The NFL season will be here faster than expected, and before that comes the all-important fantasy football drafting season! What better way to prepare for your fantasy football draft than completing FREE mocks with our fantasy football mock draft simulator?
This series will give you an overview of what you can expect to see no matter which first-round pick you draw. In what feels like a very strong first round in 2024, nailing your picks will be more important than ever.
Let’s dive into our approach for the fantasy football 1.02 pick for upcoming drafts. We look into the players likely to be available, those to target/avoid, and a mock draft from the pick to help you prepare for your fantasy football league.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 1.02
Players to Consider at 1.02 Fantasy Football Draft Pick
Here are players who are likely to be available when you make your selection:
Players to Target at 1.02 Fantasy Football Draft Pick
It’s fair to consider that Christian McCaffrey has run pure since joining the 49ers and barely missed any time at all, which is unusual for any running back. Perhaps as he enters his age 28 season, that luck will run out, but McCaffrey’s upside is also undeniable.
Across his six-year NFL career, McCaffrey has played in 75 games, finishing as a top-12 back in 50 of those 75 (66.6%). That number dwarfs many of the other top running back options, with Jonathan Taylor finishing top-12 after 51.6% of games, Saquon Barkley in 46.6% of games, and Austin Ekeler with 40.45%. McCaffrey has stayed incredibly healthy until now, when he is currently missing a couple of weeks of training camp due to a calf strain. All reports suggest that McCaffrey should be fine and this won’t linger, but you’ll have to weigh that and decide how much risk you want to embrace; do you want someone who has been one of the largest difference-makers at the position, or would you rather not draft a player that is currently injured?
The Cowboys were sluggish and discombobulated to start the 2023 season, but everything changed after their bye in Week 7. Lamb was the PPR WR24 during Weeks 1-7, scoring 14.9 points per game (PPG), but then dominated across the back half of the season by scoring 28.0 PPG, which was an average of 6.9 points more than the next-closest receiver. Lamb was a certified league-winner.
Since then, the Cowboys have done absolutely nothing to upgrade their pass-catchers, and the running back movement only got as far as bringing back Ezekiel Elliott, despite him posting career-lows in success rate and long runs in 2023. Meanwhile, Lamb could be even better in 2024 if he’s consistently used as he was for the second half of the 2023 season. He looks like the closest challenger for McCaffrey’s crown of “Most Valuable Skill Position Player.”
Lamb continues to hold out during training camp while waiting for a new contract, but despite the Cowboys’ many decisions, it feels inevitable that he will get paid sooner rather than later. Owner and GM Jerry Jones tends to be content with these situations because it keeps the Cowboys in the news cycle.
It’s fair to question if Tyreek Hill will be as dominant in 2024 as he was in 2023, when part of his success came at the expense of Jaylen Waddle, who struggled through injuries. Still, Hill’s ceiling is incredibly high, and the further into round one we get, the more he has to be in play. Hill had nine top-five weekly finishes in PPR leagues, and if he hadn’t ended the season with a spell of three games finishing as WR16 or lower, he could have been a league-winner.
If Mike McDaniel can find a way to get season-long consistency out of Tua Tagovailoa, then the Dolphins’ offense might finally be able to ascend to the next level. Another positive for Hill’s fantasy value is that the Dolphins’ defense lost several key pieces in free agency, and cornerback Xavien Howard was a cap-casualty; All of this should combine to make the Dolphins more pass-heavy this year.
Ja’Maar Chase continues to apply pressure to the Bengals to extend his contract now, rather than waiting, which seems to be the Bengals’ preferred move. Chase will likely cost them very close to, or if not more than, the $35 million a year Justin Jefferson got. Much like Lamb, Chase continues to not train while waiting for a contract, but ultimately it feels like Chase will still be on the field in Week 1.
Per Jacob Gibbs, when Tyler Boyd has been off the field over the past two seasons, Chase’s targets per route run rate rose from 24.1% to 27.6%. Chase also benefits from playing more often in the slot when Boyd isn’t on the field, similar to players like Jefferson and Lamb. This allows them to accumulate some easy catches in addition to the high-value ones they already see.
The Bengals face one of the easiest strengths of schedules thanks to finishing fourth in the AFC North last year, and if Burrow can stay healthy, Chase can be an elite fantasy option in 2024.
Players to Avoid at 1.02 Fantasy Football Draft Pick
Here are a few potential fantasy football draft landmines that you should avoid:
Despite only playing ten games in 2023, Justin Jefferson managed to put up 1,000 yards. Still, it felt like a disappointing season for the consensus 1.01 from 2023 drafts. With a carousel of quarterbacks filling in for Kirk Cousins, Jefferson continued to do his best to pay off the high draft cost fantasy managers had paid for him.
However, there is reason to believe Jefferson’s numbers might have been pushed higher than we can expect in 2024. After TJ Hockenson was injured, Jefferson saw more than a 25% increase in his points per game output, jumping from 19.6 to 24.5. This was also at a point in the season where the Vikings’ running game lacked consistency, as the team picked up the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the league. With the Vikings bringing in Aaron Jones, there’s reason to believe that area could improve this year.
It’s also noteworthy that Jefferson will likely play with journeyman Sam Darnold, following the season-ending injury and surgery of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Jefferson is a fine mid-round one pick this year, but there’s no need to take him over Lamb or McCaffrey.
Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL) & Breece Hall (RB – NYJ)
If McCaffrey is off the board, it could be tempting to consider one of the other elite running backs in round one, such as Bijan Robinson or Breece Hall. However, that could be a mistake. Hall and Robinson look to benefit massively from improved quarterback play in 2024, but that isn’t saying much. Still, the difference in their production compared to the elite receivers is worth considering.
Robinson averaged 13.8 points per game in 2023 and has Tyler Allgeier hanging around. Meanwhile, Hall averaged 16.3 points, and the Jets just drafted two other running backs. A legendary season could be in the cards for one or even both of these players, but the wide receivers in this range have given us bigger and better samples across their careers and deserve to be taken ahead of either back.
Fantasy Football Mock Draft From the 1.02 Pick
We used our FREE fantasy football mock draft simulator to show you an example of a draft from the 1.02 position. You can sync your league for free and mock draft against your fantasy football league settings to prepare more specifically for your draft.
Here’s how our fantasy football mock draft from the 1.02 position turned out:
Draft Advice for Every Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.01 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.03 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.04 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.05 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.06 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.07 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.08 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.09 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.10 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.11 Pick
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 1.12 Pick
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