Drafting rookies in fantasy football can be an exciting proposition in redraft and dynasty leagues. They represent hope, and many are promising newcomers with offensive upside that will translate into production, either immediately or in another season or two.
You also don't want to go overboard with rookies. You first need to identify the ones with the most running, receiving, and passing talent. Then, you want to examine when they can have a key role and produce fantasy-viable numbers.
The 2024 NFL Draft class offers a ton of intriguing options across rounds and positions who can help rosters at some point in the season. Let's take a look at the rookie rankings for half-point PPR leagues.
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: 2024 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings 2024
Draft 'em
1. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Cardinals
Harrison is an elite all-around alpha who defaults as Arizona's new high-volume No. 1 for Kyler Murray. The team has 217 vacated targets from last season. Harrison should push for 150 as a rookie with an 80-1,200-8 line easily in reach. He's already projecting as a WR1 in the top 12 with a top-16 overall average draft position (ADP).
2. Malik Nabers, WR, Giants
Nabers will clean up their mess at wide receiver, which was capped out with Darius Slayton at 50-770-4 on 79 targets last season. He should be their go-guy all over the field for Daniel Jones, but Jones and other offensive concerns keep Nabers on the WR2/3 edge around 25th at his position.
2024 POSITION TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY
QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
3. Jayden Daniels, QB, Commanders
Daniels falls into immediate "cheat code" status with his natural, explosive running ability and big-play passing. He's playing for Kliff Kingsbury, who helped Kyler Murray tie for QB11 in average scoring as a rookie in 2019. There also are weapons abound here in Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Zach Ertz, Austin Ekeler, and two fellow rookies, Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott. He's being drafted as a QB2, but he's becoming a good back-end QB1 value in the top 12.
4. Caleb Williams, QB, Bears
Justin Fields, with his running, was QB13 in average scoring last season. That was a different scheme with DJ Moore and Cole Kmet as key targets. Now, Williams gets those two plus Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift, Gerald Everett, and fellow rookie first-rounder Rome Odunze in Shane Waldron's offense. Williams won't run wild like Fields, but he will do plenty on the ground to support superior passing production. Willams deserves to go right after Daniels as a borderline QB1.
5. Xavier Worthy, WR, Chiefs
Worthy was the fastest receiver ever at the NFL Combine, and the Chiefs got aggressive to get him. This was after they added veteran speedster Marquise Brown in free agency. They also are waiting on any on-field fallout from Rashee Rice's offseason traffic accident. The rookie's worth depends on how quickly he can get regular snaps and targets with Patrick Mahomes, which depends on whether Brown and Rice stay available with Travis Kelce. Draft Worthy as a WR4 with WR2 upside around the eighth round.
2024 PPR RANKINGS
Top 250 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF/ST | K
6. Rome Odunze, WR, Bears
Odunze landed in a crowd. There are only 106 vacated targets in Chicago, with Darnell Mooney (61) accounting for more than half. Allen, Everett, and Swift were added as veterans to cut into that number, and Moore led the team with 136 last season. Draft Odunze as a WR4 at first, but given Allen's age (32) and shaky durability, Odunze has high WR2 upside for 2025 and beyond.
7. Jonathon Brooks, RB, Panthers
The Panthers saw Chuba Hubbard finish as an RB3 in fantasy after Miles Sanders became a major free-agent bust. They made this pick to clean up that mess in the new offense, but keep in mind Dave Canales' rushing attack in Tampa was the league's worst in 2023. Brooks is also coming off a late torn ACL, slowing down when he can be on the field to produce again. With better health, he's a ninth-round RB3 target with RB2 upside.
8. Ladd McConkey, WR, Chargers
The Chargers lost a league-high 395 targets, with Allen, Everett, Austin Ekeler, and Mike Williams combining for 294. McConkey figures to land in the Allen-like slot role all over the field. However, it's important to keep in mind the new offense will cause a drop in passing rate, which was 61 percent last season. Draft McConkey as a WR4 with WR2 upside, maybe sooner rather than later.
2024 FANTASY AUCTION VALUES (PPR & STANDARD)
Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF/ST | K
9. Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jaguars
The Jaguars, after not re-signing Calvin Ridley, settled for Gabe Davis to help pick up 187 available targets from last season. Evan Engram is unlikely to lead the team with 143 again, but Christian Kirk also should see a big spike from the slot if healthy for the whole season. Ridley went 76-1,016-8 on 136 targets last season. Draft Thomas as a WR5 with some near-future WR3 pop.
