A sleeper wide receiver is a player taken as a backup who ends up worthy of being a starter or at least far outplays the draft slot where you selected him. Average Draft Positions (ADP) are taken from MyFantasyLeague.com using only recent drafts.
See also:
Sleepers and Value Plays: Quarterbacks
Sleepers and Value Plays: Running Backs
Sleepers and Value Plays: Tight Ends
The Average Draft order shows a general picture of how your draft will unfold and where values/sleepers and bad values/busts likely exist. Any green highlight means the player is a good value that could be taken earlier. A red highlight signifies an overvalued player that is a bad value or just too high of a risk for that spot.
Average Draft order – Value plays
| ADP | Team | Wide Receiver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GB | Davante Adams | The No. 1 from last year is always the No. 1 draft pick the next year. And since Aaron Rodgers is back and Adams is in his final contract year, why not? |
| 2 | KC | Tyreek Hill | Been a lock for Top-5 if he stays healthy. |
| 3 | BUF | Stefon Diggs | Changing teams is not always a bad thing. And apparently Diggs was just what Josh Allen needed. |
| 4 | ARI | DeAndre Hopkins | A lock for the Top-5 and it doesn’t matter what team he is on. |
| 5 | ATL | Calvin Ridley | Third-year breakout in 2020 with 90-1374-9 thanks to a broken-down Julio Jones. Now he’s gone to the Titans and Ridley starts his own era. |
| 6 | SEA | D.K. Metcalf | Not only taken as the ninth wideout drafted in 2019, he remains better than any of the previously taken eight. A good rookie year became a great second season in 2020. |
| 7 | MIN | Justin Jefferson | The Vikings lost Stefon Diggs but didn’t really notice since the rookie Jefferson caught 88 passes for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. That was the No. 2 best receiving yardage by a rookie in NFL history. |
| 8 | TEN | A.J. Brown | Brown has only ranked No. 14 and No. 21 in his two seasons, and now he has to share with Julio Jones while the Titans have the No. 29 passing schedule strength. Oh, and he had surgery on both knees in the offseason. Seems optimistic at No. 8. |
| 9 | LAC | Keenan Allen | Good spot for the guy that caught at least 97 passes in each of the last four years. He doesn’t gain a ton of yards with each catch, but he’s been high-volume for receptions regardless of quarterback |
| 10 | WAS | Terry McLaurin | He keeps missing a game or two each year, but he’s averaged around 1,000 yards while playing with a mishmash of sketchy quarterbacks. Ryan Fitzpatrick is an upgrade. |
| 11 | DAL | CeeDee Lamb | The Cowboys were lucky for Lamb to fall to the 1.17 pick. The five games with Dak Prescott averaged 74 yards for a rookie that didn’t really have a preseason thanks to COVID-19. He averaged six catches in those five first games of his career. Anything earlier than this may seem risky, but Lamb is the real deal on a team that likes to throw. |
| 12 | CHI | Allen Robinson | He’s Top-10 the last two years but Andy Dalton is named the starter even though both CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper had noticeable drops playing with him in Dallas for 2020. Justin Fields is a rookie and may not be a lot better, but Robinson has the talent and is the franchise player so he’s aiming toward a payday in 2022. |
| 13 | TEN | Julio Jones | Jones was a Top-7 wideout every year and a yardage monster. He broke down in 2020 with hip and hamstring issues. The difference now is that the Titans have a star wideout in A.J. Brown, prefer to run the ball with Derrick Henry, and have a bad passing schedule. Hard to believe that will result in two Titans placing in the Top-13 receivers as ADP suggests. Jones is 32 years old now, has the decline started? |
| 14 | TB | Mike Evans | Good spot for Evans who ended as the No. 12 wideout in his first season with Tom Brady. After seven years, he still has never failed to gain at least 1,000 yards. |
| 15 | LAR | Robert Woods | Woods came to life when he joined the Rams in 2017 and he’s been a lock for 90 catches and 1,000 yards. He’s placed between No. 10 and No. 14 for the last three years, and now gets a better quarterback, while the rushing offense has taken a major hit with the loss of Cam Akers. Woods is a great value here with upside for more. |
| 16 | DAL | Amari Cooper | This is likely a good value on Cooper(ankle) who was no worse than No. 15 the last two years. The emergence of CeeDee Lamb will cut into his targets, but he’s never failed to crest 1,000 yards in his three seasons in Dallas. |
| 17 | NO | Michael Thomas | Thomas was a Top-10 lock when he played with Drew Brees and was the No. 1 wideout in 2019 before his injuries started and Drew Brees declined. He needed ankle surgery and started training camp on the PUP list. Jameis Winston should keep Thomas busy, but the Saints are likely to run more this year. The more Taysom Hill plays, the less passing downfield. Lots of risk and questions for a receiver with 149 receptions just two years ago. |
