The Fantasy Footballers’ Early WR Rankings: 10-1

The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the time to iron out positional rankings is upon us. With most of the influential free agency moves in the rearview mirror, the draft will refine these teams and depth charts to further shape our opinions about players and their situations for the year ahead.

With those upcoming changes in mind, Andy, Mike, and Jason have combined their years of fantasy football knowledge to launch their initial positional rankings. These rankings will surely undergo changes and tweaks after the draft and as training camps get underway, but it is always good to be early rather than late. In the latest Footballers episode, the Ballers completed their conversation about the 2024 WR rankings and unveiled the wide receivers ranked 10-1. For more on the WR rankings 20-11, please go over to Joe Beldner’s article here.

Note: All statistics used are half-PPR scoring per the Ballers’ Consistency Charts found at JointheFoot.com. Additionally, these rankings do not include incoming rookies.

Want to get more info on the wide receivers? Make sure to check out the UDK+ on The Fantasy Footballers website. You can find more detailed player breakdowns, videos, and rankings.

10. Deebo Samuel (SF)

Age: 28.2
Best Ball ADP: WR16
Andy: 14 | Jason: 8 | Mike: 11

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR12

Despite missing two games last year, Deebo “A Man” Samuel was still able to finish as the 12th wide receiver on the season. Of course, this was in part due to his rushing prowess as it is every year with Deebo. He saw 37 attempts, 225 yards, and five touchdowns on the ground to help propel him into the WR1 category, and although some wideouts may see a few carries throughout a season, it is not nearly as predictive as it is with Samuel. I thought Jason put it eloquently when he stated that other wideouts get a sauce (rushing attempts) with their steak, but Deebo gets a big ole helping of mashed potatoes with his.

Deebo continues to produce year after year, and a lot of that production is due to the insane YAC numbers he produces. Deebo has not been below 8.5 YAC/rec in the last five years and in all of them, he is among the leaders in the NFL. This type of playstyle is fun to watch but can be frightening for a fantasy manager. Deebo tends to seek contact instead of avoiding it which has led to him getting beat up over the years and been the cause of him missing time. With the uncertainty surrounding the Brandon Aiyuk contract, we could see an even larger workload for Deebo in the 2024 campaign. If this does come to fruition, it would be logical that Deebo’s price may get to the point of being too rich for some. Nevertheless, Deebo will make for an interesting debate over the coming months among fantasy football communities.

9. Drake London (ATL)

Age: 22.7
Best Ball ADP: WR10
Andy: 9 | Jason: 9 | Mike: 10

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR39

Drake London has seen nothing but pain as an NFL pro thus far in his career. His two seasons as an Atlanta Falcons wideout have been subpar, but many would say, to no fault of his own. When you are being thrown at by the likes of Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinicke, and occasionally Jonnu Smith, who can really blame ya? Now fast forward to the 2024 season where London will be catching passes from Kirk “Gets Paid” Cousins. This does come with some drawbacks though in regards to a new coaching staff and the unknown about Kirk’s health going into next season. Those worries aside, London was an excellent prospect and has shown flashes of brilliance even with below-average QB play.

The current best ball landscape is drafting London as WR10 which may seem rich to many people out there, but you gotta risk it for the biscuit. If he does find his stride with Cousins, what is to stop him from being a top-five wideout this year? Kirk has been able to support that type of work in the past and London should see a great deal of targets in an offense coached by Zac Robinson. London finished as the WR39 last year, so this is a big leap of faith, but with a new QB at the helm, a new offensive system, and coming into his third year, it feels like a good time to bet on the talent of London.

8. Garrett Wilson (NYJ)

Age: 23.7
Best Ball ADP: WR8
Andy: 6 | Jason: 10 | Mike: 8

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR32

Garrett Wilson, much like Drake London, has had a painful go of it thus far in the NFL. His Jets team is always making this whole football thing as hard as possible for its players. Aaron Rodgers getting hurt mere snaps into the regular season last year did not help his case as he once again saw Zach Wilson at the helm of the offense. Regardless of that horrifying fact, Garrett had another 1,000-yard season and saw massive volume with 168 targets. One thing is known by Nathaniel Hackett, Garrett Wilson is good and he needs the ball.

