Fantasy Football: Top sleepers at WR for 2024 drafts
Looking for some hidden value at the wide receiver position in your 2024 fantasy football drafts? The team at Yahoo Fantasy highlights five of their favorite WR sleepers to consider in the late rounds.
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
Last year, one of the best ideas in football was a deep shot to Shaheed. Those throws often ended in this manner:
Derek Carr throws a DIME to Rashid Shaheed for the TD 😮💨
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/J0qwDj3PSn— Yahoo Sports NFL (@YahooSportsNFL) December 22, 2023
Shaheed reached the end zone five times on attempts of 20-plus yards in 2023, catching 12 of his 21 chances. His passer rating when targeted on deep throws was 121.5, which of course ranked among the highest in the NFL. This year, under new OC Klint Kubiak (previously the passing game coordinator for the Niners), we can reasonably expect to see the usual deep shots to Shaheed, along with more quick-hitting YAC opportunities.
Let’s recall that the only notable move New Orleans made at receiver in the offseason was to release Michael Thomas. This team is otherwise running it back with Chris Olave, Shaheed, Alvin Kamara and A.T. Perry at the top of the receiving hierarchy. No one should be at all surprised if Shaheed sees triple-digit targets and tops 1,000 yards in the season ahead. He’s been an unfair offensive weapon from the moment he first took the field for the Saints. — Andy Behrens
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba's rookie season wasn't nearly as bad as the stats indicate. He was a rookie receiver who missed time in the offseason playing behind two established star receivers. Let's calm down with the rush to judgment. The film and his RP charting show that Smith-Njigba was a strong separator against man and zone coverage, particularly on intermediate routes. Those map out well to what Ja'Lynn Polk was asked to do in new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's offense at Washington.
The second-year receiver is in line for a volume boost in an offense that attacks the intermediate area of the field. He's one of my favorite post-hype sleepers this season. There's an outside chance he leads this team in receptions. — Matt Harmon
Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers
Josh Palmer struggled during his first two years in the league but quietly improved last season. He ranked top 25 in yards per route run (2.2) and top 12 in receiving yards per game (71.1) after Mike Williams went down. Palmer’s target per route run rate has jumped to 20% without Williams on the field throughout his career, and Keenan Allen left during the offseason as well.
Quentin Johnston might be the worst WR in the league, and rookie Ladd McConkey is a second-round pick who never earned targets, averaged just 562.3 receiving yards and battled injuries throughout college. Moreover, Austin Ekeler was replaced by two-down backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins, so plenty of targets are up for grabs from Justin Herbert behind a strong offensive line. Palmer is going undrafted in 82% of Yahoo leagues. — Dalton Del Don
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
Despite having one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league, the Bills’ receivers have extremely low ADPs — all above Round 10 — and there’s zero consensus around who will ultimately be the Bills’ WR1. With the exit of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, the biggest sleeper of 2024 could come from this receiving corps.
Many expect Dalton Kincaid to see the bulk of targets, but don’t be shocked if Khalil Shakir ends up leading the way. Shakir is coming off a strong finish to the 2023 season, including 10 receptions and two touchdowns in the postseason. He must contend with rookie Keon Coleman and the ever-versatile Curtis Samuel, but the 2022 fifth-round draft pick profiles as a potential year-three breakout and is a bargain at his current ADP. — Tera Roberts
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Mike Williams, New York Jets
Mike Williams was recently activated from the PUP list, entering his age-30 season coming off a torn ACL suffered in early 2023. Typically, this isn’t a receiver you want to be targeting, but Williams is going so late in fantasy drafts that it’s difficult to ignore his potential.
Williams profiles out as a starting receiver on the outside for Aaron Rodgers, who will be playing behind the Jets much-improved offensive line. This bodes well for Williams seeing consistently accurate deep targets from Rodgers. Williams’ age and injury concerns seem to be baked into his 13th-round price tag, being selected after players like MarShawn Lloyd and Jaylen Wright who may be the RB3 on their respective teams. He is being drafted at least two rounds too late in my opinion. — Sal Vetri