There are 32 NFL teams. There are 12 slots for fantasy football’s WR1s. Just based on sheer math, then, you’d expect the 12 WR1s to come from 12 different teams. And in 2023, that worked out — the best teammate pairing last season came from the San Francisco 49ers, with WR14 Brandon Aiyuk and WR15 Deebo Samuel.
But that is absolutely not the trend.
In the last 20 years, there have been 26 different occasions where a pair of WR teammates have both finished a season as top-12 PPR finishers. That’s 1.3 pairs per season, including at least one in 16 of 20 years. Check it out:
Year
Team
No. 1 WR
No. 2 WR
2004
GB
Javon Walker, WR3
Donald Driver, WR10
2004
IND
Marvin Harrison, WR5
Reggie Wayne, WR9
2004
TEN
Drew Bennett, WR8
Derrick Mason, WR11
2005
ARI
Larry Fitzgerald, WR2
Anquan Boldin, WR5
2006
IND
Marvin Harrison, WR1
Reggie Wayne, WR3
2006
CIN
Chad Johnson, WR6
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR9
2007
NE
Randy Moss, WR1
Wes Welker, WR9
2007
CIN
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR5
Chad Johnson, WR7
2008
ARI
Larry Fitzgerald, WR2
Anquan Boldin, WR7
2009
IND
Randy Moss, WR2
Wes Welker, WR3
2011
NYG
Victor Cruz, WR3
Hakeem Nicks, WR12
2012
DEN
Demaryius Thomas, WR6
Eri Decker, WR8
2012
ATL
Roddy White, WR9
Julio Jones, WR11
2013
CHI
Brandon Marshall, WR5
Alshon Jeffery, WR8
2014
DEN
Demaryius Thomas, WR2
Emmanuel Sanders, WR5
2014
GB
Jordy Nelson, WR3
Randall Cobb, WR8
2016
GB
Jordy Nelson, WR2
Davante Adams, WR9
2016
NO
Michael Thomas, WR7
Brandin Cooks, WR10
2017
DET
Marvin Jones, WR11
Golden Tate, WR12
2018
PIT
Antonio Brown, WR5
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR8
2018
MIN
Adam Thielen, WR7
Stefon Diggs, WR10
2020
MIN
Justin Jefferson, WR6
Adam Thielen, WR10
2020
SEA
DK Metcalf, WR7
Tyler Lockett, WR8
2021
LAC
Keenan Allen, WR11
Mike Williams, WR12
2022
MIA
Tyreek Hill, WR2
Jaylen Waddle, WR8
2022
PHI
A.J. Brown, WR6
DeVonta Smith, WR9
So today, let’s take a look at the candidates in 2024 to be teammate WR1s in fantasy football.
Teammates Who Could Be Fantasy WR1s in 2024
Miami Dolphins (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle)
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 18: Miami Dolphins wide receivers Tyreek Hill (10) and Jaylen Waddle (17) line up next to each other on the line of scrimmage during the Miami Dolphins versus Baltimore Ravens NFL game at M&T Bank Stadium on September 18, 2022 in Baltimore, MD (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire)
Hill and Waddle cracked the above list in 2022, when Hill put up a typical Hill season and Waddle had a breakout to the tune of 1,356 yards and 8 touchdowns. Waddle regressed in 2023, but he still had three hundred-yard games despite missing three games. Waddle was only WR34 last year, so he’s need a big rebound, but we’ve seen it out of him, and not very long ago.
Philadelphia Eagles (A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith)
Like Hill and Waddle, Brown and Smith did this two years ago. Unlike Hill and Waddle, they came reasonably close to repeating in 2023, with Brown improving to WR5 and Smith falling only to WR19. It was the target total for Smith that fell off, with him having 8 or more targets 12 times in 17 games in 2022 but seven times in 16 games in 2023. If Dallas Goedert — who has missed multiple games four years in a row — misses time in 2024, Brown and Smith could be a dynamic fantasy duo again.
