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Blue Rated Wideouts Week 14 2023

By KC Joyner

The volatile scoring nature of the wide receiver position may cause more start-sit headaches for fantasy managers than any other position, but when things go well wide receivers can post point totals capable of winning fantasy games.

How does one know which wide receivers are capable of posting those game-winning point totals? My player grading system (a full version of which can be found at TheFootballScientist.com) aims to identify these players via an overall/upside/downside approach. A player’s overall grade measures his likely performance, the downside the grade indicates how a player is apt to fare if things go poorly for him that week, and the upside grade measures the scoring ceiling of a player if things go well in a given contest.

This grading system also uses five color-coded categories: blue (indicating someone who can post elite point totals), green (a strong starter), yellow (a solid backup or a potential starter in bye weeks or deep leagues), orange (a desperation play), and red (someone who should not be started).

This means fantasy managers who are looking for big scoring potential at wide receiver should aim for someone who has a blue-rated upside grade (which is 90-100 in my system). This weekly article series will identify all the blue-rated upside wideouts in a given week and then provide details on a few of the unexpected candidates on this board. It will also detail the strength of the matchup each of these receivers is facing via a matchup points total of 1-100, with 100 being most favorable.

Player	Team	Opponent	Upside PPR	Matchup Points
CeeDee Lamb	DAL	PHI	100.0	78
Tyreek Hill	MIA	TEN	100.0	78
Keenan Allen	LAC	TEN	100.0	58
A.J. Brown	PHI	DAL	100.0	55
Stefon Diggs	BUF	KC	100.0	42
Michael Pittman Jr.	IND	CIN	100.0	96
Nico Collins	HOU	NYJ	100.0	42
Mike Evans	TB	ATL	98.7	60
Deebo Samuel	SF	SEA	97.3	55
Amon-Ra St.Brown	DET	CHI	96.0	66
DeVonta Smith	PHI	DAL	94.9	28
D.K.Metcalf	SEA	SF	94.5	55
Chris Olave	NO	CAR	93.9	51
Davante Adams	LVR	MIN	93.5	78
Ja'Marr Chase	CIN	IND	93.4	47
Jaylen Waddle	MIA	TEN	93.0	64
D.J. Moore	CHI	DET	95.9	100
Justin Jefferson	MIN	LVR	91.1	78
Courtland Sutton	DEN	LAC	90.0	78

Davante Adams, Las Vegas

Adams really only posted one impact game since Week 3, but this game has the potential to return him to that level, as Adams is due to face Minnesota cornerback Akayleb Evans in coverage. Evans has allowed 9.6 PPR PPG this season and is returning from an injury and thus could have injury rust, both of which are factors that should lead to another double-digit target volume for Adams.

DJ Moore, Chicago

Moore is on a two-game streak with 22+ points and should be able to make that three in a row, as he is facing Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs. That is a hugely favorable matchup, as Jacobs has given up 16.5 PPR PPG over the past four weeks.

Jaylen Waddle, Miami

He’s played second fiddle to Tyreek Hill and that has cut into Waddle’s production, as he’s posted 10.2 or fewer PPR points in three of the past four weeks. That is likely to change for the better in a major way in this matchup, as Waddle could face either Kristian Fulton (11.3 PPR PPG) or Sean Murphy-Bunting (8.9 PPR PPG), both of whom are liable to give up a big play that pushes Waddle back into the elite tier.