RADIO
Rob breaks down 3 more wide receivers that fantasy managers need to draft this year. These receivers are great values and are players fantasy managers should target in fantasy football drafts this year.
We all want league winners, but the reality is that there are only 15 or so players who qualify as such in any given year. Short of drafting legit league-winners, we want to be drafting guys with significant upside at their cost. In the first entry of this series, three receivers were identified that fantasy managers need to draft this year for fantasy football. They all have legit upside at costs that don't fully recognize that.
This second entry will focus on three more receivers who have significant upside despite their reasonable pricetags. All three of these receivers have the potential to solidly outplay their ADP and, for that reason, should be the target of all fantasy managers. These receivers can be found in different parts of their drafts.
Let's get started with our second set of three receivers you need to be drafting this year. Be sure to look for the final entry and the remaining three must-have receivers for the 2025 fantasy football season. To take advantage of our great premium tools, please use the promo code "BOOM" to receive a 10% discount.
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Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers - WR28
Some fantasy managers may be hesitant to draft the No. 1 rookie receiver this year after what happened with Marvin Harrison Jr. last year, but that would be foolish. For starters, McMillan’s price tag is light years cheaper, with him being selected as a mid-WR3 as opposed to a low-end WR1.
Tet McMillan is set up for a great year 1
+ Elite college profile (1.3k+ yards in L2 seasons, 19 y/o breakout)
+ Clear WR1 in CAR
+ Big YAC threat that can separate AND win at catch-point
+ Bryce Young improved (15th in EPA from Wk9)My WR15 (WR21 ADP)
pic.twitter.com/VjYFXBlpfN— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) July 28, 2025
McMillan’s collegiate speaks for itself. His numbers are gaudy. The raw numbers are impressive. The advanced metrics are just as elite as the former. His size, elite collegiate production, and draft capital speak to the kind of top prospect that he is. The landing spot is far kinder than you might think of the surface. In fact, his landing spot might even be ideal. Let’s talk about it.
Let’s start with Adam Thielen. He played 27 games with Carolina over the past two seasons. His per-game averages were 7.4 targets, 5.6 receptions, 60.3 yards, and 0.3 touchdowns. Over 17 games, those numbers amount to 125 targets, 95 receptions, 1,026 yards, and 6 touchdowns. That was what the 33 and 34-year-old Thielen did in Carolina. Not bad, right?
It gets even better, though. That’s because Bryce Young was terrible as a rookie. He was downright awful. He was so bad to start last year that he was benched after two games. In his first 18 starts (2023 through the first two games of 2024), Young completed 59.3% of his passes. He averaged 173.4 yards, 0.6 touchdowns, and 5.4 yards per attempt.
After regaining his starting job in Week 8 of last year, Young was a new player. He looked like and played like the former No. 1 overall pick. His completion percentage over the final 10 games rose to 61.8%. He averaged 210.4 yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 6.6 yards per attempt. Over a full season, he’d have finished with 3,577 yards and 25 touchdowns. That was despite his No. 1 receiver being the 34-year-old Adam Thielen.
This is how crazy McMillan’s ADP currently is. In 2023, the 33-year-old Thielen, catching passes from a far worse version of Young, finished two spots higher than McMillan’s current ADP. McMillan could easily flirt with a 30% target share, with little to no doubt that he clears 25%. He’s going to be targeted early and often.
“He’s going to get targeted a lot. He’s going to be a big part of what we do…we’re going to challenge him”
Coach Dave Canales details what to expect from rookie Tetairoa McMillan’s role in the offense
Great interview by @JoshGrahamShow
Link to full episode below 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/BmhS6GeIJj
— UnnecessaryBluntness (@UBSportsTalk) July 25, 2025
If McMillan’s talent profile and collegiate production carry over to the NFL and Young plays as good as he did to end the year last year, McMillan could finish in the top-15. If Young’s play improves with the addition of an alpha-receiver, McMillan has a very realistic chance of being a top-12 receiver, making him such an easy smash at his current ADP.
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings - WR35
Addison was recently hit with a three-game suspension this season. That’s certainly not ideal, but when you can draft him at WR36, I say this with complete sincerity…who cares? Honestly, who cares?! It’s three games at the start of the season, and now that it's official, don't be surprised if his ADP drops even further.
This is a dude who finished WR29 as a rookie, in a season where Minnesota’s starting quarterback missed half the season. Last year, Addison was WR16, averaging 12.9 half-PPR PPG. Makes his WR35 ADP look a little foolish, no?
I suspect part of the concern with Addison, along with the suspension, is the unknowns surrounding J.J. McCarthy, and I understand that, but haven’t we done this before? In 2023, when Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles, Minnesota played Nick Mullens for 3.5 games (three starts and a fourth he played 54% of the snaps). He averaged 306 yards and 1.8 touchdowns per game. Joshua Dobbs, before him, played well too.
Then there was Sam Darnold last year. From 2018-2022, Darnold made 55 starts. He had a 59.7% completion percentage. He averaged 210 yards, 1.1 touchdowns, and 1.0 interceptions per game. He had a 6.7-yard-per-attempt average. In his very first season in Minnesota with Kevin O’Connell, Darnold’s completion percentage increased to 66.2%. He averaged 254 yards, 2.1 touchdowns, and 0.7 interceptions per game. He had a 7.9-yard-per-attempt average.
Minnesota drafted McCarthy to replace Cousins. Then, even after an amazing season from Darnold, Minnesota stuck with McCarthy. Whatever worries you might have about McCarthy, I’m going to go ahead and defer to O’Connell on this one. I’d suggest doing the same.
