Who should be the No. 1 Fantasy wide receiver this season? And is that player even considered the best receiver in the NFL? It's a fascinating topic this year in Fantasy and reality, and hopefully, we'll give you some clarity to the biggest decision you might have to make in Round 1.
Welcome to the Elite Eight. These are the consensus top eight receivers in our CBS Sports rankings: CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, Garrett Wilson and Puka Nacua. You can make a strong argument that all of them should be selected in the first round this season -- they're that good.
But who should go first of those eight receivers? And do all of them have the chance to finish as the best eight receivers this season? There are certainly other contenders to the throne, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Drake London, Jaylen Waddle, Michael Pittman Jr., Davante Adams, Mike Evans, Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, Deebo Samuel and Cooper Kupp, among others.
We've identified these eight as the best of the bunch either based on what they have done or what they should be able to accomplish this season, which you can read about in-depth in this article. And based on the inexact science of a Twitter/X poll with more than 3,000 votes, the best Fantasy receiver this season should be Lamb (32.5 percent), followed by Hill (29.4 percent), Jefferson (24.2 percent) and Chase (13.9 percent). That happens to be our order as well.
However, as far as what the population on Twitter/X think about who is the best receiver in the NFL (non-Fantasy), the winner is Jefferson with an overwhelming 56.8 percent of the more than 3,000 votes. Hill was second (22.1 percent), Lamb was third (13.4 percent) and Chase was fourth (7.8 percent).
We'll break this into eight parts that you can find on CBSSports.com/FantasyFootball in the coming days. Today, we'll focus on Part 2 -- featuring Tyreek Hill and his case to be the No. 1 wide receiver in Fantasy for 2024. Earlier, we made the case for Lamb as the 1.1 WR here.
Tyreek Hill, Dolphins
- 2023 stats: 119 catches for 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns on 171 targets
- Stats that grab you: In two years with the Dolphins, Hill has 341 targets for 238 catches, 3,509 yards and 20 touchdowns. He's averaged 21.8 PPR points per game over that span. ... Hill is the first player in NFL history to have multiple seasons with at least 1,700 receiving yards. His 1,799 yards in 2023 are the most in a season in Dolphins history, breaking his own record of 1,710 set in 2022. He ranks No. 7 and No. 13 for the most receiving yards in a season in NFL history. ... In 2023, he became the third player in NFL history to register more than 110 receptions in three consecutive seasons, joining Antonio Brown (2013-15) and Wes Welker (2007-09). Hill had 111 receptions in 2021, his final season in Kansas City, and he has consecutive years of 119 catches in Miami.
- Quote to note: "Tyreek Hill has been unbelievably valuable to my coaching career and this franchise. We set out to do some ambitious things from the onset, and on top of the fact that he wanted to take his game to another level, but also be a leader. He's tremendously important. We've always prioritized him that way." -- Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel this offseason about Hill
- The breakdown: Hill turned 30 in March, and that's really the only negative you can find about him heading into this season. Sure, Tua Tagovailoa could regress after leading the NFL in passing yards (4,624) in 2023, and Jaylen Waddle could have a bigger season after playing injured for parts of last year, which could take away some stats from Hill. I wouldn't worry about the addition of Odell Beckham Jr., but some people might be concerned that he's clearly an upgrade as the No. 3 receiver in Miami. Hill has been nothing short of amazing in two years with the Dolphins under McDaniel, and there's no reason to expect a significant step back in production. Hill will hopefully hold off Father Time and still dominate again in 2024.