RotoViz has done extensive research showing that both quantity and quality at wide receiver are crucial for maximizing the chances of winning your league. If you’re not having success with Zero RB, it probably means you aren’t drafting enough WRs.
However, sometimes even the best laid plans go awry. Great early values at quarterback, tight end, and sometimes even running back (perish the thought) present themselves. Before you know it, you are short on receivers and entering the round 6-11 wide receiver dead zone.
In practice, this often means we are left waiting for WR until long past the dead zone and selecting receivers at the end of our draft among the third and fourth-string real-life options for their team. However, there are many exciting young players in this range and league winners are found here every year. Some recent examples include Terry McLaurin, Tee Higgins, Chase Claypool, D.J. Chark, and A.J. Brown.
But one often misunderstood advantage of taking a heavy approach to wide receiver is that it allows you the opportunity to take some risks in the pursuit of players with league-winning upside. We can miss on some and still have the combination of floor and upside that we want. Drafters that do not take a heavy wide receiver approach are not always afforded this flexibility.
Today, I take a look at the players who could be this season’s late young breakout wide receivers.