16 Fantasy Football Value WR’s You Should Target in RB Heavy Drafts

By Eric Moody | August 22, 2019

ADP Value Picks: Fantasy Football WR Sleepers

The goal of the Robust RB strategy is to assemble a collection of wide receivers who have the potential to greatly outperform their average draft position of ADP. You are looking for wide receivers who play a high number of snaps, are projected to see a reasonable target share, accumulate a high number of air yards, are in high-volume passing attacks, and who play with top quarterbacks. All of these wide receivers can currently be drafted beyond the fifth round in 12-team PPR fantasy football drafts. As a reminder, the goal of the Robust RB strategy is to select a running back in the first five rounds of a fantasy draft who are projected to average a high number of opportunities per game. This article will share 16 wide receivers you should target this summer if you intend on executing a Robust RB strategy. 

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16. Robby Anderson

New York Jets |  Age: 26

Robby Anderson finds himself in a great position to have a breakout season. It’s rare that undrafted free agents become No. 1 wide receivers in the NFL, but that is the trajectory Anderson is currently on with the Jets. He will be catching passes from second-year quarterback Sam Darnold and has a new offensive-minded head coach in Adam Gase who will expand the types of routes Anderson runs this season. The offseason additions of running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Jamison Crowder will only help improve the Jets offense this season. Anderson has led the team in air yards (2,918) for two consecutive seasons. He’s primed to make it a third in 2019. 

Fantasy Stat: Top-8 fantasy WRs (PPR) during the fantasy playoffs (Week 14 to 16):

  • DeAndre Hopkins 72
  • Robby Anderson 69.2
  • Antonio Brown 67.9
  • Davante Adams 65.1
  • T.Y. Hilton 63.2
  • Amari Cooper 62.5
  • JuJu Smith-Schuster 61.8
  • Michael Thomas 60.6

15. Will Fuller

Houston Texans | Age: 25

When many fantasy players think of Will Fuller the first thought that enters their minds is his injury history. He has played in only 31 games since entering the NFL in 2016. Fuller’s most recent injury he is recovering from is a torn ACL suffered last October. It’s unfortunate because he was on pace for a breakout season prior to the injury. Fuller is expected to return before Week 1 of the regular season. The Texans have the potential to have one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL with Deshaun Watson under center, elite wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and second-year wide receiver Keke Coutee. Did you know that Fuller averaged six targets, four receptions, 71 receiving yards, one touchdown, and 17 PPR fantasy points per game in 11 career games with Watson under center? The 25-year-old receiver possesses WR1 upside in the Texans offense if he plays a full season.  

Yards Per Pass Route (2018)

  1. Julio Jones: 3.27
  2. DeAndre Hopkins: 3.26
  3. Albert Wilson: 3.15
  4. Tyreek Hill: 2.98
  5. Robert Foster: 2.94
  6. Michael Thomas: 2.89
  7. Keenan Allen: 2.81
  8. Will Fuller: 2.8
  9.  Mike Evans: 2.74
  10. T.Y. Hilton: 2.73

14. Dante Pettis

San Francisco 49ers | Age:  23

Matt Barrows, who covers the 49ers for the Athletic, projected Dante Pettis to open the season as the 49ers No. 1 receiver earlier this summer. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has recently insisted that he must “compete” for the starting role with Hurd and Samuel both coming on strong during the month of August. The oldest wide receiver on the team’s roster is 28-year old Marquise Goodwin and 27-year-old Jordan Matthews (who turns 28 in July). Pettis is also competing against third-year receiver Trent Taylor and rookies Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. The opportunity is there for the taking this summer. Pettis missed time with time an injury last season and also lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a torn ACL. He didn’t have a reception until Week 10. Pettis began playing over 70 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 10 with 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens under center. From that point until Week 16 he finished as a top 20 fantasy wide receiver with 24 receptions, 371 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. The only 49ers player with more targets, receptions, receiving yards, yards after the catch (YAC), air yards, and fantasy points over that time frame than Pettis was tight end, George Kittle. 

Pettis’ snap counts with the first team suggest he’s being viewed as the 49ers starting X receiver. You should still be comfortable selecting him at his current average draft position.  

