If you played fantasy football in the early 2000s, you remember running backs helped win fantasy championships. But like the game on the field, fantasy football has evolved over the last 20 years.
Running backs obviously still matter, but wide receivers are arguably just as valuable. Most fantasy football leagues use PPR [points per reception] as a scoring category, meaning multiple wide receivers in your fantasy lineups.
Who would you consider the top fantasy scorer on the 2023 Washington Commanders?
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin is the top choice. One of the NFL’s best wide receivers, McLaurin has over 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons despite playing with 10 different quarterbacks.
Running backs Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. are players to watch, too. Robinson is the starting running back and looked outstanding late last season. Gibson is a former 1,000-yard rusher but will not receive the rushing attempts he did in 2020 and 2021. However, the former college wide receiver will impact the passing game under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Next, there is wide receiver Jahan Dotson. The 2022 first-round pick led the Commanders with seven touchdown receptions as a rookie. Dotson even missed five games. With Bieniemy calling plays, there could be an even bigger role for Dotson in 2023, leading ESPN to write that Dotson could be Washington’s breakout fantasy star in 2023.
I’d rather invest in Jahan Dotson’s ceiling. No one is expecting efficiency from Sam Howell, but if Washington figures to be trailing then the volume should be there for Dotson. And it doesn’t hurt that the Penn State product’s best attribute is a pair of wonderfully sticky mitts. Despite going over four receptions in only two games as a rookie, Dotson still managed to post seven TDs. Only four other first-round wideouts drafted over the past five years recorded at least seven TDs in their premier campaigns (Ja’Marr Chase, Calvin Ridley, Justin Jefferson and Marquise Brown). That’s sweet upside for a WR being drafted outside of the top 40 at the position.
Yet another prediction of doom and gloom for quarterback Sam Howell. The logic here makes sense if the Commanders struggle, but what if Howell is successful? In that case, McLaurin and Dotson would likely be significant reasons for his success.
In any case, Dotson is a fantasy sleeper for 2023.