Maybe you aren’t ready to be done with fantasy football yet and have joined a playoff league. A lot of the playoff formats use cumulative scoring, so it’s not just about picking good players — it’s about picking good players who are going to play multiple games.
In a season-long fantasy league, you’d never pick Gabe Davis ahead of Tyreek Hill, who’s a far superior player. In a playoff fantasy league, it might be worth taking Davis ahead of Hill because the Bills are expected to play at least two playoff games and perhaps as many as four, while Hill’s Dolphins are double-digit underdogs this weekend and will probably only play one game.
Here are my tiered positional rankings for cumulative playoff leagues. And here’s a closer look at Wide Receivers.
Check out our consensus rankings for the Wild Card Round and full 2023 NFL Playoffs 
Fitz’s NFL Playoffs Rankings & Tiers: Wide Receivers (2023 Fantasy Football)
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Tier 5
Tier 6
The playoffs are loaded with star power at wide receiver, but Stefon Diggs and Ja’Marr Chase are a cut above. They’re both expected to play at least two games. If, as expected, we get a Bengals-Bills matchup in the divisional round, either Diggs or Chase will play at least three games.
A.J. Brown is just a small step below Diggs and Chase, and he’d be on Tier 1 if the Eagles were a 2-seed instead of a 1-seed. Not playing in the wild-card round takes Brown down a peg. And don’t overlook his teammate, Smith, who’s been on fire down the stretch.
The 49ers’ receivers are likely to play multiple games, but who’s going to be the preferred receiver in any given 49ers playoff game? They’ll also have to share targets with TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey.
There’s a case to be made that CeeDee Lamb should be ranked higher. Lamb has racked up 33-398-3 over his last four games and is the Cowboys’ uncontested alpha receiver. I just hate that Lamb and the Cowboys have to open the playoffs with a road game against the Buccaneers, even though they’re slight favorites.
Monitor the status of the Chargers’ Mike Williams before your draft. He sustained a back injury in the Chargers’ Week 18 loss to the Broncos and looked to be in a great deal of pain. Early reports say he’ll play against the Jaguars this week, but he’s probably not going to be at the height of his powers.
K.J. Osborn could be a nice under-the-radar asset in playoff leagues. Over his last four games, Osborn has compiled 25-350-2 on 33 targets. The Vikings are unpredictable and could be bounced early, but Osborn should probably be drafted before teammate Adam Thielen, who hasn’t had more than 67 receiving yards in a game since Week 4.
Good receivers who are being faded because their teams are double-digit underdogs on wild-card weekend: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle of the Dolphins, and D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett of the Seahawks.
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
