Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray spent half of last season recovering from a torn ACL. As a result, he was largely an afterthought in fantasy football leagues. With his value not fully returning to where it was pre-injury, should fantasy managers be eyeing up Murray in 2024 Best Ball drafts?
Kyler Murray’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
Last season, Murray had the lowest ADP of his career. Of course, we all know the reason why. He was always going to miss at least the first six weeks of the season recovering from his torn ACL.
Murray wound up missing nine games. In many fantasy leagues, he was available to grab off the waiver wire as late as a couple of weeks before his return. Fantasy managers seemed to have convinced themselves Murray wasn’t going to be the same guy.
The perception of Murray last season was completely understandable, as it often takes time for players recovering from knee injuries to regain confidence in their abilities. Murray wasn’t expected to be the same runner.
Heading into the 2024 season, it’s important to remember who Murray used to be. In his career, Murray has never averaged fewer than 18.2 fantasy points per game. Over his first four seasons, he finished as the QB11, QB3, QB4, and QB7, respectively.
In 2022, Murray averaged 18.9 fantasy points per game over 11 games, finishing as the overall QB7. Last season, in eight games, Murray averaged…18.9 points per game. I would argue that’s even more impressive, given he clearly wasn’t 100% yet.
Should You Draft Murray in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
While Murray can be expected to be healthier this season, there’s definitely reason for concern. The Cardinals currently boast one of the worst WR corps in the NFL (if not the worst). The team’s depth chart will surely see reinforcements at some point, but for now, it doesn’t look good.
Hollywood Brown signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, leaving Michael Wilson as the team’s WR1 and a currently unnamed rookie as the presumptive WR1. If that WR1 ends up being Marvin Harrison Jr., as many expect, that will be great news for Murray’s fantasy prospects.
#Cardinals QB Kyler Murray throws an absolute 💣 to Rondale Moore for his 1st passing TD of the season 🔥#BirdGang | #NFL pic.twitter.com/zszz7MK6OA
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 19, 2023
However, regardless of what the Cardinals do at wide receiver, Murray can sustain his own fantasy value. Over the course of his career, he’s averaged 37.7 rushing yards per game. That’s nearly a full touchdown’s worth of production in rushing yards alone.
Last season, Murray ran for 33 and 51 yards in each of his first two games back. If he was doing that while just returning from his knee injury, imagine how much more effective he will be another year removed.
It’s been just two years since Murray as a consensus top-five fantasy quarterback. Despite returning and looking better than anyone could’ve anticipated, he is currently going as the QB10.
The process behind drafting quarterbacks in fantasy football has changed over the past few years, as the top guys provide more of an edge and are more consistent year over year.
If you can get a guy like Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts, by all means, do so. But if you can’t, Murray is the No. 1 guy you should be targeting. Murray has a similar upside to those two but goes significantly later than he should.
I fully expect Murray’s price tag to increase as the offseason wears on. Right now, he is the single best value at the quarterback position.
KEEP READING: 2024 Best Ball Rankings
