The Tennessee Titans‘ wide receiver depth chart got a nice infusion of talent this offseason. Whether it is Calvin Ridley as a potential starter or Tyler Boyd for depth, there is certainly more optimism around the group this year.
The biggest question now becomes whether Will Levis can sustain fantasy value to multiple WRs in 2024 or whether we are looking for a one-and-a-half players’ worth of fantasy value split between two main options.
Let’s examine the fantasy outlooks for Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Boyd, and Treylon Burks in 2024 and determine whether they are worth drafting this year.
Calvin Ridley’s Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR Fantasy Points: 198.4 (122.1 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 76.2
- Receiving Yards: 828.6
- Receiving TDs: 6.2
Ridley had a ton of fantasy buzz heading into the 2023 NFL season when he was positioned as the best deep threat on the Jaguars’ passing offense with Trevor Lawrence under center.
It would be hard to consider Ridley’s 76 receptions for 1,016 yards and eight TDs on 136 targets for a WR18 finish last year a complete failure, but it did leave some fantasy managers who were hoping for a WR1 season a bit disappointed.
Let’s start with the positives. Despite being a full year removed from playing professional football, Ridley still produced some excellent fantasy performances last year. He had three games in which he produced 6+ receptions for 100+ receiving yards and a score. Unfortunately, those were paired with eight games in which he failed to top 40 yards receiving.
Ridley’s week-to-week volatility made him feel like a Gabe Davis-type boom-or-bust option who fantasy managers happened to start far more often last year. His ADP of No. 75 overall in the back half of the seventh round (WR32 off the board) gives me some mixed feelings.
Does he have WR3 upside in Tennessee? Sure, we just saw him produce a top-20 fantasy season last year after not playing a snap of NFL football for over a full calendar year. Regardless of your feelings about Ridley’s statistical output last year, that’s still impressive.
Yet, I do have questions about the Titans’ passing offense and some concerns about Ridley’s volume next to Hopkins that make me hesitate to draft him ahead of players like Jayden Reed, Chris Godwin, and Ladd McConkey.
The price becomes a bit more intriguing while Hopkins deals with a knee injury in this revamped vertical passing attack, which makes his seventh-round ADP a fair one considering the potential for an expanded role if he becomes the clear top option in this passing game to start the 2024 season.
– Derek Tate, Fantasy Football Analyst
DeAndre Hopkins’ Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR Fantasy Points: 192.7 (125.4 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 67.2
- Receiving Yards: 851.1
- Receiving TDs: 6.6
Hopkins’s fantasy dominance during his days with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals feels like a distant memory at this point, given that he hasn’t produced a top-20 fantasy season since 2020.
Hopkins’ Fantasy Production Since 2021
2023: 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven TDs (WR22)
2022: 64 receptions for 717 yards and three TDs (WR47)
2021: 42 receptions for 572 yards and eight TDs (WR45)
Do some of these fantasy seasons require some context? Sure, Hopkins was serving a suspension — which cost him eight games of the 2022 campaign — and injuries played a factor in his 2021 production. Yet, his fantasy production did drop considerably on a per-game basis in his first year with the Titans.
Still, Hopkins flashed some of his ability to produce top-tier fantasy performances at moments over the 2023 campaign with three 100-yard performances, including Week 8, when he scored three touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons.
Hopkins’ ADP currently rests at No. 92 overall as the WR39 off the board. This puts him in the same range as players like Keon Coleman, Rome Odunze, Jordan Addison, and Ladd McConkey in the eighth round.
The debate for the three rookie receivers can be made both for and against Hopkins, but the WR39 price point makes him a great draft-day price at this cost. There’s no reason he can’t be a productive WR3 or Flex option for your team in full-PPR formats in 2024 — assuming his injured knee does not linger into the start of the season.
Last year, Hopkins’s passing game was terrible, but we saw a nice floor. If Levis is better than expected, then this price point will prove to be an excellent value for a proven veteran option.
– Tate
Treylon Burks’ Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR Fantasy Points: 114.4 (70.9 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 43.4
- Receiving Yards: 564.4
- Receiving TDs: 1.4
For a minute this preseason, it looked as if Burks was positioned to open the season with an interesting role, but with Hopkins trending in a positive direction for Week 1, those hopes are all but gone.
For me, Burks is strictly a contingency-based play. Tyler Boyd was brought in this offseason to fill the slot and short-yardage role, making Burks essentially Hopkins/Calvin Ridley insurance. That’s not a rosterable role in most leagues, though Tennessee did make it clear this summer that they want to open up their offense.
We haven’t seen Burks do much as a pro (49 catches and one touchdown across 22 games), but you need to be open to the idea of him as a waiver wire add should one of the primary receivers in this offense go down.
– Kyle Soppe, Fantasy Football Analyst
Tyler Boyd’s Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR Fantasy Points: 112.6 (69.2 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 43.4
- Receiving Yards: 512.0
- Receiving TDs: 2.7
The 29-year-old has spent the past four seasons with Joe Burrow penciled in as his starting quarterback, and yet, he hasn’t reached 850 receiving yards in any of those seasons. In fact, just once in his eight NFL seasons has he caught more than five touchdown passes, making him nothing more than a volume play.
Boyd is a good NFL player who adds a nice dimension to this offense, but not one that fantasy managers need to worry about. I like the Titans’ pass rate to spike this season, something that will be more realized by the top two receivers and the backfield in this offense.
If an injury were to occur to Hopkins/Ridley, Boyd’s outlook wouldn’t change much – he’s going to be, at best, a marginal floor player who doesn’t carry much in the way of upside.
– Soppe
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