13. Sterling Shepard

New York Giants | Age: 25

Sterling Shepard enters the 2019 season with an excellent opportunity to see more targets following the trade of Odell Beckham and the addition of Golden Tate in free agency. He’s averaged nearly seven targets, 4.4 receptions, and 53 receiving yards per game in his career playing opposite Beckham. Shepard has run nearly 60 percent of his routes out of the slot, but also has the versatility to line up on the outside. He has also experience playing in Giants head coach Pat Shurmur’s offensive scheme. Both Shepard and Tate will have an opportunity to line up all over the field. 

Many expect the Giants offense to take a step back without Beckham. Were you aware the team’s offense averaged nearly 30 points per game over their final eight games? Four of those eight games were without Beckham. The expectation is that the Giants will leverage Saquon Barkley and the running game. The passing game will provide quarterback Eli Manning short passes designed to leverage the yards after the catchability of Barkley, Shepard, and Tate. The only other running back with more YAC than Barkley (752) was Christian McCaffrey (842). Tate has ranked in the top five in YAC at the wide receiver position in four out of the last five seasons. The Giants offense and Shepard may surprise fantasy players in the second season in Shurmur’s scheme. 

12. Christian Kirk

Arizona Cardinals | Age: 22

New Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the players have been hesitated to share specifics of what the team’s offense will look like this season. Many expect some variation of the Air Raid offensive scheme. This offense is built on a high number of pass attempts per game to wide receivers with very good agility who excel at YAC on shorter routes. Kirk and rookie quarterback Kyler Murray has had exposure to this offensive scheme during their time at Texas A&M. He had a very productive collegiate career as a receiver at A&M finishing with 234 receptions, 2,856 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns in three seasons. Kirk’s rookie season with the Cardinals ended with 590 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 12 games. Those numbers are remarkable considering the quarterback play and coaching dysfunction that took place in Glendale last season. Many reports from NFL beat writers have mentioned that Kirk is the best looking receiver at Cardinals camp. He’s in a prime position to outperform his current average draft position and has a chance to lead the team in targets in 2019.  

11. Dede Westbrook

Jacksonville Jaguars | Age: 25

Dede Westbrook is the Jaguars wide receiver to target in fantasy drafts this summer. The team’s most productive receiver from last season has WR3 upside with quarterback Nick Foles under center. The Jaguars didn’t draft any wide receivers despite losing Donte Moncrief and Rashad Cole in free agency. This is a vote of confidence considering that Marqise Lee is returning from a season-ending knee injury and is not a lock for a top-three receiving role this season. This bodes well for Westbrook and Keelan Cole. 


Westbrook led the Jaguars in targets (101), receptions (66), receiving yards (717), and touchdowns (5) finishing as the WR28 in PPR formats. Cole, an undrafted rookie back in 2017, led the Jaguars in receiving yards with 748. He struggled last season due to the dysfunction the team had at the quarterback position. Westbrook’s in a great position to emerge as the No. 1 receiver and to quickly develop a rapport with Foles. Westbrook is a steal at his current average draft position. Cole is also in an excellent position to bounce back and also be targeted in fantasy drafts. 

10. Larry Fitzgerald

Arizona Cardinals | Age: 35

Kirk is my preferred option if you want to target the Cardinals passing attack, but Larry Fitzgerald is a nice value at his current average draft position. The future Hall of Famer will still be involved in the passing game considering the inexperience of the Cardinals wide receivers. Fitzgerald’s averaged 9.5 targets, 6.8 receptions, 71 receiving yards, and 16.5 PPR fantasy points per game from 2015 to 2017. If you miss out on Kirk you could always target Fitzgerald later in your draft. 

9. Curtis Samuel

Carolina Panthers | Age: 22

The word potential is often used in the same sentence with the name Curtis Samuel. The 2017 second-round draft pick spent his rookie season learning how to become an NFL wide receiver, but a devasting ankle injury suffered on Monday Night Football derailed Samuel’s progression. The injury was so severe that it included ligament damage and required surgery. A heart condition that required a medical procedure caused Samuel to miss the first three games of the 2018 season. The Panthers gradually increased his offensive snaps and touches as the season went on. 

Samuels only played 50.5 percent of the Panthers’ offensive snaps last season. He touched the football or was targeted on 16 percent of them. This utilization percentage was the highest among the Panthers wide receivers. Samuels ranked No. 14 in fantasy points per route run (0.55) and No. 16 in fantasy points per target (2.10) according to Player Profiler. He’s in an excellent position to break out after a healthy offseason. The departure of wide receiver Devin Funchess in free agency should allow both Samuels and second-year receiver D.J. Moore to thrive in 2019. 

