In this piece, I highlight wide receivers who stand out in our large suite of analytical fantasy tools, most specifically, our FantasyLabs Player Models. While the models are built for DFS contests, this is an all-purpose fantasy article with actionable information for all formats.
As news breaks throughout the week and we adjust our projections (powered by Sean Koerner), player ratings in our Player Models will change. For updates, visit the models directly.
And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Top NFL DFS Wide Receiver Picks in the FantasyLabs Models
On DraftKings, there are two wide receivers near the top of the Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon, Cash Game, and Tournament Player Models.
- Keenan Allen
- Zay Jones
We’ll discuss why these two are popping in our models, as well as take a look at some other wide receivers.
Top Model NFL DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Keenan Allen ($6,800 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel): Los Angeles Chargers (-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (46.5 total)
Keenan Allen has quickly re-established himself as one of the top options in this Chargers’ offense since returning from injury. He has 14 targets in back-to-back games, catching six balls for 88 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago and 12 catches for 92 yards last week.
Through the air has been the spot to attack this Tennessee defense, as they’re allowing 8.5 yards per target and the seventh-most receptions to slot receivers on the year. With Tennessee being such a pass-funnel defense, we could see Herbert drop back close to 50 times (as he has in recent weeks), and we could see Allen with another double-digit target game.
Allen battled injuries for the early part of the season, but it appears that he is finally fully healthy. Tennessee has given up the second-most DraftKings points to opposing receivers, and Allen’s price tag is not prohibitive at all.
Allen is second at the position in Points/Salary and leads our Tournament Model.
Zay Jones ($4,900 DraftKings, $6,300 FanDuel): Jacksonville Jaguars (+4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (48 total)
Zay Jones is coming off of a monster performance last week, seeing twelve targets and catching eight balls for 77 yards and a touchdown. Jones has had solid underlying usage all season long, but it appears that he is finally getting the results.
He has been targeted on 22.6% of his routes on the year, with 24.5% of the team air yards and a depth of target of 8.2 yards. Jones’ usage is far closer to the elite receivers in the league than it seems, and he’s coming with an extremely cheap price tag.
The matchup isn’t ideal, as Dallas is allowing just a 4.7% touchdown rate to opposing receivers. They’re also in the middle of the pack in DraftKings points allowed to opposing receivers, ranking 15th in the league. The Jacksonville offense is coming off a great performance, so we’ll see if they can keep it going this week in a difficult spot.
Jones is the top receiver in Projected Plus/Minus and Points/Salary while being the top receiver in both Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon’s Pro Model and our Cash Game Model.
Other Notable NFL DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Ja’Marr Chase ($8,300 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel): Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (45 total)
With Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins both missing practically the entire game due to injuries, Ja’Marr Chase saw monster usage last week and produced with it. He saw 15 targets, catching ten balls for 119 yards and a touchdown. It was the fourth time that he’s topped 30 DraftKings points on the year, as he’s consistently flashed his super high ceiling.
The Bucs are allowing the 12th-fewest DraftKings points to opposing receivers, but we’ve seen a couple of guys touch them up. D.J. Moore (7/69/1), Cooper Kupp (8/127/1), and Amari Cooper (7/94/0) have all seen success against this Bucs’ secondary.
With Higgins and Boyd potentially limited again, we could see another big Chase day.
CeeDee Lamb ($7,300 DraftKings, $8,100 FanDuel): Dallas Cowboys (-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (48 total)
Lamb flopped in a good performance last week, catching five balls on six targets for 33 yards. He seems to have these games pop up from time to time where he is underutilized. He has six games with double-digit targets on the year but seven or fewer in five games. Dallas threw the ball 39 times, so it’s confusing as to why Lamb only ended up with six targets. Hopefully, Dallas realizes that throwing the ball to your best receiver is a good strategy.
The good news is that Lamb gets a great matchup this week, with Jacksonville ranking 23rd and yards per target (8.6) and touchdown rate (5.5%) to opposing slot receivers, where Lamb lines up for about half of his routes. He runs the other half on the perimeter, where Jacksonville has allowed the third-highest touchdown rate in the league at 7.5%.
Nelson Agholor ($3,400 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel): New England Patriots (+1.5) at Las Vegas Raiders (51.5 total)
With Jakobi Meyers out and DeVante Parker missing most of Monday night’s game, Agholor saw a season-high ten targets, catching five balls for 32 yards. Parker is expected to miss this weekend, so we’ll likely see Agholor running essentially every route again and seeing a solid chunk of usage.
The Raiders play a ton of man coverage, and Agholor has been targeted on 21.4% of his routes against man coverage. The Raiders have actually been solid to opposing perimeter receivers, allowing merely 7.9 yards per target and a 2.0% touchdown rate.
However, at such a cheap price, we don’t need some outstanding performance out of Agholor.
Note: Be sure to monitor Jakobi Meyer’s status over the weekend.
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