Fantasy Football: The Top 5 Rookie Wide Receivers for 2024

A top-notch rookie wide receiver can carry your fantasy football team to the top.

Puka Nacua (half-PPR WR4 in 2023), Ja'Marr Chase (WR5 in 2021), and Justin Jefferson (WR6 in 2020) are just some of the recent players to dominate in their first season.

This year's draft class is chock-full of impressive talents at wideout. A whopping seven wide receivers were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, tying a draft record set in 2004. Ten wideouts were taken through pick 37, so we have plenty of fresh faces to sift through on fantasy boards.

Some will play alongside the league's top signal-callers, some should take on a high-volume right out the gate, and all have the talent to make a splash.

Utilizing these factors as well as numberFire's fantasy football projections and FantasyPros' consensus ADP data, let's check out the top five rookie wide receivers entering the 2024 season.

Top 5 Fantasy Football Rookie Wide Receivers for 2024

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

ADP: WR10 (16th overall)

If we're looking for a rookie wideout to explode, they'll likely need to be backed by either an efficient quarterback and offense or take on a voluminous role at the position.

Marvin Harrison Jr. has both.

Selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the fourth overall pick this past spring, Harrison is the highest wide receiver to be taken in the draft since Amari Cooper in 2015.

In turn, the hype is expectedly high for the former OSU standout. He has the shortest odds odds to lead rookies in receiving yards (+150) and has the 10th-shortest odds to lead the NFL in receiving yards (+3100).

For fantasy, Harrison is the 10th wideout being taken off the boards at pick 16. Will he make good on this ADP? He's certainly set up to do just that.

Kyler Murray is dominant when healthy, and Kyler helped DeAndre Hopkins secure a WR5 standing in his last fully healthy season. With Harrison fixed as the WR1 in an exciting Arizona offense, we should see the rookie make an impact straight away.

When considering Harrison's signal-caller and expected target share, it makes sense that numberFire forecasts him to notch 1,230 yards and 7.3 touchdowns based on a full 17-game season. These projections put Harrison as the WR11, nearly in line with his ADP of WR10.

MHJ's status as Murray's top target provides him with a high touchdown ceiling, making Harrison the most obvious rookie candidate to have a breakthrough year.

Malik Nabers, New York Giants

ADP: WR25 (49th overall)

The New York Giants selected Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick. Nabers was the second receiver taken in the NFL draft and is currently the second rookie receiver selected in fantasy drafts.

Similar to Harrison, Nabers figures to take on a dominant target share in his first season. New York's receiving core is ugly and managed the second-fewest yards in the league last season.

But unlike Harrison, Nabers will not be entrenched in an offense that is set up for success. New York didn't just gift Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million contract to be nice, but Jones' poor play in a six-game injury-shortened season last year exposed a hard truth with this team. If you surround Jones with a 28th-ranked offensive line (per PFF) and inefficient targets, you can't expect him to do much.

Add in the loss of Saquon Barkley, and it makes sense that our Jim Sannes projects the Giants to score the third-fewest points this season.

This doesn't mean we should sour on Nabers. He'll likely take on a massive role, and Jones isn't the worst signal-caller to be paired with. However, a low-scoring New York offense could limit Nabers' fantasy ceiling.

numberFire projects him for 1,103 yards and 5.7 touchdowns, good for WR28. That's still the second-best standing among wideouts in this rookie class, but it does have him underperforming his ADP.

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

ADP: WR44 (104th overall)

Xavier Worthy probably won't have the same voluminous target share as Harrison and Nabers, but being a member of the Kansas City Chiefs is never a bad start when talking about a player's fantasy outlook.

After completing a record-breaking 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the combine, Worthy was selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the draft. He'll join a Kansas City group that features Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, and Travis Kelce.

It's not always easy to vouch for a team's third target, but when Patrick Mahomes is involved, that task is made infinitely easier. Mahomes' ability to keep multiple players fantasy-relevant is proven. It wouldn't be shocking to see Worthy carve out a sizable role on a Kansas City offense that is projected to score the second-most points this season (via Jim Sannes' model) -- especially early if Rice is suspended.

numberFire forecasts Worthy to notch 868 yards and 5.6 touchdowns, resulting in a WR38 finish. Based on ADP, Worthy is the most undervalued wide receiver in this rookie class.

Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

ADP: WR46 (109th overall)

No team had a more exciting offseason than the Chicago Bears.

They won the Caleb Williams lottery and added key offensive pieces in Keenan Allen and D'Andre Swift while retaining D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet.

Chicago also used the No. 9 overall pick in the NFL draft to nab Rome Odunze out of Washington.

Odunze's outlook isn't as clear-cut as some of the other players on this list. On one hand, we're looking at a top-10 draft pick who will be paired with a highly touted signal-caller in an offense that seems primed to make a statement.

Nonetheless, Odunze is still a WR3 on his team, and we've yet to see Williams prove himself on the professional level, even if that seems to be the likely direction.

Odunze's ceiling could be abated with Moore, Allen, and Kmet ready to take on meaty roles, but it is possible we could see the Williams-to-Odunze connection prove fruitful to the point of him climbing up the depth chart.

numberFire's projections help steer us in the right direction. They expect Odunze to achieve 846 yards and 6.0 touchdowns in his rookie year, which makes for a WR39 standing.

Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills

ADP: WR47 (114th overall)

numberFire has Harrison, Nabers, Worthy, and Odunze as the highest-projected rookie wideouts this season -- in that order. Past them comes Brian Thomas Jr. (WR43) and Ladd McConkey (WR46), but I'm a bit more bullish on Keon Coleman (WR56).

Coleman is projected for 689 yards and 4.8 touchdowns this season, but it is possible that he does more in his role with the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills lost Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis this offseason. Those two scored 15 out of 19 touchdowns at the position for Buffalo last year. The team did bring in Curtis Samuel and will look for a breakthrough season from Khalil Shakir, but there's still a lot of love to go around in Josh Allen's offense.

Coleman averaged 13.2 yards per catch and notched 11 touchdowns in his final collegiate season with Florida State. The No. 33 overall pick could carve out a monster role on the Bills, the team projected as the fourth-highest scoring offense by Sannes' model.

Allen has helped Diggs finish as WR10 or better for the past four seasons. No one can replace Diggs one for one, but Coleman has a great opportunity to burst onto the scene with so many targets up for grabs. He and Allen are already making head-turning plays in training camp.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.