With bell-cow running backs being phased out and replaced with more of a committee approach, wide receivers have become the focal point of the fantasy football industry. Elite running backs still exist but the nature of the position typically leads to more unpredictable results.
As that narrative grows and becomes more accepted, WR-heavy drafts are taking over the fantasy football industry. While no position is without risk, wide receivers generally suffer less wear and tear than their running back counterparts.
One ill-advised draft pick won’t tank your entire season but a handful of bad decisions can leave even the best fantasy players scrambling to contend. Luckily, we’re here to help you dodge some potential land mines. Here are three wide receivers to avoid in 2024.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Wide Receivers to Avoid in 2024
Stefon Diggs (WR – BUF)
With reports of a strained relationship and an unproductive final stretch under new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, has wide receiver Stefon Diggs played his final game as a Buffalo Bill? It’s still too early to say but that uncertainty is just one of several red flags hovering over the 30-year-old wide receiver.
Diggs is on the wrong side of 30 and took a bit of a step back in 2023. After finishing as the WR3, WR7, and WR4 in his first three seasons in Buffalo, Diggs dropped down to WR10 last season. While that’s not a drastic drop, one must look deeper into the numbers.
In the first ten games under former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, Diggs averaged 16.5 points per game and was the WR4 on the season. He scored 10+ in 9/10 games and 15+ six separate times. With Brady calling plays, Diggs dropped down to 7.9 fantasy points per game and finished as the WR46 from Weeks 11-18. Diggs reached double-digit fantasy points only twice after the switch.
If reports of a strained relationship are true, a trade out of town might be the best option for all parties. However, fantasy managers are holding their breath until that final landing spot is known. While Diggs struggled to produce under Brady, there are certainly worse situations than being paired with Josh Allen on one of the best offenses in football.
Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
Another year, another Cooper Kupp injury. You never want to permanently label someone as “injury-prone” but it’s getting harder and harder to depend on the once-reliable former Triple Crown winner.
Since his record-breaking 2021 season, Kupp has only started 21 regular season games and has seen his fantasy points per game drop from 21.6 in 2021 to 11.2 in 2023. After finishing as the WR1 in 2021, Kupp has been the WR24 and WR41 in the two years since.
Kupp will be 31 years old in June, can’t stay on the field, and has seemingly dropped behind both Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams in the pecking order. As much as this pains me to say, I’m out in both redraft and dynasty unless we see a massive decrease in cost.
Romeo Doubs (WR – GB)
Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs followed up his decent rookie season with an even better sophomore campaign. Despite that, I’m not buying Doubs at his current Dynasty ECR of WR50. There are just too many cooks in the kitchen in Green Bay.
Doubs’ raw numbers look good (674 receiving yards, eight touchdown receptions, WR37 in Half-PPR) but will those same opportunities be there moving forward? Rookie Jayden Reed morphed into Green Bay’s WR1 throughout last season, while former presumed WR1 Christian Watson only started nine games due to ongoing hamstring issues.
Throw in veteran running back Aaron Jones and emerging pass-catchers Dontayvion Wicks, Tucker Kraft, and Luke Musgrave and you see why I’m having a tough time investing in Doubs. I’m not completely out on Doubs but there are currently too many question marks to justify his current Average Draft Position (ADP).
More Early 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Prep
- Erickson’s Early Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Notes: QB | WR
- Early Must-Have Running Backs: Feb
- Early Must-Have Wide Receivers: Feb
- Early Must-Have QBs & TEs: Feb
- Early Undervalued Players
- Early Overvalued Players: RB
- QB2s w/ Top-5 Upside: Feb
- RB3s With RB1 Potential: Feb
- Players to Avoid: QB
- 3 Early Breakout Candidates
- 6 Early Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers
- Draft Values, Breakouts & Busts: RB | WR
- RB Dead Zone Running Backs: Draft or Fade?
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