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The 2023 NFL Draft continues to get closer and closer and with it comes a lot of excitement as to where some of the best prospects will land. As fantasy managers, we all have our ideal landing spots for all of these players. When it comes to dynasty leagues, the landing spot isn't nearly as important as it is in redraft because situations can change very fast. However, when we are looking to find value only during the 2023 season, landing spot is crucial.
Looking back at the 2022 NFL Draft, Drake London's landing spot didn't allow him to reach his full potential. However, Chris Olave and Christian Watson were drafted to teams that allowed them to be successful right away. Had DeVonta Smith gone to Miami instead of Jaylen Waddle, we would be talking about Smith's monster rookie season in 2021. It matters a lot for redraft.
We already touched on the top running back prospects here, but in the second installment in this article series, we'll be looking at the best two fantasy landing spots for the top wide receiver prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft. Our final article installment will focus on the tight end position, so don't miss it.
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Quentin Johnston finished his three-year college career at TCU with an 18.5-yard per reception average (89th percentile) and a breakout of 19.0 (89th percentile). He led the Horned Frogs in receiving as a true-freshmen finishing with 487 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore, he finished with 33 receptions, 612 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. This past year, en route to a National Championship appearance, Johnston finished with 60 receptions, 1,069 yards, and six touchdowns.
Steve Smith on Quentin Johnston
Height - 6’4
Weight - 216 lbs
40 - 4.49
School - TCU
Projection - 1st Round pic.twitter.com/dJZIXwRBXb— Flockville (@Flockville) April 2, 2023
He measured in at 6’2 and 208 pounds, so he’s a bigger receiver. He only participated in the vertical and broad jump at the combine but excelled at both. Many believe Johnston to be one of the more athletically gifted receivers in the class and that certainly shows up on tape when watching him after the catch. He’s arguably the best run after the catch receiver in this class and he possesses the deep speed to threaten defenses over the top. He has the look and the skillet of a true No. 1 receiver.
Houston Texans
The pass-catchers in Houston currently look like this: Nico Collins, Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Dalton Schultz. Woods and Metchie seem best suited for the slot and Collins profiles largely as a deep-ball threat, similar to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. You won’t get much more than that out of him, but he can keep a defense honest. What they’re missing is a true X receiver. That’s exactly what Quentin Johnston is.
He’s run over 90% of his college snaps from outside and has been extremely effective at doing so. He’s one of the best receivers in gaining yards after the catch and is a big play waiting to happen. Johnston would immediately give their rookie quarterback a true alpha receiver to lean on in the passing game. The Texans have 2,860 vacated air yards and 357 vacated targets. That’s a wheels-up scenario for Johnston.
New York Giants
The Giants are in a similar position to the Houston Texans in regard to their depth chart. They have Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins who are both perimeter receivers, but Slayton has largely operated as just a downfield option and Hodgins just received his first real playing time last season. Then they employ a plethora of slot receivers – Jamison Crowder, Sterling Shepard, Parris Campbell, and Wan’Dale Robinson – but what they’re missing, is a true, do-it-all, X receiver. Enter Quentin Johnston.
Daniel Jones needs more pass-catchers and Johnston would turn what looks like a weak group into a strength because he’s the No. 1 receiver this team and this quarterback needs. A group of Johnston, Slayton, Robinson, Campbell, and Darren Waller at tight end is a solid group and one Jones and coach Brian Daboll could currently work with.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Ohio State
Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t play much during his freshmen season and was injured for pretty much the entire 2022 season, but we’ll always have his epic sophomore season. He finished with 112 targets, 95 receptions, 1,606 yards, and nine touchdowns. He out-produced 2022 first-round prospects Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. He recorded a 22.7% target share that year. He’s getting knocked because some view him as specifically a slot receiver, but I don’t believe we should be pigeonholing him to that role just yet.
While many expected him to test poorly at the combine, he did quite the opposite. His shuttle and three-cone drills resulted in elite numbers and when he ran the 40-yard dash at OSU’s pro day, JSN silenced the doubters with a 4.52. Altogether, he finished with an 8.30 RAS and is largely believed to be the most pro-ready receiver in this year’s class in terms of his hands, route running, and football I.Q.
Ohio State WR’s coach Brian Hartline recently ranked his Top-5 Buckeyes WR’s over the past few years.
His five:
1. Marvin Harrison Jr.
2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
3. Garrett Wilson
4. Terry McLaurin
5. Chris OlaveThe top two haven’t even been DRAFTED yet.
The WR’s in Columbus are… pic.twitter.com/BpdO1SRUOI
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) April 5, 2023
Green Bay Packers
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the best and smoothest route-runners in this class and it’s not really all that close. He gets open at ease in zone coverage and easily creates separation vs man to man. He was primarily used in the slot at Ohio State, but I wouldn’t pigeonhole him to being just a slot receiver in the NFL just yet. However, a slot receiver is exactly what the Packers’ offense needs.
