Fantasy Football Slot Receivers
Throughout the history of the NFL, there have been many offensive trends that have come and gone. In the early days of the NFL, running the football over and over was the focal point of every offense. The emergence of the West Coast offense and highly skilled quarterbacks led to a league-wide offensive overhaul. In today’s pass-heavy NFL, slot receivers are a new trend that offensive coordinators are leveraging more than ever. Pay attention to these small, agile receivers operating in the slot, and you will reap huge fantasy football rewards according to their advanced stats, metrics, and analytics profiles.
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Under the thumb of Sean McVay, the Los Angeles Rams have been propelled into relevance with their high powered offense spearheaded by Jared Goff. One of the biggest beneficiaries of their success has been rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Running out of the slot, Kupp has produced significant fantasy upside in his first season in the NFL.
- The passing boom has has created more viable wide receiver options in point-per-reception leagues, which in turn makes our 2020 fantasy WR PPR rankings extra deep. Add them to your cheat sheet.
- This is the type of game we needed after that one, as the Falcons have allowed the second-most fantasy points in the league to wide receivers (43.1 PPR points), behind only the Seahawks.
They also have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to the position. Crowder is my No. 21 option and can slide into your WR2 or WR3 slot. Week 14 fantasy football wide receiver rankings. The slot receiver in football is now more widespread and important to offenses than ever before. With teams making 11 personnel their base offense, slot receivers are on the field more often as well. Nowadays, those slot receivers can be the classic small, quick guy, a burner who stretches defenses, or even a big-bodied, physical mismatch. Take a look at which wide receivers to start and which ones to sit for Week 14, based on full-point, point-per-reception fantasy football league formats and forecasts. #2 CB (IR), and slot.
Kupp has proven to be a stalwart of the Rams’ red zone attack logging eight red zone receptions (No. 6) and a 31.5-percent Red Zone Target Share (No. 4). Furthermore, Kupp has recorded a solid 265 yards after catch this season (No. 13). His 10.83 Agility Score (88th-percentile) indicates that he is extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands. His high volume of receptions and young age make him a big asset in PPR leagues and dynasty leagues. Going into the season, Cooper Kupp’s ADP was 203. Do not overlook this blooming under the radar slot receiver.
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
There is not better example of a prolific breakout player than Adam Thielen. Thielen’s fantasy owners have been jumping for joy this season as he has been producing week in and week out. Despite the fact that he has been thrown to by Case Keenum for the majority of the season, he has continued to have fantasy success.
Thielen is quickly turning into one of the league’s best fantasy slot receivers. In an offense where he has to compete with Stefon Diggs, Thielen has logged 107 targets (No. 4), a 28.9-percent Target Share (No. 6), and 1006 receiving yards (No. 3). This type of a fantasy explosion coming from the slot is unusual but not unparalleled as we have seen similar numbers from Julian Edelman.
Adam Thielen’s fantasy output is only going to increase as he showcases a slew of metrics that are a mark of great receiver. Thus far in 2017, he has 2.77 Yards Per Pass Route (No. 4), a 58.8-percent Contested Catch Rate (No. 9), 303 yards after catch (No. 6), and is averaging 10.9 yards Target Depth Per Reception (No. 11). Thielen is a threat up and down the field coming out of the slot and will be for years to come.
Nelson Agholor, Philadelphia Eagles
This time a year ago, Philadelphia Eagles fans were ready to give up on their former first round draft pick: Nelson Agholor. At this point in the 2017 campaign, Agholor has been one of many standouts in the Eagles’ offensive juggernaut. Taking throws from Carson Wentz certainly doesn’t hurt, but a change occurred that facilitated his success. The change was schematic: Agholor moved to the slot.
Fantasy Football Slot Receivers
After a miserable 2016 season, Agholor’s fantasy production has erupted working out of the slot. He has 7 touchdowns (No. 4) and 2.28 Fantasy Points Per Target (No. 6). Moreover, Agholor has been one of the most efficient receivers in all of football this season. He has recorded a +22.1 Production Premium (No. 10), a +26.4 Target premium (No. 10), and an eye-popping 127.7 QB Rating When Targeted (No. 3).
Nelson Agholor Advanced Stats & Metric Profile
Agholor often faces mismatches in the secondary as a result of his positioning in the slot. He also has the ability to promptly separate from defenders utilizing his 4.42 40-yard dash time (89th-percentile) and a 102.3 Speed Score (75th-percentile). Look for Agholor to be a consistent feature producing out of the slot in this potent Eagles offense.
Jamison Crowder, Washington Redskins
Last but not least, Jamison Crowder offers a very promising fantasy option out of the slot. At just 24 years of age, Crowder shows loads of potential and is especially valuable in dynasty leagues. Despite not having a workout metric above the 50th-percentile, he averages 2.39 yards of Target Separation. This is an indication that Crowder is an exceptional route runner and can get open with regularity.
Jamison Crowder is just as dangerous after he gets the ball in his hands as he has 291 yards after the catch (No. 7). With a pass-heavy offense run by Kirk Cousins, Crowder’s ceiling is extremely high. Look for Crowder do be a solid fantasy option as a slot receiver in Washington’s offense in the long run. Stash him now in dynasty leagues and his potential will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
A few years back, when I asked Doug Baldwin — one of the pre-eminent slot receivers of the last decade — about the importance of the position, he summed it up pretty well.
“The slot receiver’s kind of the quarterback of the receivers,” he said in 2015. “More so because the slot receiver has more responsibilities in terms of reading coverages and different adjustments based on what coverages you’re seeing. It’s a lot more complicated. … You have to know a lot more. You have to stay within the confines and the framework of the offense — you have a lot of freedom because you have a little bit more space, but at the same time, your job is usually to get someone else open, or to get open on a crucial down where it’s one-on-one. You have to be versatile, and you have to understand how your route goes into the concept, based on the different coverages you can see.”
10. Adam Humphries 9. Golden Tate 8. Dante Pettis 7. Cooper Kupp 6. Jarvis Landry 5. Julian Edelman 4. Adam Thielen 3. JuJu Smith-Schuster 2. Antonio Brown 1. Tyreek Hill
It was an apt description in 2015, and though Baldwin has retired, the role of the slot receiver is quite similar to what it was then — and in 2019, one could argue that it’s even more important now. Three- and four-receiver sets are now the norm in the NFL, which means that teams will have double slot packages in which big and small receivers work together. And there’s no shame to the position — it’s not just for the Wes Welkers of the world anymore. Guys who can win outside just fine find themselves in the slot quite frequently, and you’ll find a few names that will rank highly on our upcoming list of outside receivers on this list as well.
Other Top 11 lists: Tight ends Centers Guards Offensive tackles Edge defenders Interior defensive linemen Linebackers Safeties Outside cornerbacks Slot defenders
So, here are the 11 best slot receivers in the NFL as we head into the 2019 season.
When watching Jacksonville’s 2018 passing offense, two things are abundantly clear — Jaguars receivers had one heck of a time with consistent production with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler throwing the ball all over the place, and the acquisition of Nick Foles was a necessity to give those receivers any chance of improvement. Among those receivers, Westbrook may have the most potential, as he brought in 59 slot receptions on 83 targets for 646 yards and five touchdowns. Not bad for a second-year receiver who’s never had a lot of help from his quarterbacks at the NFL level.
Fantasy Football 2018 Best Slot Receivers
Westbrook uses nimble feet and an impressive catch radius to make contested catches, and he has a good knack for getting open in zones. His drop rate was a problem at times, but with a credible quarterback at the helm, Westbrook could be a rising star in a big hurry.