The wide receivers at the top of 2023 fantasy football rankings may be the safest bets for fantasy managers on draft day. One of Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase will likely be the top pick in most leagues and the top two tiers of wideouts provide a lot of safe plays for high-end production in a pass-heavy league.
Below are my 2023 fantasy football wide receiver rankings and tiers.
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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings 2023
- 1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- 2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
- 3. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
- 4. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
- 5. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
- 6. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
- 7. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
- 8. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
- 9. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
- 10. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
- 11. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
- 12. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
- 13. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
- 14. Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars
- 15. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
- 16. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
- 17. Deebo Samiel, San Francisco 49ers
- 18. Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
- 19. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
- 20. DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
- 21. Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
- 22. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
- 23. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
- 24. Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos
- 25. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 26. Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
- 27. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
- 28. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 29. Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
- 30. Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Tier 1 Wide Receivers
- 1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- 2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
- 3. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
- 4. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
A mix of two young superstars and two aging veterans, the top tier of the wide receiver rankings provides both upside and consistency.
With an elite combination of superior route running and highlight reel catches, Justin Jefferson has ascended to top receiver status in the NFL. His 21.7 PPR points per game in 2022 led all receivers and placed him sixth overall regardless of position. The addition of Jordan Addison as a younger, more talented second option may take a few targets away from Jefferson, but should also take a little bit of the pressure off. Kirk Cousins is still an accurate quarterback capable of helping Jefferson repeat as WR1 in 2023.
Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow make one of the best offensive combinations in the NFL. Chase faced some injuries mid-season, but was on pace for 190 targets last season. six more than Jefferson received. He scored one more receiving touchdown than Jefferson in 12 games (9) than Jefferson scored in 17 games (8). If both stay healthy, Chase certainly could overtake that number one spot.
Although Tua Tagovailoa returns under center for the Dolphins, Tyreek Hill proved last season it doesn’t really matter who is throwing the ball. He finished second in fantasy points amongst receivers with a career-high 1,710 receiving yards on 119 receptions.
The riskiest of the top tier, Cooper Kupp is a target monster when healthy with Matthew Stafford playing. Neither of those things were true for the Rams at the end of the 2022 season. Kupp returns to the lineup just one year removed from a historical 2020 where he put up 1,957 receiving yards and 16 scores.
Tier 2 Wide Receivers
- 5. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
- 6. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
- 7. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Of the first two tiers, Davante Adams may have the biggest question marks with the quarterback change in Las Vegas to Jimmy Garoppolo. That said, Adams’ track record provides a lot of reassurance. He has seven straight seasons with at least 117 targets and six double-digit touchdown totals in that span.
CeeDee Lamb has a new running mate in Brandin Cooks, but will remain the focal point of the Dallas passing attack. He has steadily improved in each of his first three seasons, including an impressive 1,359 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 156 targets in 2022. If the trend continues, he will certainly be a tier one receiver in next year’s draft rankings.
Josh Allen provides ample opportunity for fantasy points and Stefon Diggs has been the main beneficiary. He is one of the most consistent top-end wide receivers in volume with between 154-166 targets in each of his first three seasons in Buffalo. Those targets have resulted in three straight top-7 fantasy finishes at the position.
Tier 3 Wide Receivers
- 8. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
- 9. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
- 10. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
- 11. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
- 12. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
- 13. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
- 14. Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars
- 15. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
- 16. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
The next group of receivers features a lot of young talent on the rise. Maybe the most surprising, Amon-Ra St. Brown has exceeded all expectations in Detroit in his first two seasons. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard and 100 target marks in 2022 and Jared Goff seems to have the Lions’ offense poised for an even better 2023. Jameson Williams‘ suspension should mean a ton of targets for St. Brown to start the season.
The top two second-year receivers, and former Ohio State teammates, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave each start the season with an upgrade at the quarterback spot. Wilson earned Offensive Rookies of the Year honors with Zach Wilson throwing him the ball last season and now welcomes Aaron Rodgers, who has a long history of creating monster fantasy producers.
The Saints add veteran Derek Carr to throw to Olave and Michael Thomas, yet another Buckeye. That should help Olave’s upside to improve on his four touchdown receptions in 2022.
Calvin Ridley could be the most difficult receiver to rank going into the season. He joins the Jacksonville Jaguars after more than a season and a half away from football. The reports are good from OTA’s on Ridley. Trevor Lawrence now has a go-to number one receiving option, but it’s difficult to set expectations for 2023. The last time we saw Ridley play a full season, he finished fifth in fantasy points amongst receivers. Top-15 seems like a reasonable expectation.
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