Since 2022, the Vikings have accumulated the most passing yards in the NFL, with 13,897. They’re also third in pass attempts and tied for second in passing touchdowns. This offense has been incredibly fantasy-friendly to its pass-catchers.
Some may be thinking Addison’s big second season was the result of T.J. Hockenson missing a large chunk of the season. Hockenson missed the first eight games and played under 50% of the snaps in his first three games back. However, from Weeks 12-18, Hockenson played 68% of the snaps and had 46 total targets (6.6 per game). Addison probably disappeared a bit behind Jefferson and Hockenson, right?
Think again. Addison had 58 targets, 39 receptions, 516 yards, and six touchdowns during that stretch. Those per-game averages equate to 141 targets, 95 receptions, and 1,253 yards. Addison has also improved with each passing season. For a former first-round pick, that's the expectation, but it's awesome when it comes to fruition.
As a rookie, Addison had a 16.6% target share and 19.0% target per route run. This past season, those numbers increased to 19.0% and 20.0%, respectively. His yard per route run average was 1.63, and his yard per target average was 8.7 as a rookie. In 2024, his two numbers improved to 1.87 and 9.3. Entering his third season, and after back-to-back seasons of consistent improvement, Addison could have his best season yet.
Top 10 WRs in expected receiving TDs *over the last 2 seasons*
1. Ja'Marr Chase (21.3)
2. Davante Adams (20.6)
3. CeeDee Lamb (20.3)
4. Mike Evans (19.7)
5. Tyreek Hill (19.2)
6. Amon-Ra St. Brown (17.6)
7. Justin Jefferson (16.8)
8. Courtland Sutton (16.7)
9. Jordan Addison…— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) January 21, 2025
He has already outplayed his current ADP in each of his first two seasons, and now that ADP could decrease even further. Fantasy managers should want Addison on their team, especially at such a depressed cost. What I really love about Addison is that he's not just scoring between 7.0 and 15.0 points en route to a respectable WR2 finish. Oh no, this guy brings week-winning upside. Over the past two years, he has had five weeks where he finished as a top-five receiver, including three No. 1 weekly finishes. Just draft Addison and profit.
Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans - WR53
Houston traded for Christian Kirk, and they still employ tight end Dalton Schultz, too, but at this price, I want to take shots on the talented rookie as much as possible. The Texans released their former offensive coordinator and hired Nick Caley, the former passing game coordinator for the Rams. Another Sean McVay disciple is enough to get excited about. They also completely revamped their offensive line. It was disastrous last year, and while they didn’t bring in any big names, they did add five veterans in the offseason on top of a second-round tackle.
What makes Higgins so appealing is his prospect profile and his fit in the Houston offense. Let's start off with his collegiate career before moving on to why his strengths fit so perfectly with C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense. Higgins wasn't an early-declare, but that's about the only box he didn't check.
- 129 targets, 87 receptions, 1,185 yards, and 9 touchdowns as a senior
- No. 1 PFF Receiving Grade among 87 collegiate receivers with 85+ targets
- 5th overall in targets, 6th in receptions, and 7th in yards
- 15th in Yards Per Route Run among 87 receivers with 85+ targets
- 31.4% target share (93rd percentile)
- 37.2% college dominator (76th percentile)
- 7 drops on 350 targets
- 2.24 yards per route run average over college career
- 2.81 yards per route run average over the last two years
- No. 34 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
- 9.63 RAS
- Ran a 4.47 forty-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds
Everything about his collegaite profile says he can play. That alone should have fantasy managers interested in him at such a cheap price. However, there are additional reasons to invest in Higgins. As previously mentioned, the new offensive coordinator comes over from the Rams, where he had been employed for the past two years. In 2023, the Rams directed 68.3% of their targets to their wide receivers. Last year, that number increased to 72.1%.
The image above is courtesy of Jake Tribbey of Fantasy Points and is an article he wrote, focusing on the positional target tendencies of quarterbacks. You can read the article here. The image focuses on each quarterback's target share directed to receivers starting out wide (not slot receivers). Stroud finished with the third-highest out-wide target share in the NFL. That's important because that's where Higgins is going to line up. He'll be one of the two outside receivers with Collins. Kirk will be in the slot.
Last year, Stroud directed 60.0% of his targets to his receivers, and that was despite Collins missing five full games, Tank Dell missing three, and Stefon Diggs missing nine. Caley coached an offense that hyper-focused its targets on their receivers. Stroud has historically done the same.
Higgins will also benefit from Collins in the same way that Addison has benefited from Justin Jefferson. Defenses will be forced to focus the majority of their attention on Collins. That'll leave Higgins in a lot of one-on-one situations. This could lead to Higgins having several high-scoring weeks, similar to what we've seen from Addison over the past two years.
Some fantasy managers may think the Texans' offense has a lot of mouths to feed. That depends on your opinion of Kirk and Schultz. In my opinion, these guys are solid role players, but not guys you're going out of your way to get the ball to, unlike Collins and Higgins.
The last piece that makes Higgins appealing is the question marks surrounding Houston's running game. Nick Chubb and Dameon Pierce are currently the backups behind Joe Mixon. Mixon reaggravated a foot injury that had him in a walking boot in the spring. He has yet to practice. Chubb is older and coming off several severe injuries. Pierce just hasn't been good since his rookie season. If the running game falters, they'll be forced to throw the ball even more.
Higgins has a pricetag that comes with virtually no risk. He's a budget option and could finish as a WR3 who is capable of providing WR1-level finishes on a weekly basis. If Collins were to miss anytime, Higgins could become a league-winner.
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