Fantasy Football Deep Dive: Four Under-The-Radar Wideouts To Add, Play
Tim Patrick's stock, specifically, is increasing due to injuries around him
Are you having trouble maintaining depth at the receiver position in your fantasy football league?
Maybe it's due to injuries to players who were drafted as depth pieces like Jerry Jeudy, Michael Gallup or even the once-promising Elijah Moore. Or maybe it's the fact you could be left elevating others from the bench to the starting lineup with both DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Lockett, a pair of clear-cut WR1s, banged up.
Well, we dissected some advanced fantasy football stats courtesy of SportRadar and ran through the nitty-gritty to determine a handful of receivers who are worth adding or, depending on how bad the situation you're in.
Of note, all advanced statistics are courtesy of SportRadar and depict full-point PPR fantasy football leagues.
Tim Patrick, WR, Denver Broncos
Patrick recorded two touchdowns in three games and he's about to see a whole lot more targets. The Broncos continue to be without Jeudy (injured reserve) and now will be without fellow wideout K.J. Hamler. Those two players combined for 11 of the 19 targets to receivers in a Week 1 win before Jeudy's injury. The door now is open for the Courtland Sutton-Tim Patrick show in Week 4 and beyond. Patrick, specifically, recorded 3.18 points per target through three weeks, which ranks third among players who had 10 or more targets. He also has four "explosive plays," defined as 16 yards or more, while receiving 30% of the team's red-zone targets. Patrick is owned in 36% of Yahoo! leagues -- a 14% jump from last week.
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
With the way quarterback Derek Carr is slingin' it through three weeks, fantasy owners may want a piece of the Raiders offense, which ranks first in passing yards per game. Renfrow, who is owned in just 22% of Yahoo! leagues, is the piece you probably should consider. The third-year wideout is leading Las Vegas in targets (7.3 per game) and ranks first among Raiders receivers in touches per game behind 2.65 points per touch. The shifty slot receiver also is averaging almost seven yards at the catch. With Carr's arm and Renfrow's route-running ability, the Clemson product has five explosive plays.
Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Buffalo Bills
Chances are some fantasy owners stayed away from the 34-year-old receiver seeing as Stefon Diggs was expected to claim the lion's share of targets in Buffalo. But even with Sanders third on the team in targets, he's certainly made them count -- and others are taking notice as he's jumped to being owned 53% from 26% the week prior in Yahoo! leagues. Sanders ranks first among Bills receivers in points per target (2.12) and points per touch (3.85) -- the latter which is more than double Beasley's mark. He's been more efficient down field than the other two as he averages 15 air yards per reception with four explosive plays. Despite seeing just 10% of red-zone targets, Sanders already has two receiving touchdowns through three games. The Bills love to throw the football (fourth in passing attempts per game) and Sanders is a low-key asset helping them do just that.
Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Unlike the other three players on this list, Boyd is rostered in plenty of leagues (87% of Yahoo!), but he lands here because he's worth elevating into the starting lineup for "Thursday Night Football." Of course, Boyd is not the top receiver for the Bengals -- Ja'Marr Chase has four touchdowns on 16 targets (!) -- but the Week 4 absence of Tee Higgins makes Boyd more valuable. Essentially, it means Boyd, who led the team in targets (6.3 per game) through three contests, should see even more as Cincinnati's top complement to Chase. Boyd also is third on the team (behind Chase and Higgins) in points per touch (2.44) and saw 20% of the team's red-zone targets, depicting his established connection with quarterback Joe Burrow.
