Fantasy Football 2024: 5 Must-Have Players to Draft at ADP

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There’s a good chance Washington will end up regretting selecting Daniels over Drake Maye, but that doesn’t mean Daniels can’t be a force in fantasy right away. Last season, he averaged the second-highest fantasy points per game (40.2) since 2016 and the second-highest fantasy points per dropback since 2014. Daniels averaged over 60 rushing yards and scored 34 rushing touchdowns in his college career, and Kliff Kingsbury helped Kyler Murray finish as a top-10 QB as a rookie. Kingsbury’s scheme ranked first in situation-neutral pace and no-huddle rate during his four seasons in Arizona, also producing runs against light boxes at a league-high rate.

Daniels is a true elite runner who led all NCAA quarterbacks last year in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.72) while leading all Power Five QBs in rushing yards (1,250), YPC (10.4), scrambles (55) and PFF rushing grade (92.4 – the best Never). Running not only increases a fantasy quarterback’s upside, but also his downfield, and Daniels is likely to run as much as any QB in the league as a rookie.

Daniels is definitely an injury risk, but the quarterback is deeper than ever (and he’s not even drafted as QB1). Daniels’ ADP has been rising throughout the summer, but it’s still too low.

Nabers had a prolific college career, topping 3,000 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in three seasons at LSU. He led all WRs in yards per route rush during his senior season while also leading the team in career yards per attempt—two of the highest signal-caller metrics—and he’s not even 21 years old yet! He’s an elite tackle breaker who’s capable of playing in the slot or on the outside.

New York’s QB situation isn’t ideal, but Nabers has also found himself in a great position to have a monster rookie season. The Giants have arguably the tightest cap space in the league and lost Saquon Barkley and Darren Waller in the offseason. Brian Daboll said a top-five no-huddle rate in the league last season was one of the fastest despite a disastrous offense, and the entire NFC East division is hot and should produce a ton of plays.

The Giants upgraded their offensive line this offseason, and Daboll led Buffalo’s offense that averaged 165 targets for Stefon Diggs in 2020-21. Daboll seems to love Nabers, spending the sixth overall pick on the LSU star. Nabers probably has about a 45% chance of having a better fantasy season than Marvin Harrison Jr., but the latter’s ADP is oddly 55 picks higher.

Nabers should see 140+ targets as a rookie with potential for more, so his WR29 ADP seems like a long shot.

It’s usually best not to target 29-year-old running backs who have a history of sitting out games, but Conner’s ADP remains far too low due to injury concerns and Trey Benson. Conner scored the most fantasy RB points since Week 13 last season and finished third in yards above expectation behind Christian McCaffrey and De’Von Achane. Conner is an underrated three-down running back who quietly led all RBs in rushes of 20+ yards last season.

The Cardinals were a top-10 offense after Week 10 following Kyler Murray’s return last season, when Arizona’s rushing attack led the NFL in YPC (5.3) and EPA per attempt. Murray should improve in his second year back from surgery, and the Cardinals added gun Harrison Jr. early in the draft. Trey McBride looks to be a star at tight end, and Arizona threw the ball with the sixth-most seconds left on the clock last season (despite some shaky QB play before Murray returned).

Conner has missed multiple games in every season of his career, so it’s best to project that he will do so again in 2024. The selection of Benson can be seen as a positive for Conner, as he is unlikely to take away too many touches (third-round pick with low athleticism) but he is clearly the RB2 when/if Conner misses games. Benson is selected as the RB30 around the #115 pick, so use a ninth or tenth-round pick as insurance (Benson would likely be a top-15 RB in this system in the games Conner misses).

All running backs carry significant injury risk, but Conner has a real shot at being a top-five fantasy RB when healthy. He’s a steal in the fifth or sixth round.

Brooks compares on par or even favorably to Bijan Robinson in most rushing/receiving categories as Texas’ starting RB in 2023. He’s a three-point guard who was easily the best RB prospect in this year’s draft (and would have been drafted much higher had he not had ACL surgery). Dave Canales figures to run the ball a lot, and top-50 picks have historically performed well in fantasy.

Chuba Hubbard was the No. 9 fantasy RB over the final seven weeks of last year, and Canales should be a huge boost to an improved Carolina offense that also added Diontae Johnson in the offseason. Brooks may need patience after surgery, but his ADP reflects that too much. Hubbard and Miles Sanders won’t be a hindrance when Brooks is healthy. Brooks should be a workhorse in a Canales scheme during the second half of the season, when it matters most in fantasy.

There’s a huge drop-off in tier after about RB20, and Brooks has the most fantasy potential among them.

Kupp’s performance undeniably dropped off last season, as he clearly played through an injury. However, a compromised Kupp still managed to match Puka Nacua’s targets when they were on the field together, including sharing first-read targets. Kupp finished with the ninth-most red zone receptions despite playing just 12 games on one leg. Nacua emerged as a true alpha as a rookie and will continue to demand targets, but Kupp finally enters 2024 healthy.

Kupp just turned 31, but fantasy receivers don’t typically show much decline in their eighth year in the league. The Rams led the NFL in yards per play when their offense was healthy last season, and Sean McVay is a master at producing fantasy WR points. Kupp is just two seasons removed from a 191-145-1,947-16 campaign, but he’s available in the fourth round of Yahoo drafts, with 20 receivers drafted ahead of him.

The Rams have Demarcus Robinson as their WR3, Colby Parkinson as their TE1, and an RB1 who has suffered multiple injuries throughout his brief career, so the targets will be extremely condensed. Additionally, Nacua ran more routes last season than he did in his entire college career, so it’s hardly a guarantee that he’ll hold up, which presents a huge potential for Kupp.

I rank Kupp as a top 12 fantasy WR, but he’s available in the 4th round.



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