The wide receiver position is widely considered one of the safest investments to make when building out your dynasty fantasy football roster. Well, this year’s crop of rookie WRs provides a handful of foundational pieces to build out the core of your dynasty roster.
Here is a closer look at my dynasty rookie WR rankings after the completion of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Dynasty Rookie Wide Receiver Rankings 2024
1) Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
The top rookie WR prospect settled into an ideal landing spot when the Arizona Cardinals selected Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Harrison is in a great situation. He immediately steps into a receiver room in which he’s likely to see north of 130 targets in his rookie season and has competent quarterback play with Kyler Murray under center.
This Catch by Marvin Harrison Jr. 👀
There is only about 5 WRs in the league I would take over him when starting my franchise.
Generational Talent. pic.twitter.com/wfpf7OdxK3
— Cam (@42Cyc) August 4, 2024
Once upon a time in Arizona, Murray had an exceptionally talented X-receiver by the name of DeAndre Hopkins, who could dominate in isolation situations outside the numbers. Back in 2020, DHop finished as the WR4 with 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and six TDs on 160 targets. I don’t think a stat line like that is outside of the range of outcomes for Harrison in 2024.
Harrison’s rare blend of size, speed, exceptional route-running nuance, and body control are some of the common traits that you see from the elite pass catchers who have entered the NFL recently. He can beat you with vertical speed, after the catch, or outright just bully you at the catchpoint in contested catch situations. A player like that will demand a huge target share in his rookie year and beyond.
If you want to draft him at 1.01 in Superflex, you won’t hear a very big argument from me. But, ultimately, the positional value and extended shelf life of a top QB prospect slightly outshines even the best receivers.
2) Malik Nabers, New York Giants
In case you haven’t spent any time on X over the last few weeks, New York Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers has been a highlight-generating machine throughout training camp.
Daniel Jones connects with Malik Nabers vs the Lions on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/PlVw28psop
— Big Blue Film Room (@BigBlueFilmRoom) August 7, 2024
Most draft pundits already knew Nabers was an outstanding prospect after his great production at LSU and his exceptional pro day performance — where he ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash in front of scouts in March. Yet, his vertical speed, turbo-charged short-area quickness, and underrated contested catch ability have somehow been better than expected early in camp.
I mention all of that to say this: the Giants landed themselves an incredible receiver and one who instantly gives quarterback Daniel Jones the best weapon he’s ever had on the outside.
I don’t want to get over my skies here, but there are glimpses of the type of elite movement skills we saw from Odell Beckham Jr. during his days with the Giants.
Speaking of Beckham, the Giants haven’t had a receiver top 70 receptions or 800 yards receiving in a season since OBJ back in 2018 … when Eli Manning was still the quarterback.
Those numbers aren’t exactly encouraging from a fantasy perspective, but I believe that to be an indictment more so on Jones and the collection of middling receivers — namely Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, and Darius Slayton — than a certainty that a Giants receiver can’t be fantasy relevant.
Nabers is flat-out dangerous after the catch. His target competition is very weak, which should make him a target funnel in his rookie year.
Ultimately, head coach Brian Daboll will have a dynamic weapon to move all over the formation and make the focal point of the Giants’ offense with Saquon Barkley no longer in town.
Nabers is dealing with an injury in camp, but that should not impact his long-term future. However, it could lead to a slow start in 2024 and a potential buy-low opportunity for fantasy managers.
3) Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
The Bears may have found themselves the next great QB-WR combination to dominate the league for years to come, but Rome Odunze’s immediate fantasy production may require dynasty managers to be a bit more patient than they would like to admit.
I love the long-term pairing with Caleb Williams under center, but competing with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen — who have both been very productive when given a healthy share of targets — could cap Odunze’s fantasy ceiling in 2024.
To further that point, Moore and Allen combined for 204 receptions, 2,607 yards, and 15 TDs in 2023. Additionally, they both finished as top-10 fantasy WRs last year, which makes it difficult to envision either of them not having a significant role in 2024.
