Best Ball Behemoths (WR)
Sleeper Wide Receivers Who Could Have Monstrous Years For Best Ball Fantasy Drafts (Beyond Pick 70)
ADP via DraftKings Best Ball Daily Fantasy Football rankings.
Jordan Addison (WR) Pick 74
This pick is just a hill one is willing to die on. Addison is one of the best budding wide receivers in the league. In the conversation for best WR2 in the league. He seems like a surefire component for the Vikings if JJ McCarthy has success with this loaded roster. Justin Jefferson helps draw defenders off of Addison and it’s usually barbeque chicken once he gets the matchup. A polished route runner, deep ball threat, and supreme talent. One of the most interesting developments from watching all the early Vikings games in 2024 was how much missed opportunity there was for Jordan Addison. Darnold overthrew so many deep balls to him or put the ball just out of reach on plays that were there. You’re picking Addison for the player he is. A damn good one.
The intermediate accuracy, touch, and velocity JJ McCarthy has had so far throughout his career may pose an interesting question for next season. What is Jordan Addison’s ceiling? When will his best year arrive? Another year of growth under his belt. What if JJ McCarthy is consistently putting the ball on his shoulder? He has this unexplainable element of being an incredibly fruitful “gamble.” His floor is so high, it just feels like he is underappreciated. This is the year I’m not passing on Addison.
Darnell Mooney (WR) Pick 94
It’s no longer a secret and the public is catching on. Since beginning this journey of offseason monitoring, scanning the public consensus value of players, no one has risen quite like Mooney has. He started at pick 114. This was before the NFL Draft this year in training camp best ball leagues. Drafts kept commencing and a phenomenon became apparent. You’re around pick 100. And people began to think why is Mooney back at pick 114? He then inexplicably moved back to pick 116 post draft. Suddenly, people started selecting him around pick 94 and his ADP climbed up to match the hype.
Mooney is another top tier secondary wideout. Especially for best ball. He puts up monster games that will carry your team. He does everything the right way in terms of route running and is adept at separating from his man. He had some drops along with ups and downs from Kirk’s tenure that caved in. Some games Kirk was just horrendous. A statue who couldn’t move in the pocket. Now it’s time for Penix. Penix has zip and precise accuracy that could lead to a breakout year for the Falcons offense. An offense ripe with young elite talent. Even with a Falcons offense that had several bumps in the road last year Mooney amassed 992 receiving yards and solidified himself as a stud. The domino who will decide whether or not the Falcons can take the leap and become NFC South champions is Mooney. My most selected wide receiver in best ball drafts. Don’t miss out.
Jayden Reed (WR) Pick 90
Selecting Reed is when one is looking at a full circle picture. The Green Bay Packers have a thin secondary on defense and the team may be a part of several shootout contests. Reed is lightning in a bottle. He can break a defense for a gashing gain at any moment. Jordan Love is finally back to full health from a knee injury that looked gruesome last year in Week 1. Love missed two games and came back at a lesser level upon his return. Love was gutsy for it, but there were times the passing game for the Pack looked tough. Tons of passes floated into the abyss with nothing on them. Often leading to turnovers. The team was in need of an outside receiver and took one with their first pick. Reed could get less attention now that Matthew Golden is in Green Bay to help on the outside.
The thing about Reed too is that he is the definition of a touchdown machine. 14 TDs in two years and he has yet to have been a part of a Green Bay passing offense that has been consistent for a sustained period. Reed is such a fun player to watch and a true asset for fantasy. Around pick 90 he is so slept on. People are viewing Green Bay’s offense with caution, but the only way their passing game is going is upwards. Reed still produced in a season that was far closer to the team’s floor. What I mean by that is their offense wasn’t overly diverse and truly relied upon Josh Jacobs rather than taking over games through the air. It’s hard to see a world where the 25 year old doesn’t finally surpass 1,000 yards receiving.
Christian Kirk Pick 130
The only established wide receiver in Houston looks to capitalize on his contract year. He got a stupendously large contract from Jacksonville that was originally viewed as comical, but he proved his worth with relative ease. An 1,100 yard season in his first year made his outlook promising with the team. Unfortunately he’d play just 20 games in the next two seasons to put him where he’s at right now. A guy who has a knack for finding space in the open field with one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Count me in. Kirk at pick 130 is utterly ridiculous value. His upside is a locked and loaded flex in normal fantasy football. In best ball the guy could probably give your team six or seven games where he slots into your lineup. Buying him off of a CJ Stroud slump season alongside his teammate Jaylin Noel is a no brainer. Stroud should be a lot better with this new receiving firepower in town. It’s sad to see Tank Dell go, but boy is it fun to see how this organization retooled their whole receiving core overnight. In hindsight their decision to condense Diggs’ contract into a one year contract was genius and the team got to avoid his risk moving forward.
With Kirk his upside far surpasses where his current value is. He could easily be ten picks higher and still be a good value. He HAS to produce to get any money in the next offseason while Jayden Higgins goes 19 picks above him as a rookie. Higgins is a guy who could hurt Kirk theoretically considering he could command down the field targets along with Nico Collins over the course of the season. It doesn’t even matter because for a best ball format after all. In my eyes aside from Nico Collins the second wide receiver in any random game for Houston could be up in the air. Scoop up the pieces in Houston because all will be involved. Stroud’s accuracy provides anyone an opportunity to make plays. Nico will command the most attention and he goes insanely high in fantasy after a career year. Can he replicate it? He has the talent. Will defensive attention allow him to keep dominating? So many reasons to pick Kirk. Don’t hesitate.
Joshua Palmer Pick 178
Alright alright. We are talking about a third wideout being a fantasy asset. The thing is with that label it is awfully deceiving. Joshua Palmer is a guy who passes the eye test and can test a defense with his ability to haul in the long ball. It’s hard to foresee the Bills dominating the ground like they did last year with James Cook demanding a payday and maybe holding out to start 2025. Josh Allen has an absolute cannon and when you glance over the Bills depth chart at the wide receiver position it isn’t all too impressive. Khalil Shakir, who has been a huge surprise over the past few years has stepped up to be the team’s top wideout. Then there’s Keon Coleman who struggled immensely to separate and catch the football throughout his rookie year. These two guys above Palmer are by no means stars in the NFL and they provide a pathway for his success.
Palmer last year had at least five deep balls where Justin Herbert was just a tick off on his throw. Against the Chiefs in primetime in an away game at Arrowhead, Herbert missed two 80+ touchdown strikes to Joshua Palmer. These were plays where there was no one between Palmer and the endzone where he beat his man bad. If Herbert simply put these passes on him he would have had a career night in front of everyone tuning in to the division rivalry. Palmer is a sleeper. You are drafting him for his talent. He doesn’t drop too many passes, he has a burst that is unlike any other wide receiver three, and he is waiting on a breakout season. Shit at pick 178 if he puts up 800 yards he is an incredible pick. His path to success has never been easier. It’s really a toss up in Buffalo for who will be the team’s top option. Shakir just came off a stellar 821 yard season, yet he really did damage as a safety valve on short throws for Josh Allen. On Buffalo’s roster Palmer is really the ONLY threat on the deep ball unless Coleman makes significant strides in his sophomore season. A guy who could be Buffalo’s top option with one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Sign me up immediately. Within the range Palmer is being picked no one provides a floor and ceiling like he possesses.
