2018 is definitely shaping up as the year of the running back. Of the first 13 players being taken on average in PPR leagues, 10 of them are running backs. People are certainly overvaluing the position but it is undeniable that a running back that also gets you 60-plus receptions should be prioritized. The wide receiver position is deep this year with players that have WR3 potential with WR2 upside. These are undervalued wide receivers that can return value and help you win a Fantasy Football championship.
If you wanted to, you could put out a different lineup every week and have success in Fantasy Football. While it becomes riskier and way more involved on your part as the team owner, it is possible. Fantasy Football is a week-to-week game and one must adjust accordingly. These undervalued wide receivers are going have monster weeks. I would put my money on each of them having at least one Top-12 finish in 2018.
If everything breaks right, however, these guys could have multiple WR1 finishes and give you a better chance of winning your weekly matchup. Let’s take a look at some late-round wide receivers with big upside in this week’s Fantasy Stock Watch.
Take advantage of these undervalued wide receivers and head on over to Fantrax to start or join a league today!
Undervalued Wide Receivers with High Upside in Fantasy Football
Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers
Current ADP: 9.05
Projected ADP: 8.11
Before last season, Goodwin had the negative connotation of being a track and field superstar. Yes, being a former Olympian with blazing speed can be viewed as raw and unpolished when you are a wide receiver in the NFL. Goodwin competed in the 2012 Olympics in the long jump and has since placed in various track and field events.
His 4.27 NFL Combine 40-yard dash flashed in his first three seasons in the NFL as a Buffalo Bill. However, he was nothing more than a one-trick pony and did not see the field very often. The 49ers brought him in and Kyle Shanahan obviously saw something in Goodwin. He started all 16 games and had 56 catches on 106 targets for 962 yards and two touchdowns.
It was his last six games of the season that caught my eye more than anything. Pierre Garcon was out for the season and Jimmy Garoppolo became the starting quarterback in Week 12. Goodwin was the de facto WR1 for the 49ers and was peppered with targets. Over his last six games, his target totals were: 6, 8, 12,13, 6, and 4 (he left the last game in the first half with an ankle injury).
Those are big target numbers and Goodwin did not disappoint in Fantasy production. In Week 13 he was the WR13, Week 14 he was the WR19, and in Week 15 he was the WR5.
Goodwin is being drafted in the ninth round and has a chance to be even better in 2018. A full season of Jimmy G should improve his stats. The two have an established chemistry and while Garcon looks to be the WR1 in San Francisco, Goodwin could earn that role by mid-season.
Martavis Bryant, Oakland Raiders
Current ADP: 12.05
Projected ADP: 13.02
There are always questions surrounding Martavis Bryant’s off-field issues. There are already rumors that he could miss some time in 2018. Bryant is frequently tested for using marijuana as he missed all of 2016 after failing drug tests multiple times. The reality is, however, that Bryant is a Fantasy asset when he is on the field.
Bryant was a lottery ticket for whoever rostered him in his rookie season in 2014. He established himself as a home run hitter in the Steelers offense and had a 94-yard touchdown that won people their week. He earned himself the role of WR2 on the high-powered Steelers offense and in 2015 he had 50 receptions for 765 yards and six touchdowns.
After a tumultuous couple years with the Steelers, Bryant finds himself on the Raiders. Jon Gruden is running the show and Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson look to factor in substantially. If Bryant is active he is still a guy that can take the lid off of a defense. He has the most upside of the undervalued wide receivers in this piece because he is the most talented.
Bryant will be on the field for all three-wide receiver sets. If he plays well enough, he will be featured on two-wide receiver sets as well. Bryant thrives making plays after the catch on screens and has a knack for the end zone. With Michael Crabtree’s eight touchdowns out of town, there is touchdown upside for Bryant who is being taken in the 12th round.
Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars
Current ADP: 14.06
Projected ADP: 13.08
Westbrook got a lot of hype from the Fantasy Football community while he was injured last season. The rookie out of Oklahoma did not make his professional debut until Week 11 after an 80-catch, 1,500-plus yard, 17 touchdown season as a Sophomore. Westbrook had an immediate impact on the Jaguars. In his seven games, Westbrook’s target counts were: 6, 10, 9, 8, 2, 7, and 9. He was often lined up as the “X” wideout and looks every bit of a WR1 in the NFL.
If Westbrook were on the Patriots he would probably be a fifth-round pick. However, the second-year pro is one of the undervalued wide receivers because his quarterback is Blake Bortles. The Jaguars are a run-first team that have a lot of competition at the position. Marqise Lee, Donte Moncrief, Kelan Cole, and D.J. Chark will all be competing for targets.
Yet, even in a crowded space last season, Westbrook was the guy the Jaguars looked to often. He was lined up on the field when there was only one wide receiver out there. His 51 targets in seven games pace out to over 100 for a 16-game season. 100-plus targets for a wide receiver as talented as Westbrook should return 14th-round value. Target Westbrook at the end of drafts as he has WR3 potential in 2018.
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