The preseason is in full swing, and with each passing game, the 2024 NFL season draws near. With that, fantasy drafts across many platforms will kick off.
Because of the breadth of platforms, the average draft position (ADP) data differs across the board. So, if you have a league at Yahoo and ESPN, the round in which a player is taken could be vastly different.
Here, I’ll focus on values at NFL.com — two receivers and one running back. Let’s dive in.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Draft Values on NFL.com
Calvin Ridley (WR – TEN)
At NFL.com, Calvin Ridley is ranked as the No. 83 player overall, which is the latest among all the major outlets. He’s in the WR30+ range and is the No. 1 option in an offense that may have a young quarterback but with plenty of upside.
Ridley was paid over $90 million to be the top weapon for second-year quarterback Will Levis. The team does have Tyler Boyd and DeAndre Hopkins, but Ridley’s downfield ability will be rewarded with fantasy points.
He saw 136 targets in 2023 with the Jacksonville Jaguars — 24.2% of those came on passes 20+ yards downfield. He had 13 catches for 388 yards and four touchdowns on these targets.
While Levis didn’t blow anyone away as a rookie, he showed he wasn’t afraid to throw downfield and has the arm to do it.
He attempted 57 passes 20+ yards downfield, which were 22.4% (22 completions) of his overall attempts. Those 22 completions produced 709 passing yards and four touchdowns. The passing yards were nearly half his overall yardage numbers as he finished with just over 1,800.
There could be some games where Ridley is a bit quieter production-wise, but given his skillset and Levis’ willingness to throw downfield, we could see some massive outings from the high-paid receiver.
Najee Harris (RB – PIT)
Going No. 90 overall at NFL.com, Najee Harris is a massive value here. For perspective, he’s going inside the top 60 at RTSports.
In 2023, Harris had 255 carries for 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 29 catches for 170 yards.
This was on a rather dysfunctional Steelers offense with numerous starting quarterbacks and a less-than-stellar offensive line.
In 2024, Harris will still have Jaylen Warren to compete with, but the offense has completely changed. The Steelers brought in quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, drafted three new offensive linemen and brought in Arthur Smith at offensive coordinator.
Smith held the same role with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2020 before becoming the Falcons’ head coach in 2021. He remained there until 2023.
Here’s how his offenses performed in rushing yards per game:
- 2019: 143.5 (third)
- 2020: 161.2 (second)
- 2021: 85.4 (31st)
- 2022: 159.9 (second)
- 2023: 127 (eighth)
Expect this Steelers offense to be more run-focused with upgrades to the offensive line and quarterback, which will help boost Harris’ value.
Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN)
Going No. 142 overall, this is far too late for a player in Courtland Sutton’s position.
Is he a prototype No. 1 receiver? No, but he will be the top target in this offense. In 2023, he had 59 catches for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns and was the WR33. This came with a complicated quarterback situation with the fallout of Russell Wilson on the team and Jarrett Stidham coming in.
Now, the Broncos drafted Bo Nix to take over this offense. In his final season in college with Oregon, he completed over 78% of his passes. On passes 0-9 yards downfield, Nix completed nearly 83% of such passes. This is good news for Sutton, as nearly 44% of his targets were in that same range.
After Sutton, the Broncos’ other two starting wide receivers are Marvin Mims and Josh Reynolds.
Look for Sutton to get well over 100 targets and be the primary option for Nix. He’s going as the WR48 in consensus ADP, which is mind-bogglingly low.
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