Fantasy Upside
Generally, second-round receivers who weren't overly productive in college are highly drafted in fantasy football as rookies. However, most don't have the absolute lack of competition that Ladd McConkey has in 2024. Outside of Josh Palmer, it's hard to see anyone competing with him for targets as Quentin Johnston continues to struggle and the only other standout in camp is seventh-round rookie Brendan Rice. McConkey should immediately start and be involved in 2WR sets off the bat. While it will be a low-volume passing attack, McConkey will have the benefit of playing with Justin Herbert.
Fantasy Downside
Again though, Day 2 wide receivers generally don't walk into fantasy success as rookies. And while there is almost no competition for targets outside of Josh Palmer, it isn't likely to get 120+ targets. Will he be efficient enough or get enough targets in the red zone to offset the lack of targets? We can't be sure yet.
2024 Bottom Line
For McConkey, it all comes down to how quickly he's in 2WR sets and how much, if any, of the other receivers are earning a significant target share. He's currently coming off the board as WR43 on Underdog (72nd overall) and this feels like a great buying opportunity given the lack of talent around him. Even if he starts slow, we're looking for him to come on strong in the fantasy playoffs. He'll make more sense in PPR leagues, but in redraft leagues he's currently going 15-30 spots later, offsetting some of the concerns in half-point PPR leagues.
