Less than three months remain until the NFL preseason when fantasy football leagues will start spreading through households and workplaces like wildfire. To stay a step ahead in your quest for bragging rights, keep these five underrated wide receivers in mind as potential steals relative to their average draft position (ADP).
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
ESPN ADP: 86.7
Amari Cooper is consistently one of the most underrated wide receivers in the NFL, for both real-life and fantasy purposes. He finished the 2023 season as the overall WR18, despite Deshaun Watson playing just six games. For some reason, fantasy managers took that as a reason to make Cooper the 33rd receiver coming off the board.
Cooper is coming off a career-high 1250 yards and 83.3 yards per game. Former first-round pick Jerry Jeudy is unlikely to take a large number of targets away from him. I have Cooper ranked in my seventh wide receiver tier, the same as Calvin Ridley and Tee Higgins.
Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs
ESPN ADP: 120
The current WR46 per ADP, Marquise Brown has an amazing opportunity. He will play with the best quarterback in the NFL in 2024, and his target competition shouldn’t be too difficult. Travis Kelce is finally showing signs of aging, while Rashee Rice is doing his best to never play in the NFL again.
Brown had a disappointing stint in Arizona, but much like JuJu Smith-Schuster a year ago, he may get elevated by Patrick Mahomes en route to a solid fantasy football season. I expect him to be a solid WR3/FLEX option if Rice misses part or all of the season.
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ESPN ADP: 98.9
Chris Godwin was outshined by Mike Evans, who finished the year as the WR7, in Tampa Bay last season. However, Godwin had just six fewer targets than Evans and posted his third straight 1000-yard campaign. His issue was that he scored just two touchdowns, the lowest since his rookie season.
Even with his lack of red-zone success, Godwin was still the WR28 in 2023 but is being drafted as the WR34 in 2024, indicating that drafters believe last season is his ceiling. If Godwin had caught even just three more touchdowns, he would have finished ahead of Cooper as the WR20. An overreaction to his low touchdown total is causing Godwin to be one of my targeted underrated wide receivers this season.
Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears
ESPN ADP: 78.9
Keenan Allen is in my sixth tier of receivers, which runs from WR17 to WR23. He is being taken as the WR29, despite finishing last season as the WR3. It is true that the Bears also have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. Drafters are clearly expecting Moore, the WR20 in ADP, to be the top option.
However, I don’t feel there is that clear of a gap between the two receivers. Allen benefited from Mike Williams‘ injury en route to a league-leading 11.5 targets per game. Despite the heavy volume, he was still efficient, averaging 8.3 yards per target. Caleb Williams in his rookie season won’t be as good as Justin Herbert last year, but should still be able to support both Moore and Allen as WR2s.
Curtis Samuel, Buffalo Bills
ESPN ADP: 153.5
As the WR42 last year, Curtis Samuel isn’t going to be a league winner. However, he can be a very reliable flex or bye-week fill-in throughout the season. The Bills drafted Keon Coleman but lost Stefon Diggs, making Samuel the clear WR2, or perhaps even WR1 if Coleman doesn’t impress. Dalton Kincaid is going to be the top pass-catcher on this team, but Josh Allen will propel this offense to be capable of having two to three fantasy-relevant players.
Samuel is currently being selected as the WR55 on ESPN and in the 13th round in twelve-team leagues. You don’t need to invest much draft capital, and Samuel will likely be an extremely safe pick in this round. He is one of the most underrated wide receivers you can get for free and will add important depth to your squad.
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