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The 2024 NFL season is rapidly approaching, which means fantasy football drafts are in full swing. And while most are focused on first-round stars and veteran sleepers, picking up a rookie who blows up in his first season can be a league-winning move. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the best fantasy football rookies of 2024.
1. WR Marvin Harrison, Arizona Cardinals
A rookie’s fantasy football potential in 2024 comes down to a few things. Their role, the offense they are in, and, in the case of non-quarterbacks, the QB they play with. The better those things are, the better chance the youngster has of becoming one of the best fantasy football rookies of his class.
This means we will kick things off with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
The No. 4 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft has a good QB who is finally fully healthy again in Kyler Murray and is the unquestioned WR1 in the Cards offense. He was also a star at Ohio State and his dad is a Hall of Famer, too. If Harrison Jr. was a 1,000-yard wideout off the bat, it wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.
2. WR Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
The first pick of the second round, Buffalo Bills WR Keon Coleman, comes in at No. 2 here because of the aforementioned combination of factors in making a rookie excel at fantasy football.
Buffalo has no WR1, so the former Michigan State Spartan and Florida State Seminole have a chance to be that guy. The Bills had the No. 6 offense in the NFL last season and his quarterback is Josh Allen. What’s not to love there?
Bonus points: Coleman is a hilarious personality, and fantasy managers will love having him on their team.
3. WR Malik Nabers, New York Giants
LSU standout Malik Nabers comes in at No. 3 here because while he has two of the three rookie fantasy football factors we like, the third is a big swing-and-miss.
Nabers is supremely talented, and after just a few preseason games, he looks like he has the skill to become an elite wideout in the pros. He’s also in Brian Daboll’s offense, which can make stars out of his best players as we’ve seen with stars like Stefon Diggs and Saquon Barkley.
The only problem is Daniel Jones. There is no indication that Nabers’ QB can get him the ball consistently enough for him to be a top 10 WR this season, which hurts his fantasy football value a bit.
4. QB Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
While Jayden Daniels was the No. 2 pick behind Calen Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft, he is the No. 1 rookie fantasy football QB heading into Week 1 of the season. That’s because Daniels has the fantasy QB cheat code: Running ability.
Daniels rushed for 1,134 yards last season for LSU, and if he can put up anything close to that with decent passing numbers in the NFL, he can easily be a top-five signal-caller in fantasy, even if the Commanders stink.
5. QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams may be the second coming of Patrick Mahomes, and that is awesome for the Chicago Bears. However, the dirty secret of fantasy football is that Mahomes isn’t an elite fantasy QB every season because he doesn’t run like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Jalen Hurts do.
Williams should have a good statistical season with all the weapons at his disposal, but even if he does, there is a chance he isn’t a massive fantasy football game-changer.
6. WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Speaking of the Bears’ weapons, Rome Odunze is one of them, although he struggles in the three factors of fantasy success, despite being wildly talented.
Odunze may be the team’s WR3 to start the season with D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen in the fold. Plus, despite his No. 1 overall pick status, there’s no guarantee Williams will be great as a rookie. And finally, does anyone have a ton of confidence in Matt Everflus and Shane Waldron’s offense?
7. WR Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes, check. Andy Reid, check. No star WR1 on the Chiefs, check. The fastest 40-yard dash time in NFL history, check.
With all this going for him, Xavier Worthy is a fascinating rookie fantasy football option. Sure, he’s 5-foot-11 and just 165 pounds, which is worrisome, but as a deep threat for Mahomes, he could be incredible.
8. TE Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
On the downside, Brock Bowers had Gardner Minshew as his quarterback and competition for tight end snaps with last year’s second0-round pick, Michael Mayer. On the plus side, Bowers could be a generational talent at his position, and with Davante Adams and Jacoby Meyers drawing a lot of the heat, Bowers could see a lot of balls.
The young TE will be a hit-or-miss play overall and we won’t know which it will be until after we see what the Raiders offense really looks like this year. Also, even if Bowers is good right out of the gates he could also be hit or miss from game to game with so many mouths to feed in Vegas.
9. RB Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
The good thing about former Kentucky Wildcat Ray Davis is that he should have a defined role on a good offense. He will be the short-yardage, change-of-pace, power, goal-line back for the Bills behind James Cook. Davis might not rack up a 1,000-yard season, but double-digit TDs aren’t out of the question.
Davis’ biggest problem this season will be that the Bills already have a pretty good “goal-line back” named Josh Allen.
10. RB Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
We all know that Jim Harbaugh wants to run the ball. He loves offensive linemen and he loves pounding the rock behind them. The Chargers backfield is crowded with former Baltimore Ravens Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins in the fold.
However, rookie sixth-round pick out of Troy, Kimani Vidal looked good in preseason, and with Edwards and Dobbins’ injury history, it wouldn’t be a shock if — due to potential or performance — Vidal won that job after a few weeks.
