Outlook: As the Patriots' big wide receiver acquisition heading into 2022, DeVante Parker actually delivered some impressive numbers with the opportunities he had. Unfortunately, he hobbled his way through a good portion of the season, missing some games and being limited in many others, which led to him finishing with just 539 yards and three touchdowns on the year. On a per-catch basis, though, few players in the NFL were more impressive than Parker as his 17.4 yards per reception was among the league leaders.

While Parker has always been a player who's capable of delivering some huge plays from time to time, the problem has always been consistency. Whether it's been injuries, a lack of interest, offensive scheming, or any other variety of excuses, he's only ever provided one season of actual value for fantasy managers. That came back in 2019 when he caught 72 passes for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. If you remove that one standout season, though, Parker has failed to reach 800 receiving yards in any other year and four touchdowns is his second-best single-season number throughout his seven-year career.

Parker is a player who will be selected near the end of the draft in most leagues, but he's an extremely frustrating player to have on your roster as a fantasy manager and not likely one who you'll ever really feel comfortable with slotting into your starting lineup.

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Outlook: Ole Miss receiver Jonathan Mingo was one of, if not the most mentioned players in the 2023 NFL Draft given the underrated label. However, the Panthers recognized his talent by drafting him 39th overall.

Mingo recorded 51 receptions for 861 yards (16.9 yards per carry!) and five touchdowns in his final season as a Rebel. He is a big 6-foot-2 receiver who's fast (4.46-second 40-yard dash) and gets open at all three levels. Mingo is an excellent deep threat as well, who's capable of "mossing" defenders as you can see in this viral clip of a one-handed snag.

However, even though the Panthers' receiving corps is subpar, Mingo is unlikely to be a member of the starting trio in Week 1 leaving him to waiver wire status at the beginning of the season. But if he ever enters the starting lineup, he has the talent to thrive and be a priority pickup.

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Outlook: While the Jets' WR1 spot is locked in, the competition at WR2 only became murkier this off-season when the Jets added veterans Mecole Hardman from Kansas City and Allen Lazard from Green Bay to compete with Corey Davis. Davis has been a disappointment throughout his career, but after a near-1000-yard season for the Titans in 2020, his move to the Jets has been borderline disastrous. He caught just 32 passes in 2022 and while plenty of that can be blamed on the awful quarterback situation he had to deal with, it's also true that Davis just wasn't getting open at the rate the team needs from their WR2.

Given what we know about Davis' development, it makes sense to assume that Lazard, who joins the Packers after playing alongside Aaron Rodgers for the past five seasons, has the inside track to start the season as the Jets' WR2 opposite Garrett Wilson.

Lazard is coming off his best season as a pro, having led the Packers with 60 receptions for 788 yards and six touchdowns. While he's just not good enough to be a team's WR1, there's no reason to think that Lazard isn't talented enough to beat out perennial disappointments like Davis and Hardman.

For fantasy purposes, however, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which Lazard provides anything better than WR4 numbers for fantasy this season. He's likely to see fewer than the 100 targets he got in 2022 and with Rodgers' propensity to lean on his WR1, we could be looking at Wilson being the only Jets' WR worth rostering for fantasy. Still, Lazard and Rodgers do have some chemistry and if the Jets' offense ascends like many believe it will, there could be some reasonably productive weeks from Lazard and that could make him a decent occasional fill-in for fantasy managers in deeper leagues.

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Outlook: Chark has struggled with injuries throughout his five-year career and has yet to play a complete season. However, in 2019, he played 15 games and thrived, hauling in 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl honors with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Chark hasn't done much since then and recorded just 30 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games last season for the Lions. His injuries have been a major factor, but he was signed to Carolina this offseason and they're hoping he returns to his 2019 form. He'll be competing with Thielen for the WR1 spot and should be locked into a starting role, but unlike Thielen, age isn't a concern.

If he can stay healthy, the nearly 27-year-old (Sept. 23) has the potential for a 2019 repeat on a team that lacks receiver talent but that feels like his ceiling. He'll likely be drafted around the same time as Thielen in the later rounds or perhaps go undrafted in shallow leagues.

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Outlook: Kansas City gave Valdes-Scanting a three-year, $30 million deal to leave Green Bay before last season, but if they were hoping to unlock heretofore unseen production, they had to be disappointed. After averaging 31 receptions, 538 yards, and 3.3 TDs with the Packers, MVS posted a marginally better 42-687-2 line during his first season catching balls from Mahomes.

With his blend of size (6-foot-4, 206 pounds) and speed, there's always a chance Valdes-Scantling will breakthrough -- his 17.2 yards-per-catch average is no fluke. With each passing season it seems less and less likely, though, as MVS will turn 29 in October and has yet to top 700 yards in any of his five seasons to date. Maybe you can talk yourself into Valdes-Scantling as a final-round flier, but that's about it.

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Outlook: With apologies to Tim Patrick (knee), who totaled 104 catches, 1,476 yards, and 11 TDs in 2020-21 before tearing his ACL last August, Mims looks to be the more interesting player to watch behind Jeudy and Sutton. Patrick turns 30 in November, and it's always worrisome when fringe guys suffer serious injuries as there are times when, even if they only lose half a step, they didn't have half a step to lose. Like Sutton, Patrick's contract has an "out" after the season, so his long-term outlook in Denver is grim.

Circling back to Mims, he's undersized (5-foot-11, 183 pounds) but should be a nice fit in the slot where his quickness and burst could make him a weapon on quick hitters and deep balls, something Wilson has traditionally done well over his career. While not worth a draft pick, Mims could be added to your watch list, particularly in larger leagues.

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Outlook: Thanks to some ill-timed sports bets, Williams is going to have to wait six games before he can make the impact that he, and the Lions hope he is capable of. Rehabbing off a torn ACL last season, Williams didn't make his NFL debut until Week 13. In the six games he played, he had two touches, but he certainly made the most of them, hauling in a 41-yard bomb for a touchdown, and burning the defense on a 40-yard rush. It's a bit odd that Williams had zero impact upon returning, but this coaching staff values preparation more than anything, and likely felt giving Williams a bigger role was unwarranted considering his return from injury, and the absolute roll the offense was on at the time.

Obviously, the suspension saps a large chunk of fantasy value from Williams this season, but he was never going to be a big receptions guy early in his career. My bigger concern comes from his clear lack of maturity and awareness off the field. Blessed with unlimited physical gifts, the gambling situation, and several social media posts show he has a long way to go to be a professional. After a lost first season, and now a 2nd season impacted, Williams will be under heavy pressure to produce when he returns. But what if Detroit is humming along again? I'm willing to take an end of the draft flier on his talent alone, but I'm really uncertain he's even worth the stash if your league has a shallow bench.

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Outlook: In what is already a recurring theme, Moore missed a significant chunk of last season due to injury as he appeared in just eight games before a groin injury ended his season. He underwent surgery on both his groin and finger, and he should be fully healed for camp. When healthy, Moore was a volume target, catching six or more passes five times, though at 10.1 yards per catch it's clear he was doing most of his work close to the line of scrimmage on quick hitters and receiver screens.

Moore's outlook for 2023 definitely improved with the release of Hopkins as it was always a concern that he'd be phased out when both Brown and Hopkins were healthy -- something we never saw in 2022. Still, in his two seasons, Moore hasn't been much more than a chain mover, averaging 8.9 yards on his 95 receptions, and he's been a complete nonfactor in the red zone with two TDs. You can target him as a No. 5 fantasy wideout based on his expected high level of involvement.

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Outlook: Osborn put up solid numbers behind target hogs Jefferson and Adam Thielen during his first two NFL seasons. After back-to-back 650+ yard, 5+ touchdown seasons, Osborn opens the 2023 season as the starter next to Jefferson. After a quiet 2022, Osborne flashed down the stretch as teams dedicated major resources to stopping his All-Pro teammate. The former 5th rounder has become more than a simple field stretcher, and with the continued up-tempo, pass-happy style, has a chance to set career highs in targets, receptions and yards. Osborn could ascend to be a weekly WR3 in standard formats if rookie Jordan Addison doesn't eat into his share too much.

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Outlook: When Adams arrived from Green Bay, fantasy owners envisioned the triumvirate of Adams, Darren Waller, and Renfrow putting up big-time numbers. Only Adams delivered. In fairness, Waller and Renfrow dealt with injuries, but seeing the Clemson product go from 103 catches, 1,038 yards, and 9 touchdowns in 2021 to a 36-330-2 line across 10 games was a major disappointment.

Undersized at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Renfrow was always a player that maximized his talent, but as he enters his age-28 season you must wonder if the lack of athleticism will become an issue. There's also issues about his fit in McDaniels' offense -- his big year came under former OC Greg Olson -- and chemistry with Garoppolo, who might be more apt to feed the mouths ahead of him on the depth chart. A year ago, Renfrow was draftable as a WR3. This year, he's no better than a late-round curiosity.

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Outlook: Speaking of spreading the ball around, Zay Jones had nearly the same amount of targets and receptions (82-career-high) as Kirk in 2022, but fewer yards (823-career-high) and touchdowns (5), finishing 32nd among wide receivers in fantasy points. Jones has proven he could find openings and get Lawrence's attention, but the addition of Ridley should (and very likely will) decrease his numbers in 2023.

With that being said, Jones is a bench player in most 12-team fantasy leagues, but could be a very solid option for bye weeks or if an injury occurs to Ridley or Kirk. However, for 14-man leagues, the WR3 is good enough to start in the flex slot and is one of a select WR3's to even be mentioned as a solid bench consideration.

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Outlook: After posting a 50-802-6 line in his sophomore campaign, Jefferson looked like he was on the cusp of becoming a 1,000-yard receiver for Stafford and company. Instead, he underwent knee surgery early in training camp and wouldn't make his 2022 debut until Oct. 30, meaning he only shared the huddle with Kupp and Stafford for three games. Even taking that into account, the results weren't pretty for the Florida product as he finished the season with just 24 catches for 369 yards and 3 TDs.

Jefferson is entering a critical time in his young career as he'll be a free agent after the season and could be in line for a payday if he can stay healthy and prove he's a legitimate starting NFL receiver. Looking at the depth chart after Kupp, there's nothing standing between Jefferson and a major role -- he finished second on the club in receiving in 2021, and that was when he had to share snaps with Robert Woods and Odell Beckham Jr., so his ceiling should be higher in 2023. He'd be an interesting late-round flier as your fifth or sixth fantasy wideout.

Other names to know at the position include Ben Skowronek, who looked like a poor man's Kupp last season with 39 receptions for 376 yards in 14 games before a calf injury put him on the shelf, and Tutu Atwell, a 2021 second-round pick that has done precious little since being drafted. Veteran Demarcus Robinson was also signed after a 48-catch season with the Ravens, and he seems like a fallback option in case none of the younger receivers step up. Nobody here is worth drafting.

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