Dynasty Football Rankings for Top-Performing Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Bowers, Brian Thomas Jr., Rome Odunze and More
Morgan ranks several wide receivers and tight ends from a dynasty perspective.
It’s time for a dynasty fantasy football update! Today, I thought it’d be fun to rank some of the rookie top wide receivers and tight ends.
Let’s dive right in!
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The Players in Question
It makes sense to discuss the wideouts and tight ends with the most receiving yards, so let’s rattle off the top 10: Brian Thomas Jr., Brock Bowers, Malik Nabers, Keon Coleman, Marvin Harrison Jr. Ladd McConkey, Rome Odunze, Jordan Whittington, Xavier Worthy and Xavier Legette. I’m adding Ja'Tavion Sanders to the mix, as he’s top 10 in receptions among rookies.
I’ll rank these players with a PPR dynasty league in mind. I’ll rank them all together, instead of splitting them into positions because there’s only two tight ends involved.
The Best of the Best
Nabers, Harrison, Bowers and Thomas are all in the top tier in this group of rookie pass catchers. They were all pretty highly-regarded coming into the season, and they’ve mostly lived up to the hype.
Harrison was seen as a generational talent coming into the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s been a bit of a disappointment so far, but I still have him as the top dynasty asset here.
His situation in Arizona is strong, and in time, I think he and Kyler Murray are going to form a strong connection. Now wouldn’t be a bad time to check in on the Harrison owners, as maybe they might sell him for a bit less.
Nabers is next up for me. He’d been the top rookie pass catcher by a good margin before dealing with a concussion.
The reason he slots in after Harrison is because of the quarterback situation in New York. Yes, Nabers has delivered with Daniel Jones throwing to him, but until we know his next quarterback, I can’t rank him over Harrison. If the Giants hit on their next quarterback, Nabers could easily overtake Harrison for the top dynasty wide receiver in the 2024 draft class.
Bowers is third for me, and that still seems far too low. He’s been awesome so far, and that’s with a terrible offense in Las Vegas.
He’s been a big part of the offense and is maybe the best fantasy asset for the rest of the season in this group. I’d love to rank him higher, but a lack of a future option at quarterback and all the changes in Vegas scare me just enough to take him after Harrison and Nabers.
Thomas slots in fourth, which again doesn’t feel right seeing what he’s done so far this season. He’s been fantastic, but I think a lot of that has to do with Jacksonville needing to pass a lot to keep up with opponents.
I still think Thomas has an incredibly bright future though, and believe he’s the WR1 for the Jaguars for years to come. The development of Trevor Lawrence will determine how great Thomas can be for dynasty teams, but if this is his fantasy floor, I’d definitely take that for the long haul.
The Future is Brighter?
Worthy, Odunze, McConkey and Coleman all are part of this tier. They’ve all done some nice things this season, but haven’t really exploded yet. That could be coming, and that’s why they get their own tier.
I have Odunze atop this tier. He’s part of a crowded Chicago offense right now, but in time, Odunze should move into the WR2 or WR1 role.
What’s great about Odunze is that he came into the league with a rookie quarterback (Caleb Williams), so as those two develop, their connection should only get stronger. I could see the Bears moving on from D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen and building around Odunze, and that thought alone should help dynasty owners hold on tight to Odunze.
Worthy is next up for me, and a lot of that has to do with his situation. Being drafted to the Chiefs was a major win for this dynasty outlook, as Patrick Mahomes will be throwing him the ball for years to come.
Worthy started fast this season, but hasn’t really stepped up after all the injuries the Chiefs have dealt with. I think he could actually be helped a bit with DeAndre Hopkins being traded to the team. Not only does Worthy get to work with a veteran, but it takes some defensive attention off the rookie, and should open some more chances for big plays.
But back to my original point, which is that Worthy is a good dynasty option because of the quarterback throwing to him. The Chiefs’ pass catchers are likely going to change year to year as the team juggles the salary cap, but Worthy will be a steady part of things for the next several years, and I expect him to develop into one of Mahomes’ favorite targets.
Coleman slots in next for me. I loved his landing spot in Buffalo because of Josh Allen serving as the quarterback, and he’s now in a situation like Worthy.
Amari Cooper was traded to the Bills last week, and Coleman responded with his best NFL game in week 7. Learning from Cooper is huge, as is having less defensive attention on him. I see Coleman remaining a steady part of the offense the rest of the season, and then maybe being Allen’s top pass catcher for years to come after that. He could climb into the upper echelon of fantasy wideouts in a hurry.
That leaves McConkey for the last spot in this tier. A couple years ago, landing with Justin Herbert would have been a big win for a young receiver, but the new-look Chargers’ offense focuses more on the run and limits the upside of players like McConkey.
Los Angeles still needs to pass, and McConkey could very well be the team’s top wideout for the next several years, but he’s also got competition for it with Quentin Johnston, and others. That’s enough to drop him to where I have him ranked.
The Final Tier
The final tier is comprised of players who have accomplished a bit this season, but not quite as much as the others in this list. There’s a little more speculation on what they could turn into someday. Sanders, Legette and Whittington are the guys here for me.
Sanders leads the way in this tier. He’s starting to break out a bit, but after a slow start to the season and an uncertain quarterback in Carolina, I can’t put him any higher than here.
Outside Bowers though, Sanders easily looks like the second-best rookie tight end. He could cement himself as a pillar for the Panthers’ offense to build around going forward.
Legette is another possible pillar in Carolina. He simply hasn’t consistently done enough this season to be ranked any higher.
He might not help you a ton this season, but I like Legette for the long haul. A lot of his dynasty value is tied to the quarterback in Carolina, and if Bryce Young isn’t the guy, the Panthers need to find their next guy soon.
Whittington has taken on a bigger role as a rookie after the injuries to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. He was good in weeks 4 and 5, but the bye in week 6 and an injury that affected him into week 7 slowed his positive momentum.
As a sixth-round pick, it’s an uphill battle for Whittington. His dynasty outlook could be changed if the Rams trade Kupp, but at this point, Whittington is more a lottery ticket than a dynasty piece to build around going forward.
#dynasty #2024-fantasy-football
