Fantasy Football 2024: Mobile Cheatsheet, Mock-Draft Strategy for Top Positions
The 2024 NFL offseason got underway on Thursday, and we're now roughly one month out from the regular season opener.
The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs will face off on Thursday, September 5. Between now and then, fantasy managers will focus heavily on research, draft prep and possibly a few mocks before drafts are held in late August or early September.
With this in mind, let's dive into a few draft strategies to consider for both mock drafts and fantasy drafts, along with some early rankings for quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends.
All rankings and analysis based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.
Quarterbacks
1 of 4
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
3. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
5. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
6. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
7. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
9. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
11. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
12. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
It's important to remember that there's a clear top tier of quarterbacks and a wide second group of starting-caliber signal-callers. Patrick Mahomes remains in the upper echelon because of his weekly floor. Dual-threat quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts belong there because of their ceilings.
There's a chance that Indianapolis Colts second-year QB Anthony Richardson jumps into that top group this season because of his own dual-threat ability. He'll have to stay healthy, of course, but the Colts aren't about to stop Richardson from scrambling.
"Are you going to limit Steph Curry from shooting 3-pointers? Well, that's one of Anthony's strengths, right? So we're not going to get away from that," Colts coach Shane Steichen said, per Nate Atkins of the Indianapolis Star.
None of these quarterbacks, however, are worth targeting in the first round. If there's an early run at the position—say, in Round 2—it can be worth focusing on elite receivers and running backs and waiting until the middle rounds for a "good" quarterback.
Managers who have time to run a few mocks before the real draft should consider seeing how late they can land a starting QB with whom they are comfortable.
Running Backs
2 of 4
1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
2. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
3. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
4. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
5. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
7. Breece Hall, New York Jets
8. De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
9. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
10. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
11. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
12. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
13. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
14. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
16. Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
17. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
18. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
19. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
20. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
While running backs don't carry quite as much value overall in PPR leagues as they do in standard formats, the top backs on this list should still be drafted within the first few selections.
Players like Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Breece Hall have value as runners and receivers, so their PPR floor is extremely high. It's also worth noting that the NFL features far fewer every-down backs than No. 1 wide receivers.
Managers should create their own tiers of running backs and receivers and set ranges in which they believe they can find them. If you're confident you can land a top-tier receiver in Round 2, it can be worth targeting a running back in Round 1, even if he's at the tail end of your top tier.
When running mock drafts, it can be valuable to try different strategies in the first three rounds to see what combinations of running backs, receivers and tight ends can be gathered and how many top-tier players can be snagged. Managers can then adjust their positional tiers and draft ranges accordingly.
Wide Receivers
3 of 4
1. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
3. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
4. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
5. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
6. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
8. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
9. Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
10. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
11. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
12. Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
13. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
15. Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49eers
16. Nico Collins, Houston Texans
17. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
18. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
19. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
20. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
Managers must decide for themselves how highly they value top wide receivers like Tyreek Hill, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. Generally speaking, though, it can be worth waiting on your WR1 if there's still a top running back on the board.
The reality is that the NFL is now loaded with high-level receivers. Wideouts like Hill and Chase have both high ceilings and high floors, but managers can usually find quality starters well into the third and fourth rounds.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans, for example, amassed 79 catches, 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. The gap between players like Chase and Jefferson shouldn't be as great as the gap between, say, Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco.
Running a few mocks and making note of which receivers are consistently available in the second, third and fourth rounds can provide an idea of how you aggressively you should target those top-tier pass-catchers.
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Tight Ends
4 of 4
1. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
2. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
3. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
4. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
5. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
6. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
7. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
8. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
9. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
10. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
11. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
12. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
In past years, it's been worth targeting Travis Kelce in Round 1 because he has served as the Kansas City Chiefs' de facto No. 1 receiver. However, Kelce is now 34 years old and is coming off a season in which he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards.
This year, no tight end should be targeted in the opening round. Players like Kelce, Mark Andrews, Sam LaPorta and Trey McBride make up a strong top tier, but they'll each be competing for targets in 2024.
The Chiefs added Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy this offsesaon, while the Baltimore Ravens added Zay Flowers in 2023. Amon-Ra St. Brown remains Detroit's top target, while the Arizona Cardinals found theirs by drafting Marvin Harrison Jr.
If a top-tier tight end is still available in a comfortable range, take him. However, there's no reason to reach at the position. There are now enough above-average tight ends in the NFL that managers should find a viable starter deep into the middle rounds of the draft.
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