Everyone wants to know the answer to one question in the final days of August: “Who should I draft in fantasy football?” That one simple question could affect your enjoyment of NFL football every Thursday, Sunday, Monday (and sometimes Friday and Wednesday) for the entire fall and parts of winter.

I mean, the first NFL game kicks off one week from today between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, September 5th at 8:20 PM ET. So, you better start figuring out who you should draft in fantasy football before the biggest weekend of drafts hits!

Luckily for you, I’ve already done a TON of fantasy football drafts. And not just mock drafts or best ball, I’m talking REAL drafts, like the Fantasy Alarm Listener Invitational we drafted just this week (the board can be found here if you are interested). So, I already know who I should draft in fantasy football – and I think you should draft at least some of these guys, too.

 

 

 

Who Should You Draft In Fantasy Football In 2024?

What I’m going to do today, is look at some of my favorite players to draft this year and lay out what my perfect 2024 fantasy football draft would look like. To do that, I will use the Fantasy Alarm Composite Fantasy ADP tool that draws ADP from popular sources like ESPN, Sleeper Fantasy, Yahoo, NFFC, RT Sports, etc. 

From there we can go round by round answering the most important question “who should I draft in fantasy football?”. If you want my full rankings, promo code COOPER gets you 20% off our 2024 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet right now. This article should at least send you in the right direction though and give you a taste of what comes with the Draft Guide and/or Cheat Sheet!

*Hypothetical settings for this draft*:

  • 12 team
  • Full PPR
  • 4 Point Pass TD
  • 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLX, 5 BENCH, 1 K, 1 DST

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Round 1 Pick: Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

Honestly, you can’t really go wrong in the first round as there are plenty of studs out there. And you are splitting hairs between guys like Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. But Breece Hall not only has a great ceiling in this format (he was RB2 last year), but he has a solid floor as well.

Last year he led all RBs in screen passes with 30. That’s nearly two free receptions a game. The year before that, it was Aaron Jones catching screens from Aaron Rodgers that led the league. The year before that? It was Aaron Jones again – catching passes from Aaron Rodgers with Nathaniel Hackett calling the plays. 

So, Breece Hall catching passes from Aaron Rodgers with Nathaniel Hackett calling the plays in New York should be tremendous for PPR formats. Fantasy football doesn’t have to be hard.

Fantasy Football Round 2 Pick: Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

Again, there are a ton of great options here. There are riskier upside picks like Marvin Harrison Jr, Drake London or Chris Olave that haven’t done it yet in the NFL but could blow up. Or a very safe pick that also has upside is Davante Adams. 

At a certain point, you have to ask yourself if you believe a player is Hall of Fame caliber – that determines if they can continue to succeed into their 30s. I believe Davante Adams is. He’s averaged 10+ targets a game for six straight years including the last two where he had 175 and 180. 

I see no reason he won’t continue to get peppered with targets and I believe Gardner Minshew will be the QB upgrade he needs. Minshew funneled over 30% of his targets to WR1 Michael Pittman Jr last season. Even if Adams got two fewer targets per game than last year, that would still be 140 which is top 12 for WRs.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Round 3 Pick: Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers

I’m so confident in Jacobs that I did a full write-up on why I think he should be going closer in ADP to guys like Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley. The short and sweet is that plenty of backs have had inefficient years on bad offenses like Todd Gurley or even Saquon Barkley himself. 

I agree with the Packers (who gave Jacobs a $40+ million contract) that Jacobs is still a good player. And I believe the Packers are a good offense. AJ Dillon is done for the season and I’m a lot more scared of guys like Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson vulturing touchdowns from JT and Barkley than I am rookie Marshawn Lloyd taking them from Jacobs. Jacobs is an easy pick for me at his ADP in the third round.

Fantasy Football Round 4 Pick: DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

The “WR2 on his own team” continues to be the best discount in fantasy football. People think their upside is capped because of that. But the reality is that most of the good players come from the good teams. Folks act like you need to fade one of Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp if you like the other when you don’t – they both should be great. And the same goes for this highly consolidated offense. 

We did a study on Vegas prop bets vs. ADP and DeVonta Smith was one of the biggest values at ADP based on that. If you don’t like Smith, you can go to your sportsbook and bet the under on 77.5 receptions, 1,025.5 yards and 6.5 TDs. Because that’s where the numbers are set. A good way to arbitrate that is just drafting him where he goes in the fourth.

Fantasy Football Round 5 Pick: Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

We also like Alvin Kamara here, but he’s at pick 48 in ADP which is right on the line of 4-5. We want to give you a realistic strategy you might be able to actually execute. Mark Andrews goes at pick 49, but here’s the thing – we like a couple of tight ends in this round. Dalton Kincaid at pick 51, Kyle Pitts at pick 58 or Evan Engram at pick 62. 

It’s the perfect place to grab a rock-solid tight end and that’s coming from a guy who usually waits on tight end. If you do get Kamara (or another player you can’t pass on), you can always go with our late-round Yin & Yang Tight End strategy. That’s part of our NFL Fantasy Football Draft Guide and promo code COOPER gets you 20% off that as well!

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Round 6 Pick: Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

You don’t always have to have a balanced team. It just so happens that the ADPs line up nicely for you to have two RBs, two WRs, a TE and a QB through six rounds. This is another player that we did a full player profile on because we like them so much.

The basics are simple: Kyler Murray is a top 5 QB all time in fantasy points per game. His rushing gives him an incredible floor. And the addition of the #1 WR off the board in Marvin Harrison Jr and #2 RB off the board in Trey Benson to go along with Trey McBride, James Conner, Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch could create an upside that we have not yet seen.

