• Brian Thomas Jr. greatly exceeded his Year 1 expectations: The Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver posted dominant numbers in 2024, which led to an excellent fantasy season.
• Marvin Harrison Jr. underperformed as a rookie: We take a look at some of the numbers behind Harrison’s disappointing rookie season.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Every NFL season is full of surprises, both good and bad, and 2024 was no exception. Plenty of fantasy assets emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become quality starting options, and others let us down, either due to injury, poor play and inefficiency or getting benched.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the pleasant surprises and surprise disappointments at wide receiver from 2024, leaving out players who missed significant chunks of time due to injury.
NOTE: Fantasy points/rankings are from Weeks 1-17
Pleasant Surprise: Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Finish: WR5
ADP: WR45
In a year dominated by great rookie receivers, Thomas was arguably the best of the bunch, which wasn't a likely scenario heading into the year — considering the other options and their ADPs. Thomas was the fourth wide receiver selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and the seventh-ranked fantasy rookie wide receiver by Sleeper ADP this offseason. He outscored them all, ultimately finishing the year as the PPR WR5.
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