ADP SMASHERS – WIDE RECEIVER

Here we go again, gang. Back with another ADP Smashers article, this time focusing on those wideouts. The deepest position in Fantasy Football. Extreme value at this position can often be found in the very last rounds of your draft. Here’s a few guys who are going to pulverize their current ADP. If you missed the Running Back’s smashers, check it out here.

All ADP correct as of 14th August.

DIONTAE JOHNSON – PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Johnson had his best year for Fantasy Football to date in 2021, finishing as the WR8 on the year. He caught over 100 passes and put up 1161 yards on the year. And his 8 touchdown grabs was also a slight improvement on the previous years efforts – even whilst missing week 3’s matchup. Ultimately, Diontae missed double-figure points only once all season.

Over his 3 years in the NFL, Johnson has averaged over 10 yards per catch every season. All this with a regressing Ben Roethlisberger under center. Last year was Big Ben’s worst year for Fantasy Football (2019 aside) and the writing was on the wall long before he announced his retirement. Putting up WR1 numbers last year with Ben shows us Diontae is Quarterback proof.

ALL CHANGE PITTSBURGH

Kenny Pickett selected in the first round of this years NFL Draft is the Quarterback for the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The boy from down the hall has a bit of competition to start day 1 with former Chicago Bears signal caller Mitch Trubisky. Whoever wins the job will have a plethora of weapons to begin their Pittsburgh career with Diontae Johnson leading the bill.

Currently being drafted as the WR17 on FantasyPros.com in PPR, I’d expect Johnson to pay that back and some. Grabbing DJ in the fourth round as your WR2/3 is a bargain. Steelers have the 3rd easiest strength of schedule for Wide Receivers this year. He’s just been paid, signing a $36million, two year extension. And, he’s likely to get 150+ targets as standard on the year. I’ll shoot for the moon with Johnson in 2022. 

CHRIS GODWIN – TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

If it wasn’t for Godwin’s injury last year, he could potentially stake a claim at being drafted as one of the first Wide Receivers off the board in 2022 leagues. He caught a career high 98 passes in Tampa’s high passing volume offense, led by Tom Brady. It’s hard to see him not putting up big numbers again on his return to the field.

Godwin averaged over nine targets per game before he got hurt in 2021. He finished up as the WR16 on the year whilst putting up over 18 points per game. Out of a receiving corps littered with top quality talent, it was Godwin that led the team in target share in the time he was healthy. A similar story to 2019 when he ended up the WR2 in full PPR leagues. 

TOO MANY OPTIONS

Injury aside the only reason the monumental dip in ADP can be for the additions Tampa have made. Russell Gage and more recently Julio Jones have joined the team. However, with the premature exit of Antonio Brown and retirement of Rob Gronkowski there’s plenty of vacated targets to go around at Raymond James stadium. So, Godwin is likely to maintain a 20% target share.

Being drafted as the 21st Wide Receiver off the board almost feels like cheating when you snag him in the 5th. He’s already back training after his ACL tear and his ADP will fly up if he’s confirmed as ready for week 1. The Bucs also have the second easiest strength of schedule for wideouts this season. Grab Chris Godwin at a discount whilst you still can. 

WILDCARD CHOICE

With the player pool at Wide Receiver being so deep you can often find gem’s late on in drafts as well as on the waiver wire. Every year we see surprise packages at the position have breakout seasons. So, Who’s going to be this years Hunter Renfrow? Who was being drafted as the WR84 and ended up finishing as the WR10. 

NICO COLLINS – HOUSTON TEXANS

A second year Wide Receiver paired with a second year Quarterback who both showed flashes in year 1. Collins is currently the WR79 which has changed slightly since the awful news about rookie John Metchie. He’s now a shoe-in as the 2nd option in Houston behind ever-reliable Brandin Cooks. If Davis Mills takes the step forward – or even remains consistent – he should get some volume in this offense. 

The Texans is also a franchise likely to be trailing a lot in 2022. Meaning, Mills is probably gonna have to stick it downfield from time to time and Collins is the guy who’s gonna go after it. Add to this that there’s no real bonafide option at Running Back. All things look promising for a potential breakout for Nico Collins this year. And it’s at hardly any cost in draft capital. 

– @LVenes1