2024 WR Preview Special

Hello everyone! Did you enjoy last week’s running back preview? I hope so, because we’re doing wide receivers this week! Just in time for drafts for many, so I’m happy I’m getting this out there. My tight-end preview is next week, sorry if that is too late. 😭 

I go over my top-12 list just like last week, as well as offer some sleepers, busts, and some guys I just couldn’t help but mention I really like this season, even if only briefly.

Let’s get to it!

2024 Top-12 Wide Receivers

1. 🐬 Tyreek Hill: Hill has the top spot not only because he can easily finish there, but also because of the whole Ceedee Lamb drama going on in Dallas. Had it not been for that, I’d have Lamb ranked here.

2. 🤠 Ceedee Lamb: I still think Lamb can repeat as the overall WR1 (which is a very hard thing to do but is possible), I just wonder if the lack of training camp ramp-up could slow him down out of the gate. I doubt it’ll be much though, and he should be a cornerstone piece for fantasy teams in 2024.

3. 🦁 Amon-Ra St.Brown: There are few players as steady as Amon-Ra St.Brown. He’s not the Antonio Brown of days past, but get this: he was a WR1 in half-PPR formats in 10 of 16 games last year. He was a WR2 or better in all but two games. Meanwhile, Tyreek Hill was a WR1 in 10 games last year as well but was a WR3 or worse in five. Amon-Ra should be the top dog in the passing game in Detroit and is a fantastic pick in drafts.

4. 🐅 Ja’Marr Chase: It was not a fun ride for Chase owners last year. At first, you had to deal with Joe Burrow coming off of an injury. Then you basically went straight from that to no Joe Burrow at all. While Jake Browning was a fine quarterback in Burrow’s stead, there’s no question that Chase’s production suffered. From Weeks 11-18 in 2023 he was the WR31. Yuck. Burrow is healthy this year, and although Chase has held out of camp so far, I can’t see moving him down my board much more. He’s just too explosive.

5. 🦅 A.J. Brown: AJB is a beast of a man. Much like Chase, the second half of 2023 was not kind to him. But it’s a new day and he has a new OC in Kellen Moore. I don’t think Moore was given a fair shot last year with Justin Herbert suffering an injury as well as his entire receiving room. 2024 will be the litmus test for Moore and his system, and I think it can succeed in Philly. Also, don’t forget Brown went on a tear last year with six straight games of over 125 receiving yards.

6. 🛫 Garrett Wilson: It feels weird to have him ranked here but I can’t quite get myself to put people over him. You can make the argument and maybe after 2024 we’ll look back and see Wilson just isn’t who we thought. But what if he is? Can a DJ Moore-rebound type season be in store? That’s the hope if Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy this year.

7. ⚔️ Justin Jefferson: The prospect of Sam Darnold and maybe Nick Mullins throwing the rock to him all year is not fun. JJ McCarthy might be a rookie, but I would feel safer if he was the backup option. Jefferson did well with Mullins last year, but can lightning strike twice and can Darnold rebound? Jettas has the talent for sure but it’s the QBs I question.

8. 🐏 Puka Nacua: This is merely because of injury concerns and Kupp potentially factoring in more this year. But, I think having him at 8 is perfectly acceptable. I have a hard time believing he’ll repeat last year’s results, but being a WR1 is easily in the cards.

9. 🐬 Jaylen Waddle: I think people are forgetting how good Jaylen Waddle is, but I think the general public is coming around, thanks in part to the drumbeat of prominent FF analysts (myself not included 😂 ). Waddle played less than 70% of the snaps in eight games last season and missed three, largely due to nagging injuries. In 2022 he was the WR7 in half-PPR formats, and that’s while sharing the field with Tyreek Hill. Waddle should continue his efficient play thanks to Miami’s offensive system and has inherent upside should Hill miss time.

10. 🐤 Marvin Harrison Jr.: Marv landed in a great spot with Kyler Murray and Arizona. He’s the clear WR1 on the team with a high-end passer. I think Harrison is being drafted towards his ceiling and even though I’m ok with drafting him as my WR1, it’s not my preferred option. If anything, I'd look to target someone like Cooper Kupp as a potential steadying force for my WR room should I target Marv.

