Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Draft Busts and Surprises: Tee Higgins, Deebo Samuel, Adam Thielen, Jordan Addison, Jakobi Meyers Catch Eyes at Halfway Point
We’re at the halfway point of the NFL season, which makes it a great time to look back on our fantasy football drafts from a couple months ago.
Who were some of the biggest draft busts and surprises? We already looked at the quarterback position and then tight ends, so let’s move on to the wide receivers next.
Unlike the quarterback and tight end positions, there’s way more wide receivers that get drafted in fantasy drafts, so there’s a lot more options for busts and surprises. We’ll discuss a few of each at the halfway point of the season, but just know this list could look drastically different by the time the season ends.
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Draft Busts
There’s a couple wideouts that were drafted inside the top 10 in fantasy drafts that could be considered busts after missing multiple weeks with injuries.
Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson was one of the top options at the position before landing on injured reserve. He was the top pick in fantasy drafts more often than anyone else, but currently is WR26. He’s due back soon, and could still finish as a top-end fantasy player if he returns to his old ways.
Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp missed the first four weeks of the season with an injury and has played in five games since. He started strong, but has produced three straight underwhelming performances. Kupp had an Average Draft Position (ADP) of seven, which made him the fourth receiver taken, but is currently WR55.
If you're asking me, the biggest draft bust so far at the position is either Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins or San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel. Both have dealt with injuries, so that’s not entirely fair to label them the biggest busts, but they haven’t done much when on the field either.
Higgins has played seven games and has scored 72 fantasy points, which makes him WR52. He had an ADP of 29, which made him the 14th receiver taken overall.
Samuel had an ADP of 36, making him the 17th receiver taken in drafts. Samuel has played in six games and scored just 72 fantasy points, which makes him WR53.
Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson is another guy who has missed several games and could be considered a bust based on what he’s done so far. Watson had an ADP of 52, making him the 23rd receiver drafted. He’s scored 39 fantasy points and is WR88.
Denver Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy is another option, with an ADP of 62 (27th receiver). He’s scored 67 points and is WR56.
There’s plenty of other names you could throw in the mix here, but these are the names that are standouts to me.
Draft Surprises
The biggest surprise this season from a wideout has been from Puka Nacua of the Rams. He wasn’t drafted in most leagues, with an ADP of 327, but sits as WR6 right now.
The biggest draft surprise from someone who was drafted has been Carolina Panthers’ Adam Thielen. He had an ADP of 123 but is currently WR8.
Thielen has topped 50 receiving yards in all but two contests, and has three games over 100 yards. He’s caught five or more passes in all but one game, and has three games with over 10 grabs. Thielen has scored four times so far, so there’s even some room to improve if he can score a touch more in the second half of the season.
Los Angeles’ Chargers’ Keenan Allen and Chicago Bears’ D.J. Moore are two top-10 fantasy wideouts now that went in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Allen had an ADP of 37, but is currently WR4. Moore had an ADP of 48, but is now WR9.
Indianapolis Colts’ Michael Pittman and Vikings’ Jordan Addison are borderline top-10 fantasy receivers that were seventh and eighth rounders in standard drafts. Pittman isn’t as surprising as he’s the team’s No. 1 option. He currently is WR11.
Addison had been impressive before Jefferson went down, and has picked up some of the slack since then despite facing some top cornerbacks. Addison is currently WR12.
Houston Texans’ Nico Collins has enjoyed a fine season so far. He had an ADP of 143 but is currently WR15 with 123 fantasy points.
A bigger surprise to me is Las Vegas Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers, who had an ADP of 130 and is now WR16. He’s gone over 30 receiving yards in all but one contest and has over 50 yards on five occasions. Meyers has also scored five times, which helps him sit just four fantasy points behind teammate Davante Adams, the clear No. 1 option on the Raiders.
The wide receiver position isn’t as bunched up as the tight end one is, but these lists could look drastically different in just a couple weeks if a player were to get on a hot streak. I guarantee some of the names mentioned here won’t be guys that are even thought of when talking about this topic after the season.