8. Geronimo Allison

Green Bay Packers | Age: 25

Are you surprised that Geronimo Allison made this list and not Marquez Valdes-Scantling? 

Allison played in five games last season as a concussion, hamstring strain, and groin injury that required surgery. He accumulated 33 targets, 20 receptions, 303 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. Allison played 59 percent of the Packers offensive snaps last season. He was targeted on 12.4 of them. Allison endured an injury-interrupted 2018 campaign, missing time with a concussion, a hamstring strain and finally a groin injury that required core muscle surgery. He played 59 percent of the Packers offensive snaps last season and was targeted on 12.4 of them. Despite the injury setback, the Packers signed Allison to a one-year, $2.8 million contract. He now has the second-largest wide receiver contract on the roster. Allison also received a $750,000 signing bonus which ensures his spot on the team’s 53-man roster.

Valdes-Scantling finished last season with 72 targets, 38 receptions, 581 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. It was a perfect storm for him to produce with injuries to Allison and Randall Cobb. There is an 18 percent target share up for grabs due to the departure of Cobb in free agency. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has shown the ability to support multiple wide receivers in fantasy football. The team’s No. 2 receiver battle will not be decided until training camp. Both receivers can thrive. Allison had higher receiving fantasy points over expectation than Valdes-Scantling last season. The average draft position of both players will continue to go up and down this summer like the S&P 500. Allison is the contrarian play you should target in fantasy drafts this summer. He continues to fly under the radar considering all the attention Valdes-Scantling has received this offseason. 

7. Michael Gallup

Dallas Cowboys | Age: 23

Michael Gallup finished his rookie season with 69 targets and played 81 percent of the Cowboys offensive snaps last season. He ran a high number of vertical routes considering Gallup led the team with 957 air yards. Amari Cooper, who was traded to Dallas from the Oakland Raiders, finished second in air yards with 732 in nine games with the Cowboys. Gallup did average five or more targets in nine of the last 12 regular-season games. He had his first 100-yard performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Gallup was targeted nine times in that game.  

The presence of Cooper will limit the number of targets Gallup sees per game. The Cowboys will continue to be a run-heavy team with Ezekiel Elliot, but many expect quarterback Dak Prescott’s number of pass attempts to increase in 2019 with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. He had a 6.75 percent increase from the 2016 to 2017 season and then a 7.35 percent increase from 2017 to 2018. This trend is likely to continue considering all signs are pointing toward the Cowboys front office extending Prescott’s contract to the tune of $30 million per year. Gallup can be viewed as a high-end WR3 with WR2 upside in certain matchups. 

6. DeSean Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles | Age: 32

Did you know the Eagles wide receivers only had 24 receptions of 20 or more yards last season? This ranked near the bottom of the NFL and was unable to threaten defenses vertically. The Eagles signed DeSean Jackson to fill that void. He’s averaged 17.4 yards per reception in his career. Jackson’s averaged 16 receptions of 20 yards or more per season. The 32-year old receiver has only played a full season twice in his career. Alshon Jeffery should continue to operate as a possession receiver and red zone target as the Eagles No. 1 receiver. Rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside‘s career outlook is bright, but it would be a surprise if he made a significant contribution in 2019. Nelson Agholor could be traded at any moment. Jackson will have an opportunity to outperform his average draft position in the Eagles offense this season with quarterback Carson Wentz under center. He is a nice value in the double-digit rounds. Jackson’s role in the Eagles offense could lead to some boom or bust weeks. 

5. DaeSean Hamilton

Denver Broncos  | Age: 24

Opportunity knocked last season for DaeSean Hamilton. He had an opportunity to start four games after wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders suffered a late-season Achilles tear. Hamilton was still recovering from a sprained MCL during that stretch of games. He finished with 38 targets, 25 receptions, 182 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. A player’s biggest opportunity to show improvement is between his rookie and sophomore seasons. Sanders also had ankle surgery this offseason in addition to rehabbing his Achilles. He has practiced and appeared to be able to run at full speed in a recent preseason game. Sanders ADP will rise, but at 32 he is at risk of re-injuring himself. Both Hamilton and Courtland Sutton are a better fit for Joe Flacco’s strengths. Hamilton should be your preferred target considering his effectiveness during his four starts late last season. He ranked seventh in targets during that time frame. 

