Every few years the Fantasy Football world is treated to a draft class loaded with great wide receiver talent.
We got a legendary group in 2014: Davante Adams, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry, Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins.
The 2019 crop wasn't so bad either: A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson and Marquise Brown.
A year later in 2020, the crew led by Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman and Jerry Jeudy made an impact. And the year after that reeled in Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins.
Jury is still out on just how outstanding the 2022 (Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Drake London, George Pickens) and 2023 (Puka Nacua, Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, Jayden Reed, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell, Jaxon Smith-Njigba) classes are, but there's obviously huge potential.
Enter the class of 2024, led by the son of a Hall of Famer, multiple verified speedsters and big-time pass-catchers with big-time experience playing for big-time college programs. It should be a winning group.
I'm going to rank them here along with their top strengths, top concerns, a player comp, what their learning curve might be and a link to the profiles we've written where applicable. This should help you get a decent idea of who they are, what they can do and how they should help you win in Fantasy this year and beyond.
Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
Top strengths: Perfectly built-receiver. Legit route-running maestro who should get open with pristine footwork for the next 10 years. Sudden in his movement and smooth as a runner. Outstanding body control. Excellent hands. Open even when he wasn't open thanks to his excellent vertical jumping and timing on tall throws. Thrived with both great and mediocre college quarterbacks.
Top concerns: Fast, but won't be the fastest player on the field too often. Not a tackle-breaker.
Player comp: A.J. Green
Learning curve: Should immediately fit into a No. 1 receiver role with 10-target-per-game potential.
Complete Fantasy & Dynasty Outlook for Harrison
Malik Nabers, LSU
Top strengths: Absolute speedster. Physical with a powerful build to match. Long arms. Good route versatility but specialized in go and hitch routes. Exploded off the snap and had outstanding burst and acceleration. Fluid, smooth mover. Excellent leaper on tall throws. Reeled in a number of off-target throws. Terrific balance.
Top concerns: Needs to fine-tune his footwork in his route running. Did make a fair share of body catches, which could lead to incompletions. TBD on how he does versus press coverage (he rarely saw it in college) but his physicality should make him at least competitive.
Player comp: A taller Steve Smith
Learning curve: Should immediately serve as a team's No. 1 receiver, but there could be some growing pains throughout his rookie year. Still should contend with at least seven targets per game.
Complete Fantasy & Dynasty Outlook for Nabers
Rome Odunze, Washington
Top strengths: Fluid mover, especially for his size. Reliable hands and perhaps the best contested-catch receiver in the draft class. Has varied releases off the line of scrimmage. Elite body control. Very good leaping ability. Better-than-advertised after the catch on screens and passes around the line of scrimmage to add valuable yards after the catch. A craftsman when it comes to not going for the ball too soon and tipping off defenders. Physical against defensive backs.
Top concerns: Has a speed element to his game but isn't a burner nor is he particularly sudden. Route tree is good and technique is fine but both need further development, which admittedly isn't that big of a concern.
Player comp: Alshon Jeffery
Learning curve: Should immediately be an every-down receiver with potential to become a No. 1 wideout within the next two seasons.
Complete Fantasy & Dynasty Outlook for Odunze
Adonai Mitchell, Texas
Top strengths: Very good height and good enough size. Very good hands; plucks passes away from frame and has a very low drop rate. Excellent burst and footwork off snap and when breaking in routes. Can stop his feet or break off his route and change direction quickly. More of a strider/glider than a speed merchant -- can still outrun some defensive backs. Good body control and has some ludicrous leaping skills. Solid ball tracker.
Top concerns: Could still improve his route-running technique to help make him tougher to cover. Does not pick up a lot of yards after contact, does not play with physicality and could get bullied. Not a consistent run blocker. There might be a play-to-play effort issue with him. Per-route analytics rank him poorly compared to others in the class. Played at three different high schools in two different states, then played at two different college programs. Left Georgia when Todd Monken left for the NFL (Ravens).
Player comp: Nico Collins
Learning curve: Should immediately be a near-every-down receiver with potential to develop into a go-to option within the next three seasons.
Brian Thomas Jr., LSU
Top strengths: Nails down the size-speed combination (6-2 7/8, 4.33 in the 40). Long arms help him sport one of the largest catch radii in the class. Did a good job running routes at lower speeds so that he could tap the gas and speed past unsuspecting DBs. Was willing to cross the field. Big-time leaper thanks to his basketball background. Did have an assortment of foot moves to help him gain separation.
Top concerns: Lean build. Didn't run a wide variety of routes. Rounded his cuts and would tip off his route. Not sudden as far as short-area agility goes. Too many basket and body catches on film to say he had good hands and would frequently raise his hands long before the ball arrived, tipping off enemy players. Didn't fear contact but wasn't a physical player; regularly was stopped soon after first contact after the catch. Wasn't dominant on 50-50 balls.
Player comp: D.J. Chark
Learning curve: Should immediately be a near-every-down receiver with potential to develop into a go-to option within the next three seasons.
Complete Fantasy & Dynasty Outlook for Thomas
Ladd McConkey, Georgia
Top strengths: If you need a third down converted, McConkey's your man. Excellent agility not only in his route running but also to evade tacklers. A footwork craftsman rivaled perhaps only in this class by Marvin Harrison Jr. Very good burst off the snap to grab a step against off coverage and good acceleration to get to his top speed. Excellent hands with the ability to bring in off-target throws. Really good vision after the catch to maximize gains. Has good-enough speed to make defenses pay if he breaks a tackle or gets into open space. More than just a slot receiver (112 of 142 routes last season came from out wide).