Not to mention, Williams is a rookie who needs some time to adjust to the pro game. The track record of signal-callers in their first year not seeing elite fantasy success is pretty lengthy. Expecting Williams to make three receivers reliable fantasy producers is a big ask.
Odunze is still an exceptionally athletic receiver who regularly dominates at the catch point and can move all over the formation, which gives him an extremely high long-term ceiling. Yet, tempering fantasy expectations early in his career is the proper course of action.
4) Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
Someone is going to need to explain to me how it’s not within the range of outcomes for Ladd McConkey to see north of a 25% target share in his rookie season.
The departures of Allen, Mike Williams, Gerald Everett, and Austin Ekeler mean that 320 targets, 229 receptions, and 2,339 yards worth of opportunities and production are suddenly vacant entering the 2024 season.
His current competition for targets includes Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, and Hayden Hurst. None of them can match McConkey’s elite separation skills, formation versatility, and run-after-catch ability.
One of the few knocks on him is his durability, which has shown up early in his career by missing a few practices through the first two weeks of training camp.
McConkey’s exceptional route-running nuance and explosiveness as a ball carrier make him a real threat to lead all rookie receivers in receptions and receiving yards in 2024. His long-term outlook with quarterback Justin Herbert from the moment he steps on the field in 2024 and beyond gives him an exciting amount of upside.
5) Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs
Xavier Worthy easily gives Patrick Mahomes the best deep threat he’s had since Tyreek Hill was on the roster. We saw the fantasy football magic those two produced during their time together.
In that same light, don’t expect him to solely be catching 50-yard bombs from Mahomes this year. He added plenty of value in the screen game during his days with the Texas Longhorns.
Worthy’s elite speed (4.21-second 40-yard dash time), savvy route-running ability, and production as a run-after-catch (RAC) threat make him a moveable weapon with a gifted offensive mind in Andy Reid that could make this a fantasy match made in heaven for years to come.
Just gorgeous.#NFLCombine | @XavierWorthy https://t.co/SV71YkmawP
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) March 3, 2024
Yes, Worthy is tiny by all NFL standards at 5’11”, 165 pounds, but depending on how the Rashee Rice situation plays out this offseason and with an aging Travis Kelce potentially waning, don’t think this is just a long-term dynasty play. He has plenty of Flex value upside in 2024.
6) Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley this offseason, but they may have landed a receiver prospect with an even higher ceiling by selecting WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round.
The Jags added Gabe Davis to the WR room this offseason to help bolster the weapons around Trevor Lawrence but couldn’t resist splurging on the dynamic deep threat from LSU after trading back with Minnesota in Round 1.
The universal praise Thomas received for his 4.33-second 40-yard dash time at 6’3” and 209 pounds validated my previous claim that men this size aren’t supposed to move like he does. Thomas’ top-shelf suddenness, foot quickness, and body control are all pretty uncommon for a guy with his prototypical measurables for an outside receiver.
Another encouraging sign for him was the team’s decision to part ways with Zay Jones this offseason. This move should make Thomas a staple in three-receiver sets alongside Davis and Christian Kirk.
Ridley’s departure vacates 136 targets, 76 receptions, 1,016 receiving yards, and eight TDs heading into 2024.
Thomas may not have the route-running bag of tricks that Ridley possesses yet, but his elite vertical speed and underrated ability to churn out yards after the catch give him a nice fantasy ceiling this season paired with a great long-term outlook.
7) Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Ricky Pearsall turned some heads after garnering first-round draft capital and heading to one of the most productive offenses in the league to join forces with Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.
The target competition early in Pearsall’s career is going to make things pretty difficult in terms of predicting a huge fantasy campaign in his rookie season. He’ll be fighting for targets with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey. But the fit in Kyle Shanahan’s system certainly makes for a great long-term outlook.
