With the NFL Combine officially in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look at the 2024 Fantasy Football season and start preparing for draft day later this year.
This early edition won’t include any incoming rookies, as without any idea what situation they’ll land in makes predicting their first seasons next to impossible. However, we will be including all pending free agents, as it’s at least feasible to project an established player’s impact on a team regardless of landing spots.
Without further ado – let’s get into it. First stop, quarterbacks.
Note: All fantasy rankings from the 2023 season are coming from Yahoo’s ½ ppr rankings.
Tier 1:
1. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills – QB1 in 2023
Fantasy football’s top player for the 2023 season will likely defend his crown again in 2024. Despite dealing with an injured shoulder, as well as a midseason coordinator change, Allen finished with 44 total touchdowns (29 passing, 15 rushing) last year. It doesn’t look like surgery is in Allen’s near future, so with a full offseason to recover, owners can expect him to back next season at full strength.
2. Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles – QB2 in 2023
Hurts finished 2023 scoring 2 or more touchdowns in all but 2 games, largely thanks to the Eagles dominance via the tush push at the goal line. The Eagles passing game as a whole struggled as they made the transition from former offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and as a result, they’ll be entering 2024 with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Kellen Moore will bring a more veteran coaching presence to the Eagles, and while it will be his third team in three years, he’s known for creating explosive passing options everywhere he has gone. I think the tush push won’t be as dominant for the Eagles, especially if center Jason Kelce hangs up the cleats, but the passing game led by their two stud receivers should be able to take off.
Tier 2:
3. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens – QB4 in 2023
Another disappointing playoff exit won’t hamper Jackson’s fantasy outlook too much as he’ll enter 2024 with his second MVP trophy in tow. Jackson was efficient with the ball in his hands during throughout the year, throwing for 24 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Of course, his dual threat ability is always a huge factor in his fantasy outlook, as he tagged on another 821 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground. Next season will be his second with coordinator Todd Monken. And while that offense looks to be on the verge of a huge receiver overhaul, a little more comfortability and a few more touchdowns on the ground will bump Jackson up into the 3rd spot.
4. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – QB8 in 2023
While we continue to watch Mahomes start to cement his place in the conversation of the greatest quarterback of all time, there’s no doubt that from a fantasy perspective he took a big step back this past season. The Chiefs are in desperate need to find more playmakers for their quarterback with Travis Kelce clearly entering the twilight of his career and the rest of the receivers, save for Rashee Rice, continuing to disappoint game after game. The Chiefs are actually in a fairly good spot salary cap wise entering the 2024 offseason considering they just won their 2nd consecutive Lombardi trophy, but there will be tough decisions to be made regarding some key defensive free agents. Fantasy owners should be hoping that the Chiefs save some of that cap to sign Mahomes one of the star UFA receivers entering the market.
Tier 3:
5. C.J. Stroud – Houston Texans – QB10 in 2023
The announcement that offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik will be back for another season in Houston bumps Stroud up the rankings for his sophomore campaign. All too often rookie quarterbacks enter the league and have to deal with turnover at the coaching positions while they’re still trying to navigate the life of an NFL player. With another year of consistency in the offense, Stroud will look to improve on his 4,108 passing yard, 23 touchdown and 5 interception season. Stroud should be able to surpass the 30 touchdown threshold this coming season, a feat only 4 other quarterbacks were able to accomplish in 2023.
6. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys – QB3 in 2023
The 2023 leader in passing touchdowns (36) enters the offseason looking to reset the quarterback market as he has just one season left on his current deal. Despite his inability to lead his team on a long playoff run, his connection with CeeDee Lamb is undeniable. Prescott’s injury history is always concerning, but for what it’s worth, he’s started the team’s past 28 games without issue. The coaching staff will be back (for better or worse), as will most key parts of the team’s offense.
7. Justin Fields – Chicago Bears – QB18 in 2023
Fields’ outlook has so many variables for someone I am still convinced will be a top 10 fantasy quarterback. The Bears have the #1 pick in the draft and have some serious decisions on their hands. Do they trade Fields and select their new franchise quarterback? Do they trade down and surround Fields with more offensive weapons to pair with D.J. Moore and jump start Fields’ career? Either way, while Fields still has issues in the passing game, his ability to make plays with his legs has such value in fantasy football that it’s hard to rank him any lower, no matter where he ends up playing in 2024.
8. Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers – QB5 in 2023
Jordan Love was a revelation in his first season as a starter in Green Bay and the offense only looks to improve from here. The entire wide receiving corps is 25 or under and it seems like the Packers hit on every one of their late round offensive picks. Love certainly had some dud games in 2023, including 3 games under 15 points, but he also showed the ability to explode and win you a week with 6 games over 26 points. He was able to run the offense effectively despite the Packers star running back Aaron Jones either outright missing games or playing through injury for the majority of the season. The team showed in the playoffs what this offense was truly meant to be when they have a healthy lead back, and I truly expect them to invest a high draft pick in this year’s draft to lock down that aspect of the roster. Love looks to be the real deal, and plays for an offensive head coach with a young team on the rise.
9. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals – QB25 in 2023
Burrow may have to be officially deemed injury plagued. After missing his third straight training camp (this time with a calf strain), Burrow was a shell of himself to start the season, not even able to take snaps under center. He finally started to look like the Burrow we expected this season, as from weeks 5-10 he was averaging 23.8 fantasy points per game. Unfortunately he suffered a wrist injury in week 11 against the Ravens that landed him on IR. We’ll now enter 2024 with plenty of questions – can he recover from his myriad of injuries and stay healthy for an entire season? Will the departure of offensive coordinator Brian Callahan impact how the offense is run? Burrow needs to have a strong, healthy offseason and training camp to be bumped up the rankings. For now, he’s someone I would prefer to avoid.
Tier 4:
10. Jared Goff – Detroit Lions – QB7 in 2023
While the Lions are still licking their wounds after blowing a 24-7 halftime lead in the NFC championship game, they got an unexpected gift from offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson was, for the second offseason in a row, considered to be one of the top head coaching candidates, but he once again opted to return to the Lions to take care of some unfinished business despite reports that he was a shoe-in for the lead job in Washington. Goff has limitations as a fantasy asset as he gives almost nothing as a rusher, but he finished the year second in the NFL in passing yards to go along with his 30 touchdown passes. The team has cap space, all of their key offensive weapons are returning, and he has a dominant offensive line. Goff is in line for another strong season in 2024.
11. Anthony Richardson – Indianapolis Colts – QB38 in 2023
Despite his incredible athletic ability, Richardson entered the NFL with plenty of question marks – chief among them, how his body would be able to handle his aggressive running style against bigger men in the NFL. Those concerns were unfortunately validated, as Richardson suffered a concussion in week 2, returned in week 4, but then suffered a season ending shoulder injury in week 5 against the Titans. He had surgery in October, so he should be healed up at the start of training camp. In his two healthy games, Richardson averaged 211.5 passing yards, 48 rushing yards and 2.5 total touchdowns – good for 27.76 fantasy points per game. The upside is immense, but so is the injury risk.
12. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers – QB17 in 2023
Herbert has now had back to back disappointing seasons after finishing as the QB11 in 2022 and the QB17 in 2023 (while missing 4 games). So much of that has to be blamed on an entirely dysfunctional GM and head coaching combination, so the Chargers cleaned house and are now bringing in former Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz as their new GM along with landing a big fish at head coach in Jim Harbaugh. Both of these moves are to be commended.
Hortiz is well respected across the league and learned while working for one of the classiest organizations in football, while Harbaugh is known for winning everywhere he goes. However, Herbert isn’t getting the expected bump in these early rankings you might expect from those moves. This will be another transition year for the Chargers. Their previous management has hamstrung the organization, and are entering the 2024 offseason projected to have the 4th least cap space in the league. The entire roster has serious flaws, and they don’t have the resources to make the necessary changes. This could be another wasted season for Herbert.
Tier 5:
13. Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers – QB6 in 2023
14. Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins – QB11 in 2023
15. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals – QB26 in 2023
16. Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars – QB12 in 2023
17. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings (UFA) – QB23 in 2023
Tier 6:
18. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams – QB15 in 2023
19. Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (UFA) – QB9 in 2023
20. Deshaun Watson – Cleveland Browns – QB35 in 2023
Tier 7:
21. Daniel Jones – New York Giants – QB44 in 2023
22. Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks – QB19 in 2023
23. Aaron Rodgers – New York Jets – NR IN 2023
24. Derek Carr – New Orleans Saints – QB16 in 2023
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.