Ranking the Seahawks WR Corps 📈

If you haven’t had an injury scare yet for one of your fantasy rosters, don’t get too comfortable. Your day of reckoning is coming.

What’s in store:

• Collective sigh of relief for Garrett Wilson 😅 The star 2nd-year wideout is slated to return to practice this weekend

• D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, or JSN? Faraz breaks down the Seahawks WR core in his latest rankings.

• NFC North QBs: Don’t draft the wrong one! You don’t have to jump through the hoops though – Zach has the answer sheet for 2023.

• How will Aaron Rodgers fare in his new home? Tyler previews what 2023 could hold for the MVP quarterback.

• Calvin Ridley, Alexander Mattison miss time at practice on Tuesday

  • While there’s no work on whether Calvin Ridley is injured, nor on the extent of Mattison’s injury, what we do know is that both players missed time on Tuesday for undisclosed reasons. Ridley was spotted walking off the field seemingly without any trouble, while Mattison was seen limping slightly at Vikings camp. For the time being, there’s no reason to hit the panic button on either player. As mentioned before, Ridley appeared to be in perfect health despite spending time off the field. However, Mattison’s injury, even if it doesn’t sideline him come Week 1, could open the door for rookie RB DeWayne McBride to make an impression on Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell ahead of some of the first preseason action of the 2023 season.

• Jets WR Garrett Wilson is expected to return to practice on Saturday

  • Garrett Wilson should be a full go moving forward, according to multiple reports, after rolling his ankle and missing a short period of training camp. Wilson’s return to the lineup will keep New York’s offense on schedule as they ramp up towards the regular season opener, and allow Wilson himself to continue to polish his connection with Aaron Rodgers. Fantasy managers can now exhale and carry on with their other drafts, or continue to fawn over completed ones.

• Michael Mayer could become a “favorite target” of Jimmy Garoppolo’s in 2023

  • After remaining relatively quiet over the course of the offseason following the draft, Michael Mayer is beginning to make some noise in Raiders camp. The second-round tight end could realistically find himself in the starting role for Las Vegas come Week 1, assuming he can beat out the likes of Austin Hooper and continue to make an impression on Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s worth noting that Mayer was renowned for his complete skillset coming out of Notre Dame, and there’s a chance that he finds his way onto the field via run blocking before he makes his way a a pass catcher in an offense that already features Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs, and Jakobi Meyers.

• D.K. Metcalf - WR18

  • There are a few reasons to be a bit weary of DK Metcalf and his price this season - one is that you're hoping Geno Smith isn't a flash in the pan, and the other is his competition at WR. Tyler Lockett averaged more fantasy points than Metcalf last year, yet he's going an eternity later in drafts. Metcalf and Lockett were also both neck and neck in yards/route run last year - 16th and 17, respectively among qualifying WRs.

  • The Seahawks also drafted Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has a non-zero chance of being the best WR on this offense at some point as a rookie. He put up the most production at Ohio State in 2021 with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave on the field at the same time as him. The Seahawks also drafted another RB, they have a good offensive line - does Pete Carroll go even more run heavy? I think there are better picks around Metcalf's ADP.

• Tyler Lockett - WR23

  • Tyler Lockett averaged more fantasy points/game than DK Metcalf last season, but Geno Smith did look Metcalf's way more often for a higher target share. Lockett has never been one to earn a massive target share, but he's been as efficient as they come. JSN can eat into the overall target share, so Lockett's price is suppressed.

  • Still, I like to bet on good players, and Lockett still has it even at 31 years old. He's had 8+ TDs 5 years in a row. Lockett is one of the best values in drafts right now.

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba - WR34

  • I'm betting on talent when it comes to JSN. I get that the Seahawks WR room is crowded with two other very good WRs, but JSN stood out and outshined two very good Ohio State WRs by the names of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave - as a sophomore in college.

  • The hope is that Seattle runs more 11 personnel to get all three of these guys on the field at the same time, but I don't know how they just don't operate from that rotation on the regular. It won't make much sense to have any of these WRs off the field at any point - hopefully that will be the case as early as Week 1.

  • If you need a reminder of the type of prospect he is, he was PFF's highest rated WR against man coverage in 2021 (a whopping 4.26 yards/route run), he has serious after the catch ability, and he had more plays over 15 yards. than any other WR in this class. Highest yards/route run in this class and overall during the 2021 season among all Power 5 WRs. Dude is a baller, and can take the league by storm as early as Week 1.

• One player to target: QB Jared Goff

  Target him as your: High-end QB2

  • One of the best-kept secrets in fantasy football is the very high level of fantasy production Jared Goff had last season, even after finishing as the overall QB10 in 2022. He might be getting more from the Lions offense than he’s giving to it, but he’s doing more than just being efficient and that’s reflected in his statistics last season.

  • In the last seven weeks of 2022, Goff scored at least 17 fantasy points five times and finished as a top-7 QB on the week four of those times, as well.

