Every fantasy football season during your draft, the main objective is to find value, players who can outperform their average draft position. With a bigger emphasis on points-per-reception scoring and the NFL being more pass-heavy, wide receivers have arguably become the most important position in fantasy. It's easy to identify and nail your top WR in the first few rounds. What may be difficult is identifying a value pick in the middle rounds who can outperform his ADP and vault into the top-10 among the position.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
In this exercise, we asked a handful of Yahoo Fantasy analysts which receiver they believe has the best chance to jump into that top-10 group when it's all said and done in 2025. Here are their picks for most likely WR to go from being ranked in the 20s and finish in the top 10.
Which WR ranked in the 20s could crack the top 10?
Courtland Sutton
It's not a stretch to imagine Sutton as a top-10 receiver. He performed at that level over the final two-thirds of 2024, after the Broncos took the training wheels off rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Sutton just received a juicy extension from Denver, and he's the unquestioned target when this team throws in the red area. I love that Sutton can regress from last year's production and still offer an ADP profit. But don't overlook his upside, either. — Scott Pianowski
DK Metcalf
Metcalf showed us his fantasy ceiling when he tied for the eighth-most fantasy points among receivers during his 83-catch, 1,303-yard, 10-touchdown campaign back in 2020. Since then, he’s shared the field with some talented wideouts. Fortunately in Pittsburgh, target competition won’t be a problem. What could be an issue is the mixing of strong personalities with Metcalf, Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. If they can coexist, even a declining version of Rodgers — who turns 42 in December — might still be an upgrade on the Steelers’ quarterback play over the last few seasons. Rodgers also seems more than willing to lock onto his No. 1 receiver.
Last season with the Jets, Davante Adams averaged the fourth most targets in the league (10.4) after he reunited with Rodgers over the final 11 games and was the WR9 in fppg during that span. Metcalf isn’t at Adams’ level, but he has posted double-digit touchdowns twice in his career and could certainly hit that mark again. When you factor in Metcalf having the eighth easiest fantasy strength of schedule, you start to see a fantasy WR who might have a special season in him. — Justin Boone
George Pickens
Pickens took a big step forward last year as an individual player with a career-best 72.8% success rate vs. man coverage and 77.6% success rate vs. press (83rd percentile) in Reception Perception. He wasn’t consistently locked in throughout the full season but there’s every reason to think that will change in Dallas in the most healthy offensive environment he’s played in as a pro and as he fights for a new contract.
There’s yet another level for him to reach as a player and he already ranks 17th among wide receivers in yards per route run over the last two years combined. Now, he should see both his routes, targets and catchable looks increase playing with Dak Prescott in a pass-happy offense. As long as Pickens is locked in, he could have a 2024 Tee Higgins-like season; one of the most productive No. 2 receivers in the league across from a versatile alpha wideout. That’s the sort of touchdown ceiling that can launch a guy into the top 10 at the position even if he doesn’t become a target hog. — Matt Harmon
Jaylen Waddle
There's no way to spin Waddle's 2024 campaign positively. The fifth-year WR hit career lows in every metric from yards to yards per route run. And he can't hide behind Tua Tagovailoa's absence. When both were healthy (Weeks 8-14), Tyreek Hill was the only pass-catcher who could boast a +20.0% target share. Jonnu Smith saw more looks than Waddle. De'Von Achane generated more TDs. But there were aspects of the offense working in Waddle's favor.
The "Skylar Thompson experience" wasn't just an anchor to the team's efficiency, but their passing volume, too. Miami went from 33.0 dropbacks per game to 39.6 with their QB1 back under center. In other words, the passing pie got larger. The Dolphins traded Smith so he could reunite with his former OC/HC. Said another way, the passing pie has fewer mouths to feed. Waddle was still second in air yards last year, indicating he's still a critical part of the aerial attack. And we're not too far removed from his WR8 finish in 2022. If both he and Tagovailoa can stay healthy, we know a top-10 outcome is in the cards for Waddle. — Chris Allen
Comments