Fantasy Football Draft Debate: Who is the Favorite Rookie WR After the Big 3?

The 2024 NFL Draft class was absolutely loaded with receivers, which is good news for NFL teams, even if it makes navigating the fantasy football landscape that much more difficult. Which rookie WR outside of those drafted in the top 10 (Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze) will have the biggest fantasy impact in Year 1? Analysts Dalton Del Don and Kate Magdziuk make the case for Xavier Worthy and Brian Thomas Jr., respectively.

The fastest player in NFL history joins Patrick Mahomes in Andy Reid’s offense.

Worthy ran a 40 in 4.21 and won a target market share of 32% as a true freshman at a Power 5 school. Worthy may be small, but he was most effective as an “X” receiver against press coverage than Marvin Harrison Jr., Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb and many other great receivers throughout college. His college stats would have been better if he hadn’t suffered from incredibly inaccurate quarterback play; Worthy had by far highest career off-target rate among this year’s WR prospects, but he’ll now be catching passes from Mahomes.

Reid apparently has a type of receiver he prefersand Worthy fits in perfectly; Mahomes lost by a long shot most air meters on drops last year. The KC coach compared Worthy to DeSean Jackson, who was an immediate starter and led his team in targets as a rookie with Reid.

Rashee Rice appears increasingly unlikely to be suspended, but Travis Kelce will be 35 this season, and the oft-injured Marquise Brown has struggled recently a potentially serious shoulder injury That could put him in doubt for Week 1. Isiah Pacheco had never topped 170 carries since college before setting a career-high 205 rushing attempts last season, so the opportunities for the rookie should be there. The Chiefs led the NFL in passing rate relative to expectation by a wide margin last year, and Worthy will benefit from KC’s use of motion. He’ll crush it as a rookie.

I rank Worthy among the top 35 fantasy WRs, ahead of Rome Odunze. Dalton Del Don

In all honesty, it’s hard to make an argument against Xavier Worthy, a deserving first-round prospect with legitimate 4.2 speed and the best quarterback in the league throwing the ball to him. However, Thomas’ potential and speed are also pretty legitimate; he posted a stunning 4.33 40-yard dash at this year’s combine at just under 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.

Coming out of LSU, Thomas Jr.’s calling card was his elite top-end speed that made him a great No. 2 alongside Malik Nabers. Thomas Jr. totaled 1,177 receiving yards on 68 receptions He leads the NCAA with 17 receiving touchdowns. He has a monstrous receiving radius, and while he still has some room for improvement as a route runner, his speed and size more than make up for it.

I mean, if his first NFL catch (preseason) is any indication, opposing DBs are going to have their work cut out for them:

Thomas Jr. enters the league as the heir apparent to veteran Calvin Ridley – who left the team on free agency…