Week Six, Rookie WR Review, Part I

Hello DA Fantasy fans,

Come back often as I blog each week pointing out DA Fantasy nuggets to help you manage your dynasty auction rosters this year and get the slight edges you need to win.

Last week we previewed the rookie QB class. If you missed go check it out here: https://www.dafffy.com/week-five-qb-rookie-review

TLDR, QB Review

Jayden Daniels is the premier rookie QB at this point, but Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Drake Maye are gaining valuable rookie experience and should be rostered now, while Michael Penix and JJ McCarthy require a multi-year perspective. If you have bench depth, don’t fear adding these two and waiting for results in late 2025.

This week we look at wideouts.

Week Six Rookie WR Review, Part I

As I sat down to write this on Tuesday morning I got to 1200 words and realized I’m not authoring a book, it’s just a humble dynasty auction blog. So, I will be publishing it in two parts this week. What’s that? Bonus blog coverage, you say. Damned right, extra DA Fantasy knowledge from DAFFFY to help you succeed at the game we all love. Let’s dig in, shall we?

There is a common axiom in fantasy football that wideouts don’t truly blossom until year three and historically, if you look at the progression of wide receivers in the league, year three is the year we can expect them to totally grasp the speed of the NFL, understand the defensive alignments and be able to adjust routes as needed to be a quality NFL WR.

Talent always creates exceptions and is one reason forecasting positional growth and breakouts  is  exceedingly difficult.

Coming out of the NFL Draft in April, the receivers I had in the best situations were Marvin Harrison Jr. (MHJ), (AZ), Xavier Worthy (KC), Malik Nabors (NYG) , Ladd McConkey (LAC), Brian Thomas Jr (JAX) and Rome Odunze (CHI).

I was also quite high on Ja’Lynn Polk (NE), Troy Franklin (DEN) and Xavier Leggette (CAR) and Keon Coleman (BUF) despite their bad landing situations.

The difference in these groupings is pure situation.  All these guys are talented, but some landed better than others.

MHJ jumps to a team with an accurate longballer in Kyler and was competing against Zay Jones, Michael Wilson, and Greg Dortch for snaps. He was going to start the season as the WR2 on the team regardless. Talent + good situation makes him the standout of the rookie WR class and he’s the clear WR1 on AZ.

Ja’Lynn Polk is very talented out of Washington, but his situation is terrible. It’s the Patriots – their offensive line talent is, what’s the word, oh yeah – offensive! This mismatched patchwork of gibberish they call an OL may be the worst in the NFL. He also has a rookie QB in Drake Maye who wasn’t starting the season and so his QB was… Jacoby Brissett. A bad situation in many ways offsets his talent.

In dynasty it’s talent, then situation which matters.

Read on for a detailed analysis of each of the WR’s above. And please go to Dafffy.com to take our survey!

Marvin Harrison Jr.

The talent on MHJ is immense, his father was one of my favorite WR’s after all, and as a Patriots fan, I hated Harrison and Peyton, but always respected the talent. They say the apple doesn’t fall far and everyone expected MHJ to come in big and contribute immediately. We were right.

After a very slow opening day (3 targets, one reception and 4 yards, ugh!), but he rebounded well and put up 25-14-139 and four TD’s. He is everything he was reported to be.

But the time to get him was in the auction draft, so what do I do now? Trade for him. Now. He will be a low end WR1 high end WR2 for this season and perhaps next and then will explode as a top five weekly WR, barring injury. Think Justin Jefferson, Amon Ra (love the sun god!) and Cee Dee Lamb types. Get him now.

I grabbed MHJ in all drafts I could get him, in one DA league I was cap constrained and could not meet the asking price, but in my other DA league I snagged him, signed him to a five-year deal and am pleased. I even drafted him in round one in multiple standard snake drafts where I was pick 10, 11, or 12.

