5 Wide Receivers to Target in FFPC High Stakes Fantasy Football Drafts

FFPC High-stakes drafts are slightly different than regular leagues. They are 12-team leagues with TE Premium scoring but that’s not the biggest difference. The prize pool is set up to reward $1,000,000 to the top overall team in the entire contest! There are three parts to the season, each with different prizes:

• Part 1 – Regular season Weeks 1-12
• Part 2 – League Playoffs Weeks 13 & 14
• Part 3 – Championship Round and Consolation Round Weeks 15-17

While you get rewarded for scoring the most points in the regular season and winning your league championship, the majority of the prizes are during the “championship rounds.” That’s why people in these drafts often aim for upside rather than floors because in this format in particular it is more important than ever.

I have already written up a piece on four running backs I'm fading as well as the live results of a current $2,000 fantasy draft with me, Ryan Noonan, and John Daigle

Five Wide Receivers to target

Allen Robinson

Main Event ADP: 41.47

Robinson is a pretty polarizing player after his disastrous 2021 season. If he was still with the Chicago Bears and Matt Nagy there would be plenty of room for concern, however, he has gone from arguably the worst situation in the NFL to one of the best. The Rams lost Robert Woods and Odell Beckham Jr. leaving a sizeable void for their WR2. It’s easy to forget because of Cooper Kupp’s incredible 2021, but Robert Woods was the WR12 in Weeks 1-9 before he got injured.

Robinson should have no problem stepping right into that role. All reports from the Los Angeles training camp have been that they are going to be moving Robinson around a bunch and will be using him frequently in the red zone. They were extremely excited to get him and there has been a consistent drumbeat at training camp about how good he has been. Playing with by far the best quarterback of his career in Matthew Stafford and being utilized by strategic-maven Sean McVay, Robinson should easily return value at ADP and has legitimate top-10 upside at his position.

Courtland Sutton AND Jerry Jeudy

Sutton’s Main Event ADP: 36.54

Jeudy’s Main Event ADP: 51.36

Pinning Sutton against Jeudy has been a popular debate in fantasy circles this offseason but my answer is simple. Both. The addition of Russell Wilson and the efficiency he brings can not be overstated.

Since his rookie year (2012), Russell Wilson ranks 6th in completion percentage over expectation +EPA composite.



The only players ahead of him:



1) Patrick Mahomes

2) Peyton Manning

3) Drew Brees

4) Aaron Rodgers

5) Deshaun Watson

— Connor Allen (@ConnorAllenNFL) August 22, 2022

He will be by far the most efficient quarterback the Broncos have had since Peyton Manning. Similar to how we saw Matthew Stafford come to Los Angeles and elevate both Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, I expect Wilson to elevate both Jeudy and Sutton. Russell Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett have been working in tandem to build the offense together and should ultimately skew pass-heavy and play towards an efficient passing game. This is a pretty stark change from what Wilson dealt with for most of his career in Seattle under Neolithic head coach Pete Carroll whose sole purpose on earth was to establish the run.

Sutton already has a 72/1112/6 season under his belt and that was while catching passes from a combination of Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, and Brandon Allen. Meanwhile, Jeudy had a 52/856/3 line as a rookie but with uneven quarterback play and injuries, both players stumbled last season. Tim Patrick was expected to start in two wide receiver sets this season and command a significant target share but suffered a torn ACL. This likely puts Jeudy on the field much more.

With both at full health in an efficient offense with minimal competition, it’s easy to see a scenario where both players end the season as WR1s.

Adam Thielen

Main Event ADP: 66.82

Thielen finds himself in a great spot for fantasy purposes this year. The Vikings offense is undergoing a massive shift in philosophies this season with Mike Zimmer out and former Rams offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell at the helm. He was reportedly brought in to pass the ball more frequently, something they did frequently in Los Angeles.

The Vikings offense should look different with former Rams OC Kevin O'Connell replacing Mike Zimmer.



Last season...



Early-down pass rate (neutral game script)

Rams: 57.1% (5th)

Vikings: 50.3% (18th)



Pass rate over expectation (neutral game script)

Rams: 4%

Vikings: -2%

— Connor Allen (@ConnorAllenNFL) July 13, 2022

NFL insider Charles Robinson also mentioned on a recent Underdog podcast that O’Connell was not just an offensive coordinator by name with the Rams and was given some autonomy by McVay.

Beyond the massive scheme and coaching upgrade (for fantasy purposes), Thielen has been a touchdown machine for the past four years. In the 51 games Thielen has started and finished, he has scored 39 touchdowns (.76 touchdowns per game). While touchdowns tend to regress year to year, there is something special about his bond with Kirk Cousins in the red zone. New HC Kevin O’Connell has also reportedly embraced Thielen’s significant role in the red zone, scheming ways to get him the ball.

With an upgrade in passing volume and a continued presence in the red zone, Thielen is in a great spot to finish as a high-upside WR2 in fantasy football.

Brandon Aiyuk

Main Event ADP: 84.16

Aiyuk has seen his ADP gradually rise throughout the offseason and for good reason. With Trey Lance starting and Aiyuk out of the doghouse he could be in for a big year. He started last season in a rotational role, playing 71% of the snaps or fewer in 5 of their first 6 games last season. After that, he played 90% of the snaps or more in all but one game the rest of the season. We should expect his snap rate from the latter half of the year to carry over into 2022.

The 49ers have also made the switch to second-year QB Trey Lance. If we go back to why they drafted him we can understand more of what they are looking for, which is a player capable of being aggressive and creating more explosive plays. If they want to push the ball downfield more than when they had Jimmy Garoppolo, we’ll likely see Brandon Aiyuk be much more heavily involved due to his route tree. Beyond the projected matching of skillsets between Lance and Aiyuk, reports from training camp suggest Aiyuk has the best rapport with Lance out of all the wideouts.

While the 49ers will likely be extremely run-heavy, they will probably be one of the most explosive teams in the league on passing plays. Drafting Aiyuk this late mitigates most of the risk and captures the upside surrounding Lance’s volatility.