College football is underway, which means we are so close to September. Wide receivers are the most fun to rank, so today, I dove in, ranked, and put the top 60 receivers for 2024 in tiers. If you want to check out the same concept but for running backs, the link will be below. Enjoy, and happy football season!
Tier 1 (WR1 Upside)
1. Tyreek Hill
2. Ceedee Lamb
3. Amon-Ra St. Brown
4. Ja’Marr Chase
5. Justin Jefferson
If I’m planning to draft a wide receiver in the first round, this is my shortlist. You can disagree on the order, but to me, the gap between these five guys and the next few is noticeable. Every one of them has a top 5 finish under their belt in their career, and they’re all in great spots with either a good QB, a great coordinator, or, in some cases, both. Any of them could be the WR1 at the end of the year, and I think all of them end up in the top 10, barring injuries.
Tier 2 (High Upside Plays)
6. A.J. Brown
7. Garrett Wilson
8. Puka Nacua
9. Marvin Harrison Jr
Tier 2 has guys that have tons of talent and potential but don’t have quite the track record of the first tier. They also have solid floors with their expected target volume within their respective offenses. Even Harrison, as a rookie, seems like a lock for 130+ targets and is as polished of a route runner as you can expect from a rookie.
Tier 3 (High Risk, High Reward)
10. Mike Evans
11. Drake London
12. Davante Adams
13. Chris Olave
14. Nico Collins
15. Brandon Aiyuk
16. Deebo Samuel
Many people have mentioned their disdain for the mid-late second-round wide receiver options this year. None of these guys are sure things, and all of them seem to have plausible worst-case scenarios in which they grossly underperform. Evans and Adams are aging, and the question is whether they have another top-10 season left or not. London perhaps has the highest ceiling of the group but is unproven. Olave is simply here because he is attached to Derek Carr. Collins may or may not be the alpha in the Houston receiving corps, and Aiyuk and Samuel have some questions about usage and consistency, especially with Aiyuk’s 2024 team potentially changing.
Tier 4 (Solid WR2)
17. DK Metcalf
18. Jaylen Waddle
19. Cooper Kupp
20. DJ Moore
21. Devonta Smith
22. Amari Cooper
23. Malik Nabers
24. Tee Higgins
25. Michael Pittman Jr
There are a few guys on this list who feel like high-floor, low-ceiling guys who are dependable but won’t win you a lot of games on their own (Metcalf, Waddle, Smith, Higgins, Pittman), but a few others are likely more boom or bust either on a game to game basis (Moore, Cooper) or on the year as a whole (Kupp, Nabers). I would be fine with any of these guys as my WR2 and ecstatic if they’re my WR3/flex.
Tier 5 (Comfortable Flex Plays)
26. Tank Dell
27. Stefon Diggs
28. George Pickens
29. Zay Flowers
30. Terry McLaurin
31. Rashee Rice
32. Christian Kirk
33. Calvin Ridley
34. Diontae Johnson
35. Chris Godwin
36. Keenan Allen
This tier is littered with question marks. The answers to those questions could make or break your season if you hit on someone in this list or not. What do we make of the Houston receiving room? Will Russel Wilson or Justin Fields be able to support someone like Pickens? Will Rice ever get suspended? Is Jayden Daniels the best passer McLaurin has had in the league?
Will Kirk gain or lose targets after the exit of Ridley and the additions of Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr? Will Diontae Johnson get the targets that Adam Thielen got last year? Is Chris Godwin ever going to come close to his 2019 numbers? How will Keenan Allen do as he ages and has to compete with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze for targets?
Tier 6 (Could Be Starters if Things Go Right)
37. Christian Watson
38. Jayden Reed
39. Xavier Worthy
40. Marquise Brown
41. DeAndre Hopkins
42. Courtland Sutton
43. Josh Palmer
44. Tyler Lockett
45. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
46. Jakobi Meyers
47. Khalil Shakir
48. Darnell Mooney
A lot of these guys have questions about what their role or target share will be on their team. Teams like the Packers and Chiefs and Seahawks will try to support a multitude of receivers while teams like the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders will likely have sub-par passing attacks.
Tier 7 (Bye Week Fill-Ins With High Potential)
49. Rome Odunze
50. Brian Thomas Jr.
51. Jordan Addison
52. Ladd McConkey
53. Keon Coleman
54. Rasheed Shaheed
55. Romeo Doubs
56. Mike Williams
57. Curtis Samuel
58. Gabe Davis
59. Jerry Jeudy
60. Jameson Williams
Almost all of these players could be a tier or two higher if their circumstances were slightly better. The rookies are either the third wide receiver on their team or are in a bad passing offense. Guys like Gabe Davis and Jameson Williams are better best ball players than standard fantasy options. Still, these are guys you can survive with in a pinch, and if a few things go right, they could significantly outperform their ADP.