In my last article, I gave you ten wide receivers who I felt were being overvalued at their current draft price via Underdog Fantasy. This week, I’m flipping the coin and bringing you ten undervalued receivers based on Underdog Fantasy ADP.
As a side note, projecting players that are overvalued is much more difficult than projecting players that are undervalued. It’s so much easier to make a case for a player to exceed expectations – and much more fun – than projecting players to fall short of expectations. Not only that, but the connotation surrounding an article or post regarding players being overvalued is generally negative, while the opposite can be said for the undervalued players. Alas, the world keeps spinning and us fantasy experts need to continue to provide content for you guys; I’m happy to be past the negative segment and onto the hopeful, more positive installment of player draft value analysis.
And without further ado, here are ten wide receivers that I would consider undervalued at their current price:
1. Mike Evans (16.4, WR7)
Russell Gage is an intriguing option working in the stead of Chris Godwin while he rehabs, but Mike Evans has legit top-3 upside on the vaunted Buccaneers offense with Brady at the helm. One of the most consistently productive receivers in the league year in and year out, Evans should have no problem commanding a dominating volume to open 2022 and beyond. While his week-to-week security will likely take a hit upon Godwin’s return to the lineup, he should still be winning fantasy managers matchups early in the season as a target vacuum, and with his touchdown upside higher than ever with Brady’s go-to red zone target in Gronk retiring, his current price as the WR7 has me tagging him as a bargain on draft day.
2. Courtland Sutton (35.9, WR16)
Courtland Sutton hasn’t had premier talent at the quarterback position in his career, but he’s about to get it in 2022 with Russell Wilson under center in Denver. He’s a vertical, big-play threat – evidenced by his 1546 air yards in 2021, good for 8th in the NFL among wide receivers. That came with Teddy Bridgewater leading the offense; Russell Wilson is undoubtedly a massive upgrade, and should spell the end to single-digit performances that plagued the end of Sutton’s 2021 campaign following the return of Jerry Jeudy. There’s certainly no shortage of weapons on the Broncos offense, but Sutton has the combination of talent, size, and pedigree to separate himself from the rest as the premier target in Denver’s passing attack. And as the WR16 off the board, he has the potential to provide huge return on investment in 2022.
3. Allen Robinson II (47.8, WR22)
Remove last year’s abomination of a fantasy season for Robinson – which featured oodles of quarterback turnover, exceptional amounts of offensive incompetency, and Matt Nagy – and harken back to his years as a QB-proof producer at the wide receiver position, and it becomes clear that Allen Robinson can return to not just fantasy relevance in 2022 in the loaded Rams offense, but fantasy prominence. Remember that prior to his injury in between Weeks 10 and 11 last year that Robert Woods was the WR19, and it’s obvious that there’s plenty of room for a WR2 to thrive in the LA. Matthew Stafford is far and away the best quarterback Robinson will play with in his career, and he’s a strong candidate for comeback fantasy player of the year. At WR22, I’ll happily take him to outperform his ADP, and likely by a comfortable margin.
4. Brandin Cooks (52.9, WR25)
I wrote an article earlier this offseason outlining my analysis of Brandin Cooks, and I still can’t wrap my head around how he ends up being so criminally undervalued every year. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s on the Texans, but he’s in line to have yet another productive year and potentially enjoy some continuity at signal caller – something he’s lacked as of late. Davis Mills isn’t necessarily the most exciting quarterback in terms of fantasy value, but at the end of the day, he gets the ball to Brandin Cooks early and with surprising regularity: Cooks averaged 22.3 fantasy points per game over their last three full games together, while also averaging 10.7 targets per game, as well. His situation hasn’t changed at all, and I don’t think that those numbers at the end of the season last year are just smoke. At his current WR25 price point, it’s the same old song and dance; Cooks is once again, right on schedule, undervalued for 2022.