| 18 | TB | Chris Godwin | Even this may be a bit high. Godwin blew up in 2019 as the No. 3 best fantasy wideout when Jameis Winston threw for 5,000 yards. Otherwise, he’s been just another 850-yard, seven-touchdown sort of receiver that misses a few games each year. He’s been better than No. 23 only that one time. |
| 19 | LAR | Cooper Kupp | The change in quarterback to Matt Stafford can only help, but Kupp has found his level at 90 catches for 1,000 yards or so. Not much more upside but almost no downside if he remains healthy. |
| 20 | MIN | Adam Thielen | If he remains healthy, this is low. Thielen was around No. 10 in three of the last four years including No. 11 just last season. He also comes off a career-best 14 touchdowns. Not a sexy pick, but a historically productive one. |
| 21 | PIT | Diontae Johnson | The second-year wideout was solid with 88 catches for 923 yards last year while Ben Roethlisberger took to short passes. That’s less likely the case this year with a major upgrade at running back (who can catch), and the intention to get back to deeper throws and to run more often. |
| 22 | CAR | D.J. Moore | Moore posted over 1,100 receiving yards in each of the last two years despite playing with a constantly changing quarterback situation. That’s true again this year, but Moore has always risen to the occasion and this is the second year for OC Joe Brady’s offense. |
| 23 | SEA | Tyler Lockett | Lockett has never been worse than No. 13 since 2017, but the emergence of D.K. Metcalf saw Lockett’s role shrink in the second half of last year. The Seahawks have one of the worst passing schedules, so Lockett may be hard pressed to return to his previous level of production. |
| 24 | CIN | Ja’Marr Chase | Okay, so he really only produced one big year at LSU but 84-1780-20 as a sophomore winning a national championship got him plenty noticed. Now back with the same quarterback as he had in college, expectations are very high. Chase was a COVID-19 opt-out in 2020, so he’s realistically very raw. It may all come together quickly and this draft slot says plenty of fantasy fans believe that. Great allure and tremendous natural talent, but risk all the same. |
Sleepers and overvalued players
| ADP | Team | Wide Receiver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | NYG | Kenny Golladay | The ex-Lion cashed in for a four-year, $72 million contract with the Giants despite a down 2020 when he missed 11 games with hamstring and hip injuries. Golladay (hamstring) already will miss 2-3 weeks of practice. The jury is still out on Daniel Jones as a starting quarterback but they have no other options. The offense has been conservative with OC Jason Garrett, but that should favor the new No. 1 wideout for the Giants. |
| 26 | SF | Brandon Aiyuk | While Aiyuk’s production varied greatly, he impressed with four games over 90 yards and filled in for the absent Deebo Samuel and George Kittle last year. His stock has fallen a bit as the summer wears on, and the 49ers should spread the ball around more this year. And run the ball more as well. He’s talented, but the offense hasn’t produced any stud wide receivers in a long time. |
| 27 | CLE | Odell Beckham Jr | The move to Cleveland produced the lowest catch totals in his career. And he’s battled injuries since 2016 and then tore his ACL in Week 7 last year. The Browns have a dominating rushing offense, but the the passing stats are already some of the lowest in the NFL. And now he is rehabbing a torn ACL? No thanks. |
| 28 | CIN | Tee Higgins | Higgins already formed chemistry with Joe Burrow last year and ended with 908 yards as a rookie. The addition of Ja’Marr Chase will have an impact to be sure, but Chase did not play last year and will take time. Tyler Boyd will take the bigger hit. This is a great spot for Higgins who could go a bit earlier. |
| 29 | PIT | Chase Claypool | The 6-4 Notre Dame product turned in monster games and a few total whiffs as a rookie. No team threw more than the Steelers and that’s bound to decrease. Upgrading the running game alone will impact the passing. Claypool is still a bit risky given the offense, but he has plenty of upside to merit this pick. |
| 30 | PHI | DeVonta Smith | Smith may struggle through his rookie year with a quarterback who is still learning the job. And he’s oddly lanky at 6-1 but only 175 pounds. But all he has ever done is dominate when given the chance. He won the Heisman as a wideout after he posted 117-1856-23 over 13 games last year. Risk as a rookie? Of course. Upside to surprise? Always has so far. |
| 31 | DEN | Courtland Sutton | Was on the path to big things after posting 1,112 yards and six scores in his second season, but last year he tore his ACL. Until there is proof he is over the injury – physically and mentally – I’m not buying. |
| 32 | JAX | D.J. Chark | The Jaguars are all new for 2021 and Chark is the only receiver cemented in his role. His success rides on the arm of the rookie Trevor Lawrence, but he posted 1,000 yards in 2019 with far less pedigreed quarterbacks. The No. 1 wideout for any team should be this high. Chark has the best offense around him since he was drafted in 2018. |
