Fantasy Football: Darkhorse candidates to finish as the overall WR1 in 2023

Year 1 was just a taste of what Garrett Wilson can do as a fantasy WR: With Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Wilson’s high-end skillset will be put to much better use helping him reach WR1.
It’s within the realm of possibilities that Jaylen Waddle overtakes Tyreek Hill in 2023: Waddle is in his prime and already showcased elite talent in the NFL, but he has stiff competition on his own team.
Can the Denver Broncos’ offense bounce back?: If Russell Wilson can get back on track under Sean Payton, then Jerry Jeudy could end up being the main beneficiary.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Much like with the running back position, fantasy football’s WR1 is often already drafted within the first five players at their positional ADP. However, as evidenced by Cooper Kupp in 2021, it isn’t impossible for someone else to emerge, which is going to be the emphasis of this article as we look beyond the top-five wide receivers drafted in order to find the next darkhorse WR1.

Understanding all of which makes up a fantasy WR1 is going to be important, so let’s start by looking back at past seasons to determine the recipe for success that led them to fantasy glory.

Season	WR1	Total PPR Points	PPR PPG	PPG Rank	ADP
2022	Justin Jefferson	368.9	21.7	2	WR1
2021	Cooper Kupp	440.3	25.9	1	WR16
2020	Davante Adams	358.4	25.6	1	WR2
2019	Michael Thomas	374.4	23.4	1	WR4
2018	DeAndre Hopkins	332.8	20.8	3	WR2

High-end consistency, like at the running back position, is king for the top overall fantasy wide receivers. Being able to deliver close to an average of 23 PPR points per game while also staying healthy for a full season allowed these WR1s to separate themselves.
Only Davante Adams in 2020 missed games and still finished as the WR1, but he did so with unreal touchdown numbers, averaging 1.3 touchdowns per game that season.
DeAndre Hopkins is the last wide receiver to repeat as the overall WR1.
Only Cooper Kupp was being drafted outside the top five at his position (WR16) but that ADP changed to WR2 in 2022.

Season	WR1	Targets	Receptions	Receiving yards	Receiving TDs
2022	Justin Jefferson	176	128	1,809	8
2021	Cooper Kupp	189	145	1,947	16
2020	Davante Adams	146	115	1,374	18
2019	Michael Thomas	180	149	1,725	9
2018	DeAndre Hopkins	159	115	1,572	11

The minimum requirement for receiving touchdowns is about 0.5 per game, with only Adams and Kupp coming close to or exceeding one per game.
The more difficult threshold to reach will be the minimum of 115 total receptions, which only Justin Jefferson (128) and Tyreek Hill (119) accomplished last season. This will be key, especially in PPR leagues.
To get the receptions, the targets have to be there as well, and every one of these receivers averaged at least 10 targets per game.
Each past WR1 also finished inside the top five in the league in receiving yards, most of the time leading the league.