They’ll have a new quarterback under center in 2023 and it’d be nice if Jordan Love had an easy, almost always open target to lean back on and that’s exactly the kind of role JSN can fill. While Christian Watson is working in the intermediate to the deep part of the field, JSN can consistently give Love a safety valve and someone who can move the chains. JSN’s route-running and technician approach is a great complement to Watson’s physical attributes. The Packers desperately need more pass-catching weapons. The Packers currently have 258 vacated targets and 2,575 vacated air yards. There is plenty of room for JSN to make a home next to Watson.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have a great offense. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs will all but assure that that remains true, but it could be much better. Gabriel Davis is a solid receiver, he just might be overmatched as a true No. 2. Let him operate as the team’s primary No. 3 receiver, and with Diggs on one side of the field and JSN working the middle of the field and we might just see the best version of Davis in 2024.
Josh Allen needs more easy throws, though. Diggs is the only receiver that creates separation and easy throws. He’s the only receiver Allen trusts. The team desperately needs another receiver who can help drives stay alive without constantly force-feeding the ball to Diggs. A receiver trio of Diggs, JSN, and Gabriel Davis is a perfect combination of short, intermediate, and down-field excellence.
Jordan Addison – USC
Jordan Addison is a highly-productive college player. He started his career at Pittsburgh and racked up 89 targets, 60 receptions, 666 yards, and four touchdowns as a freshman. He went absolutely bananas in year two, finishing with 145 targets, 100 receptions, 1,593 yards, and 17 touchdowns. He operated primarily out of the slot both years. Prior to 2022, he transferred to USC. There, he was used primarily as an outside receiver, and his production in 11 games, somewhat hampered by an ankle injury late quieted the concerns of him being just a slot receiver. Despite the missed games and the later injury, he finished with 84 targets, 59 receptions, 875 yards, and eight scores. He’s a smaller receiver at just 171 pounds and 5’11 and his RAS of 5.8 left a little somewhat to be desired athletically, but he’s a smooth route runner and is very polished.
Jordan Addison is the best receiver in the draft. pic.twitter.com/t1VS2iJsED
— Ramey (@HoodieRamey) February 27, 2023
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings need to add more offensive pass-catchers after the release of Adam Thielen, which was the right move, by the way. Right now, however, their No. 2 receiver is K.J. Osborn and while T.J. Hockenson filled in admirably as a No. 2 target, he’s in the last year of his rookie contract. Either way, Justin Jefferson desperately needs a running mate or teams will start blanket-covering him.
Jordan Addison primarily lined up in the slot in Pittsburgh but was used almost exclusively as an outside receiver at USC and he was exceptional in both roles, which is important because the Vikings move Jefferson around a lot. Addison’s versatility would mesh well with Jefferson’s and he would give Kirk Cousins another option in the passing game.
Baltimore Ravens
This is a no-brainer, right? Rashod Bateman, while he’s shown promise on the field, hasn’t been able to stay healthy through two seasons and head coach Jim Harbaugh’s comments about his current health status wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. There was also his short-lived Twitter beef with the GM, which I’m sure didn’t sit well. Regardless, his long-term future, of which there are only two years left, is certainly in question. Behind him, the team has virtually no other solid receivers. He’s it. He and tight end, Mark Andrews.
Whether it’s Lamar Jackson or someone else, the team needs new playmakers to catch the football. With the new offensive coordinator hire of Todd Monken, who has primarily run a pass-first offense, the team needs to give, both him and whoever the quarterback is going to be, the tools to be effective. Addison would be a step in the right direction.
Zay Flowers – Boston College
Zay Flowers, like Jordan Addison, boasts an incredibly productive college profile. As a sophomore, he finished with 106 targets, 56 receptions, 892 yards, a 27.2% target share, and nine touchdowns. In 2021, he had 83 targets, 44 receptions, 746 yards, a 27.3% target share, and five touchdowns. He put together his best season ever this past year when he finished with 130 targets, 78 receptions, 1,077 yards, a 29.6% target share, and 12 touchdowns.
His 46.7% college dominator ranks in the 94th percentile and his 29.6% target share is in the 89th percentile. He’s not an early declare, but the product speaks for itself. He put together a very solid 7.66 RAS but is on the small side measuring in at 5’9 and 182 pounds. At Boston College, they used him inside, outside, and just how everywhere they could. He also had an extremely diverse route tree.
