Breakout Wide Receivers For 2023 Fantasy Football

The Next Breakout Wide Receiver Will Be…?

Every year there are more than a few players that overachieve based on their fantasy draft cost. The wide receiver position is rife with players that exceed expectations, and this year will be no different.

Whether it be year two receivers or veterans in a more valuable role, today I will highlight eight wide receivers that have the chance to jump up a tier in fantasy this season, with a few names having the chance to become the names mentioned alongside the elites consisting of Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, and Tyreek Hill. Let’s dive right in!

Garrett Wilson

The player nearly everyone is most excited to see improve during the 2023 regular season, Garrett Wilson is primed to break out. The 2022 offensive Rookie of the Year posted an 83/1,103/4 stat line last season and was the WR19 overall in fantasy. He did this with nearly 150 targets thrown his way and some of the worst quarterback play we have seen. Below is a taste of just how bad it was for Wilson at times in 2023.

No receiving corps had a tougher time just seeing catchable passes than the Jets’ corps last season. It was an abysmal year with the trio of Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco leading the charge. But even with those hurdles in his way, Wilson’s talent led him to an offensive Rookie of the Year award and a top-20 fantasy finish.

It seems like a no-brainer that the 22-year-old will finish inside the top 12 this season with Aaron Rodgers now under center. There is a real chance that Wilson cracks the top 10 and becomes a name mentioned with the likes of the elite come this time next year. If he can raise his touchdown compared to the four he caught last year and reel in even 65% of his passes, then Wilson could be an elite fantasy producer in his second season.

More: Garrett Wilson 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook

Christian Watson

Everyone’s favorite waiver wire pickup after the midway point of last season. Christian Watson may not have Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball anymore, but he is in for plenty of targets as the clear top receiver for the Jordan Love-led Packers. Scoring eight total touchdowns in a four-week span, the 24-year-old displayed how explosive a fantasy asset he can be once he was fully healthy last year.

For those worried about a drop-off in production due to the departure of Rodgers, consider a few things before discounting the potential breakout of the second-year receiver. For starters, Watson missed three games through the first half of last season and was never truly healthy until Week 10. From Week 10 on, Watson averaged 3.9 receptions on 6.4 targets for 65.4 yards and averaged 15.2 fantasy points per game. It is easy to see him receiving just as many targets as he averaged towards the end of the season, especially as the clear No. 1 option with Allen Lazard now in New York.

While there will be some inconsistency, the explosive potential of Watson and the increase in workload make Watson the perfect breakout target. It will not be a shock to see him score double-digit touchdowns, giving him top 24 upside headed into the 2023 season.

Jerry Jeudy

Fantasy managers have been waiting patiently for the breakout of Jerry Jeudy. That time seems to have finally come. While the Broncos struggled mightily last season, the lone bright spot towards the end of the season was Jeudy and his performance on the field. Slowly taking over as the true No. 1 option for quarterback Russell Wilson, the 24-year-old was the WR6 overall over the final six weeks of the season.

Teammate Courtland Sutton missed two games during this stretch but was clearly the second read for Wilson when on the field. There are plenty of changes coming to this offense, and for the better, with new Head Coach Sean Peyton calling the shots. This offense should be more efficient and target its most talented players at a high rate. Tim Patrick and rookie Marvin Mims will rotate into the offense and take some of the target share from Jeudy and Sutton, but as the No. 1 in the offense, the Alabama alum is poised for a productive fantasy season with the potential to finish in the top 15.

Related: Brandon Aiyuk 2023 Outlook

Treylon Burks

While his rookie season was a bit of a disappointment, Treylon Burks was not entirely at fault for his struggles in 2022. Injuries definitely played a part in derailing a breakout rookie campaing. With that said, it is tough to imagine him reaching his full potential with how poor his quarterback play was after Ryan Tannehill was injured.

The 23-year-old was off to a decent start to the season but was not a starter and did not get the snap count he assuredly will in 2023. After an injury in Week Four, Burks didn’t make it back until Week 10. He played four more games with Tannehill from this point on and started to flash the skills that made him a first-round selection.

Now heading into the season as the clear top target with veteran Robert Woods now in Houston, Burks should see a spike in average target share while also hitting the end zone more than the one time he did in 2022 with Tannehill at full strength. The reports out of camp have been nothing but positive surrounding the second-year receiver, and with little to no competition for targets in the wide receiver room, he can max out as a top-24 fantasy asset.

Kadarius Toney

It has been a crazy start to the career of Kadarius Toney. Barely managing to stay on the field through his first two years in the NFL, the 24-year-old was acquired by the Kansas City Chiefs at last year’s trade deadline for a third-round draft pick. It was high compensation for a player who had, up to that point, set foot on an NFL field just 12 times. When healthy, Toney has flashed serious potential as an extreme mismatch for opposing NFL defenses, but he has been held back by a slew of soft tissue injuries.

