Fantasy gamers and analysts shouldn’t dig their heels in on their player takes. Fortunately, I can sing the praises of two wide receivers I previously wrote about being overrated. The first is a veteran wideout who was a stud in recent years. The second is a speedy rookie on an accelerated path to starting reps. Each player’s average draft position (ADP) is from half-point per reception (HALF) formats.

• 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
• 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
• 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
• Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator

Undervalued Wide Receivers in Half-PPR (August)

Cooper Kupp (LAR – WR): 36.7 ADP | WR17

I said it’s better to get out a year early than a year late on Cooper Kupp when I analyzed him as a bust in May. While getting out early on veterans is a mantra I believe in, I probably didn’t properly account for Kupp’s 2023 offseason getting derailed by a hamstring issue. The veteran wide receiver’s underlying data was unimpressive relative to his lofty standards, yet a healthier Kupp can bounce back.

Doctor Edwin Porras is optimistic about Kupp’s health and outlook this year, and I have the self-awareness to recognize that medical professionals know more about injuries than I do.

Know what’s weird?

Cooper Kupp, the most recent triple crown winner/’21 Super Bowl MVP, had a severe preseason hamstring injury + rolled tf out of his ankle but the FF industry is acting like his ’23 numbers are a true reflection of his current abilities

That and crop circles

– Edwin Porras, DPT (@FBInjuryDoc) July 9, 2024

Sticking on the theme of injuries, Puka Nacua is working back from an injury, albeit one that’s not threatening his availability in Week 1. Still, the injury was a reminder of Nacua’s less-than-stellar health in college, and if he misses any games this year, Kupp’s usage would skyrocket.

Regardless, Kupp had a sizable role in the offense while Nacua was turning heads as a rookie. There were 12 games when both Nacua and Kupp had at least a 62% snap share, including LA’s loss in the playoffs. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), in those 12 games, Kupp had a 27.5% target share, 63 receptions (5.3 per game), 753 receiving yards (62.8 per game), 1.78 yards per route run (Y/RR), 8.6-yard average depth of target (aDOT), 5.2 yards after the catch per reception (YAC/REC), five receiving touchdowns, one two-point conversion and 11.5 HALF points per game (PPG). His 11.5 HALF PPG would have ranked as the WR25 among wideouts who played at least 10 games last year.

Obviously, Kupp was a monster in a historic 2020 campaign. Yet, he was also the WR1 in HALF PPG (18.2) among wideouts who played at least nine games in 2021. Kupp is unlikely to return to his world-beater, WR1 form. Nevertheless, he’s an exciting selection as early as the middle of the second round, even though gamers can likely wait a little longer to pull the trigger based on his ADP.

Xavier Worthy (KC – WR): 97.0 ADP | WR39

When I called Xavier Worthy a player to avoid in May, it was because Andy Reid’s offense is complex for wideouts, and Reid has historically brought rookie receivers along slowly. In fact, I also theorized Worthy would be an ideal player to fade in drafts and trade for or scoop out of the free-agent pool during the season if he had a slow start.

The speedster appears poised to buck the trend for Reid’s rookie receivers by opening the year as a starter. According to Nathan Jahnke of PFF, Worthy played 15 of 18 snaps while Patrick Mahomes was in Kansas City’s second preseason game. The rookie has elite speed and has utilized it in the preseason, reeling in three receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown on six targets and 19 routes. Worthy has also run once for 11 yards.

Kansas City’s first-round pick likely won’t have target competition from fellow speedster Hollywood Brown for at least the first week or two of the season while the veteran wideout recovers from a sternoclavicular joint dislocation. Worthy could carve out a critical role early in the season by playing well and could push Brown down the pecking order. Additionally, while it remains unclear if Rashee Rice will face a suspension this year for the automobile accident he was involved in during the offseason, the longer things drag out, the more likely Rice won’t be suspended this year or will be suspended later in the season. The latter would remove target competition from Worthy’s path during the most important weeks of the fantasy season.

Revisiting Rice, he had at least a 64% snap share from Week 12 through Week 17 and in all four of Kansas City’s playoff contests and thrived. In that 10-game sample, Rice had 13.5 HALF PPG, which would have ranked as the WR12 among wide receivers who played at least 10 games last year. Worthy has more draft capital than Rice had, which is encouraging for Worthy’s potential in a Mahomes-led offense.

Tyreek Hill was less polished as a receiver entering the NFL and didn’t have Mahomes throwing him the ball in his rookie year. Nevertheless, from Week 9 through Kansas City’s one playoff game in 2016, Hill had 11.7 HALF PPG, which would have ranked as the WR17 among wideouts who played at least 10 games that year. It’s unfair to compare Worthy to a present-day version of Hill. However, Reid could dig back into his bag of tricks from Hill’s rookie season for ways to get the ball in Worthy’s hands.

Worthy shouldn’t be selected behind his injured teammate, Brown (90.3 ADP). Worthy’s ADP should be in the same range as Keenan Allen‘s (70.3), Terry McLaurin‘s (70.7), Christian Kirk‘s (72.3), Chris Godwin‘s (76.0) and Calvin Ridley‘s (82.0). Worthy is also a more desirable selection than players at running back, such as Zack Moss (86.3), Devin Singletary (90.0), Nick Chubb (91.7), Javonte Williams (94.0), Austin Ekeler (94.7), Jonathon Brooks (95.7) and Brian Robinson (96.0). Finally, I’d also pick Worthy ahead of tight ends Evan Engram (71.3), Jake Ferguson (84.3) and David Njoku (96.0).

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.