New England Patriots
Zay Flowers isn’t the biggest guy around, but Boston College lined him up anywhere and everywhere. He ran every single route on the route tree. The Patriots absolutely need someone like that. DeVante Parker profiles as a pure X receiver and JuJu Smith-Schuster is best suited in the slot. This would allow Flowers to be moved all over the formation as their primary flanker. He’d get to start off the line of scrimmage, which should help negate some of the press coverage he’d otherwise see tied to the line.
The Patriots have 1,753 vacated air yards and 214 vacated targets up for grabs from last season. They’ve added Mike Gesicki and JuJu Smith-Schuster, but both deals were just one-year deals and Parker isn’t long for New England. They need a long-term answer at receiver and Flowers could be it.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans currently have one of the worst pass-catching groups in the NFL. There is optimism around Treylon Burks and Chigoziem Okonkwo, but right now, that’s all there is – potential and optimism. That isn’t to say one or even both players can’t be successful yet, it’s just to say that it’s unknown. After those two, the talent pool falls off a cliff.
The Titans have 199 vacated targets from last year with the primary loss being Robert Woods. The Titans do not currently have a No. 2 receiver on the books or a No. 3 receiver, for that matter, at least not one the team can feel confident in. A trio of Burks, Flowers, and Okonkow would at least give the Titans plenty to be hopeful about.
Josh Downs – North Carolina
Getting to catch passes from future top-five pick Drake Maye certainly has its benefits, but that shouldn’t minimize just what Josh Downs was able to accomplish his past two seasons at North Carolina. From 2021-2022, Downs racked up 268 targets, 195 receptions, 2,364 yards, and 19 touchdowns. Pretty incredible production. In 2021, he had a 38.7% target share, which is just absurd. His target share this past season was still a healthy 22.9%.
He finished his college career with a 70th-percentile college dominator, a 97th-percentile target share, and an 87th-percentile breakout age. Like Flowers, Downs is also on the small side. He measured in at just 5’8 and 171 pounds. He operated solely out of the slot at North Carolina and will likely need to stay in that position in the pros. Despite his small stature, he scored 8.23 on the RAS scale, exclusively due to his speed and agility.
Seattle Seahawks
For starters, there’s been plenty of comparisons that Josh Downs has a very similar game to Tyler Lockett. Both players have primarily played out of the slot, but are different than most slot receivers who we tend to think of as short-yardage and middle-of-the-field targets. Lockett, much like Downs, can attack the defense downfield and they do so, often.
Seattle could use an upgrade at the No. 3 receiver spot, which is currently slated to be Dee Eskridge, who was their second-round pick back in 2021 but has done very little since that time. Around the last offseason, Lockett was mentioned as a trade candidate and while that never came to pass, Lockett is approaching the final two years of his contract and is an older player at 30 years of age. Drafting Downs would give them a ready-made replacement for him in the next year or two and someone who plays and has many of the same strengths as Lockett.
Minnesota Vikings
If the Vikings do not want to use their first-round pick on a receiver, Josh Downs could be someone they target in round two. They don’t currently have a round-two pick, but it’s something they could acquire if the cost is right. Right now, the Vikings' top three receivers on their depth chart are Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Jalen Nailor. That’s a positional group that is very much in need of some additional talent.
Addison was listed as a fit for Minnesota, but Downs is a cheaper alternative. Unlike Addison, however, Downs is viewed as a full-time slot receiver. He brings a lot of speed to his game and could operate as the team’s downfield threat with Jefferson and Hockenson working the short and intermediate part of the field more frequently.
Jalin Hyatt – Tennessee
Through 17 games in 2020-2021, Jalin Hyatt had just 41 receptions and 502 yards. A flip got switched in 2022, however, because he lit the college world on fire this past year. He finished with 91 targets, 67 receptions, 1,267 yards, a 21.6% target share, and 15 touchdowns. That includes a single-game performance against Alabama where he recorded six receptions for over 200 yards and five touchdowns. He would go on to win the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best receiver in the country. He kept the momentum rolling at the combine where he recorded a 9.46 on the back of a 4.4 40-yard dash. He’s just 6’0 and 176 pounds, but he has speed for days and one team is going to fall in love with him because of that.
Los Angeles Rams
Jalin Hyatt is arguably the best downfield option in the draft. His speed is real and it’s going to be pressure on NFL defenses from day one. The Rams are in desperate need of such a player. Allen Robinson, if he’s still on the roster, is mostly a possession player at this point in his career. Cooper Kupp, largely operates out of the slot. They have no true speed element to their offense.
Hyatt would instantly change that. Robinson won’t be in LA for long and there’s reason to believe Van Jefferson won’t either. He’s a decent, but limited player. Kupp will be 30 years of age this season and it’s important the team adds some juice and some youth to their receiver group. Hyatt accomplishes that and then some.