10. Brock Bowers, TE, Raiders
This was a strange first-rounder considering the team used a second-rounder on promising tight end Michael Mayer last season. Las Vegas is also looking at more 11 personnel with new OC Luke Getsy. They can use the ultra-athletic Bowers as more of a slot option to support Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers with little wide receiver depth, giving him a shot to produce well. Bowers still might need to prove himself blocking to stay on the field for a run-oriented offense. Draft Bowers as a borderline top-12 TE.
11. Keon Coleman, WR, Bills
The Bills have a crazy 317 vacated targets thanks to moving on from Stefon Diggs (160) and Davis (81). Coleman has a good chance to get to 100 targets, with tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver Khalil Shakir also getting significant bumps in looks from Josh Allen. Coleman should be drafted as a WR5 right away with WR3 upside should he establish himself outside as the second wideout target of choice for Allen ahead of Curtis Samuel.
2024 FANTASY SLEEPERS
QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | Deep Sleepers | Sleepers by Team
12. Blake Corum, RB, Rams
Corum (5-8, 205 pounds) profiles much like 2023 breakout feature back Kyren Williams (5-9, 195 pounds) as an undersized option with plenty of power to go with open-field juice. Williams is coming off a breakout season as an elite RB1 in fantasy. He averaged a workhorse-like 22 touches per game, but he also missed five contests. Draft Corum as a high-end RB4 handcuff.
13. Ray Davis, RB, Bills
Davis was the right power and receiving complement to add for James Cook. Winning his batles easily in camp and showing off his versatility and pop, he should be drafted as an RB4 handcuff with limited long-term upside behind Cook.
14. Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals
James Conner has consecutive RB2 finishes in fantasy, but he's had considerable volume in his career and will turn 29 in May. Conner also has had his share of durability issues and is a free agent in 2025. Draft Benson as a premium power-back handcuff as an RB4 now, and enjoy when he turns into an RB2 himself next year.
15. MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Packers
Lloyd landed in a weird spot despite his feature talent because the team signed workhorse Josh Jacobs to replace Aaron Jones and also retained AJ Dillon. Lloyd is a promising change-of-pace, however, and has more versatility to go with his strong running to displace Dillon as the preferred handcuff. He can be had as an early RB5 in a double-digit round.
16. Jaylen Wright, RB, Dolphins
The Dolphins had their share of injury concerns with Raheem Mostert, De'Von Achane, and Jeff Wilson Jr. last season. Achane and Mostert figure to be the 1-2 punch for Mike McDaniel again with with Wright rising. Mostert got an extension through 2025, too, despite being 32. Attrition could bring down this backfield again, but it's hard to draft Wright as a short-term handcuff, making him more of a lottery-ticket stash at RB5.
2024 STANDARD, NON-PPR RANKINGS
Top 250 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K
17. Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers
This was a good developmental pick behind Rachaad White because the team didn't add a power back like Benson. Irving is trending to emerge as the best option to become White's top versatile backup over Chase Edmonds and Sean Tucker. Draft him as an RB5 for handcuff purposes.
18. Braelon Allen, RB, Jets
The Jets got an explosive young power back to complement Breece Hall. He's worked hard right away to earn top backup duties in the preseason. Target Allen as the most talented handcuff of choice, but unless Hall has more injury issues, Allen's overall value is limited. He's RB6 until there's better indication of his depth chart climb behind Hall.
19. Adonai Mitchell, WR, Colts
The Colts should have been thrilled Mitchell fell to them in the real second round, but it's unclear where the rookie will fall into Shane Steichen's passing offense at first. Michael Pittman Jr. will remain the No. 1, while Alec Pierce, slot Josh Downs, and a tight end committee will also vie for targets. If Mitchell can displace Pierce early as an outside field-stretcher, then he'll be well worth a late WR5 pick (top 60 at the position).
Watch 'em
20. Xavier Legette, WR, Panthers
The Panthers have 117 vacated targets, most coming from DJ Chark and Hayden Hurst, and they traded for former Steeler Diontae Johnson. Jonathan Mingo also was second to Adam Thielen last season and remains in the mix with Terrace Marshall Jr. Legette can emerge as the big-play No. 3 for Canales, but that makes him only a late dynasty-leaning pick in a rebooting passing game with Bryce Young.
21. Ja'Lynn Polk, WR, Patriots
Polk is trying to carve out a key role in a meh mix, an outside job for them opposite Kendrick Bourne, but also consider Hunter Henry at tight end. Polk is a dynasty-preferred stash to see how this all sorts out in the new offense.
