The start of the 2023 fantasy football season is right around the corner, and with it comes the wide receiver rankings. Now more than ever, there is an abundance of talent at the position, but it’s still important to grab the best players possible, as the right selection could be the difference between winning your league and missing the playoffs.
READ MORE: Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings (2023 Redraft)
Tier 1: Elite League-Winners
1. Ja’Marr Chase
2. Justin Jefferson
3. Tyreek Hill
4. Cooper Kupp
Justin Jefferson is the consensus WR1, but there is a strong case to be made that Ja’Marr Chase should be the first receiver off the board. Ultimately, this is just splitting hairs, as both wide receivers are going to be great for fantasy football.
Tyreek Hill and Cooper Kupp both have a proven track record of setting the world on fire with their current quarterback, and both could finish as the WR1 overall if injuries don’t get in the way. \
Cheers to more Cooper Kupp house calls in 2023.
Comeback szn is on.
— Joe Orrico (@NoExpertFF) July 15, 2023
Tier 2: Promising WR1’s
5. CeeDee Lamb
6. Stefon Diggs
7. A.J. Brown
8. Amon-Ra St. Brown
9. Garrett Wilson
10. Davante Adams
11. Jaylen Waddle
12. Tee Higgins
CeeDee Lamb proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he can be the unquestioned top option in the passing attack, and he should be better with more support. Stefon Diggs is getting older, but he still has another season or two of elite play left in his tank.
A.J. Brown helped Jalen Hurts develop into an elite quarterback, and this connection should continue to be lethal in 2023. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a target machine and knows how to make the most of his opportunities. Garrett Wilson was electric as a rookie and will now be catching passes from Aaron Rodgers instead of Zach Wilson.
Davante Adams is a lot like Stefon Diggs: an aging wide receiver that still has some elite play left in his tank. However, while Diggs gets to play with Josh Allen, Adams gets Jimmy Garoppolo or Brian Hoyer. Jaylen Waddle and Tee Higgins would be WR1’s on roughly 25 other teams, but they just so happen to line up opposite two top-five receivers.
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Tier 3: Reliable WR2’s
13. Chris Olave
14. Amari Cooper
15. DeVonta Smith
16. D.K. Metcalf
17. Terry McLaurin
18. Chris Godwin
19. Brandon Aiyuk
20. Keenan Allen
21. Drake London
22. Jerry Jeudy
23. Calvin Ridley
24. D.J. Moore
Chris Olave was just as good as Garrett Wilson last year and could be the NFL’s next great wide receiver. Amari Cooper might not be the most exciting fantasy football wide receiver, but the former first-round pick is coming off an elite season and Deshaun Watson should be considerably better than he was last year. Terry McLaurin is a great wide receiver, but the uncertainty surrounding Sam Howell limits his ceiling.
Chris Godwin had a rough year in 2022 because he came back too quickly from a torn ACL. Now that he’s healthy, he should go back to being his usual great self. Brandon Aiyuk’s spot on the fantasy football wide receiver rankings is one of my hotter takes, but the former first-round pick is finally ready to usurp Deebo Samuel as the top wide receiver in the San Francisco 49ers offense.
Is Brandon Aiyuk poised for a breakout season in 2023?@THE2ERA | @49ers pic.twitter.com/bNzEXPVMFP
— NFL (@NFL) June 29, 2023
Drake London put up a lot of great tape as a rookie, but he’s on a run-obsessed team with Desmond Ridder at quarterback. Calvin Ridley essentially hasn’t played football in two years and only has one season of elite fantasy production. D.J. Moore, meanwhile, goes to another team that is morally opposed to the forward pass.
Tier 4: Flex Plays With Upside
25. DeAndre Hopkins
26. Deebo Samuel
27. Mike Williams
28. Tyler Lockett
29. Diontae Johnson
30. Christian Kirk
31. Marquise Brown
32. Mike Evans
33. Michael Pittman
34. Treylon Burks
35. Jahan Dotson
36. George Pickens
37. Kadarius Toney
DeAndre Hopkins isn’t going to be a fantasy football superstar with the Titans, but the wide receiver should be a valuable flex play with touchdown upside. Deebo Samuel averaged 21.2 fantasy points per game in 2021 but has only averaged 12.6, 11.5, and 13.0 in his other three seasons. Spot the outlier. Diontae Johnson is one of the easiest buys in the league, as fans and analysts alike are letting bad touchdown luck blind them from a target machine.
Mike Evans looked like he was slowing down last year, but his ability to get open deep meshes well with Baker Mayfield’s desire to stretch the field. There are not 33 wide receivers better than Michael Pittman. However, the quarterback duo of Gardner Minshew and Anthony Richardson leaves a lot to be desired. Treylon Burks had his moments last year and is probably better suited for a WR2 role, much like DeVonta Smith in Philadelphia.
Buy the ADP dip on Treylon Burks.
— Joe Orrico (@NoExpertFF) July 16, 2023
Tier 5: Gotta Draft Somebody
38. Jordan Addison
39. Gabe Davis
40. Christian Watson
41. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
42. Rashod Bateman
43. Michael Gallup
44. Quentin Johnston
45. Michael Thomas
46. Courtland Sutton
47. Jakobi Meyers
48. Elijah Moore
49. Juju Smith-Schuster
50. Rondale Moore
At least one rookie wide receiver breaks out every year for fantasy football, and Jordan Addison is the best bet for 2023. Christian Watson had seven receiving touchdowns last year, but all of his other metrics left a lot to be desired. Now, he’ll catch passes from Jordan Love instead of Aaron Rodgers, so it’s safe to assume that touchdown total will go down.
Much like Chris Godwin, Michael Gallup clearly wasn’t himself last year as he worked his way back from a late-2021 ACL tear. Gallup doesn’t have Godwin’s talent, but he can be a solid flex play. Michael Thomas easily has the highest ceiling of any wide receiver in this tier, but he hasn’t been able to stay on the field since 2019.
Jakobi Meyers finally found the endzone with some regularity in 2022, but those days are probably coming to an end with the Raiders. Juju Smith-Schuster is going to have a lot of 7/45/0 stat lines, if you’re into that sort of thing. He’ll probably finish higher than WR49, but it’s hard to see a world where he’s anything more than a bye-week streamer.
Main Photo: Matt Krohn – USA Today Sports