Xavier Worthy

Talk about a great situation. How about stepping into the two-time reigning NFL champions. He was joining rookie standout in 2023, Rashee Rice, who just had a 100+ yard receptions, a very good OL and one of the savviest QBs of all time in Patrick Mahomes, Mahomie to my crew…

My concerns about Andy Reid’s late game clock management have been addressed as he has grown as a coach. He also recognizes talent and is very good at scheming to get players open. Think Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in 2020-2021 where they were #1 at their respective positions. Each was identified before the league caught up and schemed into plays. Each are still at the top of their game, which is testament to Reid’s eye for talent.

And in week five his situation improved with Rashee Rice suffering a knew injury and requiring LCL surgery, so he is out for the year, making Xavier the default WR1 in this offense.

If he’s available, you have to pick him up. Mahomie has not had a stellar season so far, as all Mahomie owners know already. However, he has the talent, the situation, and the experience to perform at a high level with the tools provided.

I envision Kelce and Noah Gray picking up some slack in targets by running more two TE sets. Juju Smith Schuster is also in the picture and will see an increase in opportunity, but the deal is thus – 105 catches from Rashee last year need to go somewhere, my money is on Xavier. And not for nothing, but he has a great schedule in weeks 15 and 16 (CLE, HOU). Expect to see him win some playoff games for teams this season.

Malik Nabors

The highly touted WR came to NY in a very good situation, but not a great one.

He was the highest-graded Power Five wide receiver last season (93.1) at LSU, he was the second wideout off the board behind MHJ, but his QB situation was suspect.

Which Daniel Jones would stand up? A Daniel jones who could produce the first Giants WR to gain 800+ yards since Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ). Yeah, that was in 2018, and he hasn’t done it yet. Jones has averaged more than 3,000 yards per season passing since he began in 2019, but consistency has been a problem.

Nabors first game, much like MHJ was uneventful, he was involved at 7-5-66, but that was him just getting his feet wet. He then went OFF in week two with 18-10-127-1. EIGHTEEN targets in a single game. All my talk about situations, if you find a wideout who is getting 15+ targets grab them, even if on a crappy O. The focus on targeting Nabors will continue and in such a good situation (until Daniel Jones turns into Gardner Minshew on Thanksgiving or so….)

Depending on your scoring system Nabors is probably your league’s leading wideout. Expect this to continue barring injury to him or Jones (Drew Lock is his backup…ugh) As long as his situation remains solid, he is a top end WR1 for the foreseeable future.

Ladd McConkey

The situation was enticing but suspect for McConkey.

Sure, he was going to a team with a solid if not tremendous QB (Justin Herbert) and sure, they had just lost their top three targets from 2023, mainly Keenan Allen being traded to CHI), so the situation was promising. He was battling Quentin Johnson (rookie drafted in 2023) and would likely see the field often.

But the key to situations is always the coaching and the Chargers were bringing in Jim Harbaugh and a new OC in Greg Roman. Harbaugh is a versatile coach who uses a West Coast offense. But how much would he rely on the pass especially with a rookie as his top WR.

McConkey has been engaged. He’s averaging more than six targets per game and just under four receptions so far.

I am actually quite high on him, having just traded for him in one league and picking him up on waivers earlier this season in another. The consistent targets tell me he has a role in this west coast offense. The fact that the Chargers have a decent run game (JK Dobbins / Gus Edwards) will keep defenses honest and I think he will settle in as a high end WR2 with WR1 upside on some favorable matchups.

Great depth WR and an asset to your lineup if you can get him.

Check in to Dafffy.com, to see part two of the Rookie WR review. It will be published on Saturday Oct 19^th.

I hope that you find these nuggets helpful in managing your DA fantasy lineups and that the advice is also beneficial if you still play standard fantasy as well. But if you are still doing that – come on over to Dafffy.com and check out the next gen football game we are going to build. Take our survey, join our community, and continue reading.

Thanks for reading and checking us out.



Warm Regards,

Da Commish