OWS Fam,

The first ever OWS Daily Dose Draft Guide is now available!

In today’s e-mail, we give you a look at our Draft Guide’s fantasy breakdowns for the wide receiver position. Read on to find out our expert’s tiers and evaluations for multiple levels of fantasy-relevant wide receivers ahead of the 2024 NFL season.

Over the next six days, we will also be delivering the following critical draft-season content directly to your inbox:

8/29 - TE Tiers

8/30 - Mike's Guys

8/31 - Seven Sleepers

9/1 - Five Fades Series

9/2 - Five Fades Series

9/3 - Five Fades Series

To consume the Draft Guide in its entirety, follow this link to One Week Season:
https://oneweekseason.com/the-scroll/drafting-season/

It’s time to lock in Fam!

2024 Draft Guide: WR Tier

By Mike Johnson

Tier 1 WRs – “The Studs”

The NFL has transitioned to a passing league, and these players have a combination of explosive ability and teams who will force-feed them the ball in multiple ways.

• Tyreek Hill, MIA

  • WR2 each of the last two seasons and a top-5 finish in five of the last six. Hill still has his burst, and the Dolphins’ offense this year may be even better than last.

• CeeDee Lamb, DAL

  • Last year’s WR1 finished the year on a torrid stretch and should be fed the ball an excessive amount when he’s on the field. His long contract standoff is also now resolved, adding even more certainty to his candidacy.

• Justin Jefferson, MIN

  • WR1 in 2023 and had 24+ PPR points in six of nine healthy games in 2024. Should challenge for the league lead in targets.

• Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET

  • ARSB was WR3 in 2023 and WR7 in 2022. The Lions actively feed him the ball, and his game fits perfectly with Jared Goff’s skill set. Double-digit PPR points in 16 of 17 games in 2023.

• A.J. Brown, PHI

  • Set an NFL record with SIX straight games of 125+ receiving yards last season before the Eagles’ offense face-planted. Consecutive top-5 WR seasons since joining Philly. I’m betting on this being his best season yet.

• Ja’Marr Chase, CIN

  • Chase has the highest potential weekly ceiling of any player in the league, but he’s dealt with injuries of his own, along with Joe Burrow’s wrist issue.

Tier 2 WRs – “Knocking At The Door”

These are wide receivers who possess the talent to potentially join the “Tier 1” group but will need some things to break their way in terms of usage and/or offensive environment to make that leap.

• Garrett Wilson, NYJ

  • Wilson has been impressive despite abysmal QB play during his first two seasons in the league. Everyone should be excited to see what he can do with consistently catchable passes.

• Puka Nacua, LAR

  • He is a perfect fit for the Rams system, and Matthew Stafford has made stars out of wide receivers his entire career. A preseason knee injury gave us a scare, but he should be good to go for Week 1.

• Marvin Harrison, ARI

  • The most touted WR prospect in quite some time, Harrison has been blowing people away in training camp and could quickly join that “Tier 1” group of WRs.

• Drake London, ATL

  • Similar to Wilson, London has dealt with abysmal QB play and play-calling the first two years of his career. Kirk Cousins will get him the ball and we will quickly find out what London is really all about.

Tier 3 WRs – “Where Anything Can Happen”

There is a massive tier of wide receivers after the top 10 that all have very similar profiles. All of them are talented. Some are likely to see more targets but play on poor offenses. Others play on great offenses but have a lot of target competition and/or are the WR2 on their own teams. There are also a couple who have uncertainty around their age and/or contract status. All things considered, these players could finish 2024 in just about any order, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they also have top-5 or top-10 WR upside for the season if one or two things break their way.

• Deebo Samuel, SF

  • Highly volatile from week to week. Six games of 20+ PPR points in 2023 but five games of single-digit points. Would jump to the top of Tier 2 if Brandon Aiyuk were traded.

• Malik Nabers, NYG

  • An absolute stud, Nabers will be fed the ball by the Giants and is capable in all areas of the field with the ball in his hands and on contested catches. Only a potentially anemic offense can hold him back.

