With training camp just coming up its now time to take a look at the top fantasy wide receivers for the 2023 season.
No. 1 Justin Jefferson
Justin Jefferson cemented himself as the best wideout in the NFL last year creating miracles for a Vikings team that had plenty of classic games for their fans to enjoy. Most recently Jefferson received the award for play of the year at the ESPYs. He now has a true No.2 wideout to work with in Jordan Addison which may take some touches away from Jefferson but will allow him to produce more consistently. The Vikings defense will more than likely continue to struggle this upcoming season similar to last year which will give the Vikings plenty of passing opportunities to stay in games. Jefferson will continue to be my number one ranked wide receiver until someone can prove me otherwise.
2022 Total Fantasy: 368.6
No. 2 Davante Adams
The Raiders made the big splash move of the offseason last year prior to the Tyreek trade by signing one of the NFL's best receivers in Davante Adams. He delivered greatly racking up big numbers in his first year with the team. Adam's only problem was that he didn't have much support outside of Josh Jacobs. The raiders have now revamped their locker room in Vegas including adding a couple wideouts to pair with new QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Look for Davante to keep his production up to the same level he had in 2022. The only concern for Adams now is age or injury.
2022 Total Fantasy: 335.5
No. 3 Ja'marr Chase
Ja'marr Chase continued his great college connection with Joe Burrow another year in 2022. the jump ball master continued his success all the way into the playoffs in which he caught a pass over 2 Chief's defenders during a critical 4th down for the Bengals. I got to watch it live and for as much as I hate the Bengals franchise it was one of the best catches I've ever seen. The only problem Chase ran into during his sophomore campaign was the injury bug which lasted him a decent portion of the middle part of the season. Expect him to bounce back into his regularly scheduled production 2023 as the Bengals offense will continue to be as deadly as ever.
2022 Total Fantasy: 242.4
No. 4 A.J. Brown
Things worked out just as A.J. Brown and the Eagles had hoped in 2022. Brown was dominant with an upgrade at quarterback in Hurts. This dominance would take them all the way to the Superbowl where they connected for one of their best plays all year over cornerback Trent Mcduffie. Hurts and Brown will now try to continue their dominant passing attack for a second season. I expect production to remain relatively similar to last season.
2022 Total Fantasy: 299.6
No. 5 Tyreek Hill
Tyreek's 2022 season was going great, and he was on pace to gain over 2000 yds prior to the Tua head injury situation. It is clear that he still is the best deep threat in the NFL and can go off at any point. As of now he hasn't shown many signs of slowing down either. The thing to monitor the most however is the Tua injury situation throughout this season now as Tyreek struggled to get consistent production when he was missing off the field. His production was cut a decent bit in games he missed Tua. For reference in games in which Tua wasn't injured he averaged 21.42 points per game and in games where Tua was injured he averaged 15.68 points per game.
2022 Total Fantasy: 341.2
No. 6 Garrett Wilson
This ranking may come as a surprise to some, but in my opinion, Wilson is more than ready to take over in a WR1 role for anyone's fantasy team. With the new addition of Aaron Rodgers as well as some other weapons around him Wilson is now poised to become one of the league's top wideouts. It cannot be understated how big the quarterback difference can make for Wilson this year. In 2022 when people not named Zach Wilson started at quarterback for the Jets Garrett Wilson averaged 17.29 which may not be a lot, but that was with the likes of Joe Flacco and Mike White. In games with Zach Wilson starting Garrett averaged 8.6. So that means in games in which Zach Wilson starts Garrett's production is cut in half. Garrett Wilson still managed to rack up over 1,100 yards and an offensive rookie of the year honor. The quarterback situation for Wilson can only go up from here.
2022 Total Fantasy: 215.7
No. 7 Stefon Diggs
Diggs continued his great connection Josh Allen last racking up over 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns. He will look to keep that production up after a shaky playoff performance against the Bengals in which Diggs and Allen got into it on the sideline. There have been some rumors that things are not all good up in Buffalo, but if they can get it figured out it's still one of the best connections in the league. I expect Diggs to keep relatively similar production to last season unless he has some sort of mental block due to the situation.
2022 Total Fantasy: 321.2
No. 8 Amon-Ra St. Brown
The Lions had one hell of a rollercoaster ide during their 2023 season and Amon-Ra St. Brown was at the forefront of the offensive side of things. The Lions offense as a whole was a very impressive, but their defense still led them to losing a multitude of games towards the beginning of the season. By the end they looked like a playoff ready unit. St. Brown will now have to contend with first round pick Jameson Williams for touches, but he won't return till week 7 due to the gambling suspension he received. I expect St. Brown to steadily increase his production on his way to winning the NFC north. Jared Goff still looks like a pro bowl caliber QB and I don't expect him to slow down either.
2022 Total Fantasy: 267.6
No. 9 Cooper Kupp
After capping off one of the best wide receiver seasons of all time in 2021 with a Superbowl MVP, Kupp along with the rest of the Rams franchise seemed to disappear last year. Kupp was still decent sure, but he hadn't lived up to the billing that many had hoped he would last year. He's still one of the best route runners and play makers this league has, but who's going to be supporting him outside of Matt Stafford who seemed to take a step back last year. With a lot of questions all over this team it's safe to say that Kupp may be the only consistency they have to rely on in the tough NFC west division. Preinjury last season he was doing great.
2022 Total Fantasy: 201.4
Points per game prior to injury game: 24.81
No. 10 Deebo Samuel
One of the most versatile weapons in the NFL, Deebo Samuel will look to continue his RB/WR role in a Shanahan offense that has no shortage of talent. He would typically be much higher up on the list, but the 49ers have a lot of different weapons this year as well as question marks at the QB position. Samuel is also coming off of a season where he tended to be more banged up, so health is a small concern. whether he is lining up in the backfield, slot, or along the outside you are always guaranteed that Shanahan will try to get the ball to him whenever possible.
2022 Total Fantasy: 168.4
Song of the Day: Elephant by Tame Impala
This is one of Tame Impala's first big hits in the music industry. Kevin Parker released the song in 2012 where it became very successful. Parker noted following the success, "that song paid for half my house" when interviewing with Grantland in 2015. Impala would later go on to inspire a whole generation of Indie rock and alternative music. He also has a lot of other hit songs that I love as well.
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All statistical data is based on PPR format according to: Fantasy Football Rankings, 2023 Projections, Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheets | FantasyPros
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