22. Ben Sinnott, TE, Commanders
The Commanders do have 274 vacated targets as they remix their passing game with Daniels and Kingsbury, but they also added Austin Ekeler, fellow rookie Luke McCaffrey. Olamide Zaccheaus and fellow tight end Zach Ertz into the offense with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. Ertz, however, is 33 and slowing down, to the point he could open a Trey McBride-like door for Sinnott. He's a borderline TE2/TE3, but a good flier and strong dynasty consideration late in deep tight end-premium leagues.
24. Bo Nix, QB, Broncos
Nix is headed to start over Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson as a natural accurate pocket passer to fit well in the system of Joe Lombardi and Sean Payton. He has decent weapons, but the offense as a whole feels a little too questionable to draft him instead of tracking his progress as a QB3 left on the waiver wire.
25. Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Panthers
Rookie tight ends tend not to produce much with Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid being anomalies last season. Sanders will be a bit of a developmental receiving project behind Tommy Tremble. Think of him as a TE3 solely for dynasty.
26. Audric Estime, RB, Broncos
Estime has a shot here because Javonte Williams didn't blow away Sean Payton last year. Samaje Perine is a valuable veteran, but he's best suited for passing game situations. Jaleel McLaughlin is an undersized change of pace to boot. Still, it's a committee situation in a bad offense, so just monitor his role developing for now.
27. Jermaine Burton, WR, Bengals
Burton will help the Bengals make up for 259 vacated targets. They did reboot most of their tight end room and replace Joe Mixon, but Burton is a direct replacement in the slot for Tyler Boyd, who accounted for 98 of those. That was second to Ja'Marr Chase because Tee Higgins missed five games. There's an outside shot at flashing WR3 production as a rookie, but he has more dynasty appeal should the team move on from Higgins next year.
28. Roman Wilson, WR, Steelers
The Steelers have 140 vacated targets, and almost all of them come from Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson behind George Pickens at wideout last season. Wilson definitely has a shot to emerge as versatile No. 2, but this should be a run-heavy offense that uses a good chunk of 12 personnel under Arthur Smith, too. He's a good end-of-draft pick in redraft with much bigger upside in dynasty.
29. Malachi Corley, WR, Jets
Corley is reminiscent of Randall Cobb, and that could bode well for him as a key slot target for Aaron Rogers. But the team has only 54 vacated targets and also added former Charger Mike Williams. Xavier Gipson and Allen Lazard are still around as threats on the inside, too. Corley is someone to watch to better complement Garrett Wilson in 2025.
30. Javon Baker, WR, Patriots
Baker will be trying to win the main slot duties in that crowd with Polk, but he has a couple of key obstacle in traditional, diminutive dasher Demario Douglas. Baker's status short-term is shaky, so he's more of a long-term dynasty stash based on talent.
31. Kimani Vidal, RB, Chargers
Vidal is part of an overhaul Chargers backfield with former Ravens Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins, with their recent history of major knee injury, topping the depth chart with no Ekeler and Joshua Kelley. Vidal is a borderline RB6 to watch after a tough camp.
32. Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Giants
Tracy is a promising runner out of Purdue to watch behind Devin Singletary and Eric Gray as the team tries to replace the production of Saquon Barkley (288 touches, 1,242 scrimmage yards, 10 TDs) by committee. He's an RB6 option in deeper leagues who can be on the rise soon when back healthy.
33. Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos
Even with the Jerry Jeudy trade to the Browns, the Broncos have only 43 vacated targets. They also are getting Tim Patrick back in the mix, added Josh Reynolds, and are set to give Marvin Mims Jr. a bigger role. The fact Franklin gets to keep working with Oregon QB Bo Nix helps in the future, but for now, he's not draftable beyond a late dynasty stash.
34. Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers
Pearsall has been difficult to take late in redraft leagues unless San Francisco moves on from Brandon Aiyuk Add Deebo Samuel. Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey and there's an absolute mob in the passing game. The 49ers have just 28 vacated targets, so Pearsall is best left for dynasty leagues for when Aiyuk and/or Samuel are ex-49ers.
35. Drake Maye, QB, Patriots
Maye is still fighting to start over Jacoby Brissett. If he does, he would be leading a limited passing game trying to sort out a lot of skill positions in a new run-oriented Alex Van Pelt offense. His arm and athleticism bear watching, however, if he can play well to elevate to No. 1 soon.
