NFL 2023 Fantasy Season – WR Rankings (11.-15.)
Adams is coming off another great season but it will be difficult to repeat that with change at QB position and Jimmy Garoppolo taking the wheel for the Raiders. Garoppolo doesn’t throw the ball deep down the field like Derek Carr threw last year and that has lowered his ceiling a lot this year. This year we have a lot of good wide receivers in the early 2nd round at a similar position where Adams is being drafted and I would rather prefer having players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Garrett Wilson, and Jaylen Waddle. He is still in line to be a focal point of the Raiders’ offense but at this price, I would rather go with outer receiving options.
Believe it or not, Derek Carr will be an improvement for Olave and his fantasy value this year. Olave was sensational last year and this year he will likely improve given his skillset and being a clear no. 1 option for a QB that likes to throw the ball and especially likes to throw the ball deep. If you have a high 1st-round pick and go with running back and you want to take a wide receiver in the late 2nd or early 3rd round Olave is a great option for your fantasy team. Look for him to easily outperform stats from last year, especially in receiving yards and receptions.
If he can stay healthy in this offense he will easily be a top 15 wide receiver in 2023, but the question can he be as he is 31 years old for this season? In a span of 5 years from 2017 to 2021 season he had at least 136 targets each year and averaged over 1150 receiving yards per year. So given that numbers you can take last year as an anomaly and expect him to put up at least 1100 receiving yards with at least 6 TDs and if he can match that he will be solid WR no. 2 this year in fantasy.
In his last full season in 2020, Ridley had 1374 receiving yards with 9 TDs on 143 targets. He has a big potential for big plays and if he can get to similar form again with a great young QB in Trevor Lawrence he will contend to be a top 10 wide receiver again in the 2023 season. He is a great fantasy option and I would look to draft him in as many leagues as possible.
For the 1st three seasons in the league, he has been as consistent as it gets (targets per year: 108 in 2020, 110 in 2021, and 109 in 2022) so you can expect similar numbers again in 2023. He has missed 3 games over the last 2 seasons but didn’t deal with any major injuries during his career in the NFL. Bengals have a great passing game with Joe Borrow and Higgins will be a clear no. 2 option behind Chase and if anything happens to Ja’Maar Higgins will become a clear top 5-7 option at wide receiver position.