce-back potential.

Salfino: Kupp was hurt last year with an ankle injury, and I refuse to believe he’s done entering his age-32 season. I don’t care how much the Seahawks want to run; they will throw 525 passes. Who is going to stop Kupp from getting at least 135 of them?

Behrens: Diggs is the only name on this list with a realistic shot to function as his team’s No. 1 receiver. His recovery from ACL surgery seems to have been pretty close to a best-case scenario, too. If Diggs and the Patriots can keep each other happy, it’s not difficult to imagine a path to a useful fantasy season.

Del Don: Diggs. He looks good returning from ACL surgery and should dominate targets as Drake Maye’s clear No. 1 receiver. Kupp and Samuel are leaving ideal offensive environments, while Allen is 33 years old and loses fantasy value, now slated to play the “Z” position (and no longer the slot) in Los Angeles.

Funston: Diggs can be a legit WR1 for his team, whereas that role doesn’t appear to be in the offing for the others, though I suppose maybe for Deebo if McLaurin is a lengthy holdout (I wouldn’t bet on it).

(Top photo of CeeDee Lamb: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)