With all of that said, Toney enters the 2023 season as the most talented receiver for arguably the best offense in football. Showing off his fantasy potential in the playoffs this past season, playing a big role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory over Philadelphia, Toney now competes with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and a handful of unproven receivers for targets from Patrick Mahomes.

Read More: Potential Breakout Running Backs!

Toney has a wide range of outcomes in this offense. The highest-ranked fantasy receiver on the team last season was JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was the WR29 overall and averaged fewer than 10 points per game. These two are not the same type of receiver, with Toney being more akin to Tyreek Hill than the slot receiver Smith-Schuster is, but it does leave the floor of the third-year receiver as low as a fringe WR3. He also needs to stay healthy to succeed, a feat he has not been able to accomplish through two seasons.

At his peak, Toney is a fringe WR2 with the potential to see a massive target share and be the explosive playmaker the Chiefs have missed since the departure of Hill. On the flip side, he could also be a middling fantasy option that struggles to stay healthy. Well worth a mid-to-late round fantasy selection based on his upside alone, but he is definitely a risky pick.

Jahan Dotson

Jahan Dotson is overlooked by many compared to the rest of the 2022 rookie wide receivers. However, diving into what he was able to do with a limited role last season shines a light on how truly special he could be. The 23-year-old scored four touchdowns in his first four games of the season before going down with an injury that cost him the next five games. It took about a month of on-the-field action to get Dotson back into true form, but he smashed it at the end of the year and saw over 20 percent of the targets through the final five games.

Potentially poor quarterback play is what many will point to when looking for the argument against Dotson breaking out. However, the 2022 rookie was able to produce with some of the worst quarterback play from any NFL team last season. Washington ranked 22nd in completion percentage, 21st in total passing yards, and seventh in sacks allowed. Their quarterbacks were under constant duress and were throwing more uncatchable passes than most. Going from the combo of Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke to Sam Howell will not make much of a difference.

Proving that he could produce for fantasy purposes alongside Terry McLaurin from day one proves that Dotson can take another step forward in 2023 and be a breakout fantasy asset. He overtook Curtis Samuel as the clear No. 2 option by the season’s end and could see one of the highest red zone target totals in the league. He is a current steal going as the WR39 in the eighth round of fantasy drafts.

K.J. Osborn

The hype surrounding a potential K.J. Osborn breakout died down after the Vikings selected Jordan Addison in the first round of this past April’s NFL Draft. However, I have not lost hope, and you shouldn’t either.

The Minnesota Vikings 672 times last season, the third most in the league. They have moved on from Dalvin Cook, invested first-round draft capital into another receiver, and added tight end T.J. Hockenson at last year’s trade deadline. Every move screams that they will pass the ball more in 2023. 700 pass attempts could be the floor for this team.

Veteran Adam Thielen is now in Carolina, leaving behind 107 targets and six touchdowns. If you have been paying attention to Osborn’s career thus far, then you know he has been on the rise since entering the league. Working his way into the rotation after spending his rookie year on special teams, Osborn has seen his target share, snap percentage, and catch percentage increase over the last two seasons.

Even with Thielen on the field, Osborn drew 90 targets last season and found the end zone five times. Addison will surely get his fair share of targets, but he is more slated to see snaps out of the slot. Osborn will continue to work on the outside as the compliment to Justin Jefferson and should clear 100 targets for the first time in his career. With plenty of pass attempts to go around and the potential for touchdowns through the air to increase, Osborn has sneaky potential to break out in 2023 for fantasy purposes.

Rondale Moore

Seemingly no one wants a piece of the Arizona Cardinals offense this season, and it is easy to see why. Quarterback Kyler Murray will almost assuredly miss time as he recovers from an ACL injury. Former Head Coach and offensive specialist Kliff Kingsbury was fired and DeAndre Hopkins was released not long ago. There is a case to be made that the Cardinals will be the worst team in the NFL. However, that does not mean there is not plenty of fantasy relevance on this roster!

The Arizona offense is going to need to throw the ball to keep up with opponents, and that is where Rondale Moore comes into play. While Marquise Brown will be the clear top target for whoever is under center, Moore has proven to be a valuable asset when healthy. Now the defacto No. 2 wide receiver, the 23-year-old, is in for an increased target share after an already impressive output last year.

Moore did not meet the requirements to qualify in the rankings, as he only played in eight games, but this is where he would have finished on a per game basis. Seven targets per game is a healthy total. That number would have been higher as well, but he played his final two games with Hopkins and was phased out of the offense. That will not be an issue in 2023.

The third-year receiver was phenomenal after the catch and will continue to see easy, catchable targets this upcoming season. Moore will need to score more often, with just two touchdowns to his name thus far in his career, but with an increase snap share and target count, he should easily do so. Currently, Moore is being left for dead in most fantasy drafts. However, it would not be a shock to see him rise into weekly flex territory in 2023 as he has a mini-breakout campaign.

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