Wide receiver if considered the deepest of the fantasy positions. The writers here at Dynasty Nerds dive in to deliver four undervalued wide receivers.
Marquise Brown, WR35
DeAndre Hopkins getting cut this off-season was one of the biggest moves in free agency. Hopkins has always been a star player, but this move impacts his teammates even more. Even after the departure of Hopkins, Marquise Brown is being severely underrated with an ADP of WR35, according to Nerdherd ADP.
The Reasons For Caution
While I love Brown, there is some risk surrounding him. Brown will be stepping into one of the worst situations imaginable. For one, the team will likely be one of the worst in the league, as they are projected to win four games right now. This is partially because Kyler Murray tore his ACL and could miss a significant part of the season.
Why You Need Marquise Brown on Your Dynasty Team
The talent and volume will be there even if Brown is in a horrible situation. Hopkins’s release opens up a 29.4% target share. Colt McCoy or Clayton Tune will be forced to feed Brown due to the lack of depth at the wide receiver position.
Most importantly, when Murray does come back, Brown has the potential to be a league winner. With no Hopkins, Brown has averaged 18.3 PPG on 10.7 targets. Murray clearly favors Brown, and the two have been seen working out this off-season. If things break right for Brown, he could be the best value in all of fantasy football.
Kyler Murray looks pretty good playing catch with Hollywood Brown on vaca…
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) June 7, 2023
📺: Hollywood’s Insta pic.twitter.com/yjhzmbeGdJ
Steve Bradshaw @SteveBradshawFF
KJ Osborn, WR78
KJ Osborn is undervalued in ADP startups. He was rising before the team spent a first-round pick on Jordan Addison. I’m not sold that the 5’11″ and 173-pound receiver immediately translates to the NFL. KJ Osborn knows the offense and should see an opportunity to be the week one starter across from Justin Jefferson. It’s wild how Osborn, who is getting into his prime years, is behind rookies drafted in the third round or later in the 2023 draft and older players like Odell Beckham.
Osborn has produced 650 yards in the last two seasons as the third receiver on the team. Last season in four of five games where he saw six-plus targets, he had double-digit fantasy points. Osborn showed with more opportunities he could produce for us in fantasy football. Even if Addison has a significant role on the offense, Osborn was able to see 90 targets in an offense that had four receivers over 90 targets. Osborn will see every opportunity to be the second pass catcher in the offense. We even saw when Theilen was going, and they let Osborn be the WR2 on the team. He had double digits in five of seven where Theilen barely played. Osborn is also going into the last year of his contract, so he wants to show out to get a second contract somewhere. He is a steal in the later rounds of your dynasty start up.
Steven Pintado @CoachStevenP
Treylon Burks, WR24
I was in on the Treylon Burks hype before his rookie season, and I’m in on the hype again. I might seem crazy saying Burks is undervalued at his current Nerds ADP of WR24 but hear me out. All of the things we liked about him last year still apply. He has a great opportunity for increased target share, great measurables (6‘2″, 225lbs), WR1 talent and pedigree, and more. Multiple injuries last year were the main culprit in his lack of production. If he can stay healthy this upcoming season, he is a player with a much higher ceiling for production.
Furthermore, since we are talking about dynasty formats, I believe Burks is a long-term asset beyond this year. In my mind, he should at least be going higher than guys like Jordan Addison (WR20) & Quentin Johnson (WR21). It’s not a huge leap, but I would have Burks closer to my WR21 in dynasty start ups. He finished WR75 last year but showed great flashes of what he can bring to the Titans offense. The wide receivers you build your team around can significantly impact success. Burks is an ascending asset, and you’ll want to capitalize before your fellow drafters catch on to his potential and he becomes more expensive to acquire than he is now.
FEED TREYLON BURKS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fhq8rFbEdx
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 19, 2023
Corey Easterday @CoreyEasterday
Diontae Johnson, WR36
Coming off a down year, Diontae Johnson is the best value in dynasty at the wide receiver position. Diontae is a target-earning machine, and positive regression will be on his side in 2023 and beyond.
It was a rough season for Diontae, fighting through a quarterback change and a rookie quarterback trying to find his footing. The variance wasn’t kind to him as he posted 86 receptions but failed to reach one thousand yards or score a touchdown. Despite receiving at least 10 targets in 47% of his games last season. A top 10 mark in the NFL.
Johnson has had at least 144 targets for three straight seasons, which puts him in elite company, as only three WRs have also done so during that span.
After averaging 6.5 touchdowns over his first three seasons, he failed to find the endzone in 2022 despite posting an elite 28% Target share. We can expect that number to regress positively in 2023.
What’s The Price?
Johnson has fallen drastically, with his ADP down to WR36. Diontae, who is just one year removed from posting a line of 107 catches,1161 yards, and 8 touchdowns, is still just 26 years old. With sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett entering his first full season as the team’s starter, I believe Diontae will bounce back to his old self. He is the cheapest wide receiver with a realistic shot at 100+ catches and a top-12 finish.
At WR36, I believe Diontae can swing dynasty leagues if acquired at that cost. Remember that last season doesn’t matter in dynasty fantasy football, and we must always project forward. Stay a step ahead of your league mates and buy the dip on talented players coming off a down year and enjoy the wins that come your way because of it!
Steelers target shares with Kenny Pickett in 2022:
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) June 18, 2023
Diontae Johnson 25%
Pat Freiermuth 18%
George Pickens 16%
Najee Harris 10%