Wilson most likely would have finished better in the wideout standings last year if the offense had been capable of staying on the field and scoring touchdowns because he had good enough numbers to compete for a WR2 role on fantasy teams, but the touchdown upside was just not there for him or the team. Wilson has many parallels with London, and one glaring one is Rodgers coming off the Achilles injury much like Kirk Cousins. No one can be sure if he will come back and be his old self, or even sure if he will be able to play while running for Vice President, but that will affect Wilson’s production in 2024 greatly. The risk/reward with Wilson will be great this upcoming season and he will be one of the most debated players in drafts this fall.

7. Puka Nacua (LAR)

Age: 22.8
Best Ball ADP: WR6
Andy: 10 | Jason: 4 | Mike: 7

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR4

Puka Nacua just got done making history in his first season as he broke the rookie receiving yards and receptions records. He did this with Matthew Stafford missing almost two games (left early in Week 8) and only playing a half in Week 17 as he was pulled after he broke the records. What Puka did last year was nothing short of spectacular and awe-inspiring. Puka’s YPRR for the 2023 season was 2.59 which ranks among these wideouts: Odell Beckham Jr., A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase. That is some pretty elite company to keep.

There are definitely concerns that come along with drafting Puka this high, and multiple situations could arise making for a riskier draft selection than managers would think. One concern for Puka is a Stafford injury causing him to be the recipient of Stetson Bennett or Jimmy Garoppolo passes. There is also the concern that Cooper Kupp could play the majority of the games this year and affect Puka’s target share. Although these concerns are valid and legitimate, it is extremely hard to ignore how Puka became Stafford’s go-to guy over the course of the season and was the focal point of their playoff game against Detroit. Puka is an awesome story, and a fun player to root for that will have many managers clamoring for him in drafts. The question is, can he reward them with another outstanding year, or was he a one-hit wonder?

6. A.J. Brown (PHI)

Age: 26.8
Best Ball ADP: WR7
Andy: 7 | Jason: 6 | Mike: 6

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR7

A.J. Brown was on one of the most ridiculous stretches I have seen in a long time as a fantasy football player. Weeks 3-9 he averaged 22 points per game and was averaging 128 receiving yards per game. That is straight-up domination! Then, came the Eagles bye week, and after that things started to fall off a bit. He only scored one more TD all year and saw his average yards drop to 63 per game. This did come around the time that Jalen Hurts seemed to be hurt and playing through the pain, plus the Eagles started to fall into a bit of a tailspin as well. They finished that tailspin with a glorious crash on Monday Night Football where they were embarrassed in the playoffs by the Buccaneers.

Philadelphia decided it was time to make some changes to the coaching staff after the way last year ended and this saw them bring in Kellen Moore as OC. Kellen Moore was always decent at getting CeeDee Lamb the ball and there should be no problem for him to scheme A.J. open as well. As long as A.J. is happy being in Philly, and you as a fantasy manager can take on the waves of scoring that AJB can produce, he will be a fine pick. Whether managers will want to pick him as the WR7 will be up for debate all summer, but one thing is certain, when AJB is cooking there is week winning upside there.

5. Justin Jefferson (MIN)

Age: 24.8
Best Ball ADP: WR4
Andy: 5 | Jason: 7 | Mike: 5

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR29

The Kirk Cousins era is over in Minnesota and Justin Jefferson will set course with a new QB come the start of the 2024 season. No matter who is throwing the ball to JJ, one can be sure that JJ is going to get his. JJ played in 10 games last year and saw 100 targets and was over the 1,000-yard mark, which is pretty ludicrous. In his eight healthy games, JJ saw a TPRR of 27.0% and a YPRR of 3.10. This was better than his 2022 campaign in which he won Offensive Player of the Year!

There is not much to debate in regards to Jefferson’s ability or volume that he will see in Kevin O’Connell‘s offense, but the real debate comes in when talking about his QB situation. There is a high probability that JJ will start the year receiving passes from Sam Darnold. If that is not the case, then JJ will be working out wide with a rookie at the helm of the offense. Jefferson is set to get a Brinks truck of cash when he signs his new deal, so the hope is that Darnold or the rookie QB works long-term so that our sweet prince may continue to thrive. That said, for redraft this year, the concern of QB can not be overlooked or overstated when spending the WR4 pick on a player.

