In Dynasty formats, the wide receiver position is particularly vital to the longevity of one’s team. These guys have a longer shelf-life than their running back counterparts, and there is typically a larger pool of difference-making talent at the position.
The beauty of Dynasty Football is that the action never ends. Owners are constantly looking to make moves in the offseason, listening to podcasts to gain an edge, ranking and re-ranking their player list, you name it. Being a Dynasty degenerate, I like to pass the time by scrubbing through endless “Power Rankings” lists. While doing so this offseason, I’ve noticed three names that I believe are significantly undervalued. Here are my “buy-low” wide receiver candidates for the 2023 Dynasty season. I recommend putting out some feelers to see what you can get for these players!
Diontae Johnson
The Dynasty community appears to have all but given up on Diontae, after a wildly disappointing 2022 campaign. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it; he flat failed to produce from a fantasy football perspective, especially considering the lofty expectations he had going into the year. Johnson finished the 2022 season with a whopping 0 TDs, as fantasy owners had to watch this anemic offense struggle to move the ball all season long. But there are some basic underlying numbers here that suggest we should in fact keep our faith in #18 for 2023.
Despite having less than 900 receiving yards and being held without a touchdown, Diontae managed to compile 147 targets, which was good for seventh in the NFL. Sure, it was one of the most inefficient seasons we’ve seen in modern years. I’m not arguing that point. But I don’t care about the inefficiency in Dynasty Football. I care about the opportunity, and Johnson has plenty of it. Diontae finished with 8.6 targets per game playing 89% of the snaps, while his teammate George Pickens finished with 4.9 targets per game with a 76% snap percentage. This was an inexperienced offense last year, with a rookie quarterback who struggled, but showed us signs of real NFL competence as the season progressed. I fully expect Kenny Pickett to make significant strides in his sophomore season and expect Diontae to have a big bounce-back year, finishing as a high-end WR2. If you live in the Pittsburgh area, Pennsylvania sports betting will have top-rated sportsbooks with the best sign-up bonuses to take advantage of this NFL season.
Treylon Burks
The Arkansas prospect struggled with injuries his rookie season, sidelined with turf toe and a concussion. He ended up playing in just 11 games and was not overly impressive for most of those games, finishing with just 33 catches. Dynasty owners appear to be much less excited about Burks going into Year 2 and now is a great opportunity to buy low.
Let’s not forget why he was viewed so highly in the first place. Burks is a big-bodied receiver with significant draft capital (first round, 18th overall pick), he was an early declare, and he commanded nearly 40% of the passing volume his last year in Fayetteville.
The Titans fully expect Burks to come out as their unquestioned WR1 in 2023 now that Robert Woods is gone. If he can stay healthy, don’t be surprised if this young man breaks 1,000 receiving yards for the season next year. I’ve seen Burks fall after incoming rookies like Jordan Addison and Quentin Johnston in several startup drafts recently. I’m here to tell you the only 2023 Rookie WR you should be drafting before Treylon is Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Michael Pittman Jr.
Pittman is another guy who seemingly took a step back last year, failing to meet his yardage and TD totals from Year 2. However, the excuses we can make for these subpar results are quite legitimate in my opinion. I mean, anyone who watched a Colts game or two this season could see that the quarterback play was essentially non-existent. Frankly, I think the numbers Pittman managed to put up while dealing with the likes of Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, and Sam Ehlinger under center are damn impressive. We can assume the long-term outlook at the QB position will be drastically improved after the NFL draft, as the Colts are currently set to pick fourth overall. There’s also an outside chance Lamar Jackson comes to Indy. Both DraftKings and Odds Shark have the Colts as the front-runner to grab Lamar, at +250 odds.
Pittman was 12th in the NFL in targets, exceeded his receptions total by 11 from 2021, and accounted for 27% of his team’s offense through the air. Given the circumstances, what else could we have expected from the man? Pittman was going as a high-end WR2 in many 2022 startups, yet now he’s being viewed as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3. You can get the USC prospect for pennies on the dollar this offseason, and I’ll be looking to pick him up in every league I can get him. His situation can only improve from here.
If you have any questions or comments about this article or Dynasty football in general, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @DynastySavant. Best of luck to all you dynasty owners out there, and I look forward to bringing you additional coverage throughout the rest of the offseason!
