12 Must-Have Wide Receivers | Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target (2024)

Introduction what's up fantasy pros my name is Andrew Ericson and today I'm breaking down my top 10 must draft wide receivers for the fantasy football season before I get to my list you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy football defeat the golden toilet trophy courtesy our good friends at trophy smack the number one destination for epic fantasy football trophies all you need to do is subscribe to the fantasy pros YouTube channel right now drop a comment below on any of our videos and that's it announcing a winner right here on the channel so make sure turn those notifications so you can know when new videos are up and to claim your prize now let's get to the top 10 musthave wide Brian Thomas Jr. receivers number 10 Brian Thomas Jr Jacksonville Jaguars the Jaguars drafted Brian Thomas Jr 23rd overall in the first round of this year's draft I'm expecting big things from the LSU product in year one attached to Trevor Lawrence with vacated targets available in the offense Calin really and Z Jones combined for 200 targets last season considering Gabe Davis has never commanded 100 targets in a single season Thomas is looking at a close to at least 100 plus Targets in the Jaguars offense it's a very encouraging Benchmark for a rookie receiver given every rookie in the last few years to hit that threshold has drastically exceeded expectations and finished at least top four in receiving yards among rookies I fully expect Thomas to take over the Ridley role and he was miscast as a field stretcher last season but that role was salivating for Fantasy purposes 1,800 plus air yards 23% Target share 36% air yard share NFL leader in End Zone targets and wide receiver 10 and expected points per game and speaking of Calvin Ridley number nine Calvin Ridley Calvin Ridley Tennessee Titans Ridley caught 76 passes on 136 targets last year for over a, yards and six touchdowns in his L season as a Jaguar with a strong role in the Jaguars offense he ranked as wide receiver 17 overall and wide receiver 26 in points per game Ridley led the NFL in Endzone Target but fell short of fully capitalizing on his Elite opportunities for a fantasy wide receiver one season now with the Titans alongside veterans DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd Ridley enters a potentially more pass Centric offense under new head coach Brian Callahan and second-year quarterback will Levis offering opportunities for increased production with Hopkins on the injury self with knee injury that has forced him to miss almost all of the preseason and potential regular season games Ridley is an easy bet as a prime postart sleeper in 2024 note that Ridley has never finished worse than wide receiver 25 in a healthy season number eight tank Dell Houston Tank Dell Texans I've been deing a disservice if I didn't include at least one Texas wide receiver on the must Draft wide receiver list I've been lowering Collins vers consensus as the Undisputed number one most expensive Texas wide receiver and More in line with the expert consensus regarding Stefon digs and tank Dell around their ADP but remember as a rookie Dell posted identical air yard share to Collins at 31% while falling just short in Target share at 21% the undersized wide receiver posted over a, air yards in just 10 games played in those games Del posted again a 21% Target share 33% air yard share and 14.2 points per game which ranked ninth in the eight games that Collins and Dell played together each missed a game with injury the production was nearly identical I love the value of taking the rookie breakout later in 2024 giv he looks to be back to full health keep in mind that CJ shroud absolutely loves tank Dell and that Dell outgained Collins despite similar Target shares in their last four games played together Rashee Rice number seven Rashi rice Kansas City Chiefs because of the suspension fear Rashi Rice's price is supremely discounted but with no news about a penalty and a December 9th court date I'm the under the impression this is going to be a 2025 issue for Rashi rice so you need to buy the dip rice showcased promise in his rookie year with the Chiefs tting 105 catches for 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns in 20 games played earning him a 19% Target share despite an average of 10.9 fantasy points per game he surged post week six averaging 12.1 points with ranking inside the top 20 for what it's worth I also love double dipping on the Chiefs offense with rookie Xavier worthy he already seing starter stamps Patrick Mahomes in the preseason loved his profile coming out of Texas and the injury to Maris Brown makes him a mother must have Target for me in the Chiefs offense as a wide receiver 40 per 83 Chris Godwin number six Chris Godwin Tampa Bay Buccaneers Godwin led the Buccaneers with 91 catches for over 1,100 receiving yards in 2023 but he only caught three touchdowns in 19 games played meanwhile Mike Evans total 14 scores still Godwin's Target share was nearly identical to Evans no players scored fewer touchdowns with more receiving yards than Godwin and he mik EV saw the same amount of Red Zone targets look this is a metric overall it's going to progress positively in Godwin's favor based on the sheer volume usage he has been seeing Goin should be closer to a total of double- Digit scores versus the average of three touchdowns he has over the past two seasons which is 28 years old gowin could be in for a major bounce back if Evans takes a step back entering his age 31 season gowin played his lowest slot snap rate at 37% since 2018 last year he's expected to be back in the slot full-time under new offensive coordinator Liam Cohen Goin has never finished worse than wide receiver 20 overall or in points per game through Four Seasons with a 65% snap rate from the slot before we get into the top five have you heard about the fantasy pros draft wizard the easiest way to master your draft is with the draft wizard our tool offers simulated mock drafts that you would practice and refine your strategy against realistic opponents get personalized pick recommendations based on Expert rankings ADP and projections ensuring you make the best choices at every stage of your draft analyze your draft results instantly with our draft analyzer which provides feedback and insights to help you improve secularly with a few clicks leverage draft tell to see your league mes draft Trends and strategies and then perform a simulated mop draft