Experts share five wide receivers they feel are going undervalued this fantasy football draft season.
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5 Undervalued Wide Receivers to Target
Brandon Aiyuk (SF)
“Brandon Aiyuk turned his 2021 season around during the second half. His yards per route run increased substantially (2.16, 13th), and he averaged 13.1 PPR fantasy points per game as the WR24 after ghosting managers during the first half of the year. The former first-round pick also ranked sixth in yards after the catch per reception (6.9). If Aiyuk can roll over his second-half production into 2022, he could be a smashing fantasy value in a similar way that his teammate Deebo Samuel was in 2021. Aiyuk’s overall disappointing sophomore campaign should not overshadow his electric rookie season. He’s by far the best value among the 49ers offensive weapons at WR39 ADP. ”
– Andrew Erickson
Christian Kirk (JAC)
“Christian Kirk was brought over from Arizona and paid as though he is a number one receiver, so expect him to be featured in this offense despite never posting a 1,000-yard season. Last season, Kirk stepped up when DeAndre Hopkins was out of the lineup, averaging 12.8 yards per reception and drawing 103 targets. Look, Laviska Shenault saw 100 targets and a 16.4% target share, while Marvin Jones managed 120 targets with a 19.9% target share. Yyou can expect a good portion of that to be heading Kirk’s way. If you are into numbers, Kirk’s DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) was 23.9% in the slot on 81 targets and 27.7% when lining up outside.”
– Matt Donnelly
Courtland Sutton (DEN)
“Courtland Sutton is being massively undervalued, and I just can’t understand why. He is going from Teddy Bridgewater (3.6% career TD rate & 7.3 career yards/attempt) and Drew Lock (3.5% career TD rate & 6.7 career yards/attempt) to Russell Wilson (6.2% career TD rate & 7.8 career yards/attempt). I can’t think of many better quarterbacks to pair with Sutton’s size in the red zone or his speed in getting vertical against opposing secondaries. Sutton was a WR2 in 2019, racking up 1,112 yards and six scores on 72 receptions from Joe Flacco and Drew Lock. Those numbers should be a baseline, and a 2019 D.K. Metcalf stat line of 83/1,303/10 is not remotely hard to project. Sutton is a top-20 wide receiver talent who just received a top-tier quarterback. Let’s draft him that way. ”
– Robby Jeffries
Mecole Hardman (KC)
“A wide receiver I find myself drafting a lot because he is overlooked is fourth-year player Mecole Hardman. He plays in a great offense, he’s attached to a generational quarterback, and plays on a team with 340 vacated targets (second most in the NFL). Most are assuming that JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdez-Scantling will absorb those targets, but none of those players have the experience of playing with Patrick Mahomes like Hardman does. Hardman is coming off a career high in targets, receptions and yards. He’s actually bested those categories each of the last three seasons. I’m betting on Hardman to take a large step in 2022 at his price of WR59 according to FantasyPros ADP. ”
– Jon Jeune
Joshua Palmer (LAC)
“Everyone knows the value of the top running back handcuffs. Talented backups in top offenses who can be expected to jump in and offer immediate top-tier production when the starter misses time have long been considered some of the most valuable bench stashes in fantasy. My favorite late-round wide receiver target gets his value from his massive potential if one of the two receivers ahead of him on the depth chart were unable to take the field. Justin Herbert is the favorite to lead the league in touchdowns, and Joshua Palmer seems to have the Chargers’ WR3 role locked up going into his second season. Palmer should already have no trouble outperforming his WR65 FantasyPros ADP, but if either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams were out multiple games, Palmer could offer league-winning upside at a late-round cost.”
– Matthew Hill
Thanks to the experts for sharing their advice! For more of their insight, be sure to follow each pundit on Twitter (click their names above) and visit their respective sites.
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