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Should fantasy football players buy or sell Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, and Xavier Worthy in the offseason? Mike Fanelli dives into whether they are buys or sells for dynasty.
The 2025 NFL Draft class lacks superstar prospects at the wide receiver position. However, the 2024 draft class had several elite wide receiver prospects, with three coming off the board in the top 10 picks. Yet, the class offered so much more outside of the first 10 selections. Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze were selected in the top 10.
Meanwhile, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, and Xavier Legette were first-round selections, giving the class seven wide receivers coming off the board on Day 1 of the draft. Some of the first-round wide receivers had outstanding rookie seasons. Nabers and Thomas finished the year as top-seven wide receivers despite awful quarterback situations.
Unfortunately, others severely struggled. Pearsall and Legette had a few solid weeks but were unstartable for most of the year. Let’s dive into the fantasy outlook of Harrison, Odunze, and Worthy. Should fantasy players look to buy or sell the three rookie wide receivers this offseason?
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Buy Or Sell Marvin Harrison Jr.?
Harrison had the highest expectations of any rookie wide receiver last year. Many drafted him as a top-10 wide receiver, using an early to mid-second-round draft pick on the former Ohio State star in redraft leagues. Meanwhile, he was the clear-cut first pick in non-superflex dynasty rookie drafts. Furthermore, Harrison was the top non-quarterback pick in superflex dynasty rookie drafts last year.
Unfortunately, he was a massive bust as a rookie. Harrison ended his rookie season as the WR29, averaging 9.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, a lower average than Jerry Jeudy (11.5), Josh Downs (10.5), and Darnell Mooney (10.1) despite having a far superior quarterback. The rookie had an awful NFL debut, totaling one reception on three targets for four receiving yards and 0.9 fantasy points in Week 1.
The former Ohio State star bounced back after the awful start. Harrison averaged 4.7 receptions on 8.3 targets for 79.7 receiving yards, 1.3 touchdowns, and 18.3 fantasy points per game over the next three weeks. Unfortunately, he ended the year with disappointing numbers, totaling 62 receptions on 116 targets for 885 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games.
MARVIN HARRISON JR. HAS ARRIVED!
📺: #LARvsAZ on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ZTAbE4kapU— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Yet, fantasy players should feel confident in Harrison having a bounce-back season in 2025. The star wide receiver ended his rookie year with back-to-back solid performances, totaling 11 receptions on 16 targets for 159 receiving yards, a touchdown, and 27.4 fantasy points over the final two weeks, scoring at least 12.6 fantasy points in both contests.
More importantly, Harrison was an elite player coming out of Ohio State, with many scouts calling him the best wide receiver prospect in recent memory. Fantasy players should bet on the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray turning Harrison into a superstar despite his rookie season being a fantasy bust. He is one of my favorite dynasty trade targets this offseason.
Buy Or Sell Rome Odunze?
Hopefully, fantasy players didn’t draft Odunze expecting him to have a massive fantasy impact as a rookie. The former Washington star was a popular mid-first-round pick in dynasty superflex rookie drafts last year, often getting picked ahead of Brock Bowers. While that was a mistake in hindsight, Odunze was worthy of being the third wide receiver picked and a mid-first-round selection.
The former Washington star has significant long-term fantasy value. He is paired with Caleb Williams for at least the next four years. However, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen limited Odunze’s redraft fantasy value. While Moore signed an extension with the Chicago Bears during training camp, Allen is an upcoming free agent next month and unlikely to return next season.
More importantly, the Bears’ offense was a nightmare. The team had three different offensive coordinators during the season. They fired Shane Waldron, hoping the offense would improve under a new play-caller. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as Chicago’s offense was wildly inconsistent all year. Thankfully, that shouldn’t be the case starting in 2025 after the Bears hired Ben Johnson as their new head coach.
Odunze had a solid rookie season, especially given the team’s dysfunctional offense. He ended the year as the WR49, averaging 6.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The former Washington star had some positive moments. Odunze finished his rookie season with 54 receptions on 101 targets for 734 receiving yards and three touchdowns. More importantly, he averaged 12.1 fantasy points per game in three contests with double-digit targets.
Caleb Williams' AND Rome Odunze's first career TD!
📺: #CHIvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/u0ICGLXCz7— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
Fantasy players should explore buying Odunze this offseason. He wouldn’t have had a massive rookie year, even if the team’s offense wasn’t a dysfunctional nightmare. Anyone who drafted the former Washington star in their dynasty rookie drafts in 2024 should have had little expectations last season. Yet, I would rather have Odunze over any wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
Buy Or Sell Xavier Worthy?
Worthy set the football world on fire at the NFL Combine, running a 4.21 40-yard dash time, breaking a seven-year-old record. Yet, that wasn’t his biggest jump off the offseason. Many fantasy players moved the former Texas star up in their dynasty rookie rankings after he got drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Fantasy players loved the idea of Worthy being paired with Patrick Mahomes.
Some dynasty players took the former Longhorns star over Rome Odunze and Jonathon Brooks in their rookie drafts. While many at the time called the decision foolish, Worthy was one of the top rookie wide receivers in the draft class. He ended his rookie year as the WR33, averaging 9.3 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. However, Worthy was inconsistent at the start of last season.
The former Texas star scored 19.8 fantasy points in Week 1, thanks to two touchdowns on three touches. He ended the year with 59 receptions on 98 targets for 638 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Furthermore, Worthy had an impact on the ground, totaling 20 rushing attempts for 104 yards and three touchdowns, the second-most on the team.
Xavier Worthy is really a Kansas City Chief 😳
📺: #Kickoff2024 on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/6fVsiolvAX— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2024
More importantly, he ended his rookie season on fire. Worthy averaged 9.7 touches for 80 scrimmage yards, a touchdown, and 17.5 fantasy points per game over his final three regular-season contests with Mahomes, totaling at least 16.6 in every outing. Furthermore, he took his game to another level during the playoffs, especially in Super Bowl LIX.
While the Chiefs got blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, Worthy had an outstanding performance. The explosive receiver caught all eight targets for 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the loss. By comparison, the rest of Kansas City’s receiving core combined for 13 receptions, 100 yards, and a touchdown. Worthy is a must-buy candidate this offseason despite the return of Rashee Rice next year.
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