If you added Puka Nacua to your fantasy football line up late in your 2023 draft you were pleasantly surprised at his numbers. In fact he was not even drafted in some leagues and picked up off waivers early in the season. Nakua who was not drafted until the 5th round of the 2023 NFL draft had nineteen WRs taken ahead of him, yet was one of the top performing Fantasy WRs last year. Of course, there are rookies like Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabors and Rome Odunze, that will be early round favorite fantasy draft targets, but let's explore some rookie WRs that could be available in the later rounds with huge upside potential.
In this analysis, there are three factors to consider that can propel a rookie WR. A veteran QB that spreads the ball around, as seen with Matthew Stafford including Puka Nacua last year. A team with a super star WR often drawing coverage focus, as seen with the Vikings Justin Jefferson, opening up opportunities for Jordan Addison. Or a rookie QB to rookie WR combo, as seen with CJ Stroud and Tank Dell. So taking that into account here are the top three, late round rookies, with potential to make an impact on your 2024 fantasy line up.
Luke McCaffrey
Coming out of Rice, he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Washington Redskins and the 16th WR taken. His 2023 senior year saw him get 71 receptions for 992 yards and a woping 13 touchdowns. Not only is he the younger brother of fantasy football scoring machine, Christian McCaffrey, he has top rookie prospect Jayden Daniels at QB and Terry McClaurin drawing most coverage attention.
Troy Franklin
Coming out of Oregon, he was drafted in the 4th round by the Denver Broncos and the 17th WR taken. Although he is WR 4 on the current depth chart, he has an excellent chance to move up as the Broncos look for answers at WR after losing Jerry Jeudy. Also with a current battle for the starting QB spot, Franklin could very well have his college QB, Bo Nix, tossing him the rock. A duo that saw him get 81 receptions for 1383 yards and 14 touchdowns at Oregan in his 2023 Season. Also do not forget to factor in his 4.4140 yard dash time and 39" verticle at the NFL combine.
Brendon Rice
Coming out of USC he was drafted in the 7th round by the Los Angeles Chargers and the 32nd WR taken. He is the namesake of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. At USC last year, he logged 45 catches for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns from #1 pick Caleb Williams. Rice gets the benefit of playing with Justin Herbert, who is known to put up huge passing numbers and a quarterback that is known to spread the ball around.
Allthough the loss of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams will disperse the coverage focus, Josh Palmer looks to stake his claim to WR1 in LA and this leaves plenty of room for the Rookie to work his way into a starting spot. Freight Train Tip. When evaluating potential late round rookie WRs, look for teams with top WR1 and WR2 players that will take the coverage away from a rookie that has the clear WR3 spot on a roster going into the 2024 season.
