This season is the year of the wide receiver. There is less substantial depth than at any other position, so finding talent late may well be key to your team’s success or demise in 2010.
Every draft season there are anomalies, and 2010 is no different. The seven WR’s below are all number one receivers for their respective teams, but they are being drafted late, sometimes after other receivers on their team, and in some cases not at all. All of these guys make excellent late round picks who could pay huge dividends versus how late they are being drafted.
Washington soars past Britt as Titans #1 WR
All of these guys could and should contribute strong fantasy numbers this season. They are simply on bad teams or overlooked and undervalued.
Lee Evans, BUF ~ No one is in the dark about Lee Evans. He’s a top WR on a very bad passing team. But, with T.O. gone to Cincy, Evans is once again THE target for the Bills QBs, and he’s once again leading the team in preseason, despite limited action. He is especially valuable in PPR leagues. Don’t overlook his value simply because of who he plays for. His current ADP is 145th overall.
Jabar Gaffney, DEN ~ I wrote earlier this year that Gaffney was one of my prime sleeper candidates, and while his stock has risen slightly, he’s still being drafted way too late for the value you’re likely to receive. He is Denver’s #1 WR, and so far this preseason he has shown nothing but promise to fulfill my assessment of his capabilities. His current ADP is 177 overall.
Mohammed Massaquoi, CLE ~ Most people are simply bypassing the Browns receiving corp. That’s understandable. Jake Delhomme isn’t going to strike fear in the hearts of many teams. But he and Seneca Wallace have been sharp i9n the preseason, and Massaquoi remains the team’s primary receiving target, making him even more valuable in PPR leagues. his current ADP is 169th.
Mike Williams, TB ~ Williams is less of a sleeper than he was a few weeks ago, now that he’s officially been declared the Buccaneers #1 receiver. Still, he’s not getting much love for a rookie playing on a team that will always be playing from behind and throwing the ball a lot. His current ADP is 170 overall.
Laurent Robinson, STL ~ Another #1 receiver on a bad team. Still the Rams will be throwing the rock all the time, whether AJ Feeley or Sam Bradford are doing the passing. Robinson, not Donnie Avery, was the team’s best and most targeted receiver prior to last season’s injury. Assuming he stays healthy, he could be quite a steal heading into 2010. While everyone is jumping on the oft-injured, Avery at ADP 182, you can snatch Laurent who’s overall ADP is 248.
Nate Washington, TEN ~ Washington is the Titans’ number one receiver this season, not Kenny Britt, In fact Britt has played so poorly he’s barely hanging on to his role as WR3. Yet, Britt has an ADP of 125th compared to Washington’s 311th.
Louis Murphy, OAK ~ While every one is targeting Darrius Heyward-Bey (who is missing time due to fatigue) and Chaz Schilens (who is once again injured), Murphy is the team’s #1 WR and this preseason he’s looked very sharp for the silver and black. His current ADP is 302 overall.
–Bonus Pick–
Devin Hester, CHI ~ I don’t include Hester in the above list because, although he is the team’s #1 receiver, I personally believe he’ll be outperformed by Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu this season. However, in a Mike Martz offense there will be a ton of passing and he likes to spread the ball around, so don’t write Hester off just yet. His ADP is 129.
Good pick with Mike Williams, I think he is going to do real well this year, and is definitely ahead of Arrelious Benn.
I like Donnie Avery over Laurent Robinson; but to be honest with an injured Feeley and Bradford looking like he is starting week 1, not sure about anything in St. Louis.
We are on same exact page with Louis Murphy, I think he and Zach Miller will be Jason Campbell’s favorite targets all season.
I’m glad Mike Williams is having a coming out party. Could really help to open things up for Kevin Winslow
UPDATE:
Donnie Avery is likely done for the year. BUY on Laurent Robinson. “Oft-injured” indeed!
For more on Avery, check the story on the home pg
Not sure why one would say that there is less depth at WR than any other position because that simply is not the case in my opinion.
I have a much better chance at picking up a quality WR than I do a RB late in the draft or off the waiver wire that is for sure and a great example of that is the fact that I wouldn’t consider a #1 WR or in most cases even a #2 WR on any team going into the season a sleeper. And that is pretty much what is included in this list…..Sorry but not impressed.
Great list of late round WR’s most people don’t have their radar locked on.
But I do agree with the depth statement. Not sure what Rustyn meant here.. Rustyn what do you mean?
As I explained in my wide receiver rankings, each year there seems to be a position lacking depth. This season you can wait on quality QBs and TEs as both run at least 12 deep, so the focus is on WR’s and RB’s. Thanks to RBBC’s there are more running backs involved than ever before. However, with WR’s there are only a handful of top WR’s and most leagues require more WRs than RBs. So if you don’t get 2 top WRs in your first 3 picks, you’re going to be scratching for upside. It’s like there is a tier 1 and it drops immediately to tier 3. Not much of a tier two this season. A sure things like Fitzgerald, gone. Studs like Vincent Jackson and Sidney Rice, gone. And so on. So to find any WR1′s after the 10th round is notable. The key word is “substantial”; there just aren’t as many quality options at WR as there have been in seasons past.
wow wonderful page. are you able to elaborate on the final point you made though? seems somewhat ambiguous. apart from that although, superb job