Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are two premium wide receivers in fantasy football, but which should you draft first?
Below, I’ll examine the outlook and fantasy strategy behind taking either player and determine the better choice on draft day.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for Justin Jefferson
Going as WR3 right now in PPR leagues and No. 6 overall in Pro Football Network’s fantasy football consensus rankings, Jefferson is going to have quite an interesting 2024.
According to TruMedia, Jefferson played in 10 games in 2023 and hauled in 68 passes for 1,074 yards and five touchdowns on 100 targets.
Now, he enters 2024 with Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback. He’s started seven games over the last two seasons. Since Darnold’s rookie season in 2018, he’s started 56 games and has never played a full season.
The Vikings also brought in Aaron Jones to lead the backfield, which was a mess last season. Alexander Mattison rushed for fewer than 4.0 yards per carry, but Ty Chandler provided some fresh air.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for Ja’Marr Chase
In 16 games last season, Chase ran 600 routes, caught 100 passes on 145 targets, and had 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns.
However, from Week 11 on, he didn’t have Joe Burrow as his starting quarterback. The star signal-caller missed the rest of the 2023 season due to a wrist injury after that point, but he’s back and healthy for 2024.
The Bengals lost running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tyler Boyd this offseason. And while they drafted wideout Jermaine Burton, it remains to be seen how often he’ll be used.
In 2022, Chase averaged 87.2 yards per game across 12 games. His yards per game average tumbled to 76.0 last season, missing one contest.
Who Should I Draft in 2024?
With Jefferson now working exclusively with Darnold this season, this certainly delivers a hit to his value.
During Darnold’s stint with the Jets, no player had more than 833 receiving yards. Jefferson is, of course, far better than any receiver that Darnold has ever worked with, and he’ll command targets. However, this offense will use the running game more with Jones, and Jordan Addison and an eventually returning T.J. Hockenson are still kicking around.
Chase just feels like the safer option here, with less target competition than last season and what projects as far superior quarterback play.