| 33 | DEN | Jerry Jeudy | The 1.15 pick last year led the Broncos in receiving despite the offense crumbling around him with injuries. Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater are fighting to be the starter, so Jeudy may still be limited by his quarterback play. But he did post two 100-yard efforts as a rookie, including 140 yards in Week 17. |
| 34 | PIT | JuJu Smith-Schuster | Signed a one-year deal to stay in Pittsburgh, but his monster 2018 season is hard to recall. Smith-Schuster caught 97 passes last year while Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t throw deep, but he only averaged a paltry 8.6 yards. Falling this far may mean he is a value, but the Steelers want to run more this year and start throwing deeper again. |
| 35 | SF | Deebo Samuel | The 49ers passing game is hard to call with uncertainty at quarterback. But Brandon Aiyuk looked strong as a rookie and George Kittle will be back. Samuel missed nine games in 2020 because he couldn’t stay healthy. The 49ers want to run more, not pass more to the No. 3 target. |
| 36 | CAR | Robby Anderson | This is a steal if Anderson can repeat the 95 catches of last year, but a change in quarterback to Sam Darnold puts more risk into the equation. They played together at the Jets, so it won’t be all new. But a healthy Christian McCaffrey means fewer passes for the wideouts. |
| 37 | TB | Antonio Brown | Brown is 33 years old, so hardly a youngster. But he caught 45 passes in just eight games with Tom Brady and somehow kept completely out of the news for once. Too many mouths to feed in Tampa Bay to rely on the No. 3 wideout, but he merits a fantasy roster spot and a chance that he eventually offers enough reliabilty to consider starting. |
| 38 | IND | Michael Pittman Jr. | He’s big and fast, but was limited as a rookie to only 40 catches. Now a uncertain situation with Carson Wentz throws risk at least into the early portion of the season. He’s a great pick at this spot and has the talent level to do much more when the Colts secure a decent passing game. |
| 39 | JAX | Laviska Shenault Jr. | Managed to post 58 catches as a rookie on a deteriorating Jacksonville offense but only gained 10.3 yards per catch. Solid pick at this point with some upside if Trevor Lawrence can meet expectations. |
| 40 | CIN | Tyler Boyd | Was a 1,000-yard sort of receiver until last year when Tee Higgins showed up. Now Ja’Marr Chase reunites with his college quarterback and Boyd looks lost in the shuffle. Bigger concern is that he’ll start the season well enough but fade later on as Chase starts to get back into the groove. |
| 41 | HOU | Brandin Cooks | The Texans offense looks like a train wreck, but Cooks managed 1,150 yards and six scores in his first season there. Stepping down from Deshaun Watson to Tyrod Taylor or even Davis Mills naturally drops Cooks’ outlook. But a No. 1 wideout on a team that will need to throw is worth picking up here and maybe even earlier. |
| 42 | LAC | Mike Williams | He’s had touchdowns with no yards, and then yards with no touchdowns. First year with Justin Herbert ended with 48 catches for 756 yards and five scores so in the middle for once. The 6-4 Williams offers a nice target for the developing Hebert, and losing Hunter Henry may help Williams. |
| 43 | MIA | Will Fuller | Four 100-yard games last year, missed five others and was mediocre in the rest. Fuller has the talent but not the durability. He’s missed at least five games in each of the last four seasons. Suspended to open the year. |
| 44 | CLE | Jarvis Landry | Landry offers a safe WR3 production at the cost of a backup. He’s a great bye week filler and can offer double-digit fantasy points in a PPR league as the possession receiver. No real upside but a solid performer worth plugging in when needed. |
| 45 | WAS | Curtis Samuel | He gets dinged up, but Samuel enters his fifth season and yet is only 24 years old. He finally became a decent receiver with 77 catches in Carolina, and he ran 41 times for 200 yards. Washington needs the help and should have improved passing. Samuel is finally stepping beyond being just a gimmick. |
| 46 | MIA | Jaylen Waddle | This is almost certainly an appropriate spot for a wideout that never produced more than 45 catches in any season for Alabama. He reunites with Tua Tagovailoa, but the Fins don’t seem completely sold on the quarterback so far. But Waddle played on a talent-rich Crimson Tide and should become the No. 1 wideout in Miami, if only eventually. He runs a 4.3 40-yard time and was drafted 1.06. Tons of upside and the Fins have one of the lightest passing schedules and yet a mediocre-looking run game. |
| 47 | KC | Mecole Hardman | He has a better opportunity with Sammy Watkins gone but then again – what did Watkins do? Hardman hasn’t made much dent into the prolific passing offense for the last two years. Demarcus Robinson also figures in so someone else can let Hardman disappoint for the third year in a row. |