San Francisco 49ers (Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk)
SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 11: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) in the first quarter of an NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 11, 2022, at Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara, CA. (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire)
Samuel and Aiyuk were our top teammate finishers in 2023, coming in WR14 and WR15. We know they have the capacity to climb to the WR1 ranks (assuming they, you know, remain teammates). The problem is that Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are still going to command work as always, and now Ricky Pearsall is in town as well. They can do it, but there might not be enough targets.
Cincinnati Bengals (Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins)
The longer that Higgins is on the Bengals, the more it seems he’ll be there in 2024 (likely for his last season as a Bengal, on the franchise tag). And if so, these two could easily reach new heights for their time together. Tyler Boyd’s gone. Joe Mixon is gone. Zack Moss and rookie third-rounder Jermaine Burton are in their place, but they are much less known quantities than their predecessors. There’s a clear path for these two.
Los Angeles Rams (Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp)
INGLEWOOD, CA – OCTOBER 08: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10), Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Ben Skowronek (18) huddle during the NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams on October 8, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
In the 26 games preceding his 2022 injury, Kupp averaged 24.7 PPR points per game. That was the best in all football (quarterbacks included), and nearly 3 full points ahead of the next-best flex player (Austin Ekeler, 21.7). Sure, he wasn’t as good upon his return in 2023, but another season of recovery could get him back to where he was. And of course Nacua was a superstar as a rookie.
Houston Texans (Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell)
No, all three of these guys aren’t going to finish as WR1s (at least, almost certainly aren’t). But you can’t that confidently say which two of the three you believe could do it. Collins is the more-or-less given here. So is it Diggs, who has six straight 1,000-yard seasons but appeared to fade hard last year as he crossed 30 years old? Or is it Dell, who is undersized and coming back from a bad injury but was electric before getting hurt?
New York Jets (Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams)
Assuming Aaron Rodgers is healthy (which, who knows), the Jets don’t have much in the way of exciting offensive depth. It’s basically Wilson, Williams, Breece Hall and maybe rookie Malachi Corley, if you believe in the hype coming out of New Jersey. That’s a recipe for the veteran QB to lean on his two veteran receivers, and if Williams can stay healthy (which, who knows even more), they could absolutely dominate in targets.
Chicago Bears (DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze)
If the Bears had bolstered the offensive line at 1.09 in the draft instead of drafting Odunze, the Moore/Allen combo could easily be projected for 320 combined targets in 2024. But with Odunze around, the three of them might vulture enough targets from one another to hold them in check. That said, if Allen (now 32 and oft-injured) can’t stay healthy or hits the aging wall, or if Odunze isn’t as pro-ready as we all believe, the remaining two could thrive.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin)
TAMPA, FL – DECEMBER 13: Chris Godwin (14) of the Bucs congratulates Mike Evans (13) on the tough catch during the regular season game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 13, 2020 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire)
Godwin has only managed 5 touchdowns across the last two seasons, so maybe his days of being a fantasy starter are behind him. But he has a WR2 season on his resume, and over 1,000 yards in four of his last five seasons. We know (as much as we can know anything) Evans is going to top 1,000 yards again and flirt with WR1 territory, so if Godwin can rebound, they can get there again.
Minnesota Vikings (Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison)
Jefferson is a relative given. Addison? He might be a long shot, but the list of known quantities in the Minnesota receiving game is basically these two and T.J. Hockenson, and Hockenson isn’t likely to be ready for Week 1. If the tight end misses a significant chunk of the season, Jefferson and Addison could each average 10 targets a game.
Green Bay Packers (Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs)
I am the person who maintains our offensive fantasy football depth charts. Generally speaking, figuring out the order for a group of receivers is easy — the top guys are easy to sort, and the bottom guys are so interchangeable that it doesn’t really matter what order they go in. The Packers … are the exception to that. If you can confidently sort Reed, Watson and Doubs 1-2-3 for 2024, be my guest. I cannot. But if we can winnow that three down to two and Jordan Love takes another step forward, there’s a path to some big fantasy numbers.
