Finding Value In WR2s and WR3s (2025 Fantasy Football)

In the modern NFL, where teams are running 3-WR sets at an all-time high, the receiver landscape is as deep as it’s ever been. On the surface, it’s convenient to have so many options and more depth at the position, but on the other hand, it makes the WR2 and WR3 range in fantasy football more difficult to assess. Many of these players have a path to WR1 status, while others are in jeopardy of sliding backward and are at risk of becoming the third or fourth target on their team.

• Fantasy Football Draft Kit
• 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football ADP
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Finding Fantasy Football Draft Values

Looking back at last year’s data helps us glean insight into the profile that we should be looking for in this range. Below is a list of players who were drafted in the WR2/WR3 range last season, and where they finished the season. The data extends into the WR4 range, as many of these players’ average draft positions (ADP) can vary throughout the offseason.

There are a couple of clear trends that stand out in this dataset. Of the players who finished the season ahead of their fantasy football ADP, the most prevalent commonalities are young, ascending players who had breakout seasons of sorts, and receivers who saw good, improved quarterback play and were part of a good offense, even if they were not the top target on their team. Of course, the biggest variable was health, which becomes clear when looking at the differences in overall finish versus points per game (PPG) finish.

We saw improved quarterback play with Mike Evans, Terry McLaurin, Jayden Reed and Courtland Sutton. Players like Malik Nabers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr. and Jameson Williams were emerging stars ready to break loose, while players like Nico Collins, Tee Higgins, Rashee Rice and Chris Godwin represent the health variable.

No matter how you slice it, the players with positive finishes are either top-tier talents or surrounded by strong quarterback play and a good offensive environment. There are outliers, as always, but this has mostly been the case over the past few seasons, where the sample size gives us a good idea of how we should be looking at this range.

Now that we have that perspective, let’s evaluate the receivers being drafted in that range this year and see where we can find value.

WR2 and WR3 Fantasy Football Values

Davante Adams (WR – LAR)

In his 12th season at age 32, Davante Adams is far from the sexiest pick in this range, but he fits the criteria to return value at the position. Adams struggled to live up to his expectations in a floundering Raiders offense before teaming up with old friend Aaron Rodgers in New York last season.

Despite the noted struggles, Adams finished the season as the fantasy WR10 in points per game, marking the eighth time in his last nine seasons he finished as a WR1 in PPG. The lone season he failed to do so (2023), Adams was part of a tumultuous Raiders team and still landed at WR15 in PPG.

Adams now joins Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, an extreme improvement in his surroundings compared to the last few seasons in Las Vegas and New York. The Rams have an emerging star in Puka Nacua on the other side of the formation who will remain the team’s No. 1 WR, but as we saw above, playing in a good offense trumps the status of being a top target in a weak offense, except for elite talents.

The Rams jettisoned an aging Cooper Kupp, initially appearing to shift towards a youth movement, but instead, they prioritized another aging player in Adams. This movement suggests the Rams believe Adams still has a lot to offer, which is important when evaluating the potential impact of a receiver in this range.

Since joining the Rams in 2021, Stafford has averaged 1.7 touchdown passes per game while the Rams have been one of the pass-heaviest teams in the league. The former Lion tossed 41 touchdown passes in his first season in Los Angeles. While he hasn’t come close to that mark since, Stafford still has some good football left in him.

If there’s one area Adams continues to excel in, it’s his ability to win in the red zone. He remains one of the most targeted players in the red zone and holds the best Pro Football Focus (PFF) red zone receiving grade in the PFF era. I suspect Stafford and Adams will become quick friends, particularly in the red zone.

George Pickens (WR – DAL)

George Pickens may as well be the poster boy for an improved offensive environment as he trades in the black and yellow for the star on his helmet. With an ADP of WR29, Pickens is currently being drafted a few spots behind his ADP entering the 2024 season, but I have higher hopes for him this year.

It’s human nature to believe that going from a team’s No. 1 WR to a team’s No. 2 WR is a downgrade, even if that’s a subconscious bias. Last season, the Steelers passed the ball at the fifth-lowest rate in the league, while Dallas passed it at the sixth-highest rate in the league, and that was without Dak Prescott for half the season. Even with the coaching change, I expect Dallas to continue passing at a high rate. The last time Prescott operated with two quality receivers, he threw for nearly 4,500 yards and 37 touchdowns in 16 games.

When Arthur Smith did dial up a pass play, Pickens’ route tree looked more like a tree trunk with no branches in sight. We all know Pickens is best deployed downfield along the sideline, but it would be ideal to see him utilized in different levels of the field, and I suspect he will get more of an opportunity to do that in Dallas.