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET)

Age: 24.4
Best Ball ADP: WR5
Andy: 4 | Jason: 5 | Mike: 2

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR3

The Sun God is as reliable as the day is long, and that is no more evident than the fact that he has 315 receptions over his first three career years, which is the most of all time. In a PPR league, he is one of the most consistent players in the game today and his ability to always catch whatever ball is thrown his way creates a situation where targets are rarely not fantasy points for this man. Last year, he saw a spike in touchdown production and that is something that fantasy managers will need to hope sustains for his top-five upside to continue to be there. It definitely helps ARSB that Ben Johnson stayed at OC and Jared Goff will continue to be his QB next year. The system that Johnson runs is perfect for St. Brown and Goff is able to run it at an extremely high level.

The real debate for ARSB is if a manager wants to take him at the WR5 where he is currently being drafted in best ball. The floor for ARSB is so high that it makes him an insanely safe pick, but if he does see touchdown regression you could be in store for the WR11 instead of the WR3. Amon-Ra continues to dominate in the NFL, and unless Jameson Williams takes a huge leap forward this year, he should continue to see massive target volume and produce for fantasy managers.

3. Ja’Marr Chase (CIN)

Age: 24.1
Best Ball ADP: WR3
Andy: 3 | Jason: 3 | Mike: 4

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR13

Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals had an up-and-down 2023 season, to say the least. It started with Joe Burrow straining his calf to start training camp, then tearing up the 49ers in Week 7, and ended with the Jake Browning experiment after Joe Burrow ultimately was ruled out for the season after tearing a ligament in his wrist. Despite all of that, Chase still ended the season as the WR13 and was able to produce 13.3 fantasy points per game. Chase has been a difference-maker for fantasy teams throughout his career, posting 20+ points in 33% of his games.

The possibility for him to get even more volume in this Bengals offense is definitely on the table with the chance that Tee Higgins is traded away before the season starts. Tee Higgins and the Bengals have not been in contact since the team franchise tagged him, so it is safe to say that there is some turmoil there. There is also the unknown for the offense as Brian Callahan took his OC gig and parlayed it into a head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans. All that is to say that Chase remains a top target in fantasy drafts and should see another productive year with Burrow back at the helm.

2. CeeDee Lamb (DAL)

Age: 24.9
Best Ball ADP: WR1
Andy: 2 | Jason: 2 | Mike: 3

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR1

CeeDee Lamb saw his best year as a pro after Kellen Moore left for the Los Angeles Chargers. That is not what many had suspected when Mike McCarthy took over play-calling duties for the Cowboys, but Big Mike decided their best offense was to feed Lamb early and often. The only other player to match CeeDee’s end-of-year stats was Cooper Kupp in 2021, and last year earned Lamb the fourth spot on the all-time WR fantasy points seasons behind Kupp, Rice, and Moss. After the Cowboys’ Week 8 bye, CeeDee averaged 23.9 fantasy points and 12.6 targets per game.

The fact that the Cowboys do not have a real threat at running back thus far is encouraging, because this could mean another huge volume year for Lamb. He will be sharing the WR room with Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, and Martavis Bryant…so he should be absolutely dominating most of those targets once again. There are not many worlds apart from injury where Lamb does not reward managers with another top-eight season, so although he will be expensive, he will most likely continue to dominate for your team.

1. Tyreek Hill (MIA)

Age: 30.1
Best Ball ADP: WR2
Andy: 1 | Jason: 1 | Mike: 1

2023 Statistics:

2023 Fantasy Finish: WR2

Speed kills, and Tyreek Hill is a real-life example of this phrase. Tyreek had an amazing season last year and was absolutely crushing weeks for managers who took him. Hill had nine weeks with 20+ fantasy points, in part because he was crushing against zone or man. You literally cannot guard the man at this point, and with the scheme that Mike McDaniel runs in Miami, he gets free releases for his speedster all the time. Tyreek saw a YPRR of 3.82 which ranked second best since 2006 and his 35.5 TPRR is out of this world.

The concerns for Tyreek lie with his health and that of his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. His age is not really concerning at this point as he hasn’t slowed down at all yet, and he should continue to crush it for the remaining years of his contract. Besides injuries to him or Tua, it is hard to fathom a world where Tyreek does not once again find himself within the top-eight receivers at the end of the year. Most drafts will start Christian McCaffrey and then Tyreek Hill and the Ballers agree. If you get the chance in August to draft Tyreek Hill, don’t overthink it, just press that sweet sweet draft button. After all, who doesn’t want a cheetah on their team?