Top concerns: He's lean, a problem he's had since high school as it impacted his recruiting. Adding weight appears to be an issue. And because he's not tall nor wide, his catch radius is pretty limited. Has good long speed but probably won't out-run half of the league's CBs. I saw him struggle with physicality in his route and at the catch point against top college competition at the Senior Bowl. Past injuries include ankle, back, knee and turf toe, all in the past two years.
Player comp: Randall Cobb
Learning curve: Should immediately be an every-down receiver as a No. 2 potential with a sliver of hope of eventually becoming a No. 1 within the next three seasons.
Xavier Worthy, Texas
Top strengths: Speedy. Shifty. More than just a one-route pony as he exhibited burst out of his cuts and also had a number of moves on his release to help him get a step. Quick agility with juke moves that make him a tough target to tackle because he's so small. Frequently ran with different tempos pre-catch. Knew when to stop versus zone coverage. Can turn back to the quarterback on short hitches in three steps. Plays with more physicality than receivers his size typically do -- he tries to break out of weak tackle attempts, he has used stiff-arms for extra gains and he'll often fight for extra yards when he is wrapped up. Tough -- he broke his right hand in 2022 and played through it. Led Texas in receiving yards for three straight seasons.
Top concerns: His size works both ways -- he's a small target to tackle but he's relatively easy to bring down. Will often get body rocked which could lead to bruises or worse. The majority of his routes were screens, short throws and deep go routes, so he's got some work to do to master the route tree. And while he is certainly fast, there are examples on film where Big 12 cornerbacks run with him on many of those go routes. Needs better awareness of the sideline; too many plays where his feet unnecessarily were out of bounds. There were also a handful of drops be it because he turns his head too quick or has small hands and a small catch radius.
Player comp: Mecole Hardman
Learning curve: Should immediately see solid playing time with decent potential to evolve into a team's feature receiver within the next three seasons.
What about ...
Roman Wilson, Michigan: Dazzling route runner with a second gear. Top-notch agility and footwork that he pairs with very good hands. Michigan guy, so you know he relishes blocking. Not big (just under 5-11, 185 pounds), so there are some limitations on his catch radius as well as how he deals with physicality. Could be preferred in the slot and not out wide.
Ja'Lynn Polk, Washington: Maybe the most underrated WR in the class. Polk is a good-sized target (6-1, 204) with plenty of muscle and length on his arms. He's savvy at changing speeds as needed with the ability to stop on a dime. He seemed to win along the sideline often and had good speed to out-run PAC-12 cornerbacks. Awesome at tracking long throws and reeled in many off-target passes thanks to his long limbs. Can he get better at juking defenders and making sick cuts to win with his route-running? If he can then he could be really good.
Ricky Pearsall, Florida: Another prized route runner in the class thanks to his quick cuts and consistent speed when changing direction. Great hands. Excellent at finding space versus zone coverage. Lined up across the formation at Florida. Might handle physical play from cornerbacks a little bit better than McConkey and Wilson, but he will for sure have to deal with tough coverage. Not a big guy (6-1, 190 pounds). Not a burner.
Keon Coleman, FSU: Hoopster turned footballer. Tall, strong, powerful and plays faster than his 40-yard-dash time suggests. Can get up and bring in tall throws. Could use some help improving his route running which could lead to some easier catch chances. Does have a trail of minor injuries, excluding a partial tear in his hop in 2022.
Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky: Slot specialist that clones his game after Deebo Samuel. Quick accelerator with power to break through tackles. Good hands. Definitely needs to prove himself as a downfield weapon and is a smaller receiver (about 5-11, 207 pounds). Might struggle at times with press and physical coverage.
Troy Franklin, Oregon: Was Bo Nix's top guy at Oregon. Has the height/speed combo that's tough to find (nearly 6-2, ran the 40 in 4.41). Doesn't always blast off and knows how to trick cornerbacks with tempo in his routes. Adjusts well to off-target throws. Sick cuts. Tall, but very lean (180 pounds). Burst off snap and out of breaks doesn't match his straight-line speed. Could stand to improve his route running skills. Has had some issues with drops.
Xavier Legette, South Carolina: Broke out in 2023 after 42 catches combined in his first four seasons. He's stocky in size (6-1, 222) and is ferocious in his movement. Was used a lot on short throws but also did a good job on deeper targets. Good vertical skills helped him come down with 50-50 balls. Was good with blocking in the run game and returned kicks (could be a factor with the league's new kickoff rules). He has to answer to why it took him so long to break out, and his footwork could stand to be crisper. In fact his whole game could use some refinement as he's a fairly raw prospect, but the potential is there.
Jermaine Burton, Alabama: Ballyhooed high school prospect with a good height/speed profile (6-0, 200; 4.45 in the 40). Has the agility to separate from coverage in his routes. Nearly 10-inch hands help him reel in passes away from his frame. Was willing to cross the middle. A little lean in his size which contributed to being jostled a bunch by physical cornerbacks. Not a powerful player. Not a polished route runner but could get there. Never had more than 798 yards or eight touchdowns in a college season. Sounds like he's temperamental. Went to four different high schools (played at three) in three different states, then went to two colleges (Georgia, then Alabama).
