Wide Receiver Targets: Diontae Johnson, Chris Godwin, Christian Kirk (Fantasy Football)

Everyone has heard of the Zero-RB draft strategy. However, the Zero-WR strategy rarely gets mentioned. Yet, it’s one of my favorite draft strategies because of the depth at the wide receiver position.

How does the Zero-WR draft strategy work? Like a Zero-RB strategy, you don’t avoid that position the entire draft. Instead, you focus on other positions early in the draft before targeting wide receivers starting in the fifth or sixth round.

Ideally, you load up at the running back position in the early rounds, grabbing two star-caliber guys. Fantasy players also want to draft an elite quarterback and tight end before picking their first wide receiver with this draft strategy. The point of this strategy is to sacrifice at the wide receiver position to have a star-studded lineup everywhere else.

Here are 10 wide receivers I am targeting this year when using a Zero-WR draft strategy. Ideally, I want to leave my draft with at least four of these wide receivers on my team. Below we dive into a few notable wide receiver fantasy football draft targets.

Zero WR Wide Receiver Draft Targets

ADP via FantasyPros

Christian Kirk (JAX): ADP 72.3 | WR31

Kirk is the perfect combination of safe floor and upside at the wide receiver position. He was the WR11 in 2022, averaging 11.8 half-point PPR fantasy points per game as Trevor Lawrence’s No. 1 guy. Furthermore, Kirk was the WR16, averaging 11.7 fantasy points per game from Week 2 through Week 12 last season, despite Calvin Ridley seeing a 20% target per route run rate during those contests (per Fantasy Points Data). He should dominate the middle of the field with Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. challenging defenses downfield.

Chris Godwin (TB): ADP 77.3 | WR33

Fantasy players struggled with starting Godwin in 2023, as he scored 9.6 or fewer half-point PPR fantasy points in 64.7% of the games. Furthermore, he averaged under 10 fantasy points per game for the first time since 2018. However, Godwin is prime for a bounce-back year, with the Buccaneers moving him back into the slot. The veteran averaged 0.41 fantasy points per route run in the slot compared to 0.26 lined up outside last season (per Fantasy Points Data). There is a chance Godwin outscores Mike Evans this year.

Diontae Johnson (CAR): ADP 92.7 | WR38

Johnson was the WR8 in 2021, averaging 13.8 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, the veteran has averaged only 8.8 fantasy points per game over the past two years despite seeing 7.8 targets per contest. He has struggled because of awful quarterback production, ranking 70th in catchable target rate last season (per PlayerProfiler). Thankfully, he gets a quarterback upgrade in Carolina and gets to play in Dave Canales’ fantasy-friendly offense. The head coach recently said that Johnson will be the focal point of the team’s passing attack in 2024.