Click Here to:

Blue Rated Wideouts Week 3 2022

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.

Week 3 wide receivers with blue-rated upside

Player	Team	Opponent	Upside PPR
Cooper Kupp	LRM	Arizona Cardinals	100
Justin Jefferson	MIN	Detroit Lions	100
Stefon Diggs	BUF	Miami Dolphins	100
Davante Adams	LAV	Tennessee Titans	100
A.J. Brown	PHI	Washington Commanders	100
Tyreek Hill	MIA	Buffalo Bills	100
Ja'Marr Chase	CIN	New York Jets	99
Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	Minnesota Vikings	95.5
Marquise Brown	ARI	Los Angeles Rams	95.2
Courtland Sutton	DEN	San Francisco 49ers	93
Mike Williams	LCH	Jacksonville Jaguars	92.3
Michael Pittman Jr.	IND	Kansas City Chiefs	92
Curtis Samuel	WSH	Philadelphia Eagles	91.6
Michael Thomas	NO	Carolina Panthers	91.3
Gabe Davis	BUF	Miami Dolphins	90.9
Christian Kirk	JACK	Los Angeles Chargers	90.4
Keenan Allen	LCH	Jacksonville Jaguars	90.2
Terry McLaurin	WSH	Philadelphia Eagles	90.2
CeeDee Lamb	DAL	New York Giants	90.2

Christian Kirk, Jacksonville

The Chargers have seven players in their secondary who have allowed a double-digit pace in yards per completion and two players who have given up a double-digit total in yards per target (per Pro Football Reference). Kirk has posted consecutive games with six receptions and found the end zone twice against the Colts in Week 2, so he should be able to post impact numbers against this struggling Los Angeles secondary that may also be without J.C. Jackson, who missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Terry McLaurin, Washington

Curtis Samuel, Washington

The Lions have allowed the eighth highest fantasy point volume to wide receivers so far this year, but that doesn't really do justice to just how target-friendly this secondary is, as Detroit ranks dead last in my Week 3 pass defense matchup points system. Samuel has already vaulted to must-start status with 42.1 PPR points in the first two games, but this matchup should also allow McLaurin, who tallied a solid combined 26 PPR points in Weeks 1-2, to hit the 20-point mark in many scenarios.

Marquise Brown, Arizona

The Los Angeles defense has a ton of talent, but that talent hasn't done much to slow down wide receivers so far this year, as the Rams rank 31st in WR fantasy points allowed and completions and are tied for last in wide receiver receiving touchdowns allowed. Brown was brought to serve as a workhorse and has done that to a large extent with 17 targets in Weeks 1-2, but this game could allow him to show why he earned the nickname Hollywood in the first place.