Top 5 Consensus Rookie Wide Receivers - Prospect Analysis

Tet has been the WR1 and after electing to forego testing at the combine that remains unchanged for most analysts. Two 1300 yard seasons at Arizona demonstrated great college production. On tape, he’s a speedy and fluid route runner who at 6 5’ can box out corners and make contested catches. The hype around McMillan is real and it seems probable that he’s the first WR off the board in the NFL draft. I see a speedy Drake London as Tet’s ceiling comp with Christian Watson being the floor.

Egbuka profiles as a high character wide out and a safe pick in the mid-late first round of rookie drafts. He produced all throughout his college tenure despite a fiercely competitive OSU receiving core that was full of NFL WRs like Marvin Harrison Jr. & Jaxon Smith Njigba. Egbuka’s lack of ceiling comes from a perceived lack of explosion in his playstyle. However, even if he is primarily a slot option in the pros, his reliable hands and plus route running could see him earning 100+ targets and putting up many years of fantasy production.

Burden is a polarizing prospect who is a monster after the catch. Detractors point to his steep dropoff in production this year which was in part due to poor QB play. However his 2023 college season was spectacular and Burden showcased his Deebo-like YAC ability. While the physical tools are there and the 4.42 40 helped ease some minds, their are noteworthy busts that come to mind that fit the Burden profile. Laviska Shenault was a YAC monster coming into the NFL but he fizzled out and failed to gain a secure WR foothold in the league. I’m hoping Burden lands with NFL team that can deploy him effectively in screens and leverage his explosiveness.

The risk of Travis Hunter being a full time corner or primarily a corner who plays a handfull of downs at WR is not insignificant. He has the elite ball skills and generational talent to be a top flight wideout if it was his sole focus. As the NFL draft approaches we will hopefully gain more clarity around Hunter’s positional plans. If he were to be a full time WR I think he’d be taken somewhere in the dynasty rookie 1.03 - 1.05 range. But with the cloud of cornerback uncertainty it’s more like 1.11 - 2.04 in this loaded class.

Many people love Matthew Golden but I am not counted among this group. He’s closer to my WR10 in this class than the consensus WR5 most analysts have him at. I get that he blazed the 40 at 4.29 and had a monster close to his season at Texas in the CFP. My issue with Golden is that the college production outside the CFP was glaringly absent. Golden had 135 total college receptions in 36 games split between Houston and Texas. Harold Fannin Jr. had 117 in 13 games this year. The fact remains that Golden is a hyperathletic WR who will receive 1st round draft capital and he has a chance of panning out. But Golden might be relegated to a field stretcher as opposed to 1st option weapon on NFL squads. I’m avoiding him at his current late 1st/early 2nd cost.

New Tool Announcement!

I’ve been working on a tool to allow dynasty players to easily create their own click & drag rookie rankings. Most dynasty sites sell ‘expert’ rankings but I believe part of the fun as a die hard dynasty player is creating your own rankings and tiers. I can’t believe no tool exists to let dynasty players do this so I’m making it.

I have a beta version available on my site here with the basic functionality but I’ve yet to build the ability to save your own rankings. The final product will allow you to have your own custom rankings, view player profiles with my analysis and a one-stop-shop with prospect production-physical-advanced analytic info. Here’s a video demonstrating the base functionality for my top 10 WRs at the present moment; bare in mind the final rankings will be much more comprehensive and include all players!

If you’d be interested in exiting google sheets, excel and the notes app and taking your analysis to a tool like this then submit your email here. I’m looking for 20 or so testers who will be able to preview the app before it goes live in a few weeks. If you’re interested in testing or in receiving early access to a later version then signup at our landing page so you can guarantee access to our release. I’m targeting April 1st for full launch but will keep the group updated in these newsletters!

Stay Amped,

The Fantasy Amp Team