Fantasy Football Round 7 Pick: Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As you are probably realizing, this article is the culmination of months and months of research. So of course, we have a full write-up on why Chris Godwin could bounce back this year as well. 

Last year he quietly led the team in receptions despite dealing with neck and knee issues. And now he’s not only healthy, but he’s moving back into the slot according to the coaching staff. New OC Liam Coen worked with Cooper Kupp in Los Angeles, so he knows a little something about taking advantage of the slot.

Fantasy Football Round 8 Pick: Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers

Christian Watosn, when healthy, led the team in a ton of the key underlying metrics like target share and air yards. I mean, he led the team in the overlying ones too like snaps, yards and touchdowns. The key words are “when healthy” and he’s spent all offseason working with the University of Wisconsin on getting his hamstrings right. 

Since we already have our starting lineup filled, I can’t think of a better first bench pick than the high-risk, high-reward Watson, who could be the top option for Jordan Love. In our write-up on him, we laid out why he could be this year’s Nico Collins. If you prefer a “safer” pick in this range, maybe consider target hog Diontae Johnson.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Round 9 Pick: Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers

Jonathon Brooks goes pick 96 so RIGHT on the line between round 8 or 9. But Nick Chubb goes pick 103 and the idea is pretty much the same so we felt comfortable including Brooks. Both players will miss four weeks minimum on the PUP list, but that’s what your bench is for after all – upside plays. And that goes double if you have an IR spot.

The Panthers made Brooks the top RB off the board for a reason and they also spent $150 million on guards to beef up that line. If Brooks or Chubb come back and play anything like themselves, it’s a massive discount here. Breece Hall came off a 2022 ACL tear to finish as the RB2 overall in 2023.

Fantasy Football Round 10 Pick: Brian Thomas JR, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Let’s keep the upside trend going. We have a nice safe starting lineup so let’s keep rocking high-risk, high-reward. Keon Coleman goes just at the end of round 9 so you might be able to swing him here or, if both are gone, a rookie RB like Blake Corum is another option (they just announced Kyren Williams will be returning punts, so Corum could see an ADP bump). 

But Brian Thomas Jr fits the bill as a first-round pick who will be asked to immediately replace Calvin Ridley as the starting split end in this offense. The upside is certainly there.

Fantasy Football Round 11 Pick: Jaylen Wright, RB, Miami Dolphins

This is how we “stay ahead of the fantasy waiver wire”. The Dolphins have an explosive offense. And they LIKE using two backs as part of that. And those two backs happen to be smaller, injury prone guys in the 31-year-old Raheem Mostert and De'Vone Achane (who missed a big chunk of last year). This team knows they want to use multiple backs, so they used a third round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on the speedster Wright. 

Since he’s a handcuff for BOTH players, I would bet my bottom dollar that Wright ends up a top waiver add at some point this season. So, I’ll just draft him with a bench spot and save that FAAB money. Technically Wright goes at pick 139, which is round 12, but there’s another round 12 guy we like, so we’re reaching here.

Fantasy Football Round 12 Pick: Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints

Here’s the bet: Klint Kubiak is coming over from San Francisco, just like Mike McDaniel did going to Miami. The scheme uses a fullback. Like with the 49ers and Dolphins, the heavy fullback usage consolidates the snaps among the top two wide receivers in the offense (like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk or Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle). 

It also uses a TON of motion to get guys in space. Our bet is that Rashid Shaheed will be the second WR opposite Chris Olave and he is custom-built for that “cheat motion” they use. More on all of that here, but we love the upside of Shaheed. 

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Round 13 Pick: Antonio Gibson, New England Patriots

There are a couple of directions you can go with this. Since we went high-risk, high-reward with Jonathan Brooks/Nick Chubb and Jaylen Wright, a guy like Antonio Gibson actually gives you someone you can start at RB in a pinch. 

They paid him decent money and, after cutting Kevin Harris, they only have three backs on the depth chart. Someone like Ty Chandler will probably also play plenty behind the injury-prone Aaron Jones (and they have two backs on the roster). If you need a WR here, guys like Ja'Lynn Polk or Josh Downs offer more of that risky upside we look for.

Fantasy Football Round 14 Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers DST

If you can grab an elite defense, then great – I like the Jets since Aaron Rodgers slows the game down and they have an elite secondary. But the most predictable thing for DST is sacks, and T.J. Watt is a force. So, in the middle range, I find myself grabbing the Steelers. 

And just look at their schedule. ATL, DEN, LAC, IND, DAL, LV, NYJ, NYG, BYE. That’s not too bad at all. Down the stretch it gets gross, so maybe swap them out at the bye if they aren’t elite. If you miss on D completely, just start the Bengals against the Patriots Week 1 and stream.

Fantasy Football Round 15 Pick: Jake Bates, Detroit Lions

People trust me for my tight end takes. Well, I trust Linda Godfrey (AKA @Lindellions on Twitter) for her kicker takes. So, when she says that Jake Bates is a solid pick that the average fantasy gamer isn’t taking within the top 12 kickers, I listen. 

Because I’m not drafting the first kicker in my league – I’m waiting until my last pick or adding one off waivers. So, I have a lot of Jake Bates, who happens to be the starting kicker for the high-caliber Lions. Her full rankings can be found here if you need them.

Full Fantasy Football Rankings Available Now!

Like I said, this is just a snippet of what we do. A “best case scenario” but – spoiler alert – your draft will not be best case scenario. I’ve yet to pull off the perfect draft after doing a ton of them. So, you’re likely going to want to have some rankings to work with. 

If you grab the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, you get the Cheat Sheet and all the write-ups and articles that go with it. If you just want the rankings, grab the Cheat Sheet. Both are available right now for 20% off with promo code COOPER. Now let’s win some leagues!