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3 Must-Draft Wide Receivers: Early-Round Targets (Fantasy Football)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football players I’m targeting in every draft.

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Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Must-Have Players

Let’s dive into players I am targeting in every fantasy football draft.

Brian Thomas Jr. (JAC)

Overall, last year, Brian Thomas Jr. was a stud as the WR11 in fantasy points per game, ranking fifth in deep targets and 15th in red zone targets. As good as those numbers are, they still underrate his upside in 2025 if he can continue what he did down the stretch last year. In Weeks 13-18 last season, he was the WR2 in fantasy points per game. During that span, among 72 qualifying receivers, he was fourth in target share (31.6%), seventh in yards per route run (2.78), fifth in receiving yards per game (98.8), and 17th in first downs per route run (0.108, per Fantasy Points Data). Thomas Jr. posted those numbers with Mac Jones tossing him passes. What do we think he’ll do in 2025 with Liam Coen at the controls and Trevor Lawrence back? It could be a magical season for Thomas Jr.

Drake London (ATL)

Last year, London finally had the TRUE breakout season that I’ve been forecasting for him, as he finally got to experience at least average starting quarterback play for much of the season. London finished as the WR13 in fantasy points per game while ranking third in targets (157) and securing 100 receptions. Last year, he ranked fifth in target share, 11th in receiving yards per game, and 12th in yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). With Michael Penix under center in 2025, London could ascend even further up the fantasy wideout ladder. His splits with Kirk Cousins and Penix were eye-popping. Yes, I know it was only a three-game sample with Penix, but it would still be impressive if London could venture even into the general neighborhood of these numbers across a full season. With Cousins, London had a 24.6% target share with 65.6 receiving yards per game and 2.24 yards per route run. Those are solid numbers, but they aren’t top-three wideout numbers like he posted with Penix. With Penix chucking him the rock, London saw his target share soar to 39% with 117.3 receiving yards per game and 3.74 yards per route run. If London can continue even a watered-down version of those numbers for the entirety of 2025, he could be contending for WR1 overall when it’s all said and done. London is a high floor and ceiling pick for 2025.

Davante Adams (LAR)

Adams proved last year that he still has plenty left in the tank. Last season with the Jets, among 79 qualifying wide receivers, Adams ranked 22nd in separation and 27th in route win rate (per Fantasy Points Data). While in New York, he was only on pace for 176 targets, 104 receptions, and 1,320 receiving yards as the WR7 in fantasy points per game. The Rams will field a consolidated passing attack with Adams and Puka Nacua vacuuming up targets while Tyler Higbee and Tutu Atwell contribute as ancillary pieces. If Adams and Matthew Stafford can stay healthy in 2025, there’s no reason Adams shouldn’t produce as a WR1/2.

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