No position offers more roster construction options than wide receiver in the world of DFS tournaments. Oftentimes, identifying and hitting on a lowly rostered WR can be the difference behind a modest payday and huge winnings.
There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to go about selecting your wide receivers, but there are some common tips I regularly implement to construct an optimal roster at the wide receiver – which can blend target share opportunity, favorable matchups, and low roster usage upside to help your performance in DFS contests.
Tip 1: Know Your Scoring Format
This may feel like an obvious recommendation, but the difference between a half-PPR and full-PPR scoring format can help you decipher between which WRs you should elevate on your priority list when constructing a lineup on a specific DFS platform.
Two of the most popular DFS platforms have different scoring formats. FanDuel awards 0.5 points for a reception while pass-catchers get a full point on DraftKings per reception.
This may seem negligible in the eyes of many, but this does give a slight boost to lower volume deep threats like Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans on FanDuel while a player like New York Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson receives a bit more value in DraftKings because of his high reception total – despite the absence of high yardage output.
Tip 2: Know Your WR Roles
The Rock coined the catchphrase “Know Your Role” during his WWE prime. I’m only asking that you take a closer look at your receiver’s role in their offense before blindly inserting them into your DFS lineup.
Understanding the basic role difference between players like Khalil Shakir and Courtland Sutton are being asked to do in their NFL offense will only enhance your decision making process when inserting these players into your lineup.
Lets take a closer look at the production through the first 12 weeks of the 2024 NFL season of these two players.
Khalil Shakir 2024 Stats
Receptions: 56
Yards: 599
TD: 2
Courtland Sutton 2024 Stats
Receptions: 57
Yards: 744
TD: 5
Fairly similar production, right? Well, when you dig a bit deeper you quickly realize that these players have polar opposite roles on their respective teams.
Khalil Shakir 2024 Stats
Yards After Catch (YAC): 460
Air Yards: 236
Red Zone Targets: 6
Courtland Sutton 2024 Stats
Yards After Catch (YAC): 132
Air Yards: 1,218
Red Zone Targets: 17
Sutton has been operating as an outside vertical threat who can win at the catchpoint but doesn’t offer a ton of production as a ball carrier, while Shakir is a hyper-efficent YAC monster who terrorizes opposing slot defenders close to the line of scrimmage.
These archetypes don’t necessarily apply to some of the stud WRs in the league – who have a versatile skill set and are moved all over the formation – but understanding these roles can help you sort through the endless roster possibilities a bit more effectively.
Both can be very valuable to your DFS lineup, but should require some additional research as to whether they could explode for a big game in this very specific role.
Tip 3: Know the Matchup
This tip could be very detailed specific to personnel, pressure rate, coverage scheme tendencies, recent production allowed trends, and many more variables to construct a specific game script projection for your DFS WR.
I like to identify teams who struggle to apply pressure on the quarterback as a nice starting point. After all, in order for your WR to produce his QB needs to have an appropriate amount of time to throw the ball – particularly for deep threat WRs.
Then I like to glance at which teams have been giving up the most passing yards per game. When marrying those two stats together, it’s no wonder why teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots have been torched regularly by opposing passing attacks through the first 12 weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
Obviously, targeting or avoiding specific players based on the quality of cornerbacks, nickel defenders, or safeties is always a sound strategy. You don’t need me to tell you to avoid starting WRs who will face off against Sauce Gardner or Pat Surtain regularly – but I will for the sake of being fully transparent.
Lastly, I actually like the idea of targeting receivers playing against some of the highest scoring offenses in the league.
Through the first 12 weeks of the 2024 NFL season, teams like Detroit, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay all rank inside the top five scoring offenses in the league on a per game basis. It is no surprise to me that all of three of these units also rank in the bottom 25% of the league as an opposing pass defense. The game script these offenses produce can oftentimes demand their opponents to throw the ball more.
Understanding these potential ideal matchups can help you determine when to take a chance on a low-rostered deep threat like Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Alec Pierce, who could help make you a big winner in bigger DFS tournaments.
Tip 4: Avoid Windy Games if Possible
Adverse weather conditions can have a bigger impact on the passing game than the rushing attack due to the added task of a wet ball having to travel effectively from point A to point B in adverse conditions.
Games with impactful windy conditions can cause accuracy issues, particularly on throws deeper down the football field.
Stronger armed quarterbacks like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes may have an easier time operating in these conditions, but players like Tua Tagovailoa may have a tougher time delivering big performances against high winds.
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DFS Strategy: A Closer Look at WR Tips & Strategies