A Hater’s Guide to the 2024 Rookie Wide Receiver Class
Last year, following the NFL Draft, everyone was all happy and excited about each and every single landing spot. As a pessimist, I was disgusted. I wanted to write a series destroying the optimistic, happy-go-lucky narratives that were permeating the fantasy and real-life football spaces. I attacked the 2023 quarterback class, the running backs, the wide receivers, and the tight ends, and the series was well-received by many, so here I am again this year with all my reasons why this entire 2024 draft class stinks.
1.04, Marvin Harrison Jr, WR ARI
It’s always a good sign when the fourth overall pick still hasn’t signed his NFLPA licensing deal and is being sued by Fanatics for breach of contract. Nothing like a bunch of off-field drama to keep you nice and distracted before you ever step foot on an NFL playing field. We’ve never seen a primadonna receiver come into the NFL and fail, so everything should work out just fine.
1.06, Malik Nabers, WR NYG
Daniel Jones is his quarterback. In the four seasons that Jones started more than ten games, the Giants’ WR1 averaged 54 receptions, 55 yards, and 2.5 touchdowns- with a best of 66-656-3. Yuck.
1.09, Rome Odunze, WR CHI
Keenan Allen averaged 11.5 targets per game last season. DJ Moore averaged eight targets per game last season. Cole Kmet averaged 5.3 targets per game last season. Gerald Everett averaged 4.7 targets per game last season. D’Andre Swift averaged 3.1 targets per game last season. Those per-game averages total 32.6 targets per game to just those five options in the Bears’ passing game. Caleb Williams would have to have more than 500 attempts just to get these players up to their average per-game targets, and 500 attempts would be the 16th most all-time among rookie QBs. That was just a long way to say there aren’t any available targets for Odunze.
1.23, Brian Thomas Jr, WR JAC
It’s easy to look good against college corners when you’re playing opposite Malik Nabers. Now Thomas gets pro corners playing opposite Gabe Davis. Apples and Oranges.
1.28, Xavier Worthy, WR KC
Let’s take a look at the top-performing wide receivers in the 40-yard dash at the combine over the last decade, shall we? Trey Palmer, Tyquan Thornton, Anthony Schwartz, Henry Ruggs III, Andy Isabella, DJ Chark, John Ross, Will Fuller, JJ Nelson, and Dri Archer. That’s not a club I want to be part of. Good luck Xavier Worthy owners, your ceiling seems to be Trey Palmer.
1.31, Ricky Pearsall, WR SF
Pearsall will be 24 when the season starts. He looked good his last few seasons at Florida after doing next-to-nothing at Arizona State. He should look good, as he was a 23-year-old man playing receiver against teenage corners. That will not be the case in the NFL.
1.31, Xavier Legette, WR CAR
I don’t know what language Legette speaks, but his interviews are fun. He should get plenty of mic time in Carolina as the media descends on his locker after another Panthers’ three-win season. We can only hope Legette lingers in Carolina long enough to produce with whoever they draft in 2026 to replace Bryce Young.
2.01, Keon Coleman, WR BUF
Ah, yes, a contested catch machine. At a time when the NFL values route running and separation more than ever, the Bills brought in the one receiver who isn’t good at those things. He could’ve been the 1.01 in 1997.
2.02, Ladd McConkey, WR LAC
In three seasons at Georgia, McConkey amassed 119 receptions, 1,687 yards, and 14 touchdowns. Nabers had an 89-1,569-14 stat line in 2023 alone. What exactly are we excited about here?
2.05, Ja’Lynn Polk, WR NE
Polk was the third-best receiver on the Washington Huskies team, yet got drafted second. Fortunately, he landed with the Patriots, a franchise with a long, storied history of success drafting and developing wide receivers.
2.20, Adonai Mitchell, WR IND
Reportedly, Mitchell fell in the draft due to character concerns. The more I read about it, the weirder the story got. Apparently, the character concerns are tied to type 1 diabetes. I’m not kidding. According to a story from MSN:
“When his blood sugar’s off, he’s rude, he’s abrasive, he doesn’t pay attention in meetings. It’s why you get really, really shitty character reports coming out of Georgia and Texas. But when his stuff is normal, and they get him normal by lunch time, he’s out at practice high energy, best practice player, loves football.”
I certainly did not have diabetic-related attitude concerns on my draft night bingo card. How weird is this entire thing?
3.01, Malachi Corley, WR NYJ
The Jets already had stud Garrett Wilson in place. They brought in the oft-injured Mike Williams to play opposite Wilson. I thought Xavier Gipson looked great as a UDFA last season. Breece Hall is an active receiver out of the backfield, and Tyler Conklin has been a surprisingly steady performer at tight end for this team for a couple of seasons. I like Corlejery heading into draft night, but I am less than impressed with his opportunities with this Jets team.
3.16, Jermaine Burton, WR CIN
Well, the Bengals moved on from Joe Mixon, so they had to bring in Jermaine Burton. If you can always keep one player on your roster with a video of them hitting a woman in college, I guess they have a team identity and brand to keep intact. Chris Henry and Pacman Jones approve of this pick.
3.20, Roman Wilson, WR PIT
The Steelers have always seemed to get mid-round receivers to turn into stars, and this might be the case for Wilson – except for the fact that he will either catch balls from a washed-up and washed-out Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. Incredibly, Fields completed only 61.4% of his passes, the fourth-worst among quarterbacks who played at least ten games, so on the plus side, at least Wilson won’t have to try to catch balls from Bryce Young, Bailey Zappe, or Zach Wilson. This paragraph contains too many Wilsons.
