Top 5 Fantasy Football Breakouts 2024: Wide Receivers
Identifying fantasy football breakouts for 2024 can give you a competitive edge in your league. As you prepare for the upcoming season, focusing on players poised for breakout performances is crucial for success in fantasy football. In 2024, several potential breakout stars could significantly impact your fantasy team.
These fantasy football breakouts, including rising stars in the NFL, have shown promise through their talent, opportunity, and evolving roles. By targeting these fantasy football breakouts, you can draft undervalued players who may exceed expectations and deliver top-tier performances, setting your team up for a championship run.
5 Fantasy Football Breakouts 2024: WRs
With the NFL season coming up, we need to start thinking about players who can win us our fantasy football leagues. Here are my top 5 fantasy football breakouts who have the potential to break out and be league winners in 2024!
Fantasy Football Breakouts: George Pickens
George Pickens is a player who has seen his ADP shoot up in the off-season. Just a few months ago, his ADP was sitting in the mid-30s; now he is slotted as the WR23 according to FantasyPros. Pickens is typically selected in the fourth round of a typical 12-team, one-quarterback league.
Pickens has been a polarizing player in fantasy football since his rookie year. If you have owned Pickens in the past, you know he has been a true boom-or-bust player. His big play potential matched some of the best wide receivers in the league, as Pickens had 11 plays of 30-plus yards in 2023. The only wide receivers with more were Tyreek Hill (14) and DJ Moore (12).
Diontae Johnson is gone in Pittsburgh, which should slot Pickens into the WR1 role. When Johnson was out of the lineup in 2023, Pickens averaged 16.6 points per game (PPG). 16.6 PPG would have been good for WR11 in 2023. Don’t be surprised when Pickens finds himself in the conversation as a top 12 wide receiver.
Fantasy Football Breakouts: Garrett Wilson
Garrett Wilson was slotted to break out in 2023, and it never happened. In week one, his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, suffered an Achilles injury, forcing the New York Jets to turn to Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle for the remainder of the season.
With the poor quarterback play, Wilson had a disappointing season. He finished as the WR26 overall in PPR leagues, averaging a measly 12.5 PPG. That 12.5 PPG matched Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne in 2023.
Luckily, Wilson’s season wasn’t all bad in 2023. Wilson was the fourth-leading target-getter in the league, finishing the season with 168 targets. He was the only wide receiver in the NFL to earn 160+ targets and not finish as a top-12 wide receiver.
Fast forward to 2024, and Wilson has Rodgers back throwing him the ball. While Rodgers is an aging quarterback, he tends to hyper-target his number-one wide receiver. In 2021, Rodgers targeted Davante Adams 169 times. This bodes well for Wilson, who should be the clear number-one option for Rodgers.
Fantasy Football Breakouts: Drake London
Drake London has never finished higher than WR31 in PPR leagues. While that might be the case, the fantasy community is high on London this offseason. He is currently being drafted as the WR12 in the middle of the 2nd round. London’s ADP might be confusing on the surface. However, once you look into it, it makes more sense. The Atlanta Falcons signed former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year deal this offseason. Cousins has been one of the top gunslingers in the league with the Vikings, elevating Justin Jefferson to being the best wide receiver in the NFL.
The new quarterback play should be a huge upgrade from what London has seen in his first two NFL seasons. London has had the privilege of catching passes from Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Heinicke. Receiving passes from Cousins should be a breath of fresh air for London and the Falcons receiving corps.
Another move that should help London is the firing of Arthur Smith. Smith and the Falcons ran the ball at the third-highest rate in the NFL last year. Smith also refused to use three-wide receiver sets, which allowed opposing secondaries to focus solely on London.
A new offense and a new quarterback can help the former top-10 pick elevate himself into the tier of elite wide receivers.
Fantasy Football Breakouts: Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed is currently the WR51 in ADP. While Shaheed isn’t a name that will find himself among the top 12 wide receivers, he is a name that could break out into fantasy relevance in 2024. Shaheed came into the league in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. He was quickly signed by the New Orleans Saints.
In his two seasons with the Saints, Shaheed has had some big games but has been held in check for the most part. Last season, Shaheed had five games over 15 PPR points. While five games over 15 points isn’t the most impressive, we saw flashes that lead me to believe he can have a breakout in 2024.
Shaheed averaged 15.6 yards per catch in 2023. That number was good for 12th in the NFL. Pair that number with Derek Carr, who threw the sixth most accurate deep ball in the NFL last year, and Shaheed should be in for a great season.
Another plus for Shaheed is the lack of wide receiver talent around him. While Chris Olave is the clear WR1, Shaheed doesn’t face much competition for the WR2 role. Shaheed should easily beat out AT Perry, Bub Means, and Equanimeous St. Brown with Michael Thomas hitting free agency.
Don’t get it wrong; Shaheed isn’t going to be a top-tier wide receiver. However, he should be a solid Flex play that can help you win some weeks.
Fantasy Football Rookie Breakout: Xavier Worthy
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Xavier Worthy with the 28th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Kansas City sought Worthy going into the draft, and they showed that when they traded up multiple picks to select him.
With Worthy, the name of the game is speed. Worthy ran a 4.21 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which was the best time ever recorded. His elite speed in an Andy Reid offense is scary enough. However, it is even more daunting with Patrick Mahomes throwing that elite speed the ball.
While Worthy is fast, that is not the only part of his game. Worthy had an elite junior season at Texas, where he caught 75 passes for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns. All of that was next to current Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who was a second-round NFL Draft pick. The only question mark on Worthy’s 2023 stat line was his touchdown numbers. I am not worried about those numbers, as he scored 21 touchdowns in his two seasons prior.
Ultimately, Worthy is currently being drafted as the WR41 in drafts. With his elite speed, he is a guy I want to get in drafts. If he turns out to be a stud, you will regret not getting him at this price! If Worthy can get going early, he will be one of the best wide receivers in all of fantasy football.
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