Value is key, and when it comes to fantasy football, being able to mine some late-round value is a huge get for teams. Doing your research beforehand, even creating a big board, and potentially using some sort of industry rankings to help lead your draft are exactly the types of tools that you can use to help maximize every single pick in your draft. With that in mind, we're going to look at the top undervalued fantasy football wide receivers heading into the season.
For wide receivers, the need to draft handcuffs, as is common for some of the big star running backs, is not there, which makes drafting them a bit easier, but tougher at the same time.
Easier because looking at the depth chart can help you make a decision, also basing any draft decision on the type of offensive scheme that is ran. But it is also harder at the same time because understanding how teams work and prioritize their weapons is not an easy skill to have, something that can help differentiate the novice drafter from the well-trained veteran.
This list is going to dive into five undervalued fantasy football wide receivers options, based on the projected average draft position (ADP) for the 2020 season. All these rankings are obviously subjective, especially since all draft ADP rankings are different across the board. But, provided they are at least in the neighborhood of one another, then the general ADP can be estimated when comparing various outlets.
DJ Chark
2020 Projected ADP – 5.03
One of the more unheralded options on this list, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver D.J. Chark seems to consistently be under drafted, even after he finished as the WR16 in 2019. As the leading member of the Jaguars’ receiving group, Chark is the top target for quarterback Gardner Minshew II and has a really solid connection with them, so he is the team’s clear-cut top option again for ‘20.
While Chark only had three games last year of 100+ receiving yards, he topped 1,000 yards and recorded 8 receiving touchdowns, a strong showing for a pretty poor offensive unit as a whole.
Chark has taken over that top role in Jacksonville after the decline of Dede Westbrook, and with the apparent disdain that the team holds towards running back Leonard Fournette, Chark looks to have both the safest floor and highest potential ceiling of all regular Jaguar offensive components going into the year.
Slotted in around the beginning of the fifth round, Chark’s value and production could justify being taken as high as the end of the third round potentially, so getting him in the fifth round constitutes one of the better steals you will see.
Keenan Allen
Projected ADP – 5.06
Slotted in just a few spots behind Chark, Los Angeles Chargers’ wide receiver Keenan Allen is in a bit of a tough spot to enter this season, as the uncertainty at QB is going to make – or potentially break – the kind of stats that he puts up.
Regardless of if veteran Tyrod Taylor or rookie Justin Herbert is behind center to start the year, the prevailing thought is that both will see some considerable time at QB for the Chargers. And while having a two-QB group vying for playing is never great for its fantasy production, Allen should be able to hold enough value regardless of who is throwing him the ball.
Allen is the clear-cut top option for the Chargers, as the team’s no. 2 option, Mike Williams, cannot stay healthy and has already gotten injured in camp, giving Allen a straight path to being a target hog to start the year.
Situated more towards the middle of the fifth round in projected ADP, Allen is, just like running back Austin Ekeler, going to be hugely dependant on the team’s passing attack to produce fantasy value. Allen used to be the fantasy football monster a few years back with Phillip Rivers, but he still holds value, even if it takes until the fifth round or so to grab him.
Jarvis Landry
Projected ADP – 8.02
The target share hog that is Jarvis Landry has been able to keep up his huge offensive shares even after he went from the Miami Dolphins to the Cleveland Browns. And while he is fighting for targets next to fellow LSU Tiger Odell Beckham Jr., Landry seems to have one of the safest floors across the entire NFL.
Across a full 16-game slate last year, Landry finished as the WR13, and it was quite the quiet ranking, even though he is one of the more well-known receivers in the league.
QB Baker Mayfield loves to target him, but his targets will be impacted this year as new head coach Kevin Stefanski brings in a run-first scheme that fits more towards Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt than OBJ and Landry.
But finding that kind of production this late in the draft is quite a solid find, and the beginning of the eighth round is quite the spot to take Landry. If you were to grab him even a round earlier, his value, provided he remains healthy, would be quite solid for that spot in the draft.
DeVante Parker
Projected ADP – 6.10
Buying into a struggling offense like the Miami Dolphins is a tough pill to swallow, but wide receiver DeVante Parker and tight end Mike Gesicki offer up some of the only safe value. And for Parker, his proven results are going to push him ahead as the offense’s top option for this upcoming season.
Catching 72 balls for 1,202 yards and 9 touchdowns is quite a remarkable feat for an offense that really did struggle every single time that they touched the ball, so if Parker can make it work during that awful time, then he is able to make it work with the improved unit for this year.
Parker will be tasked, similar to what Allen will have to deal with, with handling the two-QB roles this year, as both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa will bo earn some sort of playing time. But Parker should be able to have enough value to power through whoever is throwing him the ball, based on his physical stature and what he’s produced in the past.
Sitting at the back half of the sixth round, Parker hold a bit less value than like a Chark or an Allen, but that is why both of those players hold round five ADP values. Parker is a solid WR4 option on your team that could sneak into regular playing time if he is able to put up consistent results.
Deebo Samuel
Projected ADP – 8.06
Currently dealing with a broken foot that has his availability for Week 1 up in the air, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is the perfect late-round pick that you should feel very comfortable with drafting and stashing.
The depth chart for San Francisco is quite up in the air, as Trent Taylor looks to be the top option there, as injuries have decimated the vast majority of that position’s depth chart. Rookie Brandon Aiyuk looks ready to have a big role too, but the lack of offseason work makes it tough to guarantee he will have a solid role to begin the year.
Samuel, once he returns from his injury recovery, should be able to capitalize upon his 800+ yard, 3-TD season last year, getting him up to WR29 to end the year. His late-season ascension was a thing of beauty, and the 49ers, who are quite unstoppable on offense, should be able to reclaim his role as the top pass-catching option from Jimmy Garappolo moving forward.
Nonetheless, that's the end of our look at the top undervalued fantasy football wide receivers heading into the season.
Follow Us
Subscribe