The 5 Wide Receivers I Cannot Stop Drafting

Chris Olave has a diagnosed medical condition requiring blood clot treatment. Despite years of prior concern about concussions and medical tent visits, Olave finally had a good season last year and market concern has dissipated; no one seems to care about his contingent value anymore.

Davis Mattek's #1 WR pick in full PPR; slots in 4th round on DraftKings and represents the "easiest pick you can make." Despite playing alongside Tyreek Hill (a Hall of Famer), Waddle has maintained above-average yards per route run and targets per route run throughout his career. In games where Hill didn't play, Waddle profiles as a WR1. Denver led the NFL in pass attempts last year, and Mattek sees no reason Waddle can't reach a 2-3 turn (or even 1-2) next year; Courtland Sutton poses no limiter to his upside. Mattek compares him to Terry McLaurin and Luther Burden at similar ADP.

Davis Mattek ranks Jordan Tyson as the #1 WR in his SLAP model ahead of Tate and Mai Lemon. Mattek is "absolutely jamming Tyson" for multiple reasons: (1) New Orleans Saints were the unluckiest team in terms of touchdowns scored relative to their offensive volume and yards per play, suggesting positive TD regression; (2) Saints expected to be a top-5 fastest offense; (3) no tertiary WRs competing for volume (Devon Veayle, Bryce Lance, Oscar Delp, Noah Fant are all secondary options); (4) Tyson sits a "firm level above" those secondary receivers. He's going at similar ADP to Parker Washington and Marvin Harrison Jr., and Mattek prefers Tyson over Mai Lemon for year one. First-round WR at age 21 with sky-is-the-limit upside; Tyreek Hill is a definite buyer on the overall offense, Kell Moore, and Tyler Shuck, and wants to have 'bags absolutely packed' with Tyson stock.

11.9 PPG last year with a three-game stretch averaging over 20 PPG; projected 75% route share with new OC Brian Angelino (McVey/Shanahan tree) and Aaron Rodgers; better stylistic fit for Rodgers than DK Metcalf at this stage of his career. Mattek continues to buy on Pittman despite age 28-29 concerns and never being a WR1, citing market belief in older WRs like DeVonta Adams and Mike Evans.

32-year-old averaging 12.3 PPG last year with 2.5 yards per route run (12th in NFL) despite not having full route share with New England Patriots (load-managed like Kawhi Leonard); returned from torn ACL earlier than anticipated. Tyreek Hill applies 'black marble' analogy—each white marble season increases odds of a cliff-fall year. Currently unsigned as of July 18 and involved in multiple lawsuits, creating uncertainty. However, Diggs is available in rounds 11–13 on DraftKings and represents strong value if he signs; when he played last year, he was awesome. Likely destination is Washington Commanders, which is a very good spot for him. Mattek is betting on Diggs not being washed and would take him at that ADP all the time.

Mattek would not be totally surprised if Stefon Diggs out-targets McLaurin if Diggs signs with Washington, though he acknowledges Diggs has been a better player overall. McLaurin is much faster and will be way better down the field at this stage of their careers, and would likely outscore Diggs in that situation.

When Worthy was out last year, Thornton had significant snap and route rates with strong yards-per-target production (10, 11, 7, 5 YPT). However, when Worthy returned, he reclaimed his job. Worthy has been terrible at working down the field with Mahomes, which is why Thornton is positioned as the deep threat going forward.