Top Wide Receivers to Target and Avoid in Your Fantasy Football Draft: Expert Picks for 2025

With the NFL season rapidly approaching, our team at Sports Injury Central has you covered with all the injury insights you need when deciding which players to target or avoid in all formats of Fantasy Football.

Wide Receivers To Target In Fantasy Football Drafts

Here are the wide receivers whose injury concerns are in the past, so we recommend you target them in your fantasy football drafts.

Xavier Worthy

Kansas City wide receiver Xavier Worthy enters his second NFL season with breakout potential. After flashing elite speed and route separation as a rookie, Worthy is expected to take on a larger role in a Chiefs offense searching for dependable weapons beyond Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. At ADP 60.5, he offers strong upside at a WR3 draft slot.

Ricky Pearsall:

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is emerging as a potential value pick in his second season. With Brandon Aiyuk on the physically unable to perform list and Jauan Jennings sidelined, Pearsall has seen an uptick in first-team reps during training camp. He caught three passes for 42 yards in a preseason Week 2 game against the Raiders. At ADP 97, he presents a low-risk, high-upside option, especially in PPR formats, with a path to standalone value and contingency upside if injuries persist.

Emeka Egbuka

Rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers carries sneaky fantasy upside at ADP 109.5. With Chris Godwin on the PUP list and veteran Mike Evans entering his age-32 season, Egbuka could carve out a meaningful role early in the season. Known for his reliable hands and ability to create separation, Egbuka is already generating buzz in training camp and could contribute as a slot receiver or in two-wide sets if injuries linger. With Tampa Bay having one of the most injured offensive lines to start the season, with an average SIC score of 70.9, we can expect them to throw often to their slot receiver considering that Baker will have less time in the pocket.

Christian Kirk

Now with the Houston Texans, wide receiver Christian Kirk has become one of the more overlooked players in fantasy drafts. With Tank Dell sidelined and John Metchie traded, Kirk steps into a retooled receiving corps led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. Just two seasons removed from a 1,100-yard campaign in Jacksonville, Kirk remains in his prime and has a path to targets in a high-volume offense. At ADP 147.5, he offers FLEX appeal and stash potential in PPR leagues.

Wide Receivers To Avoid In Fantasy Football Drafts

Here are the wide receivers whose team and individual injury concerns remain, so we recommend you avoid them at their ADP in your fantasy football drafts.

Malik Nabers

Currently nursing a toe injury that dates back to college for Nabers, it hampered him towards the end of the regular season last year as well, was on the team’s injury report a few times his rookie year with a concussion in Week 5, as well as hip and groin injuries at various points, but overall had a productive rookie season catching 109 passes for 1204 yards and 7 touchdowns amid uncertainty at the quarterback position. The toe injury is most concerning. Nabers is participating at the start of camp but admitted to reporters that the possibility of having surgery on his toe sometime in his career has been “up in the air,” meaning it’s possible but he hasn’t seriously considered it.

Tyreek Hill

Hill suffered a wrist injury during a joint practice with the Washington Commanders in August 2024 but opted to play through the 2024 NFL season despite medical advice recommending season-ending surgery. The injury noticeably impacted his performance. Hill flirted with career-low season totals with 81 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns. Hill delayed treatment until the offseason. In February 2025, he underwent surgery to repair ligament damage in the wrist, followed by a second procedure in May to remove the screws from the initial operation, a planned step in his recovery. Despite both surgeries, we expect Hill to have a full, productive season, although considering his age, there might be a dip in overall performance.

Stefon Diggs

Diggs is entering the 2025 season with the New England Patriots while still rehabbing his torn ACL, which he suffered late in the 2024 season while with the Houston Texans. He appeared in just eight games for Houston before the injury ended his year, concluding the season with 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots signed him in late March to a three-year, $63.5 million contract. Diggs is present at camp and was cleared to practice. Despite that, we have huge red flags for Diggs in 2025. Coming off an ACL tear, plus his age and new team, we expect a down season for the wide receiver.

Chris Olave

Enters the 2025 season healthy after missing most of 2024 with multiple concussions. He suffered two concussions last year, including one severe incident on November 3 that kept him out for the final eight games but was cleared in December. Olave participated fully in non-contact offseason workouts and mandatory minicamp activities and had no limitations at the start of camp. Olave enters the 2025 season as our biggest concern for all fantasy players. Due to his concussion history, if he sustains another, he would be out 4+ weeks, and it could be career-threatening. He will have a yellow SIC Score entering the season.

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