Third-Year Players: Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Brock Purdy (Fantasy Football)

Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football third-year players below. Here are third-year players along with their fantasy football draft outlook from our team of experts. Below we dive into a few notable third-year players and their fantasy football draft outlook.

Fantasy Football Third-Year Players: Draft Advice

Brock Purdy (SF)

If there were any doubts about Brock Purdy‘s QB bona fides following his partial-season success in 2022, he dispelled them with an excellent performance in 2023. Purdy led all NFL quarterbacks in yards per attempt (9.6), passer rating (113.0) and QBR (72.8). He also led the league in touchdown rate (7.0%), although naysayers might suggest that such a high TD rate is destined for regression. Purdy has the benefit of an ideal ecosystem, with Kyle Shanahan as his playcaller and Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle as his pass catchers. After finishing QB7 in fantasy scoring in 2023, Purdy is destined to be a top-12 fantasy quarterback in 2024 drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Breece Hall (NYJ)

Despite recuperating from an extensive knee injury, it didn’t derail Hall in his second season. He finished the season as the RB6 in fantasy points per game with 299 touches and 1,585 total yards. Hall was 12th in opportunity share and second in weighted opportunities, and in Weeks 5-18, he averaged 20.2 touches and 102.5 total yards. A huge part of his value last season came from his pass game usage, as he led all running backs in targets, receiving yards, and receptions. While some of this was part of the fallout of Zach Wilson at the helm, Hall should remain a focal point for the passing attack in 2024. He was a baller as a receiver last season, ranking third in yards per route run and fourth in expected fantasy points per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Hall is a top-five fantasy running back in all formats.
– Derek Brown

Travis Etienne (JAC)

From a top-down view, Etienne’s 2023 season looks like a smashing success as he was the RB7 in fantasy points per game, logging 325 touches with 1,484 total yards and 12 total touchdowns. If you rostered him last year, you know that his weekly performances left something to be desired down the stretch, and it was a Jekyll and Hyde type of runout. In Weeks 1-8, he averaged 22.3 touches and 106.2 total yards as the RB4 in fantasy points per game. After Week 9, he saw a big dip in his production as he averaged 16.3 touches and 70.5 total yards for the rest of the season as the RB22 in fantasy points per game. Etienne deserves to be in the RB1 conversation for 2024, but we can’t ignore these splits and the Jaguars offensive line that finished 32nd in Fantasy Points rush grade and adjusted yards before contact per attempt. Etienne could easily improve upon last year’s stats in 2024, but the Jaguars have work upfront to do this offseason.
– Derek Brown