Besides quarterbacks, wide receivers are the safest position in dynasty. The high-end players have longevity and insurability. They're productive, they're easy to project, and they play for a long time. Injury risk is lower than in other positions. And with most dynasty leagues requiring you to start multiple receivers, you should be familiar with even the lesser-known guys.
Whereas running backs are often products of their system or opportunity, wide receivers are a talent-based position. We regularly see talented receivers overcome less-than-ideal situations. Similarly, below-average receivers thrust into a significant role typically see that slip from their fingers quickly.
As always, this article isn't meant to serve as a list of flat rankings. Instead, players are broken up into groups with other players based on age, production, draft capital, and scoring profile. Players are ranked within each tier. Some dynasty managers may be looking for high-upside young players to build for the future, while others might be looking for cheap veteran options to push them to a championship.
Let's start with a group that works for any team structure.
Blue Chips
These guys have been lumped together for the last few years, and for good reason. They’re all between 25 and 26 years old, birthdays within a year of each other. In each of the previous three seasons, they’ve all finished atop the end-of-season fantasy leaderboard. They are elite talents selected in the first round of the NFL Draft who have provided immediate production in the NFL. All of these receivers are still a few years away from the dreaded age curve. Past production has insulated their costs going forward, making them great players to acquire. The micro-critiques you can make about each player hardly matter. Ja'Marr Chase is competing with Tee Higgins for targets. Justin Jefferson will have a quarterback making his NFL debut throwing to him this year. And CeeDee Lamb now has George Pickens in the picture. But those concerns are nothing but a tiny ding on an exotic car. These receivers will be in the running to finish as this year’s WR1 again.
You will have to part with multiple first-round picks or high-end starters to acquire these receivers. Whether contending or rebuilding, these receivers can fit on your roster. And having these players will likely be the difference between contending and rebuilding for many managers. If you have no other young and valuable assets, and your team is truly tanking, it’s worth flipping these players. Given their ages, it’s hard to imagine any of these receivers rising in value. And if there’s no room to go up, there is room to go down. But there’s no reason to sell low. Only move on from these players if you get a massive package in return. Behind Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Jayden Daniels, these are the most valuable players in dynasty, although one guy probably deserves to be folded somewhere into this tier…
The Malik Nabers Tier
Malik Nabers is a hard player to fit into a bucket with anyone else. The underlying metrics from his rookie season make him the stand-alone best of the 2024 class. And his age could make him more alluring than the Blue Chips above.
He led the league and set the all-time rookie record with a mind-blowing 34.9% target share last year. He drew a target on 31.2% of his routes last year, the second-highest rate in the league. The Giants’ offense blended manufactured easy touches and valuable targets deep downfield. His expected fantasy points per game were the highest in the league. But in half-PPR, he was the per-game WR8. His target quality was terrible, and the 1.61 fantasy points per target ranked 79th among wide receivers. Nabers’ profile is clearly worth betting on, but the quarterback woes in New York might put a short-term cap on his ceiling. As it stands now, a room of Jaxson Dart, Russell Wilson, and Jameis Winston has no clear leader. And a team with three quarterbacks has none. There’s hope that Brian Daboll will coach up Dart like he did Josh Allen. In that hypothetical best-case scenario, Nabers will quickly become the dynasty WR1. For now, though, he can be slotted anywhere from WR1 to WR4, and I’m not sure there’s a wrong answer.
For those who are rebuilding and looking to potentially buy low on the league’s next superstar, there isn’t a better target than Nabers. But for those competing and hoping to win a championship in 2025, you’d better pay up for the Blue Chips, as their immediate outlooks are much less volatile.
WR1s Under 25
Like Nabers, these guys are on the cusp of cracking the Blue Chip tier. They’ve all proven productive in the NFL and are on the right side of the age curve. Every prospect essentially has one more box to check before they can be considered elite.
Availability has been the only knock against Puka Nacua through his first two seasons. He’s struggled with injuries. But if he can maintain his production through a full and healthy season, he’ll answer those questions and spike in value. Brian Thomas Jr., by fantasy production, had the best rookie season last year. However, a target share of 25.5%, reliance on big plays, and the addition of Travis Hunter are hurdles he’ll have to overcome in Year 2 to insulate his value. Drake London is a perfect example of why you should bet on a promising profile. He had it all: youth, draft capital, size, athleticism, and good peripheral metrics (29.4% target share as a rookie). But poor quarterback play kept his production at bay. In 2024, though, his third season, Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. supported 1,271 yards, nine touchdowns, and a top-five fantasy finish. Now, London gets a bump in dynasty rankings and some expected longevity in value going forward. Although buy-low windows from last offseason have slammed shut, another good season could push him up even higher. And Ladd McConkey’s inclusion here might surprise some, but he finished as a top-12 receiver in his rookie season. The overall production is good, but the second-half boost is especially inspiring. Through his first nine regular-season games, he averaged 6.0 targets, 4.1 receptions, and 54.7 receiving yards per game. From Week 11 on, he started moving around the formation more, and his per-game numbers jumped to 8.3 targets, 6.4 receptions, and 98.9 yards per game. He put an exclamation point on that late-season finish with a 197-yard performance against the Texans in the Wild Card Round. He emerged as a versatile and explosive weapon for Justin Herbert. And still just 23 years old, his best days are likely ahead of him.