  • Consider also his absolutely pristine 14:0 TD:INT ratio during that stretch, where he also tied for the second-most 300+ yard passing games among all quarterbacks behind just Patrick Mahomes. His supporting cast has received a significant boost as well for 2023 compared to 2022, with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery spearheading a backfield that looks to be the most dynamic Detroit has had in a long time. The Lions also added Sam LaPorta, whose after-the-catch abilities will be a huge boon to Goff’s fantasy production. And let’s not forget to give the Lions offensive line their flowers – Goff is playing behind one of the best units in the league.

  • So, his supporting cast has improved, he’s shown shades of his 2018 Rams self, and he figures to be one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL after being just that in the latter half of last year. He has to be going inside the Top-10, Top-12 at the absolute lowest, right? Wrong.

  • He’s the current QB17 (!!!) on Underdog. For reference, that’s six spots and two rounds later than Dak Prescott (QB11) who, despite throwing one more touchdown than Goff from Week 12 on last year, also threw eleven more interceptions. Goff is severely undervalued, and the only thing I can think of that would be anchoring his draft price so low is his name association. He is an ideal target late and can allow you to prioritize skill positions while also offering an extremely solid floor with Weekly Top-5 upside.

• One player to avoid: QB Jordan Love

  • With great unknown comes great intrigue, and that’s precisely what Jordan Love brings to the table for fantasy football in 2023. Based purely on NFL experience alone, he’s a rookie signal caller, and outside of Christian Watson and Aaron Jones, he doesn’t have any other weapons that can help ease him into the starting role.

  • Now, let’s not discount the fact that he’s essentially been Aaron Rodgers’ understudy for the past three years; he’s definitely picked up a thing or two from him in his time in Green Bay. But the odds are that the Packers will be a bottom-16 offense in the NFL in 2023, and without any real tape to analyze, things are just too ambiguous for me to consider making Jordan Love my QB1 or even QB2 for 2023. A brief analysis of the quarterbacks going in the same range as Love also reveals the myriad alternate options available with arguably better floors and upsides at their respective prices:

    • Jared Goff, DET: 11th Round, QB17

    • Derek Carr, NO: 12th Round, QB19

    • Jordan Love, GB: 13th Round, QB20

    • Trey Lance, SF: 16th Round, QB25

    • C.J. Stroud, HOU: 16th Round, QB26

    • Sam Howell, WAS: 17th Round, QB28

    • Desmond Ridder: 18th Round, QB29

  • Regardless of when you take your QB2 (or in some cases, even your QB1), by the time you reach the 12th round of drafts, it’s going to be considered late. Goff is an ideal QB2, hence his 11th round price, but I’d be happier taking a shot on C.J. Stroud – three rounds later than Jordan Love – than I would be rolling the dice on the Packers QB.

  • Both of them are essentially rookies, and Stroud is undoubtedly the better prospect slated to play on a similar offense in terms of firepower. Love’s price is far too high, especially considering that we haven’t seen anything close to a true debut performance.

Despite coming off back-to-back NFL MVPs, 2022 was a very rough season for Rodgers, who struggled mightily without Davante Adams with his worst season-long PPG (14.1) in any season where he was a starter.

It definitively was the worst WR corps in his career and it showed with Rodgers going for under 3,700 yards, 26 passing TDs, and 12 INTs after back-to-back seasons of 4,200+ yards and 40+ TDs. He shockingly failed to hit 20+ points in any game over the season for the first time in his career.

He now sees a move to the New York Jets, seeing a much-improved supporting cast with the likes of Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, and Denzel Mims in his WR group.

Rodgers also gets Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator and play-caller, who has produced excellent fantasy QBs when outside the Head Coach role (as we saw last year in Denver), including two top-13 finishes by Blake Bortles in 3 years alongside Rodgers ranking as a top-10 QB in all 3 seasons with Hackett previously (2x MVP).

This season is the first instance where Rodgers isn’t being drafted as a QB1, falling as a mid-QB2 (QB15 on ECR, QB16 on ADP) to the late-10th/early-11th round in drafts. At that price, within a young and promising offense, I have no issues investing in Rodgers as a low-risk/high-upside QB2 option, especially if you opt to pass on the top-end QBs and land a value option (i.e. Lawrence, Watson, Prescott, Tua, etc.) shortly before him.

Check out more of Tyler’s in-depth player preview articles here!

We watched Justin Fields attempt a historically low amount of passes in the 2022 season, and that certainly had drastic consequences for the Bears WR corps. However, one member of Chicago’s passing game didn’t feel those negative effects as strongly as the rest – if he did at all. He wasn’t a wide receiver, either – that player was Cole Kmet.

Down the stretch in 2022 from Weeks 9-18, Kmet logged the sixth-most targets among all TEs who were on the field for 60+% of snaps. That, along with the 2nd most touchdowns among those same tight ends in that span, propelled Kmet to an overall TE4 finish between Weeks 9-18.

Kmet also led all Bears pass catchers in targets and receptions by a considerable margin – 21 targets, to be exact. His 49 targets blew Chase Claypool’s 28 in that 9-week span out of the water, cementing Kmet as one of Fields’ favorite targets during his breakout 2022 and priming him for continued success in 2023.