Fantasy Football Rookie Wide Receivers: Xavier Worthy, Rome Odunze, Ladd McConkey (2024)

The wide receiver position in fantasy football is chock full of talent. This year’s rookie wide receiver class is no exception. The list of productive first-year receivers in fantasy football will likely be long. Still, below, I’ll list the top five rookie wide receivers using FantasyPros’ average draft position (ADP) in PPR leagues and we’ll examine their 2024 fantasy football outlook.

Fantasy Football Rookie Wide Receivers

Xavier Worthy (WR – KC)

This is the quarterback/wide receiver situation we all need to keep a keen eye on.

The wide receivers mentioned above are entering situations where they’re the No. 1 option, but the quarterback play is somewhat questionable (or highly questionable in the case of Nabers).

For Worthy, he has a phenomenal situation with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback.

The Chiefs offense lacked explosiveness in 2023. Worthy will provide that and then some. He posted a 4.21 40-yard dash — an NFL combine record.

Since Mahomes has been the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, he’s never thrown for fewer than 4,000 yards. He had 27 touchdowns in 2023 and 26 in 2019, but he’s never thrown for fewer than 37 touchdowns outside of that. In 2024, Mahomes has Worthy, Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco and Travis Kelce at his disposal.

This is by far one of the best situations he’s had since Tyreek Hill departed.

Worthy will have some competition in targets, especially from Kelce, but Rice could be staring at a suspension — that’s pure speculation.

There’s a bit of wait-and-see here, but the potential is massive.

Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)

I’ll say this flat out: I love Rome Odunze, but this situation is certainly a bit dicey in terms of his production.

There are numerous variables here:

Rookie quarterback. Caleb Williams is a “generational” talent, but he’s still a rookie in the NFL.
There are two No. 1-type receivers in DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.
There is a pass-catching running back in D’Andre Swift.
There is a high-paid tight end in Cole Kmet.

Odunze was the No. 9 overall pick, but there are only so many passes to go around. He’s a big-play threat waiting to happen, but Moore and Allen have always been high-target receivers. Odunze is going as the WR41, which is a fine spot for his current situation. If you can nab him there, there’s an upside because of his talent and should Moore and/or Allen miss any time.

Ladd McConkey (WR – LAC)

The Chargers saw Keenan Allen and Mike Williams walk out the door. Now, Ladd McConkey finds himself in a situation where he’ll be the starting slot receiver, with Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston starting as outside receivers.

Palmer has been with the team for three seasons, but he’s never really broken out to be a mainstay top option in the offense. As for Johnston, he was a first-round pick from the old regime. In 17 games, he caught 38 passes for 431 yards and two scores. That’s it.

Needless to say, McConkey could easily rack up 100 receptions in this offense as he’ll have quarterback Justin Herbert throwing passes to him. In 2023, Herbert played in just 23 games but attempted 456 passes, about 35 per game. While Jim Harbaugh will want to run the ball, he’s also spoken highly of Herbert and they’ll still utilize his talent.

McConkey could be a massive contributor in PPR leagues. Draft him.

NFL Xavier Worthy Patrick Mahomes Rashee Rice Isiah Pacheco Travis Kelce Tyreek Hill Rome Odunze Caleb Williams DJ Moore Keenan Allen D’Andre Swift Cole Kmet Ladd McConkey Mike Williams Josh Palmer Quentin Johnston Justin Herbert