5 Wide Receivers Experts Draft (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 below. And you can check out which experts are higher or lower than our expert consensus rankings using our Fantasy Football Rankings Comparison Tools.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice

Let’s dive into players Derek Brown likes more than the expert consensus rankings.

Players to Target

Wide Receivers DBro Likes More Than ECR

Derek Brown’s Rank	Player	ECR	Diff.
4	Drake London ATL – WR	9	5
11	Mike Evans TB – WR	16	5
13	George Pickens DAL – WR	29	16
14	Tetairoa McMillan CAR – WR	24	10
18	Courtland Sutton DEN – WR	22	4

Last year, Drake 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.

Mike Evans has finished no lower than WR13 in fantasy points per game over the last four years, and he didn’t show any signs of slowing down last year. While he has dealt with hamstring issues in each of the last three years, he has never played less than 14 games in any season. Last year, Evans ranked 23rd in target share, fifth in yards per route run, 16th in receiving yards per game, fourth in route win rate, and second in separation (per Fantasy Points Data). Evans is primed to produce as a WR1 again in 2025.

George Pickens has been freed from the horrid quarterback play that he has been saddled with since entering the NFL. There’s no doubt that Dak Prescott will be the best quarterback that Pickens has played with during his NFL career. Last year, Pickens finished as the WR35 in fantasy points per game. He proved that he could operate as a number one option, ranking 16th in target share (23.9%), 25th in yards per route run (2.18), ninth in first-read share (32%), and 24th in receiving yards per game (64.3, per Fantasy Points Data). His numbers were even better in Weeks 1-13, before his hamstring injury, when he ranked 18th in separation, eighth in yards per route run (2.53), and 25th in route win rate. Pickens should enjoy the bump in passing volume as CeeDee Lamb’s running mate. Last year, Pittsburgh had the fourth-lowest passing attempts, while Dallas had the third-highest. Pickens should settle in as a strong WR2 this season, who could easily post a career-best season.

The Panthers finally gave Bryce Young a true WR1 this season with their selection of Tetairoa McMillan. The Carolina Panthers selected McMillan inside the top ten in the NFL Draft. McMillan could be a wonderful volume hog this year in what looks to be an ascending passing offense. Last year, in Weeks 12-18, when Young was hitting his stride, the Panthers ranked 13th in neutral passing rate. We could see that number increase this year with a true number one option leading the way. Last year, during that same stretch, Young ranked eighth in CPOE, fifth in deep throw rate, 12th in highly accurate throw rate, and second in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). McMillan is an incredibly talented receiver who can step up quickly. During his final two collegiate seasons, he ranked 17th and 21st in yards per route run. He’s a battle-tested man coverage beater as well. In 2023-2024, McMillan had the third-most and the tenth-most man coverage targets (among FBS wide receivers) while also ranking eighth and tenth in yards per route run against man coverage (per PFF). Don’t be surprised if McMillan is a WR1/2 in his rookie season.