When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football draft lottery tickets to consider below.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Draft Lottery Tickets
Benson will have to contend with a still-spry James Conner for touches all season. Yes, Conner hasn’t played more than 13 games in a season over the last two years, so Benson could get some run as the team’s starter in 2024. It’s impossible to project that with the uncertainty of injuries, but it has to be mentioned. Even in a 1B role to Conner, Benson could make some noise with big plays. Over the last two collegiate seasons, Benson has ranked 10th and third in breakaway percentage and 42nd and first in elusive rating (per PFF). With an offense that ranked fourth in neutral script rushing rate last year, there should be enough rushing volume weekly for Benson to have flex viability. He’s a priority handcuff this season with some standalone value.
– Derek Brown
I have my worries about Corum, but the Rams investing third-round draft capital in him was interesting. Corum’s yards after contact per attempt, breakaway percentage, and elusive ratings fell in each of his final three collegiate seasons (per PFF). That’s not exactly the trend line that you want to have entering the NFL, but the Rams’ third-round investment in the Michigan product is a decent vote of confidence that Corum can possibly get back to his 2021 form (24th in yards after contact per attempt per PFF). I doubt Corum is taking passing down snaps away from Kyren Williams, but he could help spell him on early downs and salt away the clock late in games. Corum is a high-end handcuff only right now.
– Derek Brown
Chase Brown remains a high-end handcuff bet for 2024 that could offer some stand-alone value if he can eat into Zach Moss‘s workload. Brown was impressive on a per-touch basis last season, although the sample size is pretty limited (44 carries). Among 77 backs with at least 40 carries, Brown ranked 12th in yards after contact per attempt and 16th in missed tackles forced per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Brown is a player to get exposure with during draft season because the upside is there for him to outkick his ADP.
– Derek Brown
Zach Charbonnet played a complementary role in Seattle for most of his rookie season. Overall, he finished as the RB48 in fantasy points per game with 141 touches and 671 total yards. In the three games that he played at least 61% of the snaps, he averaged 19.7 touches and 75.3 total yards, with two top-18 running back finishes (RB18, RB13). Charbonnet did prove that he could carry the mail last year and surprised many with his top-20 rankings in explosive run rate (20th) and yards after contact per attempt (11th, per Fantasy Points Data). Charbonnet could eat into Kenneth Walker‘s work more in 2024, but he’s likely best viewed as a high-end handcuff with some stand-alone flex value.
– Derek Brown
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably already aware that MarShawn Lloyd was one of my man crushes throughout the NFL Draft cycle. While his landing spot has turned many off, I’m not fazed. Will Josh Jacobs be heavily involved weekly? Sure, but that doesn’t mean that Lloyd is a zero or change-of-pace option only. Lloyd crushed every part of the predraft process after jumping off the stat sheet during his final two collegiate seasons. In each of those two years, he finished in the top 20 in yards after contact per attempt, breakaway percentage, and PFF elusive rating. Lloyd will quickly be a major factor in this backfield, with his main competition for touches (Josh Jacobs) hoping for a bounceback year. Last year, Jacobs struggled mightily to break tackles and create big plays as he ranked (among 49 qualifying backs last season per Fantasy Points Data) 41st in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt, and 44th in yards after contact per attempt. Lloyd is an RB3/4 who can easily out-kick his ADP this season.
– Derek Brown
Dowdle will fight Ezekiel Elliott for work in Dallas this season. Dowdle has long been a fav player of mine. Last year, among 53 qualifying backs, he ranked 16th in yards after contact per attempt while also having the 23rd lowest stuff rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Could Dowdle be the next Alexander Mattison? It’s possible, but I’m willing to make the bet that he surprises people in 2024. He’s an RB3/4 who could easily post RB2 numbers if he runs away from Elliott with the job.
– Derek Brown
Vidal might have tumbled down the NFL draft board, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that he lacks the talent profile to take over the Bolts’ backfield. His competition (Gus Edwards & J.K. Dobbins) isn’t exactly overwhelming. Last year, Vidal ranked 21st in PFF’s elusive rating while proving that he can handle volume with at least 23 carries in 57% of his games. With Greg Roman at the controls, there will be plenty of rushing volume to chew on, so even if he doesn’t claim the workhorse role. From 2019-2022 with Baltimore, Roman coordinated an offense that ranked first in neutral rushing rate. Vidal could be a flex play in Week 1 with the upside to grow into more (RB2) as the season moves along.
– Derek Brown
Wright got decent draft capital (fourth-round) in the NFL Draft, but he landed in a nightmare situation. Raheem Mostert is coming off arguably the best season of his career, and De’Von Achane is one of the league’s most explosive rushers. Wright looks to be on the outside looking in for rushing volume right now, but it only takes one injury to change that. Mostert and Achane haven’t exactly been pictures of health in the NFL. Wright is the perfect late-round high-upside draft pick to covet this year. The talented rookie, who ranked fifth in yards after contact per attempt and 13th in elusive rating (per PFF), is only one domino’s fall away from consistent RB2/3 production this year.
– Derek Brown
Fully expect me to be above consensus regarding Jaleel McLaughlin this season. Last year, he was electric with every touch he earned. Among all running backs with at least 50 rushing attempts or 20 targets, McLaughlin ranked 14th in explosive run rate, fifth in missed tackles forced per attempt, fourth in yards after contact per attempt, and fourth in yards per route run. Denver made it a point to get him involved in the passing game when he was on the field, as he also ranked first in targets per route run. McLaughlin could easily earn more opportunities this season, as Samaje Perine wasn’t amazing last season, and Javonte Williams looked like a shadow of his former self. At this juncture, I’m not worried about Audric Estime and Blake Watson stealing any of McLaughlin’s work this season. If McLaughlin earns Sean Payton’s trust, he could be an RB3/4 that vaults into steady RB2 production.
– Derek Brown
Davis should already be considered the favorite for the RB2 job with the Bills. James Cook will still lead this backfield and likely gobble up most (possibly all) of the passing game work. Davis has a three-down skillset, but his pass-game chops are not on the same level as Cook’s. Expect him to ease the early down load for Cook with the upside to cut into his red zone volume some, but be mindful that the inside the five-yard line pie is smaller in Buffalo compared to some other teams, with Josh Allen always getting a decent share of the work. In his final collegiate season, Davis ranked 27th in yards after contact per attempt and 34th in breakaway rate (per PFF). Davis is a solid handcuff option that could offer flex value in a pinch.
– Derek Brown
Tracy’s NFL career could be much better than his collegiate one when it’s all said and done. Last year’s tackle-breaking metrics should raise your eyebrows, especially for a player still acclimating to the position. Tracy ranked fourth in yards after contact per attempt and fifth in elusive rating (per PFF). Purdue offered him the most vanilla offensive role possible in the passing game with his receiver background. I expect the Giants to rectify that when he does garner snaps. Tracy only has to unseat Eric Gray to earn the RB2 role for the Giants. Gray didn’t do anything to wow the team last year with his 2.8 yards per carry and 1.53 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Devin Singletary looks like the team’s workhorse, but if he goes down, Tracy could take over three-down duties. He’s one of the best handcuff options in drafts.
– Derek Brown
Fantasy Football Draft Rankings
Check out the consensus 2024 fantasy football draft rankings from our experts.
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