3.29, Jalen McMillan, WR TB
Ok, so you start your career buried behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Trey Palmer. Once Evans and possibly Godwin move on, you have a chance to be one of the team’s top-two receivers, except nobody has any clue who your quarterback will be when you finally try to move your career into the “get myself a big second contract” phase. The talent is there, but McMillian will be a stellar addition to your taxi squad through the 2026 season.
3.37, Luke McCaffrey, WR WAS
If his name was Luke Johnson, I wonder if he gets drafted at all. A former quarterback himself, maybe he’s the insurance plan for when Jayden Daniels fails.
4.02, Troy Franklin, WR DEN
A rail-thin drop machine who ran one of the worst-looking gauntlet drills of all time at the combine. At least he gets to play alongside his overdrafted college quarterback, and together, they can ruin Sean Payton’s reputation.
4.10 Javon Baker, WR NE
An interesting prospect with upside who I was excited to see in the NFL. Fortunately, he landed with the Patriots, a franchise with a long, storied history of success drafting and developing wide receivers.
4.13, Devontez Walker, WR BAL
It didn’t happen for Breshad Perriman. It didn’t really happen for Marquise Brown. It ain’t happening for Rashod Bateman. It ain’t happening for Zay Flowers. It ain’t happening for Tez Walker.
4.35, Jacob Cowing, WR SF
Standing 5’8″ tall and tipping the scales at 168 pounds, Cowing also brings a first-percentile 69-1/8″ wingspan into the NFL.
5.07, Anthony Gould, WR IND
I didn’t know much about Gould except that he was fast. Then I did a quick search—and he’s almost as little as Cowing, coming in at 5’8″, 174 pounds, and a 2nd-percentile wingspan. It’s very weird that they were back-to-back receiver selections.
5.17, Ainias Smith, WR PHI
I can’t believe I have to write about 13 more receivers after this, and they just keep getting worse. I’m a glutton for punishment. Smith joins an Eagles receiving corps that just saw their top-two options sign three-year extensions for $96 million and $75 million. Good luck ever getting on the field ahead of either of them and their $171 million contracts.
5.21, Jamari Thrash, WR CLE
Do you trust anyone in a Browns uniform?
5.35, Bub Means, WR NO
Means was a cornerback at Tennessee in 2019, then a cornerback at Louisiana Tech in 2020. In 2021, he converted to wide receiver at Louisiana Tech and completed his college career as a wide receiver at Pitt for two years. His reward? Now he gets to play Sundays as Derek Carr‘s WR4 or WR5.
6.06, Jha’Quan Jackson, WR TEN
According to Ourlads, Jackson is in the running to become Tennessee’s WR7. According to Google’s AI search assistant: “NFL teams have six wide receivers on their 53-man roster, but usually only five dress for a game. However, some offenses may use more wide receivers and have five on the active game-day roster.” I don’t see WR7 anywhere in there, do you?
6.08, Malik Washington, WR MIA
Washington was a prospect many people had their eye on, and this isn’t the worst long-term landing spot for dynasty, but after the Fins signed Odell Beckham Jr, even if everything goes perfectly for Washington, what can he hope to be, their WR4? A year ago, that prestigious title got Braxton Berrios 33 targets. Even their WR3 only got 38 targets. If Washington gets to 300 yards and two scores, it should be considered a success.
6.09, Johnny Wilson, WR PHI
Are they converting him to tight end or not?
6.11, Casey Washington, ATL
Everyone thought an Illinois receiver was going to get drafted. Nobody thought it was Casey Washington. Did they know Isaiah Williams was still available?
6.15, Tejhaun Palmer, AZ
You’re still reading this? I spent the entire off-season looking at mock drafts and ranking rookies, and draft day was the first time I heard of this person. At this point, I refuse to Google him.
6.37, Jordan Whittington, WR LAR
Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Jonathon Brooks, and Jordan Whittington. Plenty of Texas Longhorn weapons in the draft this year, I’m glad the Rams got the worst one.
6.40, Ryan Flournoy, WR DAL
Since Dallas has no running game to speak of, I suppose they could throw the ball a record-setting 734 times. If Flournoy can demand a 10% target share, he could see 73 targets. If he hauled in 60% of those, he could have 43 receptions. If he averaged 13 yards per reception, he could have 569 yards. Whelp, none of that is going to happen, so I wasted my time writing that and your time since you read it.
7.05, Brenden Rice, WR LAC
Did you know he is Jerry Rice’s son?
7.15, Devaughn Vele, WR DEN
When you’re already behind Josh Reynolds and Lil’Jordan Humphrey on a Bo Nix-led passing attack, what hope do you really have of ever being fantasy-relevant?
7.21, Tahj Washington, WR MIA
Why were 35 wide receivers drafted, and who is this guy that was drafted 34th? See everything I wrote about Malik Washington above- and this other Washington is well behind him in the pecking order. He could be the 1.01 in your NFL practice squad mock draft, though.
7.33, Cornelius Johnson, WR LAC
After five seasons playing under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Harbaugh throws his fifth-year senior a bone and brings him under his wing once again in San Diego Los Angeles. The Chargers receiving corps is so sad that Johnson could actually have a role this season. Let that sink in. A player who was five picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant might have a role-playing alongside Justin Herbert. The Harbaugh-led Chargers are off to a great start.
This was a bit much, so thanks for hanging in there and reading. As you can see, in what was supposed to be a historically deep receiver class, we’ve got nothing to be excited about. They’re all overrated garbage. Trade your picks and wait a year, there are no good receivers in 2024!
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