Outlook: The 2024 rookie class saw seven receivers selected in the first round. The eighth receiver taken, as the first pick of the second round, was Florida State's Keon Coleman, who immediately steps into a situation where he might actually end up leading all rookies in pass-catching opportunities this season. The Coleman selection was significant for fantasy purposes because he becomes perhaps the top target in one of the league's most pass-heavy offenses, led by a quarterback who's averaged nearly 4,400 passing yards and over 34 passing touchdowns per season over his past four years.

What's interesting about Coleman is that he lacks the speed that most teams have typically been looking for in early-round draft picks, but he makes up for it with prototypical "X" receiver size at 6'3" and 213 lbs. He enters a team that lost 241 targets with the departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, and a roster that really does not have any other consistent, proven producers on it. He was also, reportedly, a favorite prospect of Josh Allen's, who was part of the draft process according to GM Brandon Beane.

Coleman wasn't a big-time producer in college, but he seems to have the physical talent, and more importantly, the opportunity, to be a fantasy factor as early as Week 1 in 2024. It's not often that we have the chance to draft the projected WR1 in a Josh Allen offense with a pick outside the top 100, but that's looking like the trend as of now. He's practically free at that price and it's hard to argue that many of the other receivers going in that range possess anywhere near the upside that Coleman presents.

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Outlook: Newcomer to Buffalo, Curtis Samuel is expected to compete with Khalil Shakir to be the team's primary slot receiver here in 2023 - a position in an offense that once saw Cole Beasley ascend up the fantasy rankings and even make a Pro Bowl. Samuel is a veteran who has spent his past three years in Washington, including back-to-back 600-plus-yard, four-touchdown seasons on a team that had serious QB problems. A seven-year pro, Samuel has never reached 900 yards or exceeded six receiving touchdowns in a season. Of course, he's also never played with a quarterback who's anywhere near the caliber of Josh Allen.

Samuel has a history of delivering spike weeks and then completely falling on his face thereafter, making him one of the most frustrating players to manage in all of fantasy football. He does add some dimension to his game as a runner on end-arounds and straight even out of the backfield, but the Commanders chose to give him just seven carries on the season in 2023 after 38 in 2022, indicating that perhaps they saw a dip in his explosiveness. Nevertheless, his rushing upside isn't really something we can bank on with a new team, especially when the team has an established runner in James Cook and perhaps the league's most effective red zone rusher behind center with Josh Allen.

Samuel is an extremely cheap, perhaps even free option in fantasy drafts this season, so he really brings no risk. We don't know what's going to happen with this wide receiver group, but we do expect that the Bills will be among the league leaders in pass attempts this season, so keep an eye on Samuel's usage early in the year and be ready to pounce on the waiver wire if he's seeing significant playing time.

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