Part two of the way too early rankings covers all of the talented players with uncertain futures. Or any receiver in an uncertain situation. All will become clear, but probably not until the draft has taken place in April.
Way too early fantasy wide receiver rankings – Part 2
13. Stefon Diggs
Who knows where he’ll be playing in 2024? He certainly didn’t seem to be happy with what was going on in Buffalo in 2023. However, he did catch 107 passes for 1,183 yards. And the Bills are going to pay him $19 million if he stays there. Plus, he has a break clause in his contract at the end of the season. So, he’ll probably stick it out.
Diggs scored 273.8 fantasy points in 2023 even though his 11 yards per touch was his lowest average since 2018. And his eight touchdown receptions were his fewest since 2019. And 1,183 receiving yards was his lowest total since 2019 too. No wonder he was grumpy. But if that’s how many points he scores in a down year the only way is up.
14. Chris Olave
Having Derek Carr as your quarterback isn’t always a positive, Michael Thomas certainly didn’t seem to enjoy the experience. And according to Fantasy Pros, he did throw 80 poor passes last season (9th in the league). But Olave still made the most of it. He caught 87 passes for 1,123 yards. He only caught five touchdowns though. Expect that to increase now the curse of Pete Carmichael has left NOLA.
Klint Kubiak’s arrival from San Francisco is good news for everyone on the Saints’ offense. Kubiak oversaw a 49ers passing offense that threw 70 fewer passes than their Saints counterparts. But those fewer passes went for 394 more yards than the Saints racked up. Kubiak’s 2023 offense also threw five fewer interceptions than the Saints did.
Olave scored 231.3 fantasy points in 2023 and he missed time with an ankle injury. With Kubiak’s schemes and an injury-free season, he’ll catch more touchdowns and score even more points.
15. DJ Moore
Moore could well end up being a top-five receiver in 2024. But at the moment nobody knows who the Bears quarterback will be. Or if the Bears will draft another receiver who could free up Moore. If they do draft a receiver with the first pick it would be Marvin Harrison Jr. And Moore said in a recent interview that he thought Harrison Jr. Should be the first pick.
16. Marvin Harrison Jr.
Yes, he’s amazing and yes, he should take the league by storm. But the chances he winds up on a team with an elite quarterback seem pretty slim at the moment. And any rookie receiver is going to need to a competent quarterback to throw him passes.
He’s projected to be drafted in the top three picks and for good reason. 20% of his 155 receptions at Ohio State resulted in touchdowns!
17.DeVonta Smith
The Eagles’ 2023 season had two halves. It started like a dream when they went 10-1. But it ended like a nightmare when they lost a playoff game to the Buccaneers.
But third-year receiver Smith still scored 227.6 fantasy points. And he suffered an ankle injury that saw him miss the last game of the season (although that wouldn’t have affected many fantasy leagues). He averaged 13.16 yards per reception in 2023. And with a new offensive coordinator, it’s difficult to imagine he won’t continue or even improve in 2024.
18. Amari Cooper
The Browns season was almost the opposite of the Eagles. They didn’t start very well; they were 4-3 after eight weeks. But they won seven of their last 11 games. All that after having to use five different starting quarterbacks too!
But Cooper was his usual reliable self. He had his fourth 1,000+ yard season in his last five. And he averaged 17.4 yards per touch. That was the highest average of his nine-year career. He only caught five touchdowns though.
Cooper finished the fantasy season with 227.1 points. And he missed two games in 2023. There’s a new offensive coordinator in Cleveland and Deshaun Watson will probably resume his role as the starting quarterback. Ken Dorsey takes over the play calling from Alex Van Pelt who is now the Patriots OC. Dorsey did a pretty good job in Buffalo. But he seemed to be sacrificed to take some of the heat off Sean McDermott.
19. Deebo Samuel
With Kubiak leaving San Francisco there’s currently no passing game coordinator on the 49ers staff. Which might mean Kyle Shanahan is in charge. Or it could mean that Brian Griese is in charge. But whoever is calling the plays needs to call Deebo’s number more.
Samuel scored 243.7 fantasy points last season. That was despite his 97 touches being his fewest since 2020. He did miss two games through injury though and he does seem to have become increasingly injury prone. Hopefully, the 49ers can figure out how to share the load more evenly going forward. Samuel is only 28 and has two years left on his current deal. He’s a long way from the 1,500 touches that usually cause production to tail off too.
20. Jordan Addison
The Vikings quarterback situation seems to be a bit up in the air at the moment. It seemed likely they would re-sign Kirk Cousins, but it has been rumored they want to trade up in the draft to pick a quarterback. Either way, Addison will be the deep threat on this offense. And he’s great at it.
Addison scored 221.3 fantasy points in 2023. If the Vikings can construct a more balanced offense (they only ran 37% of the time last season) in 2024 Addison should find even more space. He averaged 12.9 yards per touch when everyone knew he was the most dangerous receiver on the Vikings offense for most of the year. He ended the season with 911 receiving yards even though he only caught 17% of the Vikings’ total completed passes.
21. Terry McLaurin
Scary Terry is another great deep threat on a team with a confusing quarterback situation. It seems Drake Maye will be throwing the passes in Washington next season. And he’s got a great arm. But there has to be a question over whether Kliff Kingsbury’s offense will be too complicated for him.
McLaurin scored 209.2 fantasy points in 2023 and that was one of the most erratic offenses in the league. He averaged 12.7 yards per reception but only caught four touchdown passes. If they can fix their offensive line in the offseason the Commanders will be better, and McLaurin will catch more scoring passes.
22. Garrett Wilson
Wilson is yet another top receiver who has had to overcome quarterback chaos in recent seasons. If Aaron Rodgers can stop contributing to the culture war just long enough to throw some passes Wilson will be delighted. He managed a second 1,000+ yard season in 2023 despite having to deal with four different quarterbacks starting for Gang Green.
Wilson only scored 213.2 fantasy points, largely because he only caught three scoring passes. But the Jets only scored 11 passing touchdowns in 2023! If they can find some stability in the quarterback position, they will surely improve in 2024. And Wilson will be the main beneficiary. He had a 30% target share in 2023!
23. Khalil Shakir
Shakir should be much higher up the receiver rankings list, but the Bills offense seems to involve throwing stuff at the wall to find out what sticks. What stuck last season was Josh Allen running the ball. If they can develop something that resembles an organized and coordinated offense Shakir will put up big numbers.
He scored 113.1 fantasy points last season. But that’s not a reflection on his performance, it’s more about his opportunities. He only played 52% of the Bills snaps on offense. But he averaged 15.5 yards per touch in 2023! In the last three games of the regular season, Shakir saw 13 targets and caught 13 passes. In those games, he racked up 189 receiving yards and even had one rushing attempt for 10 yards. Hopefully, the penny has dropped, and he’ll be more involved in the offense in 2024. If Gabe Davis leaves in free agency he definitely will be.
24. Cooper Kupp
Kupp has had horrible luck with injuries in the last two seasons. He has missed 13 games since the start of the 2022 season. But he has still caught 134 passes for 1,549 yards in that period. And he’s hauled in 11 touchdown passes in the 21 games he has played in the last two seasons. He also recorded 49 rushing yards on 10 attempts in that time.
So, he is that good when he’s available to play. Kupp only scored 164.4 fantasy points in 2023. But if he can have some better luck, he will thrive in the Rams’ offense in 2024.
Main Photo: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
