Mid-Round WR Targets and Fades for 2024 Fantasy Football Drafts

Mid-round wide receivers are crucial to every team. With fantasy football drafts in their peak season, one of the most prominent emphases you should be putting in your research is in the “meat” of the draft board.

Rounds 1-3 are usually standard; you may find good value in a player you may have thought would go earlier. League mates may shock you by going QB early, but generally, it’s all relatively standard, and there aren’t too many surprises.

At the end of the draft, you throw some darts and find yourself with a league winner, like Puka Nacua or Kyren Williams. But, the surefire way to set yourself up for a successful fantasy season is to know who you are drafting in the middle rounds who can give you a leg up.

Let’s talk about the mid-round WR targets who you should be WRs being drafted in rounds 5 and 6 to give you a head-start to this season’s success.

2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL MID-ROUND WR TARGETS AND FADES

GEORGE PICKENS

ADP: Pick 53, WR25

This one may be the biggest head-scratcher on the list. Don’t get me wrong, coming off of a season with over 1,000 yards is nothing to sneeze at, and the (ruled incomplete) catch he made the other night against the Bills was filthy.

But this pick is nearly at his ceiling, and his floor is too low to spend this draft capital on this player. His stat line of 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns boasted the highest snap percentage at his position, which puts quite a damper on how impressive his stats were.

Many folks are excited about the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields competition. Still, if you dig deeper at the two QBs, it really feels much more indicative of the South Park episode where they get to vote between a douche and a turd sandwich.

My biggest problem is not Pickens’ talent but the two quarterbacks throwing him the football. From the looks of training camp and preseason, it would not be shocking to see Wilson and Fields split time during the season, so let’s make a monster and do an experiment.

If we decided to make a hybrid of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields built from their 2023 stats, they would look like this:

Although others have pointed out Wilson and Fields’ potential upside, I do not trust it. I’m fading Pickens at his current ADP.

AMARI COOPER

ADP: Pick 54, WR26

How much longer are we going to disrespect Amari Cooper? The bias against 30-year-old wide receivers is not unfounded. However, the same would have to be said about all 30-year-old wide receivers, so we should cross off Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs, and Cooper Kupp.

Deal? Of course not.

So, let’s keep it consistent and available, which Amari Cooper knows a lot about. During his nine-year career, Cooper has never missed more than three games and has only had one season in which he commanded less than 100 targets from his quarterback. Only twice has he posted less than 1,000 yards, posting a career-high 1,250 receiving yards. As mentioned by Liam Boyle, who was lucky enough to draft Cooper in the RSJ Expert League, Cooper averaged nearly 100 yards per game and 14.8 fantasy points in the games that Deshaun Watson played over 90% of snaps.

Cooper is one of the most consistent fantasy performers year in and year out. Sign me up in 2024.

ZAY FLOWERS

ADP: Pick 56, WR27

Zay Flowers is the perfect pick in these rounds if you find yourself in a position where you can afford to go for incredible upside. According to Vegas Insider, reigning MVP Lamar Jackson is seventh in 2024 MVP odds on most betting platforms, and someone needs to catch those targets.

Zay Flowers has the ingredients to be a breakout candidate for this season. He has a mobile quarterback who requires attention from defenses and has a year of growth working alongside his teammates.

Although last season was underwhelming for the then-rookie, in his final five games, he posted 18.2 FPTS, 14 FPTS, 13.2 FPTS, and 16.6 FPTs– finishing as the WR29. Draft this player if you can afford his bad weeks because the good should outweigh the bad.

TEE HIGGINS

ADP: Pick 57, WR28

Tee Higgins is one of those players I keep staring down in every draft lobby and feel like I am experiencing amnesia. The more you investigate his career splits, the more it seems like a disconnect between the fantasy football world and reality. Not long ago, people in the fantasy football community were questioning who the natural “alpha” of the Bengals WR core was: Ja’Marr Chase or Higgins?

Since then, it has become apparent that Tee Higgins is playing the WR2 role on this team. He has finished second on the team in targets in two of the past three seasons (he finished third last year due to injury). He finished as WR45 in FPTS and WR35 in FPTS/G with only 41 receptions for 656 yards in 12 games.

