The Best Wide Receiver Values In 2021 Fantasy Football
We are all hunting for the best bargains in our fantasy drafts. After all, there are not too many feelings better than drafting a guy in the perfect spot and watching him absolutely smash his ADP. Let’s look at the best wide receiver values to target in our 2021 fantasy football drafts.
Tyler Boyd, Bengals
Tyler Boyd is the starting slot receiver in what is expected to be one of the league’s most explosive passing offenses. Sure, the team added stud rookie Ja’Marr Chase, but that won’t impact Boyd’s role in the offense. If anything, it may even help open up the underneath passing game a bit. Chase is expected to start on the outside opposite Tee Higgins, while Boyd, who played 76.6-percent of his snaps in the slot in 2020, will continue to man the middle of the field (PlayerProfiler). The Bengals ran 11-personnel 76-percent of the time last year, meaning we know Boyd will be on the field plenty. In Joe Burrow’s 11 starts, it wasn’t AJ Green or Higgins leading the team in target share—it was Boyd. The fact that he is available in the ninth and 10th rounds on Sleeper and Yahoo! is absolutely criminal.
Antonio Brown, Buccaneers
Antonio Brown may not be the elite-level receiver he was in his Pittsburgh days, but his 2020 season proved he still can play at a high level. From pretty much the minute he joined the team in the middle of the season, Brown was a big part of the Buccaneers offense. Over the last nine weeks of the regular season, Brown was a top-24 WR in fantasy points per game. According to PlayerProfiler.com, Brown had an elite Hog Rate (targets per snap) of 20.1-percent (No.2) with a 95.7-percent (No.5) True Catch Rate. From Week 9 through the Superbowl, Brown had more targets than Chris Godwin (just two fewer than Mike Evans) and led the Bucs in receptions. I won’t go as far as saying he should be going ahead of Godwin and Evans, but the trio should at least be closer in ADP. When we factor in cost, AB is the Tampa Bay wide receiver to target in drafts.
Tyler Lockett, Seahawks
The 2020 campaign was a tale of two seasons for the Seahawks offense. That was no different for wide receiver Tyler Lockett. He was the overall WR1 in PPR scoring from Weeks 1-8. That included two weeks as the top-scorer. But then he suffered a knee sprain and only had two more top-12 performances the rest of the way. Even still, Lockett finished the season as the WR12 on a per-game basis. He went over 1,000 yards and scored 10 touchdowns on 100 receptions.
With a new offensive coordinator, the pick of D’Wayne Eskridge in the second round, and free agency addition of Gerald Everett, all indications are the team wants to throw the ball more in 2021 than they did in the second half of last year. That would certainly benefit Lockett, who saw nearly 25-percent of the targets in 2020. The Seahawks have one of the most consolidated passing games in the league with little target competition outside of Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. Lockett presents a safe floor while a full season of “letting Russ cook” would surely unlock a clear path to another top-12 finish.
Michael Gallup, Cowboys
Many have ignored Michael Gallup after a mostly disappointing 2020 campaign. But we have to remember how bad things were for the Dallas offense last year after losing their starting quarterback. Even while playing most of the season with Andy Dalton under center, Gallup managed three top-10 WR performances. The Cowboys are getting back quarterback Dak Prescott which will help propel the entire Dallas offense. They project to be one of the highest pass volume teams in the league again and they garner one of the easiest pass schedules in 2021.
With how poor their defense is, and how explosive some of their opponents’ offenses are, the Cowboys will find themselves in numerous shootouts like we saw in early 2020. Gallup may be the greatest benefactor of the team’s need to go up and down the field. Out of he, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb, it’s Gallup who gets those high-value downfield targets and red zone looks. There has also been discussion from the team that he will get more opportunities from the slot as well which will improve both his volume and efficiency numbers.
Bryan Edwards, Raiders
Bryan Edwards is getting plenty of preseason and training camp buzz. While his ADP has moved as a result, it’s still far from where he should be. Edwards checked all the boxes coming out of South Carolina. He broke out at age 17 and had a 94th-percentile College Dominator Rating despite playing alongside Deebo Samuel and Shi Smith. He had the size and skill set to be an alpha wide receiver. His only competition for targets outside of tight end Darren Waller are a pair of undersized field-stretchers. Before suffering a season-derailing injury early in the season, Edwards was seeing starter reps. He was on the field for 75-percent of snaps in Week 1 and 61.6-percent in Week 2. He’s a monster after the catch and should have little trouble significantly out-performing his late-round ADP.
Honorable Mentions:
Parris Campbell, Colts: He’s finally healthy. He was productive with starter-level opportunity in his one healthy game last year.
Laviska Shenault, Jaguars: Likely to lead Jacksonville in targets with one of the best quarterback prospects we’ve seen in the last decade chucking the ball.
Nelson Agholor, Patriots: How often can you get a team’s WR1 this late?
Marquez Callaway, Saints: The de facto WR1 until Michael Thomas returns.
