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

Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND): It was a weird year for Jonathan Taylor all around. From contract disputes to injuries, we rarely got to see Taylor fully ramped up and healthy in 2023. Entering his age-25 season, Taylor remains firmly in the prime of his career. In Weeks 7-18, he handled 21 touches per game, churning out 99.4 total yards per game. While many of his efficiency metrics were depressed last season, Taylor still ranked 13th in yards after contact per attempt, which tells me all I need to know. He’s still one of the best backs in the league and should remain a locked-in RB1 after finishing last season as the RB12 in fantasy points per game. A rushing attack fueled by Taylor and Anthony Richardson should be a nightmare for defensive coordinators this season.

Jahmyr Gibbs (RB – DET): Every nerd who said the Lions were foolish for selecting Gibbs in the first round has a tiny bit of egg on their face. Gibbs finished the season as the RB8 in fantasy points per game and fantasy points per opportunity. He was a tackle-breaking blur last season, ranking 18th in yards after contact per attempt and 11th in missed tackles forced per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). After David Montgomery returned from injury, Gibbs averaged 14.1 touches and 73.1 total yards per game. Montgomery isn’t going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean Gibbs can’t be a top-shelf RB1 again in 2024.

Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – ARI): Harrison Jr.’s prospect profile speaks for itself. Over the last two years of college, he ranked fifth and seventh in YPRR and third and sixth in PFF receiving grade. He has the size and overall skillset to command alpha-level volume from the jump, and he’ll have that opportunity in Arizona. Yes, he will have to contend with Trey McBride for the weekly team lead in targets, but after McBride, things get sparse quickly. Arizona still has Greg Dortch and Michael Wilson and added Zay Jones this offseason, but none of those players have proven they can consistently push for a 20% target share in the NFL. Harrison’s draft stock is spicy, but he deserves it. Last year, Arizona tossed the rock 555 times; if Harrison can command a 25% target share (which is possible), he would be tied for 13th in raw target volume among wide receivers last year. Harrison could rank top 12 in targets among wideouts in his rookie season.

Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

Check out the consensus 2024 fantasy football draft rankings from our experts.