Let’s take a look at 8 late-round wide receivers with upside you should be targeting in your fantasy football drafts.

Average Draft Position (ADP) based on FantasyPros consensus half-PPR ADP.

Russell Gage (TB): ADP WR43

• You need to get exposure to the Buccaneers’ passing attack somehow. Tom Brady made it look easy fueling WR1 fantasy weeks. Russell Gage looks slated for that upside from the get-go with Chris Godwin sidelined. Evans, Godwin, and Antonio Brown finished as top-36 WRs in more than 71% of their games played last season.

Gage is coming off a stellar year after posting career-highs in yards per route run (1.96) and PFF receiving grade (76.0) while playing more on the outside. Often thought of as a “slot-only” wideout, Gage split snaps 50/50 from the slot versus outside in 2021.

He also led the Falcons with a 29% target share since Week 11 – playing 53% of his snaps for the outside – showcasing his ability to earn passing volume alongside the talented Kyle Pitts

Any receiver in a Tom Brady-led offense should be a sought-after commodity – so consider me in on Gage in 2022. There are plenty of scenarios where Gage continues his success from the tail-end of last season.

Kadarius Toney (NYG): ADP WR45

It remains to be seen how the Giants’ new coaching staff is viewing Kadarius Toney heading into Year 2. They were rumored to trade the polarizing wide receiver before the NFL Draft, and the selection of Wan’Dale Robinson early in Round 2 isn’t a vote of confidence that is going to see an ultra-expanded role in Year 2.

However, what is clear with Toney is his talent. He flashed future target-magnet potential after commanding a 25% target rate per route run in 2021 – tied for 7th best in the NFL in 2021.

Christian Kirk (JAC): ADP WR46

• Kirk finished as a WR3 (top-36) or better in 63% of his games last season. Same as Michael Pittman and Tyreek Hill. 18th-best mark among WRs.
• Kirk is one of the cheapest WRs who has flashed top-six overall upside. He did it twice in 2021.

Everything came together for Christian Kirk in 2021 because he was finally used from the slot. Unsurprisingly, Kirk established career highs across the board in targets (112), receptions (83), and receiving yards (1,035) while filling the void left by an injured DeAndre Hopkins.

Kirk commanded a 21% target share without Hopkins in the lineup and averaged 13.8 fantasy PPR points per game – a top-10 per-game average. In addition, he finished with the second-most receiving yards from the slot among all wide receivers.

Kirk should stay kicked inside with the Jaguars after they got little production from that position in 2021. Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault ranked in the bottom 10 with 1.30 yards per route run from the slot. Kirk ranked 13th with 1.80 yards per route run from the slot. He is shaping up to be the new Amari Rodgers for Trevor Lawrence, operating from the inside.

At worst, Kirk takes shape as a strong WR3 asset who can elevate to WR2 status quickly with an up-and-coming quarterback.

Tyler Boyd (CIN): ADP WR47

• Boyd finished as a top-36 receiver last season as many times as Tee Higgins (nine).

Tyler Boyd was a victim of circumstances more than anything else in 2021, with two alpha wide receivers in the Bengals’ offense leaving him nothing but scraps. The Bengals slot receiver commanded just a 15% target share and target rate per route run.

The target rate per route ranked dead-last among 73 qualifying players last season that commanded at least 100 targets.

It’s clear that Boyd can’t be viewed as much working as a clear ancillary piece of the Cincinnati passing attack. Tight end C.J. Uzomah‘s departure does open up the potential that Boyd could shoulder a larger target workload, but his upside remains extremely limited while Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are healthy.

Jakobi Meyers (NE): ADP WR59

• Jakobi Meyers finished as a WR4 or better in 80% of his games last season.

Jakobi Meyers is easily the most slept-on wide receiver in fantasy football. The former undrafted free agent has been the Patriots target leader for the past two seasons, with his most recent accomplishment finishing top-12 in target share (23%) in 2021.

The high-end target share also aligned with Meyer’s deployment in the Patriots’ passing attack, where Meyers was running a route on 92% of team dropbacks – the sixth-highest mark in the league.

New England’s No. 1 receiver just needs to cash in on more touchdowns to unlock his fantasy ceiling. He has been extremely underused in that category; his 866 receiving yards resulting in two touchdowns were the lowest of any WR in 2021.

Rondale Moore (ARI): ADP WR60

Rondale Moore is entering his second season with a straightforward path for an expanded role in the Cardinals’ offense. He flashed his potential early on for Arizona in 2021, with 182 receiving yards in his first two NFL games. But Kliff Kingsbury never opted to go back to Moore with the likes of A.J. Green and Christian Kirk playing solid roles. We should see Moore – and his dead-last 1.3 aDOT – experience significant growth in Year 2 especially with DeAndre Hopkins suspended for the first six weeks of the season.

Corey Davis (NYJ): ADP WR69

• Corey Davis might be a value. With a 22% WR1 rate in nine games played last season. There should be passing volume in the Jets’ offense amid a brutal first-half schedule.

Corey Davis has an opt-out in his contract in 2023, so the writing is on the wall about his future in Gang Green. The team has invested high-end draft capital in WRs in the last two drafts, with their latest pick in Garrett Wilson profiling as someone that could line up in Davis’ spot on the perimeter. Still, Davis probably will be a starter to open the season, and he showed chemistry with Zach Wilson before he got hurt in 2021. The former Titan was the WR25 in half-point scoring with a 21% target share. He never played a game with fewer than 5 targets through his first six games.

K.J. Osborn (MIN): ADP WR78

• Osborn posted one fewer top-24 finish than Adam Thielen (seven vs. six). However, his 38% WR2 finish rate is extremely high for a real-life WR3.

K.J. Osborn flashed at times during the 2021 season, but never more so than when he filled in for Adam Thielen. From Weeks 13-17, the second-year pro averaged 12 half-PPR fantasy points per game to go along with six targets.

If Thielen starts to break down entering his age 32-season, Osborn would be the prime benefactor.

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