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 some of Derek Brown’s favorite early-round fantasy football draft picks to target.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
2024 Fantasy Football Draft Advice
Nico Collins (WR – HOU): Yes, Houston’s target tree has another branch that didn’t exist last year (Stefon Diggs). Is that worrisome for Collins? Sure, but this is a bet on talent. Drawing volume is a reflection of the talent that Collins has in spades. I’m not willing to back off drafting him and Tank Dell with the arrival of a veteran wide receiver that widely sunk fantasy teams down the stretch last year. In 2023, Collins ranked 12th in targets per route run, second in YPRR, seventh in receiving yards per game, and fifth in FD/RR. Everything in his profile suggests he is an alpha-level talent in the prime of his career, tied to one of the best young quarterbacks in the game.
Jaylen Waddle (WR, MIA): Waddle had the worst season of his short career last year, finishing as the WR21 in fantasy. His high-leverage usage dried up as Tyreek Hill gobbled it all up. Waddle was outside the top 50 wide receivers in the NFL in deep targets (54th) and red zone looks (56th). Waddle was the WR27 in expected fantasy points per game. While all of those metrics don’t paint a pretty picture, Waddle is still one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, and this remains a consolidated passing attack that will run through Hill and Waddle. Waddle ranked fifth in yards per route run and sixth in first downs per route run last season (per Fantasy Points Data). Bet on supremely talented players to bounce back. Always.
Michael Pittman (WR – IND): Pittman has proven to be one of the safest picks in fantasy drafts over the last three years, with WR14, WR21, and WR22 finishes. Despite catching passes from Gardner Minshew for most of the year, Pittman finished with his usual efficiency ranking 23rd in YPRR and 24th in FD/RR while gobbling up the volume (ninth in targets, fourth in target share). The Colts will remain a middling neutral pass rate team this year while pushing the pace envelope. Pittman should finish with another solid WR2 season, but he could offer more upside if he can ever break out with even reasonable touchdown numbers. Pittman hasn’t had more than six receiving touchdowns over the last three years. He only spiked it four times last season despite ranking ninth in red zone targets. Pittman has a WR1 season in him, and I won’t bet against him unleashing it in 2024.
Fantasy Football Draft Rankings
Check out the consensus 2024 fantasy football draft rankings from our experts.
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