Standout rookies at the wide receiver position used to be a rarity. With the proliferation of pro-style offenses at the college level, that learning curve is less daunting than before. WRs must still traverse a complicated position very quickly to be relevant for fantasy football in their first season. A player with remarkable traits is far from hitting the field as an instant success, but it certainly helps if their respective team invests in those traits early on.
Redraft leagues often provide a nice value cushion for rookie WRs. Most competitors either aren’t familiar with the names yet or are merely avoiding the risk involved in a player who could very well start slowly or never develop at all as a rookie. The talent is there at a discount this season. Where some WRs are getting a ton of steam in dynasty circles, they are equally undervalued in redraft.
Rookie WRs can very easily become the league-winning value pick for your redraft team, so let’s examine which ones are worth rostering in 2023.
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Impact Rookie WRs in Redraft (2023 Fantasy Football)
Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC)
Among the four WRs who were selected in the first round this year, I feel the least confident in Quentin Johnston. He underwhelmed at the Combine after folklore gassed him up to be some sort of athletic marvel (he isn’t). All things considered, Johnston is a really good football player who will have a big role in a good offense. Having Justin Herbert as his QB and Kellen Moore at OC is a dream scenario for a young WR with oodles of potential. At the very least, he could be like similar prospects Treylon Burks and Laviska Shenault, except with a better opportunity to show off the parts of his game that make him special.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB)
The Packers’ offense is an enigma. On the one hand, Matt LaFleur is still in charge of this team, and they still have a lot of talent along the offensive line. In the backfield, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are a great one-two punch. The receiving corps and QB are gigantic question marks. The combination of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams from two years ago is now Jordan Love and… Christian Watson? As exciting as Watson was in spurts last season, he is still incredibly unpolished and light years from calling himself a reliable alpha receiver. Love is still one of the worst first-round picks in NFL history and hasn’t provided any reason for optimism in his limited time on the field so far.
Jayden Reed is the consistent weapon the Packers needed. Where Watson and Romeo Doubs can make big plays on the outside, Reed provides Love with a reliable route runner from the slot who can consistently get open. With how inconsistent Watson and Doubs were as rookies last season, I can definitely envision Reed as the top fantasy option in this group. If Love shows us he is ready to take the baton and lead a successful offense, it will be by moving the chains and converting in the red zone. Reed is exactly the type who will fill that role immediately upon entering the league.
Puka Nacua (WR – LAR)
Sean McVay is a mad scientist. One way to cling to that moniker is to successfully clone one of the most successful WRs of your tenure. Robert Woods was the lunch pail receiver who did whatever he was asked to do. Puka Nacua from BYU is cut from the same mold as Bobby Trees, and McVay sprung into action to get his guy. If you ever wondered how pro scouts could have been so enamored with a QB as terrible as Zach Wilson, look no further than the WR who made the plays that showed up on tape. Nacua is the reason Wilson was a first-round selection, let alone the third-overall pick. He is a coach’s dream and will punch the clock as the ham sandwich, war paint WR for the Rams from day No. 1. Nacua is currently going as WR100 in drafts, but I’m already penciling him in as my last pick in redraft leagues.
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