3 Wide Receivers Primed to Make the Jump in Fantasy Football This Season

Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles

Of all the wide receivers in the league, Jordan Matthews may be the most hotly debated as to where he fits best on the field. But no matter which side of the debate you fall on (outside or slot), it’s pretty safe to state that Matthews was very, very good in his rookie season in Philadelphia.

Using our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, a mathematical expression of how effective a player was in terms of positive or negative points added to his team’s total, we can see that J-Matt finished in the top 25% of all receivers who saw at least 50 targets last season (22nd among 87 qualifying players).

Using the Player Season Finder on Pro Football Reference, Matthews finds himself in a group of just 12 wide receivers to total at least 65 catches, 850 yards and 8 touchdowns in their rookie season since 1970. He also finished with the third-best catch rate among that same grouping.

Some may cite the drafting of Nelson Agholor as a potential roadblock to Matthews finding an expanded role, and while Agholor should see a good amount of targets in Chip Kelly’s high-volume offense, it seems more than likely that a large chunk of the 143 targets the now-departed Jeremy Maclin saw last season will go to Matthews thanks to his experience and strong rookie campaign.

Maclin’s exit opens the door for Matthews to potentially slide into the X receiver role on a team that led the league in snaps per game (75). No matter who is under center for Philadelphia, Matthews is in a great spot to match -- and potentially exceed -- his current WR18 ADP.