Outlook: Higgins, the other half of Cinci's dynamic duo, continues to be a dominant player. Despite missing a few games of his own, he went over 1000 yards and scored a career high seven touchdowns last season. His 10.4 standard points per game over the last two seasons has him in the WR1 category, and there is no reason to believe any type of regression will occur. There actually might be room to grow. With continuity in the offense, and in the receiver room, a contract year on tap and still only 24 years old despite entering his 4th season, there is every reason to believe that Higgins can still take a bigger step forward. I expect Cinci to throw more this year, and that means more looks for Higgins. He's consistently been at about 110 targets every year, but with 51 targets following Samaje Perine to Denver, and the improved line play, I think that target number goes up, and so does his overall production.

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Outlook: The Browns hit big with Cooper in free agency last season, as the former Cowboy topped 1,100 yards and hit career highs with 132 targets and nine touchdowns. Even more impressive is that Cooper put up a top-10 standard league finish with a career backup (Brissett) and an extremely rusty (Watson) throwing him the ball. While Cooper finished with impressive overall stats, his weekly rollercoaster ride wasn't ideal. He had five games under 5.0 pts, and was really propped up by five other games that accounted for over 50% of his yardage and 7 of his 9 touchdowns. Cooper also left too much meat on the bone, as he was 2nd in the NFL among receivers with 11 drops. With Watson at the helm for a full offseason, look for Cooper to be more consistent, but with more flexibility in gameplan, he might struggle to reach those 132 targets again. As long as DeAndre Hopkins doesn't join the squad after his free agency tour is over, Cooper is going to lead the team in receiving, and is an undervalued WR2 that has upside for more.

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Outlook: Chris Olave was hoping to break out last season. The rookie finished with the 17th-most yards in the league (1,042), but only found the endzone four times. However, he had one thing fantasy managers drool over: consistency. Olave finished under 10 fantasy points just four times in 15 games, and never had under seven fantasy points. This is crucial and made Olave a reliable start every week.

Despite the consistency, he only had two games over 20 fantasy points in PPR scoring which was heavily impacted by his lack of touchdowns. If he remains the No.1 option in the Saints passing game and gets a little help from the TD variance gods, he has the potential to be a WR1 by midseason. A return to form by Michael Thomas could also be a threat to Olave's success but it makes sense to side with youth in this situation.

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Outlook: DeVonta Smith might have been replaced as the top target in Philadelphia, but he proved that he can still be monster fantasy producer as the "1B" in the high-powered Philadelphia offense.

Smith, like Brown, benefits from the Eagles' pass-heavy offense. He's a great route runner and has excellent hands, which makes him a valuable target for Jalen Hurts. However, one of his weaknesses is that he's not a big-play threat like A.J. Brown. He doesn't break a lot of long touchdowns or have many long receptions. His yards per reception ranked just inside the top 50 among wide receivers in 2022 and his aDOT was outside the top 60 at the position.

His fantasy value is solid, but he's more of a high-floor player than a high-ceiling player. While that makes him a bit less exciting as a fantasy option than Brown, he can still be valuable given that he's being selected alongside other players like Tee Higgins, DK Metcalf, and Deebo Samuel who are not necessarily the locked-in top targets in their own respective offenses. If Smith falls to you at around his ADP or preferably a bit below it, he's a solid pick, but don't take him too early. He'll get you consistent points, but he's not likely to be someone who's going to win you your league.

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Outlook: Although it was overshadowed by Cooper Kupp's monster season, Samuel put up huge numbers of his own in 2021: 77 receptions, 1,770 combined yards, and 14 touchdowns. With Lance set to take over as QB1, and viewed by many as an upgrade over Jimmy G in terms of dynamic quarterback play, the thought was Samuel would be a top-10 fantasy wideout. Instead, the former Gamecock experienced regression across the board before a high ankle sprain effectively ended his season on Dec. 11.

Heading into 2023, expectations are significantly reduced. With a true lead back like McCaffrey in place, Samuel's usage as a runner will continue to dip, and he's yet to prove he can be effective as a receiver in the red zone with just 12 touchdowns among his 223 career grabs. It might also be time to worry about his extremely physical style of play and the toll it's already taken on his body; he sat out four games last year and has now missed 15 total in four seasons.

There's a chance that all these things might combine to knock the talented wideout even further down draft boards than he should be, and if that's the case, Samuel certainly offers enough upside to warrant selecting him. Whether he deserves to be considered a top-20 fantasy receiver is up for debate, though, and that wasn't the case a year ago.

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Outlook: The receiver room in Green Bay has been totally remade in the last few seasons with all of the veteran mainstays gone from the roster. Not a single receiver remains on the team from 2021, as the last two drafts have restocked the receiver room. Watson leads the youth movement as currently the most accomplished and highest ceiling player on the offense. Although he flashed his tantalizing physical gifts during brief stretches of his rookie year, there were plenty of duds, especially the first half of the year. After a monster 4-107-3 performance in a win against Dallas in Week 10, Aaron Rodgers finally felt comfortable targeting Watson in big spots. He saw no fewer than 5 targets along the way, and his stretch from Week 10 to Week 13 likely clinched playoff berths for fantasy owners patient enough to hold on to some shares of the rookie.

