Third-Year Players: Trey McBride, Jake Ferguson, Chig Okonkwo (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

Trey McBride (ARI)

Trey McBride had an impressive second-year breakout in 2023, finishing with 81 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns, good for a TE7 fantasy finish in PPR scoring. McBride’s 2023 season got off to a slow start. He had two or fewer catches in each of his first five games, and after seven weeks he was TE30 in PPR fantasy scoring. Then, Cardinals TE Zach Ertz went on IR with a quad injury, and McBride caught fire in an expanded role. From Week 8 on, McBride was TE3 in PPR scoring, averaging 6.6 catches and 65.5 receiving yards per game. McBride became the go-to receiver for an Arizona offense thin on talent at the WR position. The Cardinals took WR Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick of the NFL Draft, but the talented McBride figures to be the No. 2 target in the Arizona offense and a high-end fantasy tight end for years to come.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Jake Ferguson (DAL)

One of the best fantasy values at the TE position in 2023, Ferguson had an average draft position of TE25 in PPR leagues, according to FantasyPros ADP data, but finished TE9 in PPR scoring. A fourth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin in 2022, Ferguson emerged as a dependable target for QB Dak Prescott, finishing with 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns. There might not be much more room for statistical improvement out of Ferguson, but he should once again be a prominent part of the Dallas passing attack in 2024.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Chigoziem Okonkwo (TEN)

A trendy sleeper choice a year ago, Chigoziem Okonkwo turned in a mildly disappointing season in 2023, but he’s an intriguing post-hype sleeper candidate for 2024. After a promising rookie season in which he had 32 receptions for 450 yards and three touchdowns, Okonkwo boosted his reception and yardage totals in 2023, with 54 catches for 528 yards. But Okonkwo scored only one touchdown last season, and he went from 14.1 yards per catch and 2.61 yards per route run in 2022 to 9.6 yards per catch and 1.31 yards per route run in 2023. If young Titans QB Will Levis endures growing pains, Okonkwo’s breakout chances could suffer. On the other hand, the Titans don’t have a great deal of firepower at the WR position, which boosts Okonkwo’s target outlook. Consider Okonkwo a midrange TE2 for 2024 fantasy drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

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