Kansas City Chiefs
As everyone knows, the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill last season. Shocker, right? Well, they replaced him with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and won the Super Bowl anyway because Patrick Mahomes is amazing. However, the questionable group of pass-catchers, as great as Mahomes is, seems like the team is playing with fire.
Skyy Moore face-planted as a rookie. Kadarius Toney has been consistently injured and has more questions than answers about his game. MVS is who he is, which is a No. 3 option that is primarily and almost exclusively a downfield option. Kelce is a superstar who happens to be 33 years old and will be turning 34 this season. That sounds like a group that could use another addition. Also, who doesn’t want to see Mahomes have the best pure deep ball threat in this draft on his team?
Marvin Mims Jr. – Oklahoma
Marvin Mims Jr. is a name that seems to have been mostly forgotten about in this group of receivers, but he’s one of the best deep ball threats in this class. In 2020, he finished with 610 yards on just 37 receptions, which results in a 16.5-yard per reception average. He continued to flash the home run play by finishing with 705 yards in 2021 on just 32 yards, a 22.0 yard per reception average. This past year, he earned 91 targets and caught 54 of them for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns.
Over the past three years, he’s scored 20 total touchdowns and has been a big play waiting to happen. His 20.1 yards per reception in his final year in school ranks in the 94th percentile. He backed up his game speed at the combine when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds. His RAS ended up at 9.14 despite his smaller frame of 5’10 and 183 pounds. Teams who are looking for speed and a downfield threat with paying up for Hyatt could find a more affordable option with Mims.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers experienced a ton of injuries last year at receiver, between Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. That’s been the norm for Williams, but Allen has been an iron man since his first few injury-plagued seasons. Allen will be 31 this season and Williams be 29 by mid-season. Allen was a cap casualty candidate this offseason or a trade candidate, but they restructured his contract to keep him in Los Angeles.
Justin Herbert had an embarrassingly low average depth of target, which is something that should never be said about a quarterback with his kind of arm talent. Mims is an excellent downfield option and brings with him a ton of speed. That’s exactly the kind of player this offense could use to give it more juice and excitement. If they truly want to get the most out of Herbert’s arm, it’s imperative they give him a weapon that can utilize that strength of his and Mims could do that.
Atlanta Falcons
Right now, the Falcons' No. 2 receiver is either Mack Hollins or Scotty Miller. Pick either one and know that the position is in bad shape and sorely use an upgrade. Drake London looks like a true alpha receiver and we know the kind of talent Kyle Pitts has if the team chooses to utilize him properly. But there’s no denying the team could use an upgrade as their No. 3 target.
Mims would give the team a speed element they don’t currently have right now. His skill and talents would mesh well with London’s and would give Desmond Ridder someone to use to keep the defense honest. The Falcons were one of the most run-heavy offenses last year and adding Mims would help ensure opposing defenses cannot just walk extra defenders down into the box with regularity because of his game-breaking speed.
Rashee Rice – SMU
Rashee Rice is a four-year player out of SMU who has had a pretty productive career but absolutely exploded this past season. From 2019-2021, he averaged 67 targets, 46 receptions, 585 yards, and five touchdowns per season. His sophomore and junior seasons were pretty similar, finishing with 683 and 670 yards, respectively. As a senior, however, Rice finished with a ridiculous 157 targets, 96 receptions, 1,355 yards, and 10 touchdowns. His target share this past year was 30.6%, which is in the 96th percentile. He has good size at 6’0 and 204 pounds and excellent athleticism, recording a 9.49 RAS.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have done a nice job putting some duct tape on their receiving core with the additions of Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, and Hayden Hurst. After trading D.J. Moore to get the first overall pick, there was no way around it, this group was going to be hurting this season. Still, it could’ve been much worse. None of their three additions are long-term answers and adding more talent their eventual rookie quarterback can grow with is important.
Rice is a bigger receiver at over 200 pounds and over 6’0, but he’s got good long speed and was incredibly productive this past year at SMU. The additions of Thielen and Chark won’t require him to be an instant producer, but it would be a nice landing spot for a receiver who might not be ready for a starring role, but who has the traits and talent to eventually get there.
New Orleans Saints
Like the Panthers’ situation, the Saints' current depth chart won’t require much of Rice in year one. With Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Juwan Johnson, Rice won’t have much defensive attention provided to him and he can gradually start as the team’s third receiver and their fourth receiving target. Thomas has a long injury history and it’ll be important for the team to add depth at receiver.
Rice can play inside and outside and would fit well with Olave and Thomas in 2023. Playing behind those two receivers would give him a chance to continue refining his game before stepping into a more prominent starting role in 2024 next to Olave when the Saints likely move on from Thomas.
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