• Cooper Kupp, LAR

  • Kupp is reportedly back to full health after dealing with injuries all of 2023. He was the WR1 in points per game in 2021 and 2022 but now has to fight Puka Nacua for usage and is 31 years old.

• Davante Adams, LVR

  • A highly talented player who is also 31 years old, Adams is unlikely to resume his past status near the top of the league at his position for the season, but he is capable of going nuclear in any given week.

• Nico Collins, HOU

  • Collins has all the physical tools you look for in a top-end WR and has a great young QB throwing to him. Excellent target competition keeps him out of the top groups. 

• Brandon Aiyuk, SF

  • Aiyuk has not practiced as of Aug. 18 as he tries to get a new contract or a trade. He will never have elite volume in SF this season as long as everyone is healthy, but he should have plenty of scoring chances. If traded, he would likely have more volume but in a less potent offense – which would basically even out and leave him around the same spot for me. 

• DJ Moore, CHI

  • Moore had a career year in 2023 once he was finally utilized correctly, and now he is paired with an elite young QB.

• Mike Evans, TB

  • This guy just keeps pumping out the stats, with an NFL-record 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. Evans shows no signs of slowing down and has a skill set that allows him to rack up touchdowns in a hurry.

• Chris Olave, NO

  • Olave has been good his first two seasons but has not ascended to the truly “elite” stratosphere of his position. A checkdown-happy QB and conservative offense doesn’t help his chances of getting there.

• Jaylen Waddle, MIA

  • An explosive player who plays in the shadow of Tyreek Hill, Waddle is arguably the most talented #2 WR in the NFL.

• DeVonta Smith, PHI

  • Immensely talented player on an elite offense. The addition of Saquon Barkley could push his targets down a bit as well, but Smith has big weekly upside.

• DK Metcalf, SEA

  • Metcalf has three straight seasons finishing between WR14 and WR19. Commonly thought of as a “big play” type due to his freakish physical attributes, Metcalf has actually been a relatively steady performer with relatively few spike weeks the last two seasons.

Tier 4 WRs 

• Stefon Diggs, HOU

  • Diggs is 30 years old and will have more target competition this year than he has at any point in his career. The positive is that he gets to play with a great QB in a high-scoring offense.

• Amari Cooper, CLE

  • He will be maddening at times due to inconsistent production, but Cooper has huge weekly upside. He will look to replicate the chemistry he showed with Joe Flacco to end last season while playing with Deshaun Watson.

• Rashee Rice, KC

  • Early in the offseason it seemed likely that Rice would face a lengthy suspension, but that appears to be next year’s problem and Rice is the top returning WR for one of the top offenses in the league.

• Tank Dell, HOU

  • If Diggs hadn’t joined the Texans, Dell would be a Tier higher. A young receiver who creates separation and explosive plays, Dell will have some big weeks but will also likely disappear a few times this year.

• Michael Pittman, IND

  • A steady performer who is more of a possession type than someone who will bring you explosive plays. The Colts should have a very good offense but may tilt more toward the run.

• Zay Flowers, BAL

  • The clear-cut #1 WR for the reigning NFL MVP, Flowers will look to build on his promising rookie season.

• Christian Kirk, JAX

  • The Jaguars’ offense should be improved this season and Kirk is likely to lead them in targets as a slot receiver with downfield ability.

• Chris Godwin, TB

  • The Bucs have a new offensive coordinator who intends to use Godwin in his more natural slot position in the “Cooper Kupp role”. After a pedestrian 2023, Godwin could have a career year in store.

• Terry McLaurin, WAS

  • McLaurin should be in store for the best QB play of his career with rookie QB Jayden Daniels and his accurate deep ball. McLaurin could easily be this year’s “DJ Moore” who makes the jump from the middle of the pack to an elite option with someone who can get him the ball.

• Tee Higgins, CIN

  • Always the bridesmaid to Ja’Marr Chase, but Higgins has all the skills of an elite NFL wide receiver. He is playing for a new contract, and the Bengals have finally become one of the highest pass-rate teams in the league.

