Fantasy football season is just around the corner, which means it's time to put together pre-draft rankings and evaluate some of the league's most intriguing situations. The Kansas City Chiefs invested heavily in their wide receiver group in the offseason, signing Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in free agency and drafting Texas speedster Xavier Worthy in the first round of the NFL Draft. With second-year receiver Rushe Rice likely suspended for part of the year, there are a lot of unknowns in KC's wide receiver group.
Ranking the top 80 fantasy football wide receivers SI.comMichael Fabiano has three Chiefs players in his top 50 but none in the top 30, which is about as far as you'd expect for the Chiefs' undecided wide receiver rotation.
Fabiano has Brown at No. 37, Rice at No. 40 and Worthy at No. 49. KC's top three wide receivers are all very close together, with no clear-cut No. 1 choice and potentially shaky floors and ceilings for all three.
Fabiano wrote about Worthy specifically, noting that his average draft position (ADP) makes him one of the “biggest risks by ADP,” and while Worthy is currently being drafted as the WR36, Fabiano has him ranked as the WR48.
“Worthy is fast and exciting and could be a great fit in Kansas City, but he's no Tyreek Hill,” Fabiano wrote. “In fact, he may not be better than a fourth option in Patrick Mahomes' passing game behind Travis Kelce, Rushe Rice and Marquise Brown, which is why I ranked him lower.”
What's most interesting about Fabiano's rankings isn't where KC's WRs are ranked, but how crowded they are. With Rice likely to miss 4-8 games (with double-digit misses possible), last year's WR1 may end up spending the majority of the fantasy regular season on the bench. Brown joins a new offensive line and Worthy joining the league adds another layer of complexity.
Ultimately, even though this situation will surely change throughout training camp, I'm inclined to pass on Rice, wait for Worthy, and strike Brown while the iron is hot. The suspension gamble is risky for Rice, and I think Worthy could be a legitimate weapon in the Chiefs' offense in Year 1, but I'm not sure he'll be able to outperform Justin Watson early in the year given the Chiefs often prefer proven veterans in Andy Reid's complex offense.
That makes Rice and Worthy rated a little lower than the others in 2024, but someone needs to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes, and that's where Brown comes in.
It's pretty clear that without Rice, Brown will almost inevitably be KC's WR1 early in the season. Brown's NFL experience and track record should make his insertion into Reid's offense a little easier than Worthy's, and the Chiefs must be operating as if they know they'll need Brown to take on a big job right away. Even with Rice returning and Worthy getting acclimated to the offense, the rapport Brown has built with Mahomes should carry through the rest of the season and I expect Brown to be KC's No. 1 wide receiver in 2024.
