Fantasy Football Sleeper Picks for 2024

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It is time to start getting excited for the 2024 fantasy football season! At the time of writing this, we are only about a month away from the first game of the NFL season.

For us fantasy football addicts, that means we are already neck-deep in research, mock drafts and even some live drafts at this point. After seeing how things start to shake out in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, we can confidently say that we are THRILLED with how late you can snag some seriously talented players.

These players are our top Fantasy Football sleeper picks for 2024, and we think some of these guys have league-winning potential.

For this article, Kyle and I each went through and selected a full team of sleepers: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE and a flex. Some of these players are late-round gems, others we think are just terrific value in the mid-rounds. Full list of picks at the end, but without further ado, here are our fantasy football sleeper picks for 2024:

QB - Sam’s Pick: Jayden Daniels

This one is fairly simple for me: Rushing QBs are fantasy cheat codes and Jayden Daniels is about to be one of the best rushing QBs in the league.

Daniels is currently going as QB12 on ESPN and can be taken somewhere in that round 11-13 range, depending on league size, which is an absolute steal considering the upside here.

Daniels posted over 1100 rushing yards at over 8 yards per carry in his final season at LSU, while also showing how prolific of a passer he can be and finishing with with 3800 yards, 40 TDs and only 4 interceptions.

That’s a much better prospect profile than Anthony Richardson, who let’s all remember has only player 2 full NFL games so far, and is currently going as QB5 nearly 6-7 rounds earlier than Daniels.

Great upside, great value - I’m all in on Daniels.

QB - Kyle’s Pick: Will Levis

This pick is all about the Titans giving their offense a complete overhaul this offseason and taking a shot on a Sophomore QB that showed some big flashes last year.

The Titans signed Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in free agency, and took the best tackle in the draft in Joe Alt. They lost Derrick Henry, but now have Pollard and Spears to replace