Whether you’re rebuilding or contending, this is a bucket any dynasty managers should target. All are young enough that they should only improve. Even if one of these players has a down 2025, it’s unlikely to impact their value much. The age, profiles, and production in this tier provide a sense of stability, something rare in dynasty. They won’t be cheap to acquire, but this tier is worth moving mountains for.
WR1s Over 25
Modern medicine, nutrition, and physical therapy have football players lengthening their careers at an astonishing rate. Still, there’s a visceral reaction dynasty markets have when a player turns 25. Amon-Ra St. Brown just turned 25. Nico Collins is 26. And A.J. Brown is the old man of the bunch at 27. But these players should still have years of elite production ahead of them. Even falloffs at age 30 would give us three to five seasons of potential WR1 production.
St. Brown is one of the most intriguing players in this tier. Youngest of the group, the primary concern is how he’ll fare without Ben Johnson. Johnson built his offense around the slot position, and St. Brown feasted in that role. But the brain drain in Detroit's coaching offices and his touchdown reliance in 2024 could open up a rare buy window for a young player who has provided elite production. Day 3 draft capital and gimmicky usage don’t give him the same insulation as other highly-ranked dynasty wide receivers. If he answers these questions in 2025, there’s absolutely room for him to grow in value. But if he doesn’t, he could quickly slip in rankings. Collins has been a star since Houston drafted CJ Stroud. Despite playing through some injuries, He averaged 14.7 half-PPR points in back-to-back seasons. With investments made to improve the Texans’ offense this year, the hope is that Collins can finally ascend to an elite WR1 finish. Brown is coming off a down season after sniffing 1,500 yards in 2022 and 2023. While not dramatic, it’s hard to ignore his slow decline in per-game production every season since joining the Eagles. Still, he’s a big-play threat and target hog on a high-scoring offense.
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Despite all being very productive receivers and with little age risk, there’s a broader range of outcomes in this bucket than you might expect. It’s easy to imagine a downward spiral in value for any of these players if they have a down year. These players are too good simply to label them as "sells", but there are savvy ways to pivot. While they will most likely be productive, I find myself tiering down into the next bucket of players. They are valued cheaper but possess a similar upside and added longevity.
Still Plenty of Room To Grow
This is a tier I’m aggressively targeting this offseason. All of these players are 23 or younger and have traits worth betting on. Smith-Njigba is the only one not drafted inside the top 10 of the NFL Draft, but he’s also the only one to log a productive NFL season, providing him with a similar floor, albeit for a different reason. This bucket offers a unique blend of high floors and ceilings, making them all worthwhile investments.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the oldest and most expensive of the group. Despite that, he showcased elite productivity last year. And with softened target competition, he’s set to be the team’s clear lead receiver. After the Draft, comments from the Jacksonville staff have made it appear that Travis Hunter will be a full-time receiver with occasional defense snaps. His athleticism, ball skills, and after-the-catch ability set him up for a sky-high fantasy ceiling. He and Brian Thomas Jr. have complementary skill sets, and he’s a talent worth betting on. Given the expectations, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s rookie season was a disappointment. However, closer inspection provides a reason to remain hopeful. Harrison was consistently involved in the offense and flashed on a handful of impressive plays. But the optimism lies in his air yards, where his 1,566 were the sixth-most among all receivers. He was regularly targeted deep downfield and struggled to get on the same page as Kyler Murray. Another year in the league will hopefully produce better chemistry or prompt the staff to find different usage. But he’s a good prospect and finishes in the top 30 in receiving yards as a rookie. That’s promising. Tetairoa McMillan lands in a dream spot, getting the coveted “X-receiver in a Dave Canales offense” role. Bryce Young showed huge improvements over the final month of 2024, and rolling that into 2025 could set McMillan up for immediate production. Rome Odunze had a disappointing rookie season behind DJ Moore and Keenan Allen on the depth chart. A hopefully-improved Bears offense could yield enough production for Odunze to emerge in fantasy, even if still playing second fiddle to Moore.
Harrison and Odunze admittedly have more risk than the rest of this bucket. Disappointing Years 2s following their rookie seasons could cause the market to sour on them quickly. But if they do hit, you’ll never get them cheaper than now. They have great profiles, and their rookie-year struggles can be contextualized. The excitement and draft capital for Hunter and McMillan will give them a safe floor for the next few seasons. Even if they struggle out of the gate, there’s reason to hold. And if you choose to move off of them, it will be for a minimal value loss. Smith-Njigba’s floor is similarly safe. A highly-touted prospect who broke out will garner buzz for years to come. This isn’t a cheap tier, but they still have a lot of value to gain. This is where Amon-Ra St. Brown would have been two years ago and Drake London last year. And for the not-so-great outcomes, they probably won’t fall much further than the next bucket going into next season.
