It’s impossible to overstate the importance of wide receivers in dynasty leagues.
Part of it is structural: Most dynasty leagues use full-point PPR scoring, and most require you to start at least three WRs. Those league settings make it hard to win if you don’t have at least average production from the WR position, and overwhelming firepower at wide receiver will give you a major competitive advantage.
For more dynasty coverage, check out Fitz on the FantasyPros Dynasty Football Podcast 
Part of it is the nature of the position: Wide receivers generally have longer careers than running backs, and also more predictable. Every year we see RBs emerge from obscurity to become significant fantasy contributors. That sort of thing is rare at the WR position, where what you pay for is generally what you get.
In my dynasty startup draft primer on RBs, I made the case that dynasty managers should take a cheapskate approach at running back, cutting corners at RB in order to load up at the WR position and, at least in superflex leagues, the QB position.
- Dynasty Startup Draft Primers: QB | RB
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Sleepers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Drink greedily from the WR spigot in dynasty startups, because the supply will eventually run dry. Even though the WR pool is deeper than the pools of QBs, RBs and TEs, don’t fall into the “I’ll take care of it later” trap. Yes, there are a lot of useable wide receivers, but there is a limited number of young WRs who have either achieved stardom already or have a good chance to attain it.
Youth isn’t everything, of course. Because WRs have a longer career arc, investing in an established 28-year-old receiver such as Amari Cooper is perfectly defensible. Investing in a 28-year-old running back, on the other hand, is a perilous move. Even the great wide receivers eventually run out of steam, as we’ve recently seen with A.J. Green and Julio Jones, but it’s not uncommon for the better WRs to be productive up to age 30 and sometimes beyond.
Dynasty Startup Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Wide Receivers
Let me repeat something I wrote in the Dynasty Startup Draft Primer for QBs, because it also applies to other positions, too. Before you start drafting in a dynasty startup, you should first chart a course and then build a coherent draft strategy around it.
Dynasty Startup Draft Strategy
Charting a course means deciding when you expect your team to establish its dynastic reign over the league. Here are the three primary options:
- Win now: Establish your dominance immediately. While your competitors focus on youth in the startup draft, scoop up proven veterans at discounted prices and build a roster that will be a favorite for the league title in Year 1.
- Win in Year 2: Focus on youth but mix in some proven veterans. Your young roster might not have the juice to win right away, but you’ll have a collection of players likely to have increased in value after Year 1, positioning you to contend in Year 2.
- Productive struggle: (Hat tip to Ryan McDowell of Dynasty League Football for coining the term.) Commit to a slow build that will put you in title contention in 2-3 years. Focus heavily on youth in the startup draft and be willing to trade startup picks for picks in future rookie drafts.
The course you choose will determine how you attack the WR position — particularly when it comes to your willingness to draft older receivers.
Wide Receiver Dynasty Startup Draft Strategy
If you’re in win-now mode, Cooper Kupp is a logical draft target. Kupp will be 30 by the time the season begins. He won’t come off the board as early in dynasty startups as he will in redraft leagues because of his age, so you might be able to get him as late as the fourth round of a 1QB startup or the fifth round of a superflex startup. But if you’re aiming to win in Year 2 or committing to a productive struggle, Kupp probably should not be a draft target for you.
If you’re building your team to win in Year 2, favor WRs over RBs in the early rounds. The young receivers you draft in the early rounds are highly likely to maintain or increase their value over the next year, providing a strong foundation for your playoff-ready 2024 squad.
If you’re committed to a productive struggle, heavily favor WRs over RBs in the early rounds. RB value is often fleeting. Travis Etienne is an attractive option in the early rounds. He’s only 24 and seems poised for a fruitful career. But RB career arcs are short, and even top running backs can run out of gas quickly. Just ask the dynasty managers who tried to build their teams around Todd Gurley a few years ago. Pass on Etienne and draft Michael Pittman or Christian Watson instead. You probably wouldn’t make that choice in redraft, but it’s a sensible business decision for productive strugglers in a dynasty startup draft.
Wide Receiver Rankings & Tiers
Here are the top 40 wide receivers in my dynasty rankings. I’m going to sort them into categories and offer thoughts on a few of the players in each category.
Cornerstones
Expect these players to be taken with top-3 picks in 1QB startups and in the first round of superflex startups.
