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We saw a big change at the top of fantasy drafts in 2023 with several wide receivers going in the first two rounds. Justin Jefferson was the almost unanimous first-overall pick, while Ja'Marr Chase, Cooper Kupp, and Tyreek Hill all went in the top seven.
Jefferson and Kupp dealt with injuries and Chase had a backup quarterback for most of the year. Both injuries and quarterback play will be taken into account in this article to determine who the biggest wide receiver busts were during the 2023-2024 season.
So, let's dive in and find out which four wideouts make this list.
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Honorable Mention: Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Despite finishing as the WR9 on the year, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs is an honorable mention fantasy bust following an awful second half of the season. In most cases, Diggs was drafted in the late first or early second round of fantasy drafts this past summer, and the Pro Bowler did not help many fantasy managers win a fantasy football championship in 2023.
Over the final eight games of the fantasy season (Week 10 to Week 17), Diggs averaged just 10.7 PPR fantasy points per game and 85.3 total PPR points. Those 85.3 PPR points ranked 41st among all wide receivers, behind players like Adam Thielen (86.1), Jakobi Meyers (88.6), Darius Slayton (89.1), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (89.5). The Bills playmaker had just one game over 8.8 PPR fantasy points in those final eight weeks, and he combined for 15 PPR fantasy points in Week 16 and Week 17.
What happened to Stefon Diggs’ production in the back half of the season? Here’s his perspective on it: pic.twitter.com/f4UARtWLcS
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) February 9, 2024
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
It was a disappointing year for Los Angeles Rams wideout Cooper Kupp. The rule of thumb is to never draft a player who is already hurt, and we should have listened to it. Kupp suffered a hamstring injury early in training camp and then reaggravated it right before Week 1. That caused the All-Pro wideout to miss the first four weeks of the regular season before returning in Week 5.
Kupp was a player who was going top-five overall in fantasy drafts this past August. Even after he reaggravated his hamstring, he was still going in the first three rounds. The 30-year-old veteran was a huge disappointment in fantasy during the 2023-2024 season.
He finished as the WR40 on the year while averaging just 13.7 PPR fantasy points per game. Those 13.7 PPR fantasy points were his fewest in a season since his rookie campaign in 2017. The former triple crown winner scored over 20 points just three times this year and finished outside the top 45 in five straight weeks from Week 7 to Week 12.
The addition of rookie Puka Nacua also limited Kupp's fantasy ceiling in 2023. The veteran wideout was still utilized on offense and scored a touchdown in four of the last five games of the year. He still wasn't the same player you thought you were drafting in the first round. The 30-year-old should fall in drafts this upcoming season with Nacua likely being the better pick.
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Heading into drafts, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins was one of the better third-round picks because of his high floor on an elite offense. But his injuries and the season-ending injury to quarterback Joe Burrow (wrist) really hurt his fantasy value this year.
Higgins finished the season as the WR51 while averaging just 11.5 PPR fantasy points per game. The 25-year-old wideout was a player who was usually the 13th to 16th wide receiver off the board in drafts this past summer. His WR51 finish shows how much of a bust he was for your fantasy team this season.
Higgins only played in 12 games this year due to a hamstring injury and a rib fracture. In those 12 contests, he finished as a top-10 wide receiver four times while finishing outside the top 45 six times, including five times outside the top 75. This was easily the young wideout's worst fantasy season, and he'll now head to free agency for the first time in his career. Where he winds up will depend on his ADP in 2024.
Tee Higgins is expected to be tagged for the 2024 season at around $21 million. 👀 pic.twitter.com/lb6WozMQm7
— theScore (@theScore) February 13, 2024
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
It's almost not fair to put New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson on this list because we all expected him to have Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) at quarterback. When Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on his fourth snap of the season, Wilson's value immediately took a hit.
On average, Wilson was the ninth wide receiver off the board in last year's fantasy drafts, and without Rodgers, he finished as the WR26 on the year. The WR3 fantasy finish wasn't the worst, but he was extremely inconsistent every week because of the quarterback play in New York. The 23-year-old averaged just 12.5 PPR fantasy points per game during the 2023-2024 season, which ranked 29th among all wideouts.
Given his second-round ADP and the fact that he only scored over 17.5 PPR fantasy points twice all year, Wilson was a major bust for anyone who drafted him early. If you did, you likely didn't start him very often down the stretch. However, the young wide receiver should get Rodgers back for the 2024 season, so his ADP will likely stay the same -- if not be higher.
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
This last spot on this list was between Jefferson and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London. However, I decided to go with London because Jefferson averaged 20 PPR fantasy points when healthy, and he was available when fantasy managers needed him the most in the playoffs.
That makes London the last remaining bust on this list for the 2023-2024 season. There was a lot of optimism for London entering his second NFL season following a strong rookie campaign. He finished as the WR31 in 2022 with 72 catches, 866 yards, and four touchdowns. As a result, London saw his ADP jump heading into this year. He was going as high as WR20 in some drafts, but things weren't much better for him in Year 2.
He caught just 69 passes for 905 yards and two touchdowns while finishing as the WR37. The former eighth-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft also only averaged 10.9 PPR fantasy points per game and had just one game over 10 PPR fantasy points during the final six weeks of the season. This might not be the biggest bust at the wide receiver position, but he didn't do much in Year 2 and was selected somewhere between the fifth and sixth rounds.
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