3 Fantasy Football Draft Middle-Round Targets: Wide Receivers (2023)

As the value of the running back position plummets faster than FTX, the opposite is true for wide receivers. Business is booming for the top pass-catchers across the league.

Don’t believe me? Take one gander at the cost of keeping your unsigned wide receiver. The $19.74 million Franchise Tag number for wide receivers is the third-highest in the entire league. Only quarterbacks ($32.42 million) and linebackers ($20.93 million) have higher tag numbers.

That same value has carried over to fantasy football. Even the most casual fantasy football players know the risks and injury rates for running backs. That makes finding value at wide receiver more and more difficult each season. Difficult doesn’t mean impossible, though. Here are three wide receivers to target outside the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rating (ECR) Top 50.

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Top WRs Outside the ECR Top 50 (2023 Fantasy Football)

Christian Watson (WR – GB) ECR55 | WR25

Green Bay wide receiver Christian Watson has been one of the most polarizing players across the fantasy landscape this offseason. People either love him or hate him. There’s rarely an in-between.

I get it. Watson was the definition of boom/bust during his rookie season, but a lot of that was due to playing time and injuries. In the six games where he played at least 80% of snaps, Watson averaged 18.7 points per game in half-point per reception (PPR) scoring.

The drop-off in quarterback play from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love will certainly impact Watson’s efficiency. However, consistent playing time can help offset that as long as Love is league-average at worst.

So while there may be down weeks, Watson offers those week-winning spike weeks that can single handily win you a couple of games per season. There’s tremendous value in that.

Tyler Lockett (WR – SEA) ECR61 | WR27

New year, same ol’ Tyler Lockett disrespect. Despite being consistently productive, people love to doubt Lockett for whatever reason. Last year, it was the loss of Russell Wilson. We saw how that turned out. This year, it’s the addition of rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

I’m a MASSIVE fan of JSN. I think he can be a star in this league. That doesn’t mean Lockett is dust, though. Lockett has finished as the WR13, WR13, WR9, WR14 and WR15 over the past five years. How is that consistent production valued as a WR3 headed into the 2023 season?

Is it because we generally think of Seattle as a rush-first offense? As wild as this sounds, that wasn’t the case last season. Geno Smith had the eighth most pass attempts in the entire NFL last season, making him a terrific QB2 with Top 5 Upside. Lockett might lose some volume this season, but he’s too good and efficient to be ranked as low as he is.

Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF) ECR52 | WR28

I might be beating a dead horse here, but I’ll continue to tout 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk as one of the best values in fantasy football this season. To quote Tim Robinson in the classic “Driving Crooner” sketch, “I gotta figure out a way to make money off this thing. It’s simply too good.”

We all know the negatives attributed to Aiyuk. Run-first offense. Target share. Quarterback health. I see and acknowledge those legitimate concerns. I’m just betting on the talent. He’s “simply too good” to fail. Just ask this media report. Or this one. Or even this one. You get the point.

So while many of us focus on the potential red flags, we’re ignoring the steady drumbeat surrounding Aiyuk this offseason. By most accounts, he’s been the most impressive offensive player on the field this off-season.

Have I mentioned that Aiyuk set career highs in targets (113), receiving yards (1,015) and receiving touchdowns (eight) en route to a WR15 finish in half-point PPR scoring last season? Don’t overthink this. Draft Aiyuk at or above average draft position (ADP) and flourish.