I know what you’re all thinking, “But Kevin, he didn’t have Burrow throwing to him and didn’t play a full season!”. You know who else can say the same? Ja’Marr Chase. In 16 games, he still posted 100 receptions for 1,216 yards ( including 28(!!) receptions of over 20 yards) and 7 TDs. The truth is that Tee Higgins is playing second fiddle on a team with an absolute target hog, so his ceiling is limited due to that fact. Let your leaguemates draft the frustration that is Tee Higgins and find better value in this draft position.

TANK DELL

ADP: Pick 64 WR29

Now, throw everything I just said about playing second fiddle out the window. Over the offseason, the Texans acquired Stefon Diggs. The Texans, however, have an entirely different structure than the Cincinnati Bengals or just about any other team in the NFL. C.J. Stroud has shown that he is happy to share the ball and allow the team to thrive by becoming a nightmare for cornerbacks with their multiple studs at WR. Add the perennial 1,000-yard-wide receiver Diggs into the mix and the pass-catching back of Joe Mixon… folks in Houston may need to stock up on new underwear with the fantasy loads that may be dumped from this offense.

For many of the same reasons as Zay Flowers, Tank Dell is primed for a season even more impressive than the one he was on track to finish with before his injury. In the four weeks before his injury in Week 13, he posted 29.6 FPTS, 18.9 FPTS, 28.9 FPTS, and 17.2 FPTS. He finished as the WR13 in FPTS/G! He is also a weapon on special teams, leading to unexpected points that could boost your week.

Although I do not project the same “boom” level to his games as targets will be spread around the entire offense, he is grossly undervalued at this position and the steal to any draft.

KEENAN ALLEN

ADP: Pick 66, WR30

The 2023 WR11 at pick 66 is easy peasy! Right? Well… maybe not. The Bears offense has a lot of mouths to feed with high expectations and a rookie QB. Before the drafting of Rome Odunze, Kayla wrote a fantastic article about how Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore had the opportunity to thrive together; however, after spending such high draft capital on Odunze, that path for everyone getting their piece of the pie is a little more challenging. Caleb Williams, although skilled, is still a rookie on a team that was a bottom-half offense and a middle-of-the-pack offensive line.

One thing to note is that this price tag on Allen could likely be the floor of production value this season. Since 2017, Allen has consistently been a top-20 wide receiver, only finishing outside the top-20 in 2022 when only playing in 10 games.

If you want to take Keenan Allen here and take the risk, I have a hard time blaming you. Five out of the past seven seasons, Allen has finished with over 100 receptions and over 1,000 yards, averaging six touchdowns per season. Allen could be the veteran security blanket like Bryce Young made the 32-year-old Adam Thielen fantasy relevant on an abysmal team.

TERRY MCLAURIN

ADP: Pick 67, WR31

From one WR praying for the drafting of a rookie QB to another, Terry McLaurin’s season hinges on the success of newly drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels. As mentioned in Wolf’s “How to draft from pick 12 in 2024” article, Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels could be the key to unlocking the actual ceiling of McLaurin in the 2024 season.

McLaurin has been a beacon of consistency for the Commanders, starting every game over the past three seasons, posting over 1,000 yards, and hauling in 77, 77, and 79 receptions, respectively. This was done with quarterbacks like Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz, Sam Howell, and Jacoby Brissett throwing to him. Replacing these bums with Jayden Daniels… count me in.

Terry McLaurin has never finished outside of WR24, making him a WR2 in any league. You are getting him for a flex position price tag. Grab him.

CHRISTIAN KIRK

ADP: Pick 70, WR32

If you gave me truth serum and asked me my least favorite WR pick in these rounds, I’d have a real hard time between Pickens and Christian Kirk at pick 70.  I know there are many upsides, which Liam wrote about back in May, including great points like vacated targets and his consistent use by the offense, but I am just not buying it. Now, did I draft Christian Kirk in our league of record and try to hold down the throw-up? Yes. Yes, I did. Do I wish I picked McLaurin over Kirk? Yes, yes, I do.

In two seasons with Trevor Lawrence, Kirk has WR11 and WR47 (there is that throw-up again) and went all last season without finishing a game with over 13 fantasy points. Do as I say, not as I do: stay away from Christian Kirk this year.

SUMMARY

At the end of the season, you will be looking at the rounds in the middle that made a big difference. These players can be your saving grace from byes and injuries and can be the difference between wins and losses. Make your decisions based on how your team is built and draft the players to help your team become more well-rounded for the issues during this long season.