DFS 101: How To Pick A Wide Receiver

It's no coincidence that the highest-performing WRs in DFS are the ones who get the ball thrown to them a lot. So, when filling out your lineups, make sure that you factor targets into the equation.

Targets. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but not really. In the world of DFS where you get one point for every reception, focusing on wideouts who get the ball thrown to them a lot should be a key part of your lineup building strategy.

Not all targets are created equal, however. Obviously, throws coming off of the hands of more accurate quarterbacks result in more points that targets from inaccurate QBs ( you know who they are… we don’t have to say any names).

While we’re on the subject of targets… something else you’ll want to keep in mind, especially when trying to break a tie between similarly priced talents? Red zone targets. Catches are good, but catches near (and in) the end zone are exponentially more valuable in DFS. Teams and quarterbacks have certain guys who they lean on when trying to score, and you want to focus on those WRs who get the lion’s share of the looks inside the money zone.

Regardless of who is throwing the ball, there are typically more opportunities for receptions (and red zone receptions) in games where teams are projected to score a sizable number of points. So, it’s always a good thing to scour the Vegas over/unders and look for receivers who are suiting up in games with totals in the 49 and over range. Additionally, you want to look at the teams whose implied point total is 27 points or more: If the oddsmakers think that a team is getting in the end zone 3-4 times on a given Sunday, you can feel confident in the fact that said team will likely be airing out the ball a little bit.

Monitoring injury reports is always a wise thing to do as well, but it’s less important for the wide receiver position as it is for QB and RB. Just because a team’s WR2 is ruled out on Sunday morning after twisting an ankle in warmups, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the team’s WR3 is going to assume all of WR2’s targets (or that WR4 will get all of WR3’s typical level of work, etc.). More often than not, the targets that were originally going to the injured player are randomly distributed among the rest of the team.

You do want to pay some attention to cornerback matchups, and whether those CBs travel with (or shadow) certain receivers. For example, the Jets’ Sauce Gardner has already established himself as one of the league’s premier defensive backs, but he typically stays locked in at the LCB position. Since that’s the case, you can feel comfortable playing receivers who are lining up on the opposite side of the field as Gardner (although the Jets’ D.J. Reed is a pretty darn good RCB in his own right).