Some players generate a wide range of opinions or a divide within the fantasy football community. These players with a high standard deviation are considered polarizing because the range of opinions, rankings and projections means there isn’t a clear consensus. Some of these players will be busts. Some will be breakouts. Others will be somewhere in between. What matters is identifying why these players are polarizing and then determining just how risky they are and how you value them relative to your league and settings.
Our analysts combed through the expert consensus rankings (ECR) and identified the most polarizing players at each position. The results and accompanying justifications are below.
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Polarizing Wide Receivers
Who is one WR with a high standard deviation you are higher or lower on, and why?
Darius Slayton (WR – NYG)
“The New York Giants continue to invest in slot wide receivers, and Darius Slayton is one of the few returning players who lined up outside on more than 70% of his snaps. His 12.5-yard average depth of target led the team last year, and as perhaps the only deep-play threat on the team, he is poised to have some massive weeks. Sign me up for as much Slayton as possible this year!”
– Sam Hoppen (FantasyPros)
Deebo Samuel (WR – SF)
“It’s possible Deebo Samuel burns me this season, but I’ll continue fading him. Without the rushing equity and high-leverage roles to help pad his fantasy production, Samuel dissolved into a WR3. The results were even more frightening with Christian McCaffrey as a full-time player in the 49er offense last year. Samuel was WR58, WR5, WR66, and WR33 in that four-game sample in weekly fantasy scoring. Thanks but no thanks. If I draft a 49ers wide receiver, it’ll be Brandon Aiyuk. ”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)
Calvin Ridley (WR – JAC)
“Calvin Ridley has the highest standard deviation of any receiver in the top 40. His ECR is WR18. I’m a little cooler on Ridley, putting him at WR22, and that’s after bumping up Ridley in my rankings a few weeks ago. There’s no doubting Ridley’s talent, and it’s possible he picks up right where he left off after not playing since early in the 2021 season. But it’s been a long layoff, Ridley has never played with QB Trevor Lawrence before, and there’s ample target competition in Jacksonville with Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Zay Flowers. Ridley’s current price seems a tad steep.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
“Nobody wants to draft Chris Godwin. He’s ranked outside the top-24 in ECR. But guys. This dude literally posted 104 catches and 1,000 yards in 15 games played…coming off a torn ACL in December 2021. All anybody cares about is the fact that Tom Brady is gone, and the offense won’t pass as much. Yes, both of those are true. But Tampa Bay can still pass the ball as a top-10 rate of their trailing in games. And that will benefit Godwin, who thrives as a WR after the catch. Given Godwin’s YAC-ability (15th in yards after the catch per reception last season), he could make up ground for poor QB play. Cannot wait to see what he can do another year removed from his ACL injury. ”
– Andrew Erickson (FantasyPros)
Odell Beckham Jr. (WR – BAL)
“Odell Beckham Jr. is ranked as high as WR35 by some experts and as low as WR102 by others. His consensus ranking is WR57, and I will be avoiding him at that price. Beckham is at the age where we can’t just assume he’ll be back to full strength coming off a knee injury that kept him out for the entirety of the 2022 season. Plus, this Ravens offense has more options than in previous years, including Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers. Beckham isn’t going to just get out of bed and see 100+ targets, even in a new-look offense. There’s a world in which Beckham winds up as only the 4th-most targeted receiver in this offense, and that’s not somebody I’m interested in right now.”
– Ryan Wormeli (FantasyPros)
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