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| Friday, April 5, 2024 |
| The 2024 NFL Draft is near, and as all 32 NFL teams prepare their draft boards, it's time for Fantasy managers to get a handle on where to slot existing NFL players. Thankfully Jamey Eisenberg began his sleepers, breakouts, busts series this week to help us all come to a consensus about where popular and not-so-popular names should be valued. |
| Jamey's sleeper article provides insight as to why Will Levis' arrow is pointing up. In his breakouts piece, he gives several reasons to go all in on Anthony Richardson, while his busts write-up features a few aging players you may want to avoid in your next draft. |
| Heath Cummings unveiled his 2024 NFL draft rookie rankings for one-QB leagues. We all know about the Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrisons of the world but there are a few lesser-known names on the list you'll certainly want to make note of heading into your next Fantasy or Dynasty draft. |
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| Fantasy Football Sleepers |
| At the quarterback position, Jamey lists Kirk Cousins as his top sleeper, noting that he has top-10 upside if he's able to pick up where he left off prior to tearing his Achilles last season. Last year, Cousins was on pace for a career-best 4,953 yards and 38 touchdowns before his season-ending injury in Week 8. |
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| Jamey is also high on Chase Brown at the running back position. Brown showcased his versatility as a rookie, rushing for 179 yards on 44 carries, while adding 14 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. It also seems he got more productive as his usage went up. In the three games he had 10 total touches, he averaged 11.3 PPR points. With the departure of Joe Mixon , he could be in line for more work in 2024. |
| One receiver who will likely see more work next season is Christian Watson. As long as his hamstrings stay healthy, he has the potential to post very good numbers, despite Green Bay's depth at wide receiver. While Watson will be sharing targets with Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks, Jamey singles him out as the Packer wide receiver with the most upside. Prior to his most recent hamstring injury, Watson had 12 catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns. |
| Meanwhile, a change at offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers has elevated Pat Freiermuth's stock. Arthur Smith has made the move from Atlanta to become the Steelers' play caller next season, which should bolster Freiermuth's production. In 2023, Smith's offense targeted tight ends 34.3 percent of the time, which included 90 targets for Kyle Pitts and 70 for Jonnu Smith. With the combination of Diontae Johnson getting traded to the Carolina Panthers, and Arthur Smith's tight end-centric offense, bank on Freiermuth's numbers going up next season. |
| Fantasy Football Breakouts |
| After throwing for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions in his rookie season, many would think C.J. Stroud is bound to have a sophomore slump of sorts. That was until the Texans traded for Stefon Diggs on Thursday, giving Stroud a premier target who's capable of uncovering quickly off the line of scrimmage, which has definitely elevated Stroud's profile. |
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| The running back Jamey believes is primed for a breakout season is De'Von Achane, and I absolutely agree with him here. Achane had a three-game stretch of scoring at least 21.5 PPR points. He also had two other games of 23.7 PPR points. While he does have some durability concerns, he's working to add some weight this offseason to help him absorb tackles a little better. He'll also be targeted a good bit more in the passing game, as the Dolphins plan on moving him around the formation to generate mismatches. |
| With Aaron Rodgers back in the fold for the New York Jets, Garrett Wilson will be looking to have a major breakout season. While there are concerns that Mike Williams could potentially take some shine away from him once he's fully recovered from his ACL injury, I'd argue that his presence will only help free Wilson up as he'll see less bracket coverage. Regardless of how soon Williams sees the field, Wilson will see the football plenty in 2024. |
| With Stefon Diggs leaving Buffalo for Houston, tight end Dalton Kincaid will also get his fair share of targets next season. As it stands, the Bills' most notable pass catchers outside of Kincaid are Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Mack Hollins . Last season, Kincaid had 10 games with at least six targets and scored at least 12.7 PPR points in six of them. Given the dearth of receivers in Buffalo, I fully expect him to be even more productive this upcoming season. |
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| Fantasy Football Busts |
| The general theme surrounding Jamey's busts article is age and injury. However, the quarterback he highlights as a potential Fantasy bust for 2024 fits in neither category. Justin Herbert, who has been a Fantasy stud in years past, is trending toward bust status due to coaching changes, potential philosophical changes to the offense, and an empty cupboard at wide receiver. |
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| With Keenan Allen in Chicago and Mike Williams now a member of the New York Jets, the Chargers will now look toward the draft to take a premier pass catcher. Unfortunately, Jamey doesn't think that a top wide receiver in the NFL Draft will be enough to get Herbert back into top-12 discussions. |
| Age and injury certainly apply to Nick Chubb as the 28-year-old running back is still on the mend after sustaining a severe knee injury in Week 2 of last season at Pittsburgh. Even still, Jamey has Chubb listed as a low-end No. 2 running back who should be available in Round 7. |
| At 31, wide receiver Davante Adams is still an excellent Fantasy wide receiver. His route running and ability to vary his speeds to get separation will aid him in his ability to create separation, year in and year out. With that said, he posted his lowest Fantasy total since 2017 as he averaged 15.6 PPR points per game. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the quarterback play in Las Vegas left a lot to be desired. If the Raiders can find a more capable signal caller next season, look for Adams to be more productive in 2024. |
| Tight end David Njoku will be 28 in July but that shouldn't be the primary concern for Fantasy managers. The Cleveland Browns just picked up Jerry Jeudy to go along with Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore, which means he'll be vying for targets among a very talented group of receivers. Consequently, Jamey does not recommend targeting Njoku any earlier than Round 8. |
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| Pre 2024 NFL Draft Rookie Rankings |
| Heath Cummings took the time to rank the top 36 prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft for one-QB leagues. At the moment, he has Marvin Harrison Jr. ranked No. 1, followed by Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. We all know that those three players have the potential to be Fantasy studs, but one wide receiver who isn't getting nearly enough publicity is Jermaine Burton. |
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| Burton is No. 19 on Heath's list, and rightfully so. I think he has the potential to be an early contributor because of his ability to consistently beat press coverage, as well as his ability to read leverage and settle into open areas in the zone. While he ran well at the NFL combine, posting a time of 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash, he plays even faster. I look forward to seeing what he has to offer on Sundays. |
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