6 Must-Have Fantasy Football Draft Picks (2024)

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 players our experts are targeting below.

2024 Fantasy Football Draft Advice

Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC)

Over his first five years as an NFL starter, Patrick Mahomes averaged 24.0 fantasy points per game. Last year, in his sixth season as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Mahomes averaged 18.4 fantasy points per game, ranking 12th in the league in that category.

It’s easy to see why: Kansas City had one of the league’s worst collections of wide receivers. WR Rashee Rice had a strong rookie season, but he was a manufactured-touch, catch-and-run guy. Rice had under 500 air yards last year. The rest of the Chiefs’ receivers were, to use a clinical term, hot garbage juice.

The Chiefs signed speedy WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in free agency. They traded up a handful of spots in the first round to draft University of Texas WR Xavier Worthy, who broke the combine record with a 4.21 in the 40-yard dash. The added pass-catching talent should propel Mahomes back into elite fantasy status.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Breece Hall (RB – NYJ)

My No.1-ranked RB in fantasy football this season is Breece Hall. If I hold a mid-first-round pick, the Jets third-year RB will almost certainly be my selection.

Through 18 weeks of NFL action, Hall finished second among all RBs in yards from scrimmage, first in receptions (76), targets, receiving yards and seventh in points per game (14.9). Don’t forget that in his final game in Week 18 of the 2023 season, Hall totaled 39 touches for 190 yards and 1 TD to snap the Jets’ losing streak to the Patriots. Hall rushed for 178 rushing yards against the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. Mic drop.

And all of his 2023 accolades came despite ranking second-to-last in rushing success rate (39.5%) on fewer than 300 touches (299, seventh). The situation was horrible, and Hall still found a way.

Keep in mind that in addition to quarterback Aaron Rodgers missing essentially the entire season, the offensive line sustained the second-most injuries. With Rodgers back under center and healthy/upgraded OL after the additions of Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, John Simpson, and Olu Fashanu, the sky’s the limit for Hall’s ceiling in 2024. A reminder that he will turn 23 years old at the end of May.

The reason I prefer Hall over the other top-3 RBs – Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey – comes down to projecting health. As previously stated, the Jets are massively overdue for better injury luck in 2024. Meanwhile, the other top RBs may not be so fortunate.

The Falcons were the healthiest offense last season. Neither of their RBs missed time with injuries (Bijan’s headache game withstanding).

The 49ers were the fourth-healthiest team in 2023 – second overall on offense behind only Atlanta. For the first time in 10 seasons, they ranked above 20th in adjusted games lost – a metric to quantify losses felt by NFL injuries in a similar way to DVOA by FTN’s Aaron Schatz. McCaffrey is also coming off leading the NFL in touches. Only two RBs finished as RB1s the following year after leading the NFL in touches since 2013. Ezekiel Elliott is the only one over that period to finish inside the top 5.
– Andrew Erickson

Brian Robinson (RB – WAS)

Brian Robinson has been disrespected this offseason. The arrival of Austin Ekeler and a rushing quarterback has everyone burying him in the ranks and poking holes in his 2024 outlook. Well, I’m not riding that train to Obivioin. Robinson is underrated on multiple levels, especially after what he put on film and paper last year. His 2023 overall stat lines don’t portray how good he was last season. Robinson was the RB14 in fantasy points per opportunity and the RB22 in fantasy points per game. He also stood out in efficiency categories, ranking 22nd in explosive run rate and 13th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data).

In the 12 games in which he played at least 40% of the snaps, Robinson averaged 15.5 touches and 77.9 total yards per game. He quietly displayed a three-down skillset last season, proving that he can play on passing downs, ranking fifth in yards per route run and 12th in PFF’s pass-blocking grade (minimum 20 targets and 50 pass-blocking snaps). Robinson will be the clear favorite for early-down and red zone work, and he should eat into Ekeler’s routes in the passing game. He’s a rock-solid RB2 that could outpace that ranking.
– Derek Brown

Drake London (WR – ATL)

It’s time for London to fly. His upside this season is massive in what should be a revamped offensive approach with Kirk Cousins under center and Zac Robinson calling plays. Last year, London’s numbers were passable but not amazing, as quarterback play held him in check. The Falcons’ quarterbacks posted the fourth-lowest adjusted completion rate and the third-lowest catchable target rate.

London still posted 1.98 YPRR (32nd) while ranking 27th in FD/RR and top 25 in first read share (20th) and target share (25th). After reexamining his 2023 film, I do not doubt that the same player who posted monster numbers as a rookie is still here. London realizes his massive potential this year. Enjoy the breakout.
– Derek Brown

Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)

Tyreek Hill will be at the top of nearly every single 2024 fantasy football draft, whereas Jaylen Waddle will be drafted much later after his worst professional season to date. WR34 overall and WR24 in points per game. But the Miami speedster still managed over 1,000 receiving yards in just 14 games given his top-10 touch per snap rate. The issue was he scored just four times. But his 24% target share was still excellent. He also posted his highest yards per route run (6th) and PFF receiving grade of his career (fith). Simply put, no offense puts their players in a better situation on a per-play basis than Miami – at least when the weather permits. Expect this offense to cook with matchups against the Jaguars, Bills, Seahawks, and Titans to kick off the season. Three of those matchups are home games before they go on bye in Week 6. All in all, Miami’s schedule through 12 weeks per Sharp Football is the second easiest in the NFL.

Waddle is a sharp buy-low candidate in a high-powered Dolphins offense. Three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with two top-13 WR finishes on his resume.
– Andrew Erickson

Jake Ferguson (WR – DAL)

As noted in my earlier endorsement of Dak Prescott, I think the Cowboys are probably going to be pass-heavy this year. Ferguson had 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns last season, finishing TE8 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. From Week 8 through the end of the season, he was TE6.

The Cowboys didn’t make any significant additions at wide receiver or tight end in the offseason, so Ferguson’s role is secure. He’s a great fallback option if you don’t land one of the top tight ends.
– Pat Fitzmaurice