The wide receiver position is one of the deepest in all of fantasy football, and it managed to add even more exciting depth this year with an incredibly strong draft class.
Here are five of my must-have WRs to leave every fantasy draft with on my team entering the 2024 NFL season.
Top WRs To Draft in Fantasy Football in 2024
Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens WR Zay Flowers had a great rookie year where he flashed plenty of playmaking ability on all three levels of the football field.
The overall production of 77 receptions for 858 yards and five scores on 108 targets should be viewed very optimistically when you realize how dedicated offensive coordinator Todd Monken was to getting Flowers the football.
Flowers was among the WR leaders in manufactured touches, catching 23 screen passes last year — tied for third, trailing only just Tyreek Hill and Ja’Marr Chase.
Additionally, Flowers showcased his formation versatility (29% of his snaps came from the slot), separation ability (2.27 yards of separation per target, seventh among receivers), and YAC ability (391 yards after the catch). These all feel like encouraging signs for a player entering his second NFL season.
The removal of Odell Beckham Jr. from Baltimore’s offense only means Flowers’ role should expand this upcoming year.
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
To quote Uncle Ben from Spider-Man, “With great risk comes great fantasy upside.”
On second thought, I may have gotten that quote wrong — but this saying certainly applies to drafting Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice in fantasy football for 2024.
Rice could face a suspension from the league stemming from potential felony charges this offseason, which makes him a very big a risk to invest early round draft capital in this year.
Yet, notice I used the word could when describing a potential suspension. There has been no discipline from the NFL at this time. This means Rice could play the entire 2024 NFL season before the legal process plays out.
If Rice does avoid league discipline in 2024, then he should be in the low-end WR1 conversation entering his second year in the league.
Once Rice’s role expanded around the middle of last season, he was the WR16 with an average of 15.4 fantasy PPG in full-PPR formats, which was the same mark we saw from Puka Nacua and A.J. Brown from Weeks 8 through 17 of last year.
Rice ranked third amongst receivers with 654 YAC last year, which put him among the elite producers in that category. He also saw the fifth most screen targets at the WR position in 2023.
Sure, the Chiefs did add two speedy receivers in Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy to the mix this offseason, but I’d argue this actually helps open things up for Rice underneath in 2024.
Rice comes with plenty of risk, but he does have true top-10 upside at the WR position if he plays the entire 2024 NFL season.
Malik Nabers, New York Giants
Fantasy football managers aren’t exactly excited about investing in the New York Giants’ passing game, given Daniel Jones is the starting quarterback.
Jones has been a big disappointment, but I want you to ask yourself a question… Can you think of any other reason outside of Jones not to draft Malik Nabers in the fifth round of your fantasy draft?
For some, Jones is reason enough to completely remove Nabers from the fantasy board. I believe this to be a major mistake.
Nabers’ elite separation skills, dynamic playmaking ability after the catch, route-running nuance, and excellent ball skills suggest he is going to be an instant fantasy impact player at the NFL level.
Given the current state of the Giants’ WR room, one could reasonably expect Nabers to be not just an elite target funnel this year but also the featured player in New York’s offense.
The last time we saw a Giants WR fantasy register a top-25 finish was Odell Beckham Jr. back in 2018 when Eli Manning was still the quarterback. Quite frankly, Nabers’ exceptional movement skills remind me a bit of Beckham, which makes him a player who has the skills to make an instant fantasy impact as a rookie.
I know the Giants’ offense has been mostly rough outside of the contributions we’ve seen from Saquon Barkley, who is no longer on the team, but head coach Brian Daboll did utilize Stefon Diggs in a feature role during his offensive coordinator days with the Buffalo Bills, which led to Diggs producing WR3 and WR7 fantasy seasons in their two years together.
Additionally, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is another member of this staff who has extensive experience getting the ball into the hands of a dynamic player like Nabers. Kafka helped scheme up ideal ways to get the ball into the hands of WR Tyreek Hill during their days together with the Kansas City Chiefs.
I’m well aware Jones hasn’t topped 3,300 passing yards or 15 touchdown passes in any of his five NFL seasons, but since we can reasonably project a sizeable target share and his explosive big-play ability, Nabers’ path to big fantasy success early in his career is certainly present.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
What do you get when you have an elite RAC (run after catch) threat set for an expanded role in one of the highest-scoring offenses with a receiver room that just vacated 241 targets, 152 receptions, 1,929 yards, and 15 touchdowns from the roster?
The answer is a potential breakout candidate in Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir.
Admittedly, the additions of both Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman give every Bills WR a realistic chance at a breakout season in 2024. Yet, when Shakir saw his role expand in the middle of his sophomore season, I’d argue he made the most of his opportunities.
From Week 8 through the rest of the regular season, Shakir was the WR46 in full-PPR formats. He totaled 31 receptions for 536 yards and one score, with an average of 9.2 fantasy points per game through that span.
Additionally, Shakir’s flashes of his RAC capabilities flirted with falling into the elite category. His average of 7.2 yards after the catch ranked third behind only Deebo Samuel Sr. and Rashee Rice for players with 30+ receptions in 2023. This showcased that Shakir can be a very productive player when he has the ball in his hands.
Josh Allen is going to have to throw the ball to someone. Shakir is the only receiver Allen has an existing rapport with from last year, which could give him an outside chance to lead Buffalo in targets. If that comes to fruition, Shakir has top-20 upside at the WR position in full-PPR formats.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Brian Thomas Jr.’s quiet start to training camp actually helped push his fantasy football draft-day price down to the 11th round.
This presents managers with an outstanding opportunity to land an exceptional vertical threat prospect paired with a promising talent under center at a clearance-rack price entering the 2024 NFL season.
Thomas’ exceptional size (6’3”, 209 pounds), elite speed (4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine), and explosive athleticism (38.5” vertical jump) all appeared on the tape from his 2023 season and afford him the physical tools to be a menace as a vertical threat operating as an X or Z receiver at the professional level.
Additionally, the foot suddenness, curvilinear acceleration, and lateral agility for a player that size suggest Thomas had some of the essential building blocks to be an effective separator along the vertical plane, outside of just running a post or go route.
Thomas’ lack of consistent route-running refinement could limit what the Jaguars ask him to do early in his rookie season, but his role as a vertical field-stretcher with red zone and contested-catch upside should help mask those potential pitfalls in his prospect profile.
The target competition in Jacksonville isn’t exactly terrible. Christian Kirk is a very effective hybrid slot operator, Evan Engram is quietly one of the best receiving TEs in the league, and Davis, who may be volatile, does have a proven track record of serving as a capable vertical weapon in the passing game during his time in the NFL.
Yet, I still strongly believe Thomas is the best candidate to step into the Calvin Ridley role from last year, which means he has sneaky top-20 upside at the position entering his rookie year. For some reference, that role led to a WR18 overall finish with 76 receptions for 1,016 and eight scores and included a league-leading 23 end zone targets in 2023.
If Thomas sees the type of volume Ridley did last year, then he is an immense value with elite upside in 2024.
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