The NFL Draft and Way Too Early Fantasy Value- Day 2

This time of year, many Fantasy Football analysts start losing their minds during the NFL Draft process. In the leadup to the NFL Draft, most mock drafts prepared by Fantasy Football experts had Oregon WR Troy Franklin as a first-round pick. Many had him as the fourth or fifth WR taken, and many projected him to go in the middle of rookie drafts in Dynasty Fantasy Football. Once the smoke cleared after day two of the NFL draft, Franklin was still sitting on draft list websites in their “Best Available” section. This fact doesn’t mean that he won’t be a valuable Fantasy Football asset someday, but once again, viewing the game through our Fantasy Football lens skewed our opinion about a player. Let’s see what other way too-early analysis can be made after day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

QB Position- None Taken in Rounds 2 and 3

After seeing six quarterbacks taken in round one, it was a surprise that nobody dipped their toys in the water to grab a guy like Spencer Rattler late in the third round. Joe Milton and Michael Pratt should go in the fifth or sixth round, and I will be surprised if Rattler makes it past the fourth round of this draft. This prediction is NOT an endorsement for any of these guys; it’s just a reality of how needy some teams are. 

RB Position- One Taken in the 2nd- Three Taken in the 3rd 

It was no surprise that Jonathan Brooks was the first RB selected in this draft with the 46th pick by the Carolina Panthers. Brooks was the only RB with first-round talent in this draft, but an injury made him too risky to pick on day one. Only Chuba Hubbard stands in his way for solid volume, so when he is healthy, he should get lots of work early and often this season. It might have been a mild surprise that he was the only RB selected in the 2nd round with so many RB-needy teams drafting after pick 46. 

Three RBs were selected in the 3rd round, but there were a few more mild surprises. All three of the chosen RBs were taken by teams with an incumbent starter who did well last season. The other surprise was that the Cowboys once again passed on the RB position in this round, and the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t draft Blake Corum, who was drafted by the Rams instead. Trey Benson could be the best of the trio selected and will learn from veteran James Conner. The Corum selection by the Rams sent Kyren Williams 1st, first-round drafters in early Best Ball leagues, to the ER with heart palpitations. Marshawn Lloyd should immediately share the backfield with Josh Jacobs in Green Bay. 

This RB class is deep but not top-heavy, and each of the remaining RBs has a negative to them, which is why they didn’t get picked on day two. The landing positions for Jaylen Wright, Braelon Allen, and Ray Davis will be exciting and could boost their rookie value. Likewise, Bucky Irving and Tyrone Tracey Jr are two other RBs that could find Fantasy Football-friendly landing positions on day 3 of the NFL Draft. 

WR Position- Four Taken in the 2nd- Five Taken in the 3rd 

The strength of this draft class at the Skill Positions was the WR position, and nine more were drafted on day two of the 2024 NFL Draft after we saw seven taken in the first round. My general rule of thumb in Fantasy Football is that the later a player is drafted, the more critical his landing position is for his success in year one. Two of the four WRs taken in the second round get an instant chance to grab a high volume of targets. 

The Buffalo Bill's top two wide receivers, Stephon Diggs and Gabe Davis, are no longer on the roster, which is why the second-round pick of Keon Coleman will be watched closely in fantasy football. The Bills salary cap situation might prevent them from trading for a veteran like Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk, or Deebo Samuel, so Coleman could be the guy to get to be Josh Allen’s new favorite target. His lack of separation on routes is a concern, but at 6/4, he could be tough on 50/60 balls, especially in the Red Zone. 

The other intriguing landing position for WRs selected in the second round was Ja’Lynn Polk, headed to New England. A new coach after 20+ years means it’s tough to figure out what that offense might look like, but I expect them to pass more with rookie QB Drake Maye. Kendrick Bourne is back for a severe threat, giving Polk a chance to be the top-target guy as a rookie. 

Ladd McConkey was an interesting pick by the WR-needy Los Angeles Chargers, but they will be a run-heavy offense, and Joshua Palmer is probably the best wide receiver on that roster. Adonai Mitchell is a fantastic addition to the Indianapolis Colts attack for real football. Still, his upside in Fantasy Football could be capped by splitting targets with Michael Pittman and Josh Downs. 

Five more WRs were selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the most intriguing landing spot was Roman Wilson, pick 84, to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wilson was good at finding the seams in the zone at Michigan and making some tough contested grabs in tight spaces. The departure of Dionte Johnson also opened up a target share for Wilson. 

The other four WRs selected have strong alpha WR types in front of them on the depth chart, but a few fall into exciting spots. Malachi Corley went to the Jets with pick 65 and will benefit from playing with Garret Wilson. While Wilson’s dominant target share will limit Corley’s upside, he is a tough runner after the catch and could get some run plays, too. 

The next most intriguing landing position was Jermaine Burton to the Bengals with pick 80. If Higgins gets traded, that could open a massive opportunity for Burton this season. Jalen McMillan going to Tampa Bay at pick 92 might be my favorite landing position for the day two WRs other than Roman Wilson. While I don’t think he will ever be a Top 15 guy in the NFL, McMillan could be that excellent WR2 or WR3 guy in your Fantasy Football lineups. The final wide receiver, who was picked at 100 by the Commanders, has football in his DNA, but Luke McCaffrey could struggle to find targets as a rookie. 

TE Position- One Taken in the 2nd- One Taken in the 3rd.

After Brock Bowers, the TE position is fragile for Fantasy Football-type TEs this year, but there are quite a few solid picks for a more traditional blocking TE player. Ben Sinnott was selected with pick 53 by the Commanders and could be the value rookie TE player in Dynasty drafts this season. While Brock Bowers was the head of the class with seven games with five or more receptions last season, Sinnott had six games with five or more receptions. The Commanders signed veteran Zach Ertz in the offseason, so Sinnott will learn from an excellent TE and should play his way into a role this year. 

The only other TE selected on day two of the 2024 NFL Draft is a bruising blocker, but only a red zone threat at the next level. It was also ironic that the young man who made headlines at the NFL Combine by saying that he didn’t think birds are real was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. Tip Riemann from the University of Illinois will help the Fantasy Football production of last year’s breakout sensation Trey McBride by doing all the dirty work. However, Riemann could get the occasional goal-line carry or red-zone target. 

Conclusion

After the first two days of the NFL Draft, we have seen 6 QBs, 3 RBs, 16 WRs, and 3 TEs drafted. Twenty-seven of those twenty-eight players deserve a rookie draft position in Dynasty drafts this season. There is still quite a bit of talent remaining at each position heading to day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Recent Day 3 success stories in the NFL include Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, and Brock Purdy at QB, to name three. Don’t forget that Puka Nacua went in the 5th round last year, and Amon Ra St. Brown went in the 4th round in the 2021 NFL Draft. George Kittle and Aaron Jones were both 5th-round picks in 2017. Don’t give up on the players who had to wait for their names to be called on the final day of the NFL Draft.