against them using your league settings make informed decisions avoid common pitfalls and draft with confidence try draft wizard today at fantasypros.com draft Wizard or on the fantasy football draft Wizard app and dominate your league now let's get back to the list number five Malik neighbors Malik Nabers New York Giants think the Giants have no choice but to heavily feature Malik neighbors so significantly given the sheer lack of Playmakers they have Elsewhere on offense this year's sixth overall pick from LSU's explosive skill set as a yak monster should make drafters less concerned about the potential shoddy quarterback play Under Daniel Jones he broke out at 18 years old in 2022 as a freshman and reminded me of Stefan Diggs when I watched him on film Brian dble is going to know exactly the best way to deploy Neighbors in the Giants offense besides if we get anything close to the 2022 Daniel Jones who led the NFL in adjusted completion percentage at 80% Malik neighbors is going to destroy his ADP historically speaking neighbor at least meet his ADP when you consider the average production of a wide receiver that was drafted inside the top 10 over the past three drafts those wide receivers have averaged 81 catches over 1,000 yards and 6.4 touchdowns as rookies per the athletic that would Place him in firmly in the wide receiver 2 range and per Joe Oro over the last 10 years the seven wide receivers drafted inside the top six have averaged top 10 in points per game with a minimum of 12 games played number four Michael Pitman Michael Pittman Jr. Jr Indianapolis Colts Michael Pitman Jr proved his Alpha status all year long in 20 23 with 109 catches 156 targets accumulating over 1,100 receiving yards on a 30% Target share which ranked fourth among all wide receivers Pitman comes with a super high floor that can be further unlocked with better touchdown variants in 2024 should Anthony Richardson take this offense a step further in year two Pitman Jr led the Colts and ranked inside the top 10 in Red Zone targets but didn't get the red zone touchdowns to follow his way the touchdowns have escaped him so far throughout his NFL career case in point Pitman Jr's top 24 rate r ninth among wide receivers last season but he only had two top 12 finishes based on the lack of touchdown Equity he also only had one bus game the injury to Josh Downs should continue to funnel targets pitman's way boosting his floor with positive touchdown variant unlocking an even higher ceiling over the last three seasons Pitman ranks 18th in receiving yards seventh in catches and seventh in targets he's averaged 104 catches per year the last two seasons which ranks fifth the 14 touchdowns ranked 24th is what's killing him number number three Jaylen Waddle jayen wad Miami Dolphins Jaylen wad strikes the perfect balance of floor and ceiling that I want to invest premium draft Capital into despite the Down Season 2023 attached to four touchdowns wad still ranks 10th in receiving yards and receiving yards per game over the last two seasons one of the best predictors of future production receiving yards go figure W also posted His Highest yards per route run which ranked sixth in PFF receiving grade of his career in 2023 he still posted a top 10 touch per snap rate and 24% Target share wad has three consecutive 10,000 yard seasons with two top 13 wide receiver finishes on his resume fantas football doesn't have to be hard draft waddle and reap the rewards touchdown progression is calling his name for a player of his top tier Talent number two Garrett Wilson Garrett Wilson New York Jets Wilson showed that even with the stone cold worst Jets quarterback play last year he could still be semi-productive he finished with 95 catches from whopping 168 targets amassing over 1,000 receiving yards on a 30% Target share in NFL hide 46% air yard share but Wilson only found the endzone three times a ranking 48th among 57 qualifiers in catchable Target rate thanks a lot Zack Wilson but Garrett Wilson is so clearly a positive touchdown regression candidate this year when you catch 90 plus balls and go for nearly 1,100 yards you should be scoring more than three to four touchdowns nobody can be quite sure what the 2023 version of Wilson statline would have been had Aaron Rogers not torn as Achilles the absolute rope that Wilson called in for Rogers in the Red Zone during the third preseason game last year chills and Wilson's pric has increased since last season into round one I think a lot has to do with the talent not necessarily the situation but given the Jets are so much more likely to be a functioning offense with a better offensive line and a healthy Aaron roders I am buying the price on Garrett Wilson number one Jamar Chase Cincinnati Ja’Marr Chase Bengals in 2023 Jamar Chase finished with 100 catches which was a career high on 145 targets he owned a 26% Target share messing over 12200 yards scored seven touchdowns rank top 10 in Red Zone targets but Chase left production on the table without his healthy Star Quarterback Joe burrow but with burrow fully healthy in 2024 I expect Chase to explode during his last seven games played with burrow in 2023 this is when Joe burrow was mostly healthy Chase was on Pace for 143 catches over 1,00 yards and 12 touchdowns that have been the wide receiver three in points per game behind only Tyreek Hill and CD lamb Chase has a strong chance to lead the NFL in Red Zone Targets this season considering he led the NFL in Red Zone targets per per game over the last two seasons the past five number one overall wide receivers finishes first in the NFL run Zone targets Chase can do that in 2024 draft Chase as the number one wide receiver in fantasy football that's Closing going to tie about my top 10 must have wide receivers for Fantasy Football if you enjoy this video be sure to give it a like subscribe and share with all your non leag mates and let me know in the comments which wide receivers are must haves for you this draft season but but before you go again if you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy football defeat the golden toilet trophy coures have our good friends at trophy smack the number one destination for epic fantasy football trophies all you need to do is subscribe to the fantasy pros YouTube channel right now drop a comment below on any of our videos and that's it announcing a winner right here on the channel so make sure to turn those notifications so you can know when new videos are up and declaim your prize thanks for watching and good luck draft season