5. Rashod Bateman (54.0, WR26)
Besides Mark Andrews, who realistically will Lamar Jackson be throwing to in 2022? It’s true that Baltimore’s offense leans very heavily in favor of the run, but at the end of the day, Lamar Jackson is arguably the best dual-threat quarterback when healthy, and he’ll need a trusty wide receiver to play second fiddle to Mark Andrews. Enter Rashod Bateman, a true statistical darling in a situation that seems to have him locked in for a WR1 workload. While he was relatively quiet last season in terms of production (46 receptions on 67 targets, 515 yards and just a single touchdown), his 30% college dominator suggests that last year’s 12 game sample was just a taste of his potential. In a wide receiver room that is lacking significantly in proven talent, Rashod Bateman can seize the role of WR1 in Baltimore easily in 2022 – something that, if it happens, will help Bateman provide plenty of bang for fantasy managers’ bucks.
6. Russell Gage (72.5, WR35)
Two Buccaneers receivers on the same list? You read that right. Russell Gage came on towards the end of last season and demonstrated that he has the skillset to be a productive fantasy wide receiver, even on a bad Atlanta offense. With a fresh start in Tampa Bay, Gage has the potential to step right into the WR2 role opposite Mike Evans for the first few weeks, and the opportunity to catch passes from the ageless Tom Brady. Gage was the WR9 in total fantasy points in Weeks 13-18, and he could be in line for similar success with Mike Evans drawing coverage from opponents’ top corners. As the WR35 off the board, Russell Gage has value written all over him, and I’d happily draft him to start him as a very strong weekly flex option, or even as a WR2 in a pinch.
7. Christian Kirk (89.0, WR42)
The Jaguars have received a lot of flak for their expensive acquisition of the former Cardinals’ number two receiver, and understandably so, but the fact remains that they added Kirk to be Trevor Lawrence’s top option in a passing game that was largely devoid of talent in 2021. Jacksonville went quantity over quality in free agency, which opens the door for Kirk to take control and dominate the target share out of the gate in 2022; he’ll be a quality target that Trevor Lawrence looks for early and often, and could become a true value should Lawrence take a second-year leap. While I’m not drafting Kirk with the expectation that he’ll be putting up WR1 numbers every week, I do like his weekly upside as a solid WR2 at a very low price on draft day.
8. Robert Woods (102.4, WR49)
The reports out of camp in Tennessee have been mixed regarding first-round pick and projected A.J. Brown replacement Treylon Burks, which has opened the door to the possibility of Robert Woods being the number one option in the Titans air attack. As mentioned earlier in this article , Woods was able to carve out a solid role opposite 2021’s offensive player of the year and fantasy football king Cooper Kupp, and despite the fact that he’ll be 30 years old coming off an ACL tear, he could enjoy the volume necessary to support weekly low-end WR1 upside if he is able to return to 100%. The word out of Titans camp is that Woods is right on track to make his return in Week 1 of 2022, and as the WR49 off the board, I’ll be buying up stock in Robert Woods as an every-week plug and play option for my lineup.
9. Jakobi Meyers (134.3, WR61)
The Patriots are not a team that I anticipate being terribly appealing from a fantasy perspective at any position, but Mac Jones has to throw the ball to somebody this year, and the most proven receiver New England has is Jakobi Meyers. While he’s struggled to find the end zone throughout his short career, he still hauled in over 80 receptions for 867 yards in 2021, good for 35th in fantasy points per game among wide receivers. It’s not so much the ceiling as the floor that I like for Meyers at his price, and I find it hard to believe that the presumptive WR1 for any team in the NFL – including New England – will finish outside the top 60. He’s clearly undervalued, and at such a cheap price, it’ll be very easy for fantasy managers to reap whatever rewards he returns this year.
10. Jalen Tolbert (149.8, WR68)
Possibly the most intriguing rookie receiver for fantasy football, Jalen Tolbert is set up in a unique position for 2022. With Michael Gallup likely to miss a handful of games to open the season, the South Alabama product has the opportunity to slide into Dallas’ pass-heavy offense as the WR2 opposite Ceedee Lamb from the get-go. While it is likely that Gallup’s return could spell the end to whatever consistency Tolbert exhibits to open the season, he still has the chops to produce at a level much higher than his WR68 ADP would indicate. He absolutely dominated in his last year at South Alabama, and in an offense that was the second-fastest paced in the NFL last year, he should have no trouble finding targets coming his way, especially early in the season.