Jefferson and Chase are possibly the two best wide receivers in the game. They’re both 23 years old. ‘Nuff said.
Foundational
Expect these players to be taken in the first or second round of 1QB startups and in the second or third round of superflex startups.
Never mind that Waddle is currently the second-best receiver on his own team. In his short career, he’s proven dangerous as both a short-area receiver and as a home-run threat. … Garrett Wilson impressed as a rookie and should be able to take things up a notch now that he’s no longer hindered by bad quarterbacking. … Chris Olave absolutely belongs on this lofty tier — he has lethal speed and is already one of the better route runners in the league.
Established Stars and Young Studs
Expect these players to be taken in the second or third round of 1QB startups and in the third or fourth round of superflex startups.
Don’t fade Higgins and Smith simply because they’re playing second fiddle to superstar teammates; they’re fantastic players in their own right and might eventually get opportunities to be lead receivers. … London is stuck in a run-heavy offense but could eventually be a 100-catch guy. … Metcalf is hanging onto this tier by his fingernails. He has superhero size, speed and strength but hasn’t quite put it all together yet, and now he has more target competition.
The Next Generation
Expect these players to be taken in the third to fifth round of 1QB startups and in the fourth to seventh round of superflex startups.
Smith-Njigba outshone teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave at Ohio State two years ago and is going to be an NFL gem. … A large percentage of Watson’s 2022 production came on just a handful of plays, but his size and speed give him a Sistine Chapel ceiling. … Dotson played only 12 games as a rookie but scored seven TDs and had five weeks in which he was a top-20 scorer at WR.
Marquee Veterans
Expect these players to be taken in the third to fifth round of 1QB startups and in the fourth to seventh round of superflex startups.
Adams has been putting up absurd numbers, but he’s 30 now, and his QB situation keeps getting worse. … Speaking of worrisome QB situations, Chris Godwin is one of the best slot receivers in the game, but after catching passes from Tom Brady the last three years, he’ll not be catching passes from either Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask. Still, Godwin is too talented to dismiss.
Building Blocks
Expect these players to be taken in the fourth to seventh round of 1QB startups and in the fifth to eighth round of superflex startups.
- Treylon Burks
- Brandon Aiyuk
- Jerry Jeudy
- Jordan Addison
- Jameson Williams
- Zay Flowers
- Quentin Johnston
Burks is poised to be an alpha receiver in Tennessee and just needs to stay healthy. … Addison, Flowers and Johnson are all good percentage plays as first-round NFL Draft picks, even if Flowers and Johnston might not have landed in ideal situations. … The Lions slow-played things with Jameson Williams last year after he tore his ACL in his final college season, and now he’ll serve a six-game gambling suspension, but he has talent worth waiting for.
Solid Veterans
Expect these players to be taken in the fourth to seventh round of 1QB startups and in the fifth to eighth round of superflex startups.
A lot of people rank Deebo higher. He’s undeniably awesome with the ball in his hands, but he’s 27 now, and his usage in recent years has been gimmicky. … Calvin Ridley‘s arrival could eat into Kirk’s numbers, but there should be plenty of balls to go around with the continued maturation of Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence.
Risk/Reward Guys
Expect these players to be taken in the fifth to ninth round of 1QB startups and in the sixth to 10th round of superflex startups.
Toney has seemingly injured every body part in his two short years in the league, but when he plays, he draws targets at a freakishly high rate and is mercury with the ball in his hands. … Pickens made a bunch of highlight-reel catches last year but needs to work on his route running to start getting more separation. … Bateman hasn’t been able to get NFL traction due to injuries, but he has the tools to become a good one.
Final Thoughts
A few final thoughts about drafting wide receivers in dynasty startups:
- Do not let this all-important position slip through your fingers in the early rounds of a startup. By all means, pounce on core players and early-round values at other positions, but don’t fall so far behind at wide receiver that you’re unable to catch up.
- Focus more on talent than situation. Don’t dismiss a receiver just because he’s tied to a mediocre quarterback or stuck in a run-heavy offense. That receiver might be in a completely different situation a year from now. And don’t overpay for a receiver whose value is propped up by a star quarterback or a pass-happy offense.
- It’s fine to draft older WRs if your goal is simply to get short-term value from them. Just realize that older WRs can be hard to trade and are in danger of rapid depreciation.
Fitz’s Dynasty Startup Draft Wide Receiver Rankings
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