• Calvin Ridley, TEN

  • Reportedly set to play the “Ja’Marr Chase role” in the Titans’ new offense, Ridley is an elite separator and has a chance to surprise a lot of people after a disappointing year in Jacksonville.

• Xavier Worthy, KC

  • What do you get when you pair arguably the best QB in the league with the fastest player in NFL history? Time will tell, but the early results have been promising. Worthy could be a game-changer for the Chiefs as well as fantasy managers.

Tier 5 WRs 

• George Pickens, PIT

  • Elite talent as a downfield threat and on contested catches, but the Steelers are likely to be extremely focused on the running game and have been actively looking to bring in more target competition.

• Rome Odunze, CHI

  • This guy has all the tools to be a stud and his QB has looked terrific in the preseason and training camp. If it weren’t for Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers drawing so much hype, Odunze would be generating far more excitement. For comparison’s sake, I believe he is better right now than any rookie from 2023.

• Jayden Reed, GB

  • Scored 10 touchdowns as a rookie, including seven over a seven-game stretch from Weeks 11 through 17, while he carved out his role in the deep Packers WR corps. Reed is used in a variety of creative ways and profiles as Green Bay’s top “playmaker.”

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA

  • JSN had an underwhelming rookie season, as he broke his wrist in training camp and never really hit his stride. A new offensive system and a healthy offseason has his stock looking up.

• Khalil Shakir, BUF

  • Shakir outproduced Stefon Diggs over the second half of 2023 and has reportedly been the “go-to” WR for Josh Allen during training camp. If he had a higher profile, then everyone would likely be far higher on him than the current consensus.

• Diontae Johnson, CAR

  • Likely to dominate targets for the Panthers, although they are likely to have a run-first offense and limited scoring opportunities.

• Keenan Allen, CHI

  • Elevated age, elite target competition, and the fact he’s reportedly 20 pounds above last year’s playing weight have me far below the market on Allen for 2024.

• Christian Watson, GB

  • Game-breaking upside on a weekly basis but nagging injury history makes him a risky bet and also puts him in danger of being passed over by the Packers’ other talented young WRs.

• Brian Thomas, JAX

  • First-round pick with elite physical traits has made some highlight plays in the preseason and could be exactly what Trevor Lawrence needs for a bounce-back season.

• Curtis Samuel, BUF

  • Samuel has dynamic ability with the ball in his hands and can be used in a variety of ways, something the new-look Bills are likely to take advantage of.

• DeAndre Hopkins, TEN

  • Hopkins showed chemistry and big play ability with Will Levis last season and now will benefit from a more pass-happy offense. He missed most of training camp with a knee injury, but he should be back within the first couple weeks of the season.

Tier 6 WRs 

• Marquise Brown, KC

• Ladd McConkey, LAC

• Romeo Doubs, GB

• Jameson Williams, DET

• Courtland Sutton, DEN

• Jordan Addison, MIN

• Keon Coleman, BUF

• Jakobi Meyers, LVR

• Brandin Cooks, DAL

• Tyler Lockett, SEA

• Rashid Shaheed, NO

• Gabe Davis, JAX

• Jahan Dotson, PHI

Tier 7 WRs 

• Josh Downs, IND

• Adonai Mitchell, IND

• Dontayvion Wicks, GB

• Ja’Lynn Polk, NE

• Jerry Jeudy, CLE

• Joshua Palmer, LAC

• Darnell Mooney, ATL

• Mike Williams, NYJ

• Michael Wilson, ARI

• Rashod Bateman, BAL

• Xavier Legette, CAR

Tier 8 WRs

• Demario Douglas, NE

• Adam Thielen, CAR

• Jalen Tolbert, DAL

• Greg Dortch, ARI

• Tyler Boyd, TEN

• Ricky Pearsall, SF

• Demarcus Robinson, LAR

• Jalen Nailor, MIN

• Jordan Whittington, LAR

• Brenden Rice, LAC

• Jalin Hyatt, NYG

• Dyami Brown, WAS