An Overview of the Wide Receiver Position
It's a good time to be a wide receiver in the NFL.
In this era of pass-heavy offenses and three-wide receiver sets, wideouts are putting up numbers like never before. In 2025, 19 wide receivers surpassed 1,000 yards. Seventeen caught at least 75 passes. An equal number reeled in at least seven touchdowns.
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It doesn't hurt that we are in something of a golden age of wideouts. There are elite talents galore across the NFL. There are 10 wide receivers making over $30 million a season, led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seahawks at over $42 million a year.
That value has extended to fantasy football. Christian McCaffrey's massive 2025 season made him fantasy's high-scorer among non-quarterbacks, but with PPR scoring more the rule than the exception now, elite wide receivers can score just as many points as their counterparts in the backfield.
With more leagues than not requiring at least three weekly starters at wide receiver, wideouts are as valuable in fantasy as ever before. As a whole, it's a position that is less volatile and has a lower bust rate than at running back. Of course, it's also a deeper position—last season, 37 wide receivers surpassed 150 PPR points. Only 28 running backs hit that benchmark.
Putting together a good group of wide receivers is vital to fantasy success, but that added depth and stability also offers fantasy managers more versatility on draft day. There are multiple ways to assemble a strong receiver corps without leaving glaring weaknesses at another position.
Of course, more options only help if you make the right call. Pick the right door at the end of Let's Make a Deal.
Oh yeah. That theme isn't going anywhere.
Wide Receiver Draft Strategies
Door No. 1: Crank It to 11
The draft strategies at wide receiver are, in many ways, just the flip side of all the running back (don't worry, we'll get to them soon enough) strategies that have catchy nicknames. This one is essentially either "Robust WR" or the point of going "Zero RB"—cranking up the volume and blasting away at wide receiver early and often.
There was a time when a fantasy manager drafting three straight wide receivers to open a draft would have drawn eye-rolls and snickers (No, not those Snickers. Those are delicious. This is derision). Now? No one bats an eye. In fact, it's an increasingly popular strategy. In PPR leagues with flex spots (In other words, most of them), many take it one step farther—four wide receivers in the first five rounds.
The advantages aren't hard to spot.
| Position | No. 1 PPG | No. 12 PPG | No. 24 PPG | No. 36 PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 23.3 | 14.7 | 12.5 | 11.3 |
| RB | 25.3 | 15.6 | 12.1 | 9.5 |
Granted, with McCaffrey's historic 2025 thrown in, the "best" starter at RB outscored the "worst" (RB24) by more points per game than the gap between WR1 and WR36 (assuming three weekly starters). But that difference is minimal, and in 2024 the gap was almost two fantasy points per game—in favor of the wideouts. The WR48 last year in PPG (the "worst" potential "flex") also outscored the RB36.
Mind you, managers attacking wide receiver aren't shooting for low-end starters, either. Per Average Draft Position here at Footballguys, 15 wideouts are being taken in the first three rounds this year. Based on last year's numbers, that means having a third starter averaging 14 points per game. A WR2 averaging 16 PPR points or more. And a WR1 topping 18 PPR points per game.
That's a nice foundation.
Of course, building that edge at wide receiver means punting the other positions. Potentially taking an RB1 on the fringes of the "RB Dead Zone." Passing on an elite quarterback or tight end unless you take the plunge and go full "Zero RB."
It's an aggressive strategy. A risky one. It requires the ability to find value at other positions. Bravery. Maybe a little insanity. Possibly some tequila.
OK. I have two of those. Close Enough.
Door No. 2: The Thanos Plan
No, this draft strategy at wide receiver does not involve scouring the universe for the Infinity Stones and then snapping half of your leaguemates into dust. That would be excessive.
Fun, but excessive.
But as whacked out as Thanos was, everything he did was to restore balance to the universe. And that's what this strategy is about—letting the draft (and the value) come to you.
The appeal of this strategy is the same as stretchy jeans once you get older—flexibility. Want to rock it old-school and draft two running backs to start things off? Cris Olave of the Saints and George Pickens of the Cowboys are falling into Round 3. Want to select an elite wideout early in Round 1 and then grab two backs? Tampa's Emeka Egbuka and Baltimore's Zay Flowers are available in Round 4.
Toe the line between Door No. 1 and Door No. 2 and follow two receivers with a pair of running backs before the "RB Dead Zone" truly kicks in. Have your heart set on a top-two tight end after taking a back? Close your eyes, take a breath, and make Philly's DeVonta Smith your WR1.
No guts, no glory.
Given the additional depth at wide receiver, if a fantasy manager has rostered two receivers by the end of Round 5 and then targets wideouts in the "RB Dead Zone" (when the gap in bust rates between wide receivers and running backs is at its widest) to land a WR3 and/or "flex," it's not a bad way to build--especially if it means edges at other spots.
Again, It's flexible. It allows for shifts in draft flow. It's pared-down Value-Based Drafting, minus the projections (with a side of personal preference). In more drafts than not, by the conclusion of Round 5, this analyst usually has either three backs and two wide receivers, three wideouts and two backs, or two of each and a tight end.
Aim for balance. Avoid glaring holes--even if it means sacrificing a little fantasy ceiling.
It also means a measure of patience at quarterback. But as has already been discussed here, that's not such a bad idea.
Door No. 3: Wide Receivers are Bums
What? You think that running backs are the only position that can be cast out into the fantasy hinterlands? Chucked off the roof like a watermelon?
Well, it can happen to wide receivers, too.
It's zigging in response to everyone else's zag—focusing on other positions while your leaguemates hit wide receiver like a $2 towel table at a Black Friday Sale. Go full-on Fred Flintstone by drafting not two but three backs to start. Grab an elite tight end early. Draft a high-end quarterback while you're at it. And then blast away at wide receivers in the middle rounds in the hopes of finding a gem or three.
The goal is to be a "Biz-Zero RB" drafter—Build an edge at other positions that overcome the potential hole at wide receiver. Take full advantage of the rounds in fantasy drafts where the aforementioned gap in bust rates between wideouts and running backs is at its largest. Push the depth at wide receiver and fly into the Danger Zone.
Boom.
However, your wide receiver corps isn't going to frighten a nine-year-old. It's a similar problem as with "Zero RB" or any extreme draft strategy. It's (unnecessarily risky). Even if running backs are awesome and you have an edge at quarterback and/or tight end, it won't matter unless a couple of dart throws exceed expectations at wide receiver.
But, man. It can be tempting in drafts where wideouts get hammered and running backs drop.
Speaking of those darts...