Heading into your fantasy football drafts with a plan is the biggest difference between drafting to win and filling out a roster. By searching for value plays, like undervalued or underrated wide receivers, you can stay ahead of your league mates and take home the trophy.

Basing your draft plan on capitalizing on valuable average draft positions (ADP) is a great style to model your drafts around. Whether you prefer going heavy RB or ZeroRB, your WR position is an essential part of your roster that deserves a good amount of planning.

All ADP value is pulled from Underdog Fantasy.

Below are five screaming value options that can easily exceed their offseason ADP values this year – which one of these players are you willing to go after?

Undervalued Fantasy Football Wide Receivers

5. Darnell Mooney
Current ADP – 62nd overall (WR31)

As Allen Robinson departs, Darnell Mooney is all by himself for the Chicago Bears and their wide receiver room. With TE Cole Kmet looking like the closest form of competition for the former Tulane wideout, Mooney’s value as the 31st WR off the board is a great value.

In his 2021 season, Mooney held the league’s 11th-highest target share (26.7%) and route percentage (94.6%), showing that even in his second season, the team has big goals for him. Establishing a relationship with Justin Fields was imperative to his development, but improving his catchable target rate (75% – 50th) will be key to beating his current ADP.

Sitting behind Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Rashod Bateman, Mooney is a 5th/6th round target with a ceiling that puts him near WR1 territory.

4. JuJu Smith-Schuster
45th overall (WR23)

When healthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster can produce solid numbers for your fantasy football team (WR16 in 2020). But coming off an injury-shortened campaign, combined with being on a new team, and concerns abound for the former Steelers wide receiver.

But with Tyreek Hill out of the picture, Patrick Mahomes will need to trust another target (besides Travis Kelce), and Smith-Schuster perfectly fits that bill. A strong slot option with verticality and the ability to run through the defense, Smith-Schuster is a perfect option near the 4th/5th round turn.

Coming off the board around the same time as Diontae Johnson and Jerry Jeudy, Smith-Schuster is a solid value that should be able to provide an immediate return on investment with Mahomes throwing his way.

3. Brandin Cooks
50th overall (WR25)

The epitome of consistency is what Brandin Cooks brings to the table every season, and yet he continues to be underappreciated in fantasy football. Six top-20 fantasy seasons, topping out at WR9 in 2016, support Cooks’ history, and he looks to be in a great spot again this year for the Texans.

As Davis Mills’ best target, Cooks earned a 26.9% target share (133 targets) last year, ranking 10th most in the league. With Mills under center again and Cooks with a fresh contract, there really are no signs of slowing down on the horizon.

Trusting a proven wide receiver in a bad offense seems trickier than it really is, but Cooks has the intangibles that you want to draft. From a suppressed ADP due to his situation, Cooks has the ability to be a league winner for you, and you can grab him at the end of the fifth round most times, maybe even in the sixth.

2. Christian Kirk
75th overall (WR38)

Making the jump from the Arizona Cardinals to the Jacksonville Jaguars can be an easy deterrent for drafters looking at Christian Kirk, but with the absolute bag he was handed this offseason, he is in for a target-heavy season.

Maintaining solid value last year for Kyler Murray and company, Kirk turned in career marks in receptions (77), receiving yards (982), and air yards (1,158), finishing as the WR30 overall. The Cardinals optimize their WR core a bit differently than what should be expected of the Jaguars, but Kirk’s value is too hard to pass up.

With Trevor Lawrence finally having a competent head coach running the show, he should finally be able to feel comfortable in the pocket. Kirk’s main competition for the WR1 role is Marvin Jones, making Kirk’s seventh-round ADP one of the best steals in the entire draft. And who knows, maybe your home league will let a value like Kirk slip into the double-digit rounds.

1. Tyler Boyd
108th overall (WR50)

Prioritizing a team’s third wide receiver is not a recommended approach to building your fantasy football team, but Tyler Boyd is no typical third WR. Plus, the Cincinnati Bengals LOVE to put 3-WR sets on the field.

Having called the second-most (77% – 990 plays) three-WR set plays last season, second only to the Rams, the Bengals prefer to have Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Boyd all on the field at the same time. Even with Joe Burrow having to run for his life last year behind a middle school-level offensive line, Boyd produced WR32 overall numbers (67/828/5) in 2021.

Of these plays, 67 percent resulted in passing plays, having come in just under eight air yards per attempt. With a revamped offensive line helping keep Burrow upright, he can stand in the pocket for longer and hit his targets downfield more efficiently.

The offseason addition of Hayden Hurst and the likely addition of O.J. Howard won’t take a ton of work away from Boyd, helping keep Boyd’s ceiling right around that WR30 overall finish. A double-digit ADP helps keep him out of the limelight, making him a fantastic late-round option to round out your wide receiver core.