2024 preseason rankings: Top 40 wide receivers

5. DJ Moore, Chicago Bears

Age: 27
2023 rank: 6 (standard), 6 (PPR)
Quarterback: Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent
Other receivers: Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet (TE), Tyler Scott

Following a WR6 finish in 2023 led by Justin Fields, Moore has nowhere to go but up in his second season with Chicago under the new era of Caleb Williams. Even with Fields posting a 46.1 QBR in 2023 and completing a mere 61.4 percent of his passes, Moore still logged career highs in receiving yards (1,364) and touchdowns (8). His exceptional performance even with one of the worst passers in the league gives him an extremely safe floor in 2024.

Now playing with one of the most-hyped quarterback prospects in recent history, the hope is that Williams can be the stable quarterback Moore has lacked throughout his career. Even if Williams is not what every scout has made him out to be, there are few scenarios in which Moore is not a WR1 in 2024 given the way Chicago used him last season. At 32, Keenan Allen does not pose much of a threat to his workload and rookie Rome Odunze has not logged nearly enough starter snaps during the preseason to suggest he will either.

4. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Age: 23
2023 rank: 5 (standard), 4 (PPR)
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford, Jimmy Garoppolo
Other receivers: Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee (TE), DeMarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell

Cooper Kupp is not an obsolete player in fantasy yet but Los Angeles is decidedly ready for him to pass the torch onto Nacua. With Kupp turning 31 in June, the writing is on the wall as he approaches the end of his career, especially with injuries becoming a recurring issue for him. Even with Kupp limited to 12 games in 2023, Nacua nearly doubling him up on receiving yards is still an eye-opening statistic demonstrating that he is transparently already the alpha receiver.

Even with how dominant he was as a rookie, Nacua admitted that he did not even take his conditioning and nutrition seriously, routinely eating at McDonald's after training sessions. All of that has changed for him during his first full offseason as a professional as he relentlessly worked with Kupp over the summer, proving he still has a scary amount of room to grow. As long as Matthew Stafford does not fall off a cliff in his 16th season, Nacua is in for another big year.

3. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

Age: 30
2023 rank: 2 (standard), 2 (PPR)
Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White
Other receivers: Jaylen Waddle, Jonnu Smith (TE), Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios

As with all of the Miami skill position players, Hill's fantasy value will be directly tied to the health status of the injury-prone Tua Tagovailoa. While he still topped 1,700 yards in 2022 with Tagovailoa sidelined for four games, Hill proved in 2023 that his value is still slightly higher with the Hawaiian under center.

For a player as dynamic and athletic as Hill, entering his 30s is not encouraging. But his with his ceiling shockingly higher in Miami the past two seasons than it was in Kansas City, there is no reason to begin doubting Hill until he shows signs of a decline. As his usage continues to be sky-high, injuries have begun to catch up with Hill but he has yet to miss more than four games in a single season in his career.

2. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Age: 24
2023 rank: 3 (standard), 3 (PPR)
Quarterback: Jared Goff, Nate Sudfeld
Other receivers: Sam LaPorta (TE), Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, Donovan Peoples-Jones

In each of his three seasons, not only has St. Brown's statistical output increased but his usage and role in the offense have grown exponentially. That culminated in 2023 alongside Detroit's offensive peak with 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. The continued growth of teammates Sam LaPorta, Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs is expected in 2024 but should not pose any threat to his role atop the pecking order after seeing over 10 targets per game in 2023.

Although he has missed just two games in his career, the injury bug is a minor concern for St. Brown, who routinely pops up on the injury report every season. He has consistently played through them but sooner or later the issue figures to catch up with him. However, what has not been a problem yet cannot be taken into consideration. While it appears unlikely that he will top CeeDee Lamb as the overall WR1, St. Brown is right behind him and has one of the safest floors of the position barring injury.

1. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

Age: 25
2023 rank: 1 (standard), 1 (PPR)
Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush
Other receivers: Jake Ferguson (TE), Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin

Since Antonio Brown repeated as the WR1 in 2014 and 2015, no player has completed the feat in successive years. That does not particularly bode well for Lamb, but it is hard not to place him as the preseason WR1. After over 1,700 yards in 2023, Lamb's outlook only improves in 2024 with Tony Pollard and Michael Gallup leaving the team without definitive replacements.

The Dallas defense is expected to be elite, which could cause game script to play against him, but that was not an issue in 2023. At 25, Lamb figures to only now be entering his athletic prime. His contract situation is worth monitoring throughout the season but it would appear unlikely that Lamb will hold out at any point in the season considering the reports that have been made over the summer.