| 48 | BAL | Marquise Brown | He hasn’t remotely made good on his selection in 2019 when he was the first wideout drafted. The Ravens brought in Sammy Watkins and drafted Rashod Bateman, so Brown’s road to relevancy may be even harder this year. Still – he was dynamic at Oklahoma and the Ravens have a much better passing schedule. |
| 49 | LV | Henry Ruggs III | Ruggs was just another Marquise Brown who offered speed but delivered an underwhelming rookie season. His 26 catches for 452 yards suggest he’s due for only an incremental increase for Year 2. |
| 50 | ATL | Russell Gage | Gage is a great pick at this spot. He replaces Julio Jones and already totaled 72 receptions last year. Granted – he doesn’t tack on much after the catch and, like Julio, hasn’t added many touchdowns. But he’s in a solid situation to see an uptick in production. He’s a great bye week cover and potential weekly plug-in if your roster goes bad. |
| 51 | DAL | Michael Gallup | Gallup fell to No. 3 with the addition of CeeDee Lamb. His 59 catches for 843 yards of 2020 feels more like his ceiling than floor. He’ll still offer some fantasy value, but any chance of a big game is almost impossible. |
| 52 | CHI | Darnell Mooney | He’s small at only 5-10 and 176 yards, but the fifth-round pick from Tulane surprised with 61 receptions for 631 yards as a rookie. He holds onto the No. 2 role across from Allen Robinson and was the No. 49 fantasy wideout in his first year. Once Andy Dalton falls to the wayside, Mooney can start gaining chemistry with Justin Fields, who can buy time and let Mooney use his 4.38 speed. |
| 53 | IND | T.Y. Hilton | At 31 years old, Hilton is on the downside of his career and only managed around 50 catches in each of the last two seasons. That seemed to be looking up with the stronger arm of Carson Wentz but now he’s out for an unknown amount of time. Hilton’s fine as a backup to see if he is safe to play, but his time as a no-brainer fantasy starter is over. |
| 54 | NYJ | Corey Davis | Davis looked like moving to the Jets would help his career. But then they added Keelan Cole and drafted Elijah Moore and retained Jamison Crowder. Add in a rookie quarterback on a rebuilding team with new coaches and schemes, and Davis looks like more risk than reward. |
| 55 | NYJ | Elijah Moore | The Ole Miss product runs a 4.35 40-time and will become the slot receiver. But the Jets also kept Jamison Crowder so Moore’s path to more receptions may take some time. This deep, he’s a decent roster add if you can wait a month or two. |
| 56 | BUF | Cole Beasley | Beasley made references to retiring because of COVID restrictions but has remained. The Bills added Emmanuel Sanders and want more from Gabriel Davis, so Beasley’s role is more likely to decline than increase. |
| 57 | MIA | DeVante Parker | His freakishly productive end to 2019 did not repeat and Parker floated back down to a more standard 63 catches for 793 yards last year. Adding Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller will not help Parker to rekindle the temporary mojo of 2019. |
| 58 | JAX | Marvin Jones | The 31-year-old moves to Jacksonville after a solid 2020 with 978 yards and nine touchdowns. But the aging receiver mixes in with DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault on a completely revamped offense with new coaches and a rookie quarterback. He signed a two-year deal, but the Jaguars can get out of it after this year. |
| 59 | BAL | Sammy Watkins | Moving from the Chiefs to the Ravens seems like a major downgrade, but Watkins had no chance behind Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. In Baltimore, all there is ahead of him is Marquise Brown, who has been a bust. Watkins drew rave reviews from the coaching staff and the Ravens want to throw more downfield. As a final draft pick, Watkins offers some upside. |
| 60 | NO | Tre’Quan Smith | The Saints haven’t decided on a quarterback and may not the entire year. Smith could actually benefit from Drew Brees leaving if they opt for Jameis Winston throwing deep balls. Worthy fantasy depth to see what happens. |
Best of the Rest
Jakobi Meyers (NE) – Meyers caught 59 passes for 729 yards to lead an otherwise dismal passing offense for the Patriots last year. There are more targets in New England this year, but Jakobi already has earned a starting spot and meshed better with Cam Newton than any other receiver last year.
Darius Slayton (NYJ) – The Giants should keep Slayton as the split end this year while Kenny Golladay is the slot and flanker. Slayton’s 50-751-3 led the Giants’ receivers last year. He should maintain that level of production that ranked No. 53 last year. He’s only 25 years old and posted roughly the same stats as a rookie in 2019 as well.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB) – Worthless if Jordan Love started, but worth owning as fantasy depth since Aaron Rodgers stayed. He has plenty of flops, but topped 100-yards twice last year.