Fantasy Football Rookies To Watch In 2024

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A plethora of top wide receivers and quarterbacks, plus sleeper running backs make for home run picks. Fantasy Football rookies soon to be stars in 2024.

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The new skill players entering the NFL will obviously have an impact on their respective teams, but which rookies will be fantasy relevant? It’s become more normal for them to also have a large impact on the fantasy football world, yet 2024 is over-saturated. No more should rookies be avoided, even at the most detailed of positions. Every rookie has the chance to blossom in year one and become an impact fantasy asset.

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Right at the top of the draft, we saw five new quarterbacks join teams where they could be the starter Week 1 (with Michael Penix the only passer likely to be a backup to start). Nine pass catchers warrant our attention, with three to five running backs garnering sleeper potential or better. Who the heck is truly worth drafting?

 

Fantasy Football Rookies To Watch

 

Todd Salem: Too Many Wide Receivers

Of the top six quarterbacks, I would feel good about rostering… just one as a fantasy starter. Even in superflex leagues, would you feel confident in Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, etc. as your QB2? To me, Caleb Williams is a legit year-one asset, but I’m not as sold on anyone else contributing.

CJ Stroud proved a great QB can make surrounding talent better than we think it will be. That would have to be taken to the next level for someone like Drake Maye to excel in year one. Everyone else has some legit talent around them, but I wouldn’t feel good about it.

The wide receiver room is much stronger, as we know. All of Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, Xavier Worthy, Xavier Legette, Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey, and Ja’Lynn Polk could realistically be their new team’s number-one option right from the jump. You can throw Brock Bowers in there for Las Vegas as well. That is nine new targets in drafts, a ridiculously high total. We know all of them won’t become number-one options. In fact, all nine won’t even last in the NFL. But I could see myself giving all or any of them a real chance to be in a fantasy starting lineup. There is too much evidence in recent years that rookie receivers can succeed right away.

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And perhaps the best of them all, Rome Odunze, will have the chance to play as possibly his team’s third option to begin things. Does that play to his favor, meaning he’ll never see a double-team, or will he not get enough targets to become an elite performer?

I tend to fall in more of the latter camp. I hesitate to draft a team’s third option, especially if it isn’t from an absolutely elite offense. Chicago might become that if Williams shines, but it is a strong leap of faith to assume as much.

When it comes to running backs, perhaps nobody will enter as a starter or even timeshare back in year one. We are used to this position, more than any of the others, being a heavy target for rookies to become immediate successes. There is simply no one on that radar in 2024 though.

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Jonathan Brooks was the first RB drafted, coming off the board in round two to Carolina. Brooks might be the Panthers’ starter. He could also find himself in the muck of a four-man timeshare. After Brooks, it is anyone’s guess. Trey Benson could get some starts if James Conner gets hurt; Blake Corum is being talked up, but he is a definitive backup; as is Marshawn Lloyd. After that, we’re late into round four and beyond, where guys might not even make a 53-man roster.

The league at-large is focusing more on receivers and the passing game, so I suppose it only makes sense that fantasy follows course. We had a whole lot of movement this offseason in the RB market. We will examine non-rookie RB faces in new places next time. But do you see this rookie class as an indictment on the value of the position or simply a blip in the talent level?

It makes logical sense that top talents would stop migrating to running back if it was no longer valued at the highest level of the sport, but it feels much too soon for a landscape shift like that to have taken effect.

 

 

Dan Salem: Running Backs Worth a Gamble

Anyone worth their snuff who is in a position to guide and advise a young football player with NFL level talent is going to steer that player toward a position with more money and longevity. That is not the running back position and hasn’t been for over five years, maybe even ten. Each position has a physical archetype, so unless you absolutely love running the ball, why wouldn’t you focus on being a linebacker instead? The top talents have begun to migrate away from playing running back, but I also would not underestimate this year’s rookie runners.

I don’t think it matters much where a running back is drafted. Some players like Breece Hall stand out. They are obviously a little faster or tougher and seem to be a cut above. But teams are selecting running backs that fit their offense, so in principle if you are young and fit the mold, you will succeed. Very few teams employ only one running back because the physical toll is too high, so find me a back who is going to catch passes and I’m all in on that rookie. Caveat being, the team’s offense must be pretty good.

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Every wide receiver drafted in round one is worth a look in fantasy, but priority is given to those on teams with proven quarterbacks. That’s why Nabers on the Giants scares me a bit, as does Legette in Carolina. On the flip side, I love Brooks, Carolina’s new running back, because that team is going to run a lot. Their quarterback is still raw and the running back job feels up for grabs.

Digging deeper into round three, I would reach for the Jets’ new wide receiver Malachi Corley because they should have a dynamic passing attack. I can also see running back Blake Corum thriving in Los Angeles right away because the Rams are establishing a track record of getting a huge impact from their rookies. I won’t touch anyone drafted later than the third round unless they have been announced as winning a starting job before preseason games begin. Despite the fact that where you are drafted doesn’t much matter, the risk of failure is much higher and those same players will be easy waiver adds during the month of September.

 

Meet our Writers:

Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.

Fantasy Football rookies Photo Credits: bearstalk.com and cbssports.com via Getty Images

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