Finding sleepers or breakout wide receivers can help you win a championship. But even if you don’t, you can still win with steady, reliable starters.
What is equally important is avoiding the busts, or at least the overrated, overvalued ones.
The following are three wide receivers who, while they might be good players and bring you some success, you should probably avoid at cost because they won’t bring as good a return on investment.
D.J. Moore, WR/Chicago Bears
The irony (and agony, for his owners throughout the years) of Moore’s move to the Bears is thick. He was saddled with poor quarterback play throughout his career and yet still racked up one thousand yard seasons one after another. Justin Fields became his best quarterback ever and the two connected in a way that finally made Moore a WR1 in fantasy as he was long expected to be. Now, Fields is gone and Caleb Williams arrives. And although Williams is hypothetically a better quarterback, the team also added veteran receiver Keenan Allen via a trade and Williams-favorite Rome Odunze via the draft. Not to mention, they also added a pass-catching tight end and running back in Gerald Everett and D’Andre Swift, respectively. I don’t see a path to another WR1 season for Moore, and I’d be hard-pressed to see him achieve WR2 status unless injuries ravage all the pass catchers in the Bears’ offense.
Nico Collins, WR/Houston Texans
I sure hope you sold Collins last season, or early this offseason, when his stock was at an all-time high. In a span of two seasons, I managed to parlay Dak Prescott into Nico Collins into a 2024 first-round pick in a one-quarterback dynasty league thanks to Nico’s breakout year. Collins was a fringe WR1 last year due in large part to the breakout season of C.J. Stroud. I am not a huge believer in Tank Dell. I generally don’t trust turd receivers no matter how fast they are, Tyreek Hill notwithstanding. However, a healthy Dell plus an incoming Stefon Diggs, plus pass catchers in tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Joe Mixon, leaves Collins’ 2024 outlook very murky. He still has WR2 upside if injuries occur or if Stroud just flat out prefers to throw his way more than to any other of his weapons. But I’m not taking him as a Top 20 receiver as he is currently going.
Puka Nacua, WR/Los Angeles Rams
Trigger warning: this is an article about who to avoid drafting “at cost,” not about drafting them at some point in your drafts. I think Nacua is a good receiver and between his explosive ability and the Rams’ high-octane offense, there’s reason to believe he has the capability to be a WR1 again this year. I’m just not drafting him as one. Cooper Kupp has struggled with injuries lately but he’s not completely going away. The Rams will still use his dynamic playmaking ability. And although this is not the article for it, I will say Kupp is a good player to buy at cost. Nacua, on the other hand, is being drafted at what I believe is his absolute ceiling. If you’re thinking he can do what Kupp did in his breakout season of 2021, I think you’re going to be sorely mistaken.