Fantasy Football: 5 Rookie WRs with the Best Chance For Success in 2024

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft was dominated by offensive players—a record 23 out of 32 picks in the first round were offensive players, including a record-tying six quarterbacks and a record-setting 14 consecutive offensive players to start the draft.

That’s enough to get fantasy football players around the world to stand up and take notice with such a large influx of new talent headed to the NFL … and hopefully onto their rosters.

Seven wide receivers were picked in the first round and 35 wide receivers were taken across seven rounds in 2024—only trailing the 36 cornerbacks taken for the most of any position. Oh, the irony.

Here’s a look at the five rookie wide receivers with the best chance for fantasy football success in 2024, whether it be due to opportunity or scheme fit.

1 Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals made the obvious decision to take Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick—Harrison Jr. would have likely been the first receiver off the board the last two seasons if he had been draft eligible.

It’s tough to think of a more ready-made NFL wide receiver than Harrison Jr., the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Harrison Jr. is big—6-foot-3 and 209 pounds—and talented. He set the Rose Bowl record as a true freshman with three touchdown receptions in a 48-45 win over Utah and was a two-time first-team AP All-American in 2022 and 2023.

Ohio State has seen a lot of great wide receivers through the years, but Harrison Jr. is the only player in school history with two 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Why Marvin Harrison Jr. will have a big rookie season

The Cardinals drafted starting quarterback Kyler Murray No. 1 overall in 2019 and have been desperate to pair him up with an elite wide receiver ever since. They may have finally found their man, with Harrison Jr.

Murray returned from a torn ACL he suffered during a disastrous 2022 season to play the final eight games of the 2023 season and looked pretty sharp, with 1,799 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Expect Harrison Jr. to be his No. 1 target from the start—tight end Trey McBride led the Cardinals with 81 receptions for 825 receiving yards and three touchdowns and was followed by Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who had 51 receptions for 574 receiving yards and four touchdowns but left in free agency to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.

2 Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

Odunze could be No. 1 target for rookie QB Caleb Williams from the jump

Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze burst onto the national scene in 2023 with one of the best seasons for a Power Five player at his position in recent memory, leading the Huskies into the College Football Playoff national championship game and leading the nation with 1,639 receiving yards.

Odunze was actually the third wide receiver taken in the draft behind Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers and the second Top 10 pick for the Chicago Bears at No. 9 overall; the franchise took USC quarterback Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall.

Odunze already has NFL size and speed, checking in at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds at the NFL combine, where he also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds. This is what a big-time NFL wide receiver looks like—now it’s time to get him the ball.

Why Rome Odunze will have a big rookie season

Odunze steps into a situation where he’ll be a starter right away and have two veteran wide receivers to learn from in trade acquisitions, D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen—although it’s not hard to see Odunze stepping into the WR1 role as he’s learning on the job.

While Odunze was a breakout star in 2023, he wasn’t a one-hit wonder. He also had over 1,100 receiving yards in 2022, so he knows what it takes to put up big numbers working with an elite quarterback, having caught passes from No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. the last two seasons.

3 Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

Texas wide receiver set NFL combine record by running 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds

Xavier Worthy set the NFL combine record by running the 40-yard dash in 4.21 seconds after having a breakout season at Texas in 2023 with over 1,000 receiving yards as the Longhorns made the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Worthy has patterned his game after 15-year NFL veteran and former Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who faced similar criticisms about his weight (he came into the league at 169 pounds) when current Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid selected him for the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Jackson, like the 165-pound Worthy, was thought to be too light to stand up to NFL competition.

One more time, for the people in the back: You can’t hit what you can’t catch.

Why Xavier Worthy will have a big rookie season

Fantasy football owners might want to get Worthy in their lineup sooner than later—it’s probably going to be a necessity for the Chiefs to lean on him more early in the season, as second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice will likely face a suspension after he was arrested in an alleged offseason hit-and-run accident in Dallas.

What’s scary about adding Worthy to the Chiefs is that Kansas City won the Super Bowl in 2023 despite not having a wide receiver with over 1,000 receiving yards—both Rice and tight end Travis Kelce went over 900 yards but fell short of 1,000. After Rice, Kelce, and offseason addition Marquise Brown, the receiver production pretty much drops off the map. Enter Worthy.

4 Malik Nabers, New York Giants

Nabers teamed up with No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels for pair of 1,000-yard seasons

LSU quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels had a favorite target during his two seasons in Baton Rouge, and that was Malik Nabers, who the New York Giants made the second wide receiver taken off the board at No. 6 overall.

Nabers, at 6-foot and 200 pounds, had over 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons and capped his career with 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023.

Why Malik Nabers will have a big rookie season

The biggest problem for Nabers will be who is throwing him the ball. The Giants considered trading up to draft a new quarterback in 2024 despite giving 2019 No. 8 overall pick Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million contract extension in March 2023.

Jones went 1-5 in six starts in 2023 before tearing his ACL, so his future is up in the air. If he wants to remain a starting quarterback in the NFL, he’d be smart to put the ball in Nabers’ hands as early and as often as possible.

Also, the other wide receivers are mostly subpar. Darius Slayton led the team with 50 receptions for 770 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and would make a lot more sense as a deep threat WR2 rather than trying to stretch him into a WR1 role as they have since OBJ’s departure in 2019.

The bar is super low. Nabers should be the WR1 from the jump and should see tons of targets, it’s just about whether or not those will be catchable targets or not.

Malik Nabers 2023 Stats
Category	Nabers
Receptions	89
Receiving Yards	1,569
Receiving TDs	14
Avg./Rec.	17.6
Games	13

5 Malachi Corley, New York Jets

Western Kentucky star finished college career with over 250 receptions and over 3,000 receiving yards

Malachi Corley has been one of the best wide receivers in college football over the last two seasons at Western Kentucky and finished his college career with 259 receptions for 3,035 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Corley seems like he could be the new version of Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk—the similarly-sized star wide receivers of the San Francisco 49ers.

Corley was the focus of Western Kentucky’s offense the last two seasons, so stepping into a starting role in the NFL shouldn’t be a problem. He’s ready to catch the ball and ready to do it right away.

Why Malachi Corley will have a big rookie season

You know someone who knows a lot about NFL wide receivers? New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. And it’s Rodgers who thinks enough of Corley to move him into his guest house ahead of the 2024 season to get extra bonding time—a sign the ball might be coming Corley’s way a lot this season.

The Jets already have big-bodied deep threat Mike Williams as well as a superstar wide receiver in Garrett Wilson, who just needs a Robin in the slot to his and Williams’ Batman on the outside. How impressive has Wilson been through his first two seasons? He had over 1,000 receiving yards each season while primarily catching passes from Zach Wilson. Think about that one for a second.

Malachi Corley 2023 Stats
Category	Corley
Receptions	79
Receiving Yards	984
Receiving TDs	11
Avg./Rec.	12.5
Games	12

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise. All salary info via Spotrac.

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