Every year, fantasy football managers get a fresh infusion of rookie talent to consider drafting. We hear a lot about these rookies, but usually in a dynasty context, as opposed to considering their redraft value. When it comes to those redraft leagues, it is then crucial to cut through the noise and work out which rookies are worth drafting.
Let’s take a look at which rookies you should consider drafting in fantasy football leagues for 2024.
Which Rookie WRs Could Make a Fantasy Football Impact in 2024?
Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
The expectations for Marvin Harrison Jr. as a rookie are sky-high. On average, he is being drafted 17th overall as the WR9, above the likes of Davante Adams, Drake London, and Chris Olave. When you look at the Arizona Cardinals’ depth chart, it is easy to see why.
There is very little competition for Harrison in terms of targets, with Hollywood Brown gone and Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch listed as the other starters. The biggest threat in terms of taking targets away is most likely TE Trey McBride or either of the running backs.
In 2023, the Cardinals threw an average of 32.6 passes per game, with Kyler Murray topping the list at 33.5 per game. Brown saw 7.21 targets per game, with McBride at 6.24 and Michael Wilson at 4.46. Both McBride and Brown saw over 100 targets, and it could very easily be Harrison who takes those 101 targets Brown has vacated.
The biggest question with Brown is whether he can take that leap from the 100-target mark of Brown to the 125+ range. Last season, no WR in the top 10 for PPR scoring had fewer than 135 targets. Nico Collins was ranked 11th with 105, but that was with a 73.4% catch rate and 16.2 yards per reception. Brandon Aiyuk was 13th with 105 targets and posted similar efficiency numbers.
Harrison either needs to be as efficient as those two, or he needs to earn an extra 30+ to have a realistic chance of finishing as a top-10 WR. To get to 125 targets, he would need to average 7.35 targets per game, which is around a 23% target share for the Cardinals. Harrison may see a 25% target share or higher, but there is not a lot of upside baked into his current price.
Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs
Perhaps the biggest gamble among the rookie WRs is Xavier Worthy. While his arrival in Kansas City gives him a fantastic pairing with Patrick Mahomes, there are also a lot of mouths to feed. Travis Kelce may be getting old, but he should still be a lock for 100 targets.
Behind Kelce, the pass-catching options include Rashee Rice (102 targets in 2023), Isiah Pacheco (49), Brown, Justin Watson (53), Skyy Moore (38), Kadarius Toney (38), and Noah Gray (41). Not all of those will see significant playing time, and Worthy could easily be the WR3 in this roster, soaking up a number of those targets that were split between Watson, Moore, and Toney.
The uncertainty of Rice’s suspension does not help because we expect him to have a similar role in the offense, but in how many games? If he misses half the season, Worthy could easily pick up a significant amount of those 50 targets that would be vacated, especially if Brown is also injured to start the year. At the same time, we have not even discussed the potential touches for Mecole Hardman.
Worthy’s upside is tremendous, but he carries a lot of risk in a crowded offense. When Rice and Brown are both available, Worthy could easily be the fourth or fifth pass-catching option in this offense. That is not worth a selection inside the top 100 as the WR38. Worthy presents a true risk-reward option, but there is likely to be more consistency to be found elsewhere.
Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
Ladd McConkey could provide the consistency that Worthy cannot. The Los Angeles Chargers offense is nowhere near as crowded as the Chiefs. McConkey is currently penciled in as a starter alongside Joshua Palmer and DJ Chark. Many of you probably forgot Chark was even still in the league, and Palmer has problems staying healthy.
Quentin Johnston is the other major option on this depth chart, but he was unimpressive as a rookie and could be behind Chark, McConkey, and Palmer. Therefore, we could easily be looking at McConkey as the No. 1 option on the offense for a significant portion of the year. The question then becomes, what does that look like in a Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman offense?
The last time these two were together in the NFL was the 2014 season. That year, the San Francisco 49ers averaged 30 passes per game and supported two 100-target players. However, in the previous three seasons, the 49ers offense only had one player get to 100 targets, with Vernon Davis (95 in 2011) being the next closest.
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Now you can certainly make the case that Justin Herbert is the most talented pure passer of the Harbaugh-Roman quarterbacks, which could result in a more pass-heavy attack. However, it is unlikely that the Chargers will be throwing the ball 35+ times a game like they did last year.
McConkey has the opportunity to become Herbert’s top option, with Keenan Allen now in Chicago. McConkey has a legitimate path to a 20-25% target share, which would put him in the 100-target region. That seems like a good value for a player being selected around 40th off the board at the position.
Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
I believe that Rome Odunze is incredibly talented and a great option in dynasty leagues, but for 2024, he worries me. DJ Moore and Allen are both legitimate 100+ target options, Cole Kmet is a useful pass-catching option, and D’Andre Swift is certainly no slouch.