4. Devin Funchess

Indianapolis Colts | Age: 25

Funchess has only averaged 7.42 yards per target during his career. Back in 2017 with the Carolina Panthers, he finished as the WR21 in fantasy with 840 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Many are quick to point out that target volume resulted in that statistical production. It’s ironic that few ever mention quarterback Cam Newton. He hasn’t developed the reputation of an elite passer since entering the NFL, but Newton’s stats suggest the shoulder injury limited him all season.

Funchess has the opportunity to catch passes from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. The team averaged 40 pass attempts per game last season which ranks second in the NFL. The targets will there for Funchess and he is likely to open the season the Colts No. 2 receiver behind T.Y. Hilton. Rookie Parris Campbell will operate as the No. 3 receiver since he specialized in the slot at Ohio State. He’s in line to play a high number of snaps per game and will be an additional receiving weapon that Luck can leverage in the red zone. It’s in the realm of possibilities that Funchess meets or exceed his 2017 numbers. 

3. Kenny Stills

Miami Dolphins | Age: 27

Whether you like it or not Kenny Stills has been the Dolphins top wide receiver over the last few seasons. He has the speed to threaten defenses vertically and flexibility to line up anywhere on the field. Stills averaged nearly six targets, 3.1 receptions, and 49.2 receiving yards from 2016 to 2017. The Dolphins offense was a dumpster fire in 2018. The team ranked 31st in the NFL averaging 290 total yards per game and last in plays from scrimmage. Stills’ production also dipped, but he did see a 16 percent target share. The Dolphins have brought in Brian Flores as the new head coach to replace Adam Gase. The team also brought in quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen to compete for a starting position. The upgrade at quarterback is intriguing considering there is less competition for targets after the departure of Danny Amendola. Stills is expected to see a larger target share and has had positive receiving fantasy points over expectation his entire NFL career. He has scored 21 touchdowns over the last three seasons. DeVante Parker has been touted as the best player in camp over the last month. He has been a disappointment since the Dolphins drafted him No. 14 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Stills continues to fly under the radar and is the Dolphins receiver you should target late in fantasy drafts. 

2. James Washington

Pittsburgh Steelers | Age: 23

James Washington is firmly on the WR3 radar with WR2 upside. The former second-rounder accumulated 145 receptions, 2,929 receiving yards, and 23 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Oklahoma State. Washington finished his rookie season with 30 targets, 16 receptions, 217 receiving yards, and a touchdown while playing 55 percent of the offensive snaps. There was not much meat left on the bone considering that Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster accounted for 334 targets in 2018. The assumption is that Washington assumes the No. 2 receiver role and helps the Pittsburgh Steelers fill the void left by Brown. He will still have to battle against free-agent signing Moncrief and rookie Diontae Johnson. Washington’s in a position to see 100 or more targets and outperform his average draft position.      

1. Jamison Crowder

New York Jets | Age: 26

Jamison Crowder finds himself on a new team, having to learn a new offensive system, and having to adjust to yet another quarterback. New Jets head coach Adam Gase likes to use a high number of underneath routes in his offense. Many anticipate Crowder will run a high number of his routes lined up in the slot considering how often Gase used three-wide receiver sets during his time in Miami. He played 71 percent of his snaps from the slot last season and 55 percent in 2017. The Jets signed Crowder to a three-year deal worth $28.5 million with $17 million guaranteed. The targets will be there, but can Crowder recapture the magic from his 2016 season? He had 67 receptions, 847 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. It is a possibility if Crowder stays healthy and runs 50 or more of his routes lined up in the slot. 

Eric Moody
Eric Moody is a member of the FSWA (Fantasy Sports Writers Association). His writing has been featured at FantasyPros, Gridiron Experts, RotoViz, and TwoQBs. He has a lifelong passion for the game and even played at the collegiate level as an offensive lineman. Eric also participated in Dan Hatman's Scouting Academy in order to learn the process of player evaluation at an NFL level. When Eric provides advice, he uses game film, analytics, and statistics to help you understand his perspective. He enjoys time with his family, Netflix, music, bass guitar, and coffee
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