11. ⛏️ Deebo Samuel: Deebo is the type of player who doesn’t need a huge workload to produce, at least from a target standpoint. He had only 89 targets (60 receptions) last season, and when you add in his rushing attempts, it was a grand total of 127 opportunities. 20 WRs in 2023 had more than 127 targets alone. However, Deebo got into the endzone 12 times last year, meaning he scored once every 10.7 opportunities. It’s an insane rate but he should have similar success in 2024 in a 49ers offense that's going to be near the top of the league in scoring.

12. 🏴‍☠️ Mike Evans: Evans is one of my “My Guys” this year, and if you want to hear about the others, listen to my podcast episode! Baker Mayfield has historically been a great deep passer, though I will admit according to PFF, he did struggle last season in that area. However, that doesn’t dissuade me from drafting Evans. He was 14th in ADOT last year according to PlayerProfiler, and if Mayfield recaptures some of his deep passing magic, we could see yet another great year from the veteran.

WR Sleepers

• 🏹 Take advantage of the discount that is Rashee Rice. The closer it gets to the NFL season, the less likely it is they levy a suspension for the 2024 season. They likely wait until 2025. According to FantasyPros consensus ADP, he’s the WR35 off the board. If he plays a full season, or even close to a full season, he’s finishing well above that mark. He was already coming off being the WR27 in 2023 despite being a part-time player for the majority of the year. I’m ok with targeting him before ADP just to ensure I snag him. Just make sure it’s at most a round before, don’t go too crazy.

• 🐄 I don’t have Tank Dell well above ADP, WR23 vs WR29, but I think he’s worth mentioning here. Dell seems the favorite to operate beside Nico Collins in 2-WR sets, and has already flashed that he is fully recovered from his injury by scoring a long TD in a preseason game.

• I get I already mentioned him, but I figure it’s worth noting Jaylen Waddle is the WR19 in ADP vs my ranking as WR9. Just wanted to put that out there.

• Also, I’m buying into the Brian Thomas Jr. hype train. I’m booking my ticket now actually. He has 4.33 speed, was drafted in the first round, and led LSU in receiving touchdowns last season despite sharing the field with Malik Nabers (who is also looking very good). He’s receiving a lot of praise from a variety of people around the NFL and is showing some skill during the preseason:

WR Busts

• ☠️ I hate to say it, but I think Davante Adams disappoints this year. He’s getting older and despite his status as the WR1 for the team, it’s believed Vegas will be run-heavy and they will have subpar QB play. I’m one of Gardner Minshew’s biggest fans but I think he’s this generation’s Ryan Fitzpatrick: beloved by all and a capable backup but not one to anchor a franchise to. Adams can make me look foolish for saying this, but I’m staying away in drafts unless he falls a bit past his ADP.

• 🐻 People are gonna come at me for this, but I don’t think DJ Moore lives up to ADP expectations this year. It’s not a lack of belief in his talent or even Caleb Williams. I think Williams is going to be a successful NFL QB. However, I think several things are standing in Moore’s way in 2024: a rookie QB and multiple legitimate competing targets.

  I looked at every rookie QB who started the majority of their team’s games from 2020-2023, and here are their WR1’s end-of-season finish (half-PPR): 9, 25, 22, 37, 34, 38, 24, 30, 20, 30, 42, 14. Not all of them were big names (Kendrick Bourne or Darnell Mooney for example), which helps the case for Moore (there are guys like Nico Collins at 9, Hopkins at 22, Keenan Allen at 14). The difference is that Moore has legitimate high-end competition that not all of these guys had to deal with in addition to a rookie taking his lumps.

Some Miscellaneous Mentions

Much like last week, some guys I’m high on this year that I want to quickly mention include Malik Nabers, Christian Watson, Jakobi Meyers, and Xavier Worthy. Deep sleepers? Demario Douglas, Josh Downs, Darnell Mooney, and Darius Slayton. 📈 

Thanks for reading and I will see you next week!