At best, Odunze is the third pass catcher on that team, and at worst, he could be fifth in targets if everyone is healthy. As a bench stash, he makes a lot of sense, but you are drafting him at the upper end of that as the 42nd WR. Ultimately, if you draft Odunze, you are hoping that an injury to Allen or Moore opens up a path to 6-8 targets per game.
I do not hate taking Odunze, but it feels like Worthy has more upside, McConkey has a safer floor, and Keon Coleman, being selected just behind him, may have a better path to weekly relevance.
Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
Keon Coleman is in an intriguing spot in Buffalo. The Bills allowed Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis to leave, adding Curtis Samuel as their most recognizable veteran pass catcher. Coleman is expected to start alongside Samuel and Khalil Shakir, with Dalton Kincaid at tight end and James Cook at running back.
In Diggs and Davis, 241 targets have walked out of the door. Samuel could realistically take 90-100 of those based on his career average. Shakir and Kincaid could both see a slight uptick, but there are potentially 100 targets available for Coleman. It looks like we could be seeing a 6-8 target per game potential going off the board as the WR45.
Coleman has an intriguing path to fantasy relevance in 2024. He appears to have an easier route than the likes of Odunze and Brian Thomas Jr., who are working against stacked depth charts. Similarly, Coleman has a less crowded situation than Worthy. The Buffalo rookie could very well be the best value of the rookie WRs in 2024.
Which Rookie RBs are Fantasy Targets in 2024?
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers
In terms of talent and potential opportunities, Jonathon Brooks is the best rookie running back option right now. The problem is that he is still recovering from an ACL injury, which could see him miss as much as the first four weeks of the season. It seems there is a real chance Brooks lands on the reserve/PUP list, which would mandate a four-game absence to start the season.
However, we have seen the flashes of his talent in college. He averaged over 100 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards per game before his knee injury last season. He is also only a one-year starter at Texas, so there aren’t too many miles on his body. However, the major knee injury significantly dampens that enthusiasm.
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Once healthy, Brooks will likely challenge Chuba Hubbard for a starting role on the Panthers offense. Hubbard is one of the weakest starting running backs in the NFL, so Brooks has every chance to take that role and quite literally run with it.
Taking an RB 84th overall who may not play for four weeks feels steep, and it is at least a little ambitious. Still, there is legitimate top-24 upside for Brooks in the second half of the season. I am taking Nick Chubb and Zack Moss over him, but Brooks is right on that list of potential draft-and-stash options for the 2024 season.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Blake Corum is in a similar situation to Benson in several ways. He is being selected slightly higher than Benson, at 124th overall and as the RB40. He is also penciled in as the main backup option to Kyren Williams for the Los Angeles Rams. Boston Scott and Ronnie Rivers present a slightly more challenging contest than Benson faces in Arizona, but not by much.
Williams was incredibly impressive last year in this Rams’ offense, averaging 21.2 fantasy points per game in PPR scoring (ranking second at the position). He averaged 19 rush attempts and four targets per game in his 12 games. In his absence, both Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson had their moments, demonstrating that it was the system as much as Williams.
Corum has not shown pass-catching upside at college but is an effective runner, with over 500 carries, 2,700 yards, and 45 touchdowns in the past two years. If Williams goes down, Corum could well be an immediate fantasy starter in Los Angeles.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Brock Bowers Highlight the Top QB and TE Rookies in 2024
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
It makes a lot of sense why people are so excited about the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who threw for 40 touchdowns and ran for 10 more last year. Dual-threat QBs are all the rage, and Daniels is exactly that. There is a lot of risk in taking him as the QB12, but the ceiling he offers makes it understandable why people are taking those chances.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
There is little doubt that Caleb Williams has been put in a great position to succeed with the Bears. Any quarterback with Moore, Allen, Odunze, Kmet, and Swift around them as weapons is exciting, especially when that quarterback was selected first overall.
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Taking Williams or Daniels over the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, and Aaron Rodgers is aggressive because those others are all proven assets for fantasy. In a 1QB league, taking that risk makes more sense, as there are usually some startable options on the waiver wire.
In a Superflex league, Williams and Daniels are very risky if either struggles, as there won’t be many fallback options.
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Brock Bowers is perhaps the most confusing rookie to judge for 2024 because his role is so uncertain. In 2023, Michael Mayer and Austin Hooper split 71 targets between them, and Mayer is back for 2024. There are 54 vacated targets from Josh Jacobs, but most of them could end up headed to other backs. Therefore, unless Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams lose targets, it is hard to work out where Bowers is getting 50+ targets from.
The problem is that the tight end position is such a mess outside of the top four or five that anyone with potential gets pushed up draft boards. However, a price of 94th overall is extremely high, even as the TE11. Bowers is not a player that I will have on many rosters this year.