Blue Rated Wideouts Week 5 2023

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.

The list of wide receivers with blue-rated upside grades is smaller this week than it was last week due to a variety of factors, including quarterback injuries, tough matchups and bye weeks.

Week 5 wide receivers with blue-rated upside

 

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Wilson may end up being covered by either Patrick Surtain II or Damarri Mathis, but it really won’t matter since Mathis is giving up a ridiculously high 20.3 PPR points per game in coverage and Surtain isn’t faring much better at 12.5. Wilson has been a consistent scorer in PPR leagues this year by posting three games with 14+ PPR points, but this matchup may finally put him over the 20+ point mark.

Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis

Pittman will likely face Tennessee cornerback Kristian Fulton in coverage. Fulton has been a coverage sieve at various points throughout his career and this season has been no different, as Fulton has allowed 10 completions on 12 targets for 152 yards (per Pro Football Reference). The Colts will need to go to the air more often to avoid the Titans powerful rush defense that should get Pittman to a very high fantasy point total this week.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay

There is a concern that Doubs could lose some target volume with Christian Watson getting back to full speed, but don’t forget that Watson still has only 148 receptions in five seasons and change at the college or NFL level. That shows Watson is not a high-volume receiver and Doubs is, having caught 14 passes on 25 targets over the past two weeks, so don’t let the Watson concern keep you from putting Doubs into most starting lineups this week.