Either way, Prescott thrives with a No. 2 WR capable of getting vertical and playing above the rim along the sideline. A combination of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson delivered Pickens a 67% catchable target rate last season, good for 71st across the league, and a 5.0 target quality rating, good for 54th.

It might be a longshot to hope for Pickens to return WR1 value, but he’s got an excellent opportunity to outkick his ADP of WR29, especially in a contract year with a payday waiting on the other side.

DJ Moore (WR – CHI) & Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)

If you haven’t been paying attention, contrary to popular belief, a receiver does not need to be the No. 1 WR of his team to return value in this range. With that in mind, I like both DJ Moore and Rome Odunze as value picks at their ADPs of WR21 and WR38, respectively, and both meet the criteria above.

I prefer Odunze at cost and view the likely range of outcomes for these players relatively similarly, but it was just two years ago when Moore tallied 1,364 receiving yards and six touchdowns on his way to a WR1 season with Justin Fields at quarterback. There have been reports about Moore’s body language and concerns around target competition, but he’s cleared 1,000 yards in four out of seven seasons and fell just short last year, in a putrid offense, with 966. He’s been one of the game’s better receivers since entering the league in 2018, but has fallen victim to many bad offenses.

The upgrade that the Bears will see via Ben Johnson’s arrival, coupled with his work alongside Caleb Williams, is enough to be bullish on each of these players. Johnson produced a handful of fantasy football superstars in Detroit, and there’s no reason to believe we won’t see more of the same in Chicago.

As mentioned, there is plenty of target competition, but with Keenan Allen out of the picture and a couple of rookies entering the mix, Odunze figures to be featured right alongside Moore atop the passing pecking order. Most would call his rookie season a disappointment, but 734 yards and three touchdowns are far from lousy, especially if you watched the Bears play football last season.

Odunze posted the 11th-highest average depth of target (aDOT), the 11th-most deep targets and the second-most unrealized air yards. In other words, he was mostly targeted downfield, and the ball was not accurate. I expect Johnson to find additional ways to utilize Odunze this season. If Williams takes the second-year leap he’s capable of, Odunze and Moore can smash this season.

DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI)

Ho-hum, another top-20 wide receiver finish from DeVonta Smith. Outside of his rookie season and Jalen Hurts’ first year as a full-time starter, Smith has finished as a top-20 receiver in PPG. Even as the No. 2 WR in the Eagles’ offense, Smith finished with the seventh-highest target share at the wide receiver position, and might be best described as the 1B, rather than the number two.

Smith’s fantasy points per route run were eighth among all wide receivers last season while he ran out of the slot 47.5% of the time, a massive jump from 24.3% in 2023. His 2.23 yards per route run out of the slot compared to 1.78 when lined up outside suggests he will continue to be heavily utilized in the slot this season. He had the 13th-best receiving grade (84.4), according to PFF. If he had run as many routes as he did in 2023, he would have been a top-five wide receiver in PPG.

There’s also contingent upside with Smith, as he averages around 30 more yards per game when one of A.J. Brown or Dallas Goedert is out of the lineup. There’s still time for Goedert to be traded, or in the event of an injury, Smith would become an even better fantasy asset. Even without injuries or trades, Smith is one of the most bankable players in this range and is consistently underrated. He should be going higher than WR26 when all he does is produce top-20 seasons.

Travis Hunter (WR – JAX)

I understand Travis Hunter is going to play on the defensive side of the ball, and I understand Brian Thomas Jr. is one of the best young receivers in the game. But what I also understand is that many scouts have compared Travis Hunter to Odell Beckham Jr., and Matt Harmon stated Hunter is the best receiver he’s ever charted. Let that sink in for a moment. Now let this sink in — he’s being drafted as the WR34.

All the risk of him playing defense is more than baked into that price, especially when the Jaguars have emphasized his work with the offense early in the offseason. Everything we have been told suggests the Jaguars view him as a receiver first and a corner second.

Of course, that could change, and we can’t be certain how many snaps he will play or if he can stay healthy carrying such a heavy workload. Still, as one of the best receiver prospects the league has seen in recent memory, there’s a whole lot of room for him to pay off. As far as I’m concerned, we’re being gifted a discount on a product that should be in high demand.

I’m one of the last people still riding the Trevor Lawrence breakout train, and this season offers his best opportunity yet. Liam Coen made Baker Mayfield dangerous again and got the most out of the Buccaneers’ pass-catchers. He and Lawrence are surrounded by offensive talent. This is as good a time as ever for Lawrence to explode, while Thomas and Hunter ride the wave to superstardom.

Other value receivers in this range that nearly made the article: Chris Olave, Jordan Addison, Darnell Mooney, Tetairoa McMillan, Courtland Sutton

Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn