Keep Your Eye on the Slop: The Best Fantasy Players Nobody Drafted- WR EDITION
Draft season is, sadly, more or less over.
The high-stakes contests will continue drafting into next weekend, but most friendly, family leagues have folded up the draft boards, packed away the cheat sheets, and turned their attention to the most important question of Week 1:
Who the hell do I start?
The average fantasy draft went about 16 rounds deep, meaning roughly 192 players—or defenses—were selected. That leaves approximately 300 offensive skill-position players sitting on the waiver wire.
And somewhere in that slop are a few players who could actually matter. So which undrafted players have a shot at making a difference? Who is sitting on the waiver wire screaming to be monitored?
Let’s start with the wide receivers.
Looking beyond the top 16 rounds of ADP turns up a couple of names that deserve to be on your radar.
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
With A.J. Brown out of town, the WR2 job is open in Philadelphia opposite DeVonta Smith.
Based on ADP, most people believe Machi Lemon will eventually claim the job. But there are reasons to pump the brakes on that assumption.
Lemon has been dealing with injuries throughout the preseason and is entering the NFL as a raw rookie. That’s not exactly an ideal combination when you’re trying to step immediately into a prominent role.
Enter Dontayvion Wicks. Wicks is a three-year veteran who has primarily played on the outside, and he has shown an ability to work the outs and hitch routes where Jalen Hurts likes to throw the football. More importantly, Wicks isn’t learning an entirely new system from scratch.
New Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion spent the last two years working with Wicks in Green Bay and played a role in bringing him to Philadelphia.
Mannion is bringing elements of the Packers’ system with him, giving Wicks a potential advantage in the mental side of the game. That’s important.
A rookie like Lemon has to learn the offense, adjust to NFL speed and earn the quarterback’s trust. Wicks already knows the terminology, understands the concepts and has familiarity with the coach installing them.
If Wicks can get off to a hot start, he could grab hold of the WR2 job—and potentially not give it back.
The Pigskin Verdict: Wicks doesn’t need to be added to every roster today. But he absolutely belongs on your watch list. If he sees significant snaps and targets in Week 1, be ready to move.
Chris Bell, WR, Miami Dolphins
If not for a torn ACL suffered last November, Chris Bell would have almost certainly been a first-round pick in April’s draft. Instead, he slipped to the 94th pick.
Bell has spent the offseason putting his nose to the grindstone, working his way back from the injury and earning clearance to play in Week 1 against the Raiders.
And that’s where things get interesting. Bell is widely considered the most talented wide receiver on the Miami roster, while the rest of the Dolphins’ wide receiver room remains largely unproven.
He may need a few weeks to get completely back to “game speed,” but there doesn’t appear to be much standing in the way of Bell eventually becoming Miami’s WR1.
Granted, being the WR1 on the Dolphins may not be saying a whole lot.
But opportunity is opportunity. Last year’s worst offense—the Raiders—still produced the TE2 in points per game in Brock Bowers. They also produced Tre Tucker, who narrowly missed WR3 status at WR38.
In other words, even a bad offense can produce fantasy-relevant players. Bell has something even more important: talent and opportunity.
Don’t expect him to immediately look like the player he was before the ACL injury. But watch those first few games closely. If the snaps increase, the targets start coming and Bell looks like his old self, don’t wait for everyone else in your league to figure it out.
The Pigskin Verdict: Bell is exactly the type of player you want sitting on your waiver-wire watch list. If the talent starts showing through the rust, pounce before the rest of your league does.
Keep Your Eyes on the Slop
The biggest mistake fantasy managers make after the draft is assuming the players on their roster are the only players who matter.
They’re not. Every year, players emerge from the waiver wire who weren’t even drafted. Sometimes it’s because of an injury. Sometimes it’s because a rookie develops faster than expected. And sometimes a player simply gets an opportunity nobody saw coming.
The trick isn’t predicting every breakout. It’s recognizing one when you see it. Wicks and Bell are two names worth monitoring before the rest of your league starts fighting over them.
Because the draft may be over. The fantasy season isn’t.