Call the Battle in Fantasy Football: What to Do with Davante Adams, George Pickens and Christian Watson?

This is the second part of a new series who will examine players who are difficult to rank. Today, we will examine the pros and cons of three wide receivers.

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers

ADVANTAGES

Pickens' full season pace without Diontae Johnson on the field last season was 72 catches for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns on 140 targets. He registered a 38.4% first reading target assessment of those four games without Johnson, when Pickens objectives per route run rate (24.1%) was in the top 20, and his yards per route traveled (2.93) ranked in the top five. Pickens end-zone target share also jump to 42% with Johnson off the field. Pickens yards per goal (10.27) ranks second among all wide receivers over the past three years, and now he gets to play an entire season without Johnson.

In addition, Russell Wilson will an upgrade over Pittsburgh's quarterback play last season, when Kenny Pickett had the lowest TD% (1.8) among 391 quarterbacks with at least 500 attempts in NFL history. Pickens is in the top 20 of ESPN's Open Score last season, and offensive coordinator Matt Canada is gone, so the wideout can finally run routes down the middle of the field.

CONS

Pickens has yet to reach 22% of his goal share in any of the seasons of his career, and he is a big traderLast season he was in the 88th percentile in yards per route run, but only 62nd percentile in first downs per route runwho is better at predicting fantasy stats for next year.

While any OC is likely an upgrade over Canada, Drake London's fantasy managers have had a lot of issues with Arthur Smith's play calling (and results), and last year the Falcons had by far the lowest pass-against-expectation rate (-9.7%) in the league. It's also possible Wilson is all washedand Justin Fields could become a problem.

PRONUNCIATION

Pickens has flaws in his game, but there's real potential in year three. He's more than capable of scoring more touchdowns, even in a shaky offense with questions at quarterback. With Johnson in Carolina and an incredibly thin depth chart (Van Jefferson, rookie Roman Wilson) behind him, Pickens' upside outweighs his risks.

Pickens is a fantasy target and my WR22, who is six spots higher than him expert consensus rank.

ADVANTAGES

Watson led the Green Bays receivers in snaps, goals, yards, touchdowns And more when he was healthy in weeks 4-13 of last season. He saw the most targets and dominated the Packers airports when Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Watson all played together. Watson led the NFL in end-zone target share then on the field and ended up between the leaders of the competition in EZ goals despite playing only nine games last year, which helped him average the third most expected fantasy points per target since he entered the competition.

Watson finished 12th in yards per route run as a rookie and is in an emerging Green Bay offense, and he worked with hamstring specialists during the off-season to stay healthier.

CONS

Watson has a poor health history while missing 11 games in two seasons in the NFL, and his coach has admitted time will tell if they can get his ongoing hamstring issues under control. The Packers also have a glut of wide receivers; Doubs took over as the team's No. 1 receiver in the playoffs when a disabled Watson earned just three targets in two games. Reed is possibly a rising starwhile Dontayvion Wicks must enter the field more in 2024. Green Bay also has two capable pass-catching tight ends, with Jordan Love too dependent on big plays last season and is on the verge of turning back touchdowns.

Love was by far his lowest Passer Rating (69.8) when Watson was targeted among Green Bay's seven pass catchers last season, as the Packers' passing game was objectively worse when Watson was the team's primary target.

PRONUNCIATION

A healthy Watson clearly has the ability to produce in large numbers in peak weeks, but given his injury history and Green Bay's crowded receiver room, he's rightfully considered a WR41.

ADVANTAGES

Adams may be in a downward spiral, but he still ranked second in the league in targets (175), target share (33.1%), target rate (31.1%) and red-zone targets (29) last season; he was first in air yards share (44.2%) and target percentage first reading (40.6%) and fifth in expected fantasy points per game (22.0). Adams set up the best two seasons of his career in Green Bay under new Las Vegas OC Luke Getsy. Adams plays inside, has average 110 catches, 1,397 yards and 13 touchdowns in the last four seasons and just saw 175 goals.

CONS

Adams fantasy production has lost three seasons in a rowand wide receivers have historically a 34% drop in basic production during their 11th year in the league. Adams was the WR5 in expected fantasy points per game, but finished as just the WR17, and his unattainable target speed likely won't improve with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell battling for the quarterback job in Las Vegas. The Raiders allowed just 4.9 yards per play last season and Antonio Pierce wants to run the ball. Teammate Jakobi Meyers tied Adams for top-12 WR weeks (four) last season, and the Raiders selected Brock Bowers with the 13th pick of the draft.

Adams yards per route run versus man coverage has dropped from 3.06 to 2.00 to 1.66 the last two seasons when he started showing real signs of decline since he started working in Las Vegas.

PRONUNCIATION

Adams has a nice floor given his target projection, but he's 31 years old and in a bad situation with potential bottom-three QB play. He's the WR9 in ECRbut he's my WR14. I prefer younger emerging wideouts like Marvin Harrison Jr., Drake London, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jaylen Waddle. I'd even draft Cooper Kupp higher given his superior offensive environment.

Adams is at the wrong stage of his career to be drafted in the top 20.