Vaulting to the WR1 and alpha receiver on the offense automatically puts Watson in the fantasy spotlight. With a year of experience under his belt, Watson should be able to play faster this season, and expand his route tree. The move to Love is certainly a downgrade in quarterback play, but it's very likely the duo has been able to build chemistry during their work as backups and now franchise cornerstones. His speed makes him deadly downfield, but it's his 6'4'' frame, and better understanding of red zone concepts that make him a threat for double digit touchdowns. As long as Love doesn't totally fall flat, Watson has serious boom potential in this offense. He has standard league WR1 potential at a WR2 price.

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Outlook: A model of consistency over the previous five seasons when he caught at least 100 balls four times and topped 1,000 yards four times, Allen missed the better part of two months dealing with a hamstring injury, leading to a 66-752-4 effort that was his worst since 2016 when he missed all but one game due to a torn ACL -- on the bright side, Allen's per-game production remained strong, as his 17-game pace was 112 receptions, 1,279 yards, and 7 touchdowns.

At 31, Allen is entering the latter stages of his career, though elite athleticism was never his calling card, as he's more of a route technician with great hands, both of which are skills that should continue to serve him well. Allen does have a lot of mileage on his body, however, having now played 10 seasons in the NFL, and though he's not a full-fledged durability risk, he hasn't played an entire season since 2019. Target him as a middling WR2 to mitigate your risk.

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Outlook: Wide receiver Calvin Ridley missed all of last season due to violating the league's gambling policy while with the Falcons in 2021. The Jaguars picked him up because of his success in his first three seasons, averaging over 1,000 receiving yards and scoring 26 touchdowns from 2018-20.

The Alabama product has proven that he is proficient at route-running, catching and finding the endzone - three things that fantasy football managers hunger for. In the past couple seasons (not including 2022), he's been considered a WR1 in fantasy football, but the plethora of weapons Trevor Lawrence has and the QB's willingness to spread the ball makes Ridley more of a WR2. However, Ridley has the talent to break past his fellow receivers and early ADP indicates the fantasy community seems comfortable in this assessment as he's going ahead of Christian Kirk as we speak here in mid-June.

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Outlook: While he has definitely had his moments, Williams' body of work in six seasons since being the seventh overall pick leaves something to be desired. Durability continues to be front and center, more so than just the number of games missed would suggest, as the Clemson product seems to be dinged up constantly, which serves to undermine his consistency; that's how you end up with things like 10- and 15-yard games sandwiched around a 113-yard effort to open last season.

His size, raw talent, and ability to make contested catches have made him a dangerous weapon in the red zone, though his yards per catch have dropped three straight years, going from 20.4 YPC in 2019 all the way down to 14.2 a year ago (that was his worst number since he caught just 11 balls as a rookie). It's hard to imagine Williams' inability to string together productive efforts week in, and week out, didn't play a role in LA targeting a receiver in Round 1, thus lessening the degree to which they'll need to rely on the 28-year-old wideout this year.

Rewind the clock to 2022, and it felt like Williams was pushing for a spot as a top-20 receiver. Now, he's better suited as a decent No. 3 fantasy wideout that could carry you one week and kill you the next. If you're OK with that type of feast/famine from your WR3, make the pick. If you want steadier value, Williams isn't the best choice.

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Outlook: One of fantasy's most reliable receivers over the past several seasons, Moore was shipped to Chicago for a draft pick this spring. While it might not be the best landing spot for his fantasy prospects, anything is better than what he endured last season with the Panthers quarterback carousel of nightmares. While his reception and yardage totals were his lowest since his rookie year, he still managed to produce a healthy 63-888-7 line. The seven scores were easily a career high, and he joins a Bears squad led by what should be a up and coming Justin Fields. Moore and Fields should challenge defenses vertically, and being the alpha receiver should also help Moore straddle that WR2/3 line. If you believe in Fields, Moore could end up being an amazing draft day value. If you don't, Moore falls off into solid, but uninspiring WR3 territory.

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Outlook: Drake London was the first receiver taken off the 2022 NFL Draft board and he didn't disappoint: 72 receptions for 866 yards and four touchdowns his rookie season. London finished with the 28th-most fantasy points at his position, despite being in Atlanta's run-heavy system.

London's lengthy 6-foot-4 frame allowed him to haul in passes where only he could grab them and was very efficient, recording just three drops. However, he often went into slumps due to lack of volume in the offense. He had a combined 49.4 points in Weeks 1-3, but just 32.5 in Weeks 4-9. He was back on track in Week 10 (14.8 points), but combined for 12.1 the next two weeks. However, he finished four of the final five games with at least 14 points.

Since Robinson will be the opponent's likely focus point, London won't be under the microscope and I expect him to perform slightly better during his second season. He's a lower-end WR2 in fantasy football that'll likely go in the 5th round in redraft leagues.

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