Alpha Wide Receivers to Chase in 2024 Fantasy Football

September 1, 2024

In fantasy football, volume is king. Who are the wide receivers to draft? RotoBaller's Kyle Lindemann makes the case for three volume-hog WR targets in 2024.

As we gear up for the 2024 fantasy football season, the spotlight increasingly shifts toward the wide receiver corps -- a strategic pivot from the traditional RB-heavy drafts in recent years. This year, with a bevy of high-flying WR talent ready to rack up the points, fantasy managers are eyeing a shift in draft strategy that could pay dividends. The key here is reliability and longevity; wide receivers generally offer a sturdier fantasy foundation with a lower risk of injuries than their running back counterparts. By stacking your lineup with elite wide receivers early, you're not just playing it safe, you're setting up a powerhouse that can consistently deliver every week.

This approach is especially tempting in 2024, as the wide receiver position is loaded with both established stars and exciting newcomers who promise to light up the scoreboards. Emphasizing WRs early in the drafts lets you capitalize on their high-floor, high-ceiling nature, allowing for more flexibility later on to snag potential breakout RBs who can fill the gaps without carrying the burden of your team's success. It’s about building a less fragile lineup that isn’t a weekly gamble on the health of top-tier running backs. So, if you're tired of your playoff hopes being dashed by an RB's sprained ankle, maybe it's time to let those wide receivers lead the charge this season.

Who are the alpha wide receivers locked in as their team's No. 1 target that we should be targeting for fantasy football in 2024? Without listing the obvious top-5 wide receivers in fantasy football (CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, and Amon-Ra St. Brown), let's dive into some potential volume hogs you should be looking at in fantasy football drafts for 2024!

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

When it comes to wide receivers in fantasy football land, volume is still king. You do the math, the more targets that go a pass- catcher's way, typically the better that is going to be for their fantasy production. One of the best analysts in the football space, Dwain McFarland, has a simple saying: "Targets are always earned. Follow the volume and usually good things will happen."

I know, I know. You were stuck watching the Jets in prime time a half-dozen times last season and got tired of it. QB Aaron Rodgers went down early in the season and the Jets' hopes never got off the ground as they were held back by porous quarterback play from Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle, but just hear me out.

Garrett Wilson is a terrifically talented wideout who is easily set to lead the Jets in targets this year. Despite the bad quarterback play, he was still fourth in targets in 2023 with 168. While he underperformed his ADP, Wilson quietly had a solid season with 95 receptions for 1,042 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson's ADP as the WR8 off the board, according to FantasyData, is steep, but as a community, we've gotten a lot better at predicting wide receiver breakouts than ever before.

Jonathan Fuller from MB Fantasy Life recently made the case for Wilson as a solid bet for fantasy this season. To paraphrase his thesis, Wilson was pegged to amass 1,375 receiving yards and bag six touchdowns last year, according to the PFF Expected Points model, solely based on his workload alone.

Now, crunch those numbers, and you're looking at a beefy addition of 3.5 half PPR points each game to his fantasy tally. And that's just the baseline -- toss in the anticipated surge in his team's offensive efficiency and scoring chances with a healthy Aaron Rodgers under center, and Wilson could be a goldmine in fantasy leagues this season. Get ready for those numbers to potentially skyrocket as the offense hits a higher gear.

2024 League Winner Reveal #1

Garrett Wilson is about to have the best Jets receiving season in franchise history with one of the most accurate QB's ever at the helm, a bulked up offensive line, a quality backup QB as insurance, hardly any target competition, an elite college… pic.twitter.com/EcE6lZkxPu

— The Fantasy Guru (@FantasyAdvice99) July 6, 2024

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

Trusting in the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree usually leads to favorable results in fantasy football, and such might be the case with the Saints offense in 2024. Klint Kubiak was brought in to be the team's new offensive coordinator after spending the 2023 season as Shanahan's passing game coordinator in San Francisco. The son of former NFL head coach, Gary Kubiak, Klint has been an assistant for the last 14 years and has learned from some of the best offensive minds in the game.

Looking back at the 2022 wide receiver class, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, and Olave have all been stuck in some unfortunate quarterback situations that have held back their production. Nonetheless, Saints quarterback Derek Carr has unfairly been labeled as not good in real life when he has a track record of supporting good wide receivers for fantasy in the past. With Michael Thomas no longer on the Saints coupled with a pretty thin depth chart in the receiving corps, Olave is set to see a lion's share of targets in 2024.

Chris Olave left a LOT on the table in 2023👀

Olave was #3 in Unrealized Air Yards (1058), finishing as the WR19 in PPG with 14.5🥶

Does he have a WR1 finish in his future?📢#PlayerProfilerStats pic.twitter.com/q65MWljcyL

— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) July 10, 2024

Olave finished the 2023 season with 87 receptions for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns. According to numberFire projections, Olave is projected for 151 targets and 95.6 receptions for 1,212.7 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, which would be a nice step up from last year.

The Saints offense featured motion on just 366 plays, which was one of the lowest in the NFL last season. Meanwhile, the 49ers had 753, which is a reflection of Kubiak as their passing game coordinator. While Olave might seem like a disappointment through his first two seasons in the NFL, he is still just 23 years old and has plenty of untapped upside. Given all the changes made in the bayou this offseason, it's hard not to feel optimistic about his future in 2024.

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

Kupp completely shattered the wide receiver ceiling in 2021 when he went nuclear with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, winning the WR triple crown and leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. The Rams won the Super Bowl and Kupp was on top of the football world. Since then, he's missed 13 games due to lower ankle and hamstring injuries over the last two seasons while seeing his counterpart, Puka Nacua, become the Rams' leading receiver during the 2023 season. This has led to many out there believing that Kupp is done, but in the words of Lee Corso: "Not so fast, my friend."

Cooper Kupp talks about the mindset that took him from a high school kid with no college offers to a Super Bowl champion.

"I'm going to go earn it again, every single day." 💯 (via @CooperKupp) pic.twitter.com/ChvxBFoEpJ

— NFL (@NFL) July 8, 2024

While Kupp's receiving numbers have declined over the last seasons, overall his receiving metrics have still been pretty good. He averaged 1.86 yards per route run during the 2023 season, according to PFF. Kupp recently turned 31 years old this summer, but he still averaged 12.5 yards per reception in 2023.

According to Rams GM Les Snead, Kupp still has plenty left in the tank. "Last year really bothered Cooper — that’s just who he is,” Snead said last month at the NFL owners’ annual meeting, adding that his only concern going into this season was that Kupp might overtrain. “Those types of competitors, they almost feel guilty for not being 100%.”

The Rams under head coach Sean McVay have been one of the better offenses in the NFL since he came to Los Angeles in 2017. In an offense that features QB Matthew Stafford under center alongside RB Kyren Williams, WR Puka Nacua, and several upgrades along the offensive line in bringing in guards Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson, the Rams are poised to be one of the NFL's top offensive units in 2024.

With an ADP of 38.0 in PPR leagues as the WR23 off the board, there is plenty of room for Kupp to outperform his draft position this season. Despite being just 31 years of age, he is a smart, instinctive player who is great at reading coverages and finding holes in the zone. Provided Kupp can stay healthy for 2024, there is plenty of room for him and Nacua to eat this upcoming season.

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