Now, if Aiyuk gets traded ahead of the 2024 NFL season — which appears to be increasingly likely — the rookie could continue to climb the rankings. No deal is done at this time, but it is certainly possible and could drastically improve his fantasy outlook in 2024.
Pearsall is among the best route runners in the class — plenty of nuance with his tempo variation and technique — and has plus-level ball skills, which will give him a role early in his career with the Niners.
The lack of overall passing volume from this offense, paired with exceptionally tough target competition, could make for a slow fantasy start. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of room for him to develop into greatness later in his career.
8) Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
Former FSU WR Keon Coleman has turned into a social media gold mine for the Buffalo Bills, which makes him a dynasty asset I want to see succeed in the NFL. Fortunately, this social media buzz has been equally compelling from his time at training camp.
I can't believe the @Chiefs let the @BuffaloBills get Keon Coleman😎 pic.twitter.com/gdklm5k4Mw
— Thomas DeLaus (@TheThomasDeLaus) August 6, 2024
The situation Coleman is stepping into is certainly one that could lead to a large target share to start his career. The exodus of starting wide receivers from the Bills’ roster — Stefon Diggs and Davis — vacates 241 targets from last year, which left Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel as Josh Allen’s top targets entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
Coleman has the size (6’3”, 215 pounds) and strength to win in contested-catch situations on the outside, which could be his projected role in Buffalo’s offense, with Shakir, Samuel, and TE Dalton Kincaid all expected to see a significant amount of work in the slot next season.
Unfortunately, his profile certainly has some potential red flags, most notably his ability to create consistent separation against man coverage and a lack of top-end vertical speed. Yet, his contested-catch ability gives Allen an elite red-zone threat in an offense that struggled to cash in consistently inside the 20 last season.
If Coleman plays primarily outside, then you’ll have to expect some growing pains early in his career. But he does possess an elite ceiling if he can improve his release package and route-running consistency to win at a higher rate on the perimeter.
9) Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts
Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, there was some buzz that Texas WR Adonai Mitchell could sneak into the back end of Day 1. Yet, he slid a bit to the Indianapolis Colts at No. 52 overall.
His pairing with young franchise QB Anthony Richardson provides an intriguing long-term outlook, but he’ll be competing with alpha target earner Michael Pittman Jr. and dynamic slot specialist Josh Downs for looks early in his career.
The role Mitchell will likely assume from the jump is that of Alec Pierce, who produced just 32 receptions for 514 yards on 65 targets despite playing over 90% of the offensive snaps in all but one game last year.
To give you an idea of how disappointing Pierce’s production was compared to his ample opportunity, he ranked 91st amongst wide receivers with just 0.87 yards per route run.
Mitchell still possesses an exciting ceiling and is a great addition to a WR room that desperately needed a vertical weapon, but his weekly target volume could be a bit tricky to project.
10) Ja’Lynn Polk, New England Patriots
The Patriots quickly went from one of the worst collections of offensive skill-position players in the league to having an intriguing long-term QB-WR fantasy stack by selecting Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round after selecting Drake Maye in the first.
Polk enters a WR room with only DeMario Douglas currently locked into a starting role, which could make him a candidate to post top-25 WR production as a rookie and potentially become Maye’s go-to guy for years to come.
Polk’s exceptional ball skills, sticky hands, and ideal formation versatility make him one of the biggest draft winners at the position from a fantasy perspective. Sure, there could be some limitations to his effectiveness to threaten defenses vertically without elite top speed, but he should provide plenty of production working the short-to-intermediate portion of the field.
2024 Dynasty Rookie WR Rankings | 11-20
11) Malachi Corley | New York Jets
12) Xavier Legette | Carolina Panthers
13) Jalen McMillan | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14) Javon Baker | New England Patriots
15) Roman Wilson | Pittsburgh Steelers
16) Jermaine Burton | Cincinnati Bengals
17) Troy Franklin | Denver Broncos
18) Malik Washington | Miami Dolphins
19) Luke McCaffrey | Washington Commanders
20) Jalen Coker | Carolina Panthers