As we approach the 2023 best ball season, it’s important to reflect on the past year and analyze what worked and what didn’t work for wide receivers. By understanding the reasons behind their successes and failures, we can better prepare for the upcoming season.

In this primer, we’ll dive into the strategies and top wide receivers to target in best ball leagues for 2023. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the best ball streets, it’s never too early to start drafting for the upcoming season.

• Best Ball Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR
• Introduction to Best Ball Leagues
• Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE

2023 Best Ball Draft Strategy & Advice: Wide Receivers

Here’s what you should know about wide receivers as you prepare for your best ball drafts.

Wide Receiver Advance Rates

The highest WR advance rates in Underdog’s Best Ball Mania III tournament came from Tyreek Hill, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Lockett, Jaylen Waddle, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, Christian Kirk, Stefon Diggs, A.J. Brown, Zay Jones and Garrett Wilson.

The first takeaway is the amount of No. 2 WRs on their teams (based on ADP) drafted that delivered strong ROIs. This suggests that some great value picks can be made drafting No. 2s that are discounted solely because they are viewed as No.2s by the market. It’s not because they aren’t talented or are in bad situations. In fact, it’s the opposite in most cases, which is why they are the perfect targets in drafts. And their prices will almost always be kept in check to some extent due to the presence of the No. 1 wide receiver on their own team. Call it the “WR1 firewall.”

Among the top 10 WRs drafted, half finished with top 10 advance rates. Three were drafted inside the top five, with the other two coming at WR9 and WR10 ADPs. The other five WRs were drafted outside the top 17 including three outside the top 40 wide receivers. There was also a severe plateau in advance rate after the top 11 WRs in ADP.

When analyzing points per game in regard to advance rates, six of the top 10 scorers in points per game finished with top 10 advance rates. The ones that didn’t either suffered an injury or had their quarterback miss time. Seven of the 10 finished inside the top 10 in total points scored. Ergo, the name of the game with WR is still about scooping up value in the middle-to-later portions of drafts, with WRs counting for the biggest part of your best-ball roster.

But you can still lock in a bonafide stud early on. Eight of the top 10 drafted WRs based on ADP finished inside the top eight in points per game. And the two misses — Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel — still finished inside the top 20. But to really get your edge at wide receiver, you need to hit on these discounted No. 2 WRs in the middle-to-late rounds as the actual difference-makers/level-jumpers. The RB Dead Zone and the WR Shred Zone are one and the same from Rounds 3-6.

Be aggressive drafting WRs in this range, and be sure to load up on the position with so many roster spots to fill. Eight to nine receivers should suffice. And stack WRs not just with their QBs, but with their WR/TE teammates as well. An underrated aspect of this is that if one of them goes down or misses time, the other likely benefits from a higher target share — especially in the case of No. 2s.

For some additional context, I also looked back at the win rate percentage from the FFPC best ball drafts from 2021 and 2022.

Among the top 24 per ADP in 2021, just two WRs finished with win rates inside the top 10. Three inside the top 20. Among the top 24 per ADP in 2022, again, just two WRs finished with win rates inside the top 10. Three inside the top 20. Just goes to show how volatile the WR position can be in fantasy football and how you want to take as many shots as possible targeting the position in the middle-to-late rounds.

I’ve laid out my current best-ball WR rankings/tiers so you can better recognize the groups of players you should be targeting for the highest ROI based on their ADPs.

The tier structure in the written portion goes from S Tier (Supreme) to F Tier. It’s what the cool kids want.