Wide Receiver Sleepers: Puka Nacua, Marvin Mims Jr., Isaiah Hodgins (2023 Fantasy Football)

While it’s important to stay focused throughout your fantasy football draft, mining upside late is a great way to put your team over the top on its way to a championship. I’m looking for potential tier jumpers at the wide receiver position. Here are players you should consider drafting late as lottery tickets at the wide receiver position.

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Wide Receivers with Upside to Draft With Your Final Pick

Here are wide receivers to target late in fantasy football drafts that carry upside into 2023.

Puka Nacua (LAR)

I don’t normally have a heavy infatuation with a wide receiver drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, but I do for Puka Nacua. I won’t apologize for falling head over heels for a wide receiver that you can easily draft with your final pick in best ball drafts and redraft that ranked second and sixth in yards per route run over the last two years (minimum 50 targets per PFF). Nacua has highlight reel body control and strong mitts. Last year he ranked 17th in contested catch rate (minimum ten contested targets per PFF). Nacua has a fairly easy path to playing time this season, with only Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell ahead of him to start camp. Nacua could get some Robert Woods-esque handoffs this year after amassing 357 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns at BYU. Nacua is a smash pick.

Marvin Mims Jr. (DEN)

Sean Payton traded up in the second round of the NFL Draft to take the talented rookie from Oklahoma. Mims closes his collegiate career with a 94th percentile yards per reception and 96th percentile breakout age. Mims can work underneath and take the top off defenses with his 4.38 speed. He can also play above the rim with exceptional leaping ability and body control. Mims could be fighting for playing time with Tim Patrick from the outset, but it’s possible he hops him on the depth chart and becomes a full-time starter immediately with a strong camp and preseason. Mims is a fantastic WR5 draft pick to stash on your bench. He could be a stretch-run hero and difference-maker in the fantasy playoffs if this offense bounces back from last year’s pitiful showing.

Isaiah Hodgins (NYG)

Isaiah Hodgins is a priority pick in the later rounds of drafts. Once New York made him a full-time player, he crushed. In Weeks 13-17, he logged four top-24 wide receiver outings in five games. Yes, he also got lucky with touchdowns, as he scored in each of those four games, but those were also a result of Daniel Jones‘ trust in the red zone with Hodgins (five red zone targets in those four games). When looking at Hodgins’ deeper metrics, his production was also related to his underrated talent. Hodgins’ ranked first last year in route win rate and win rate against man coverage. If Hodgins can pick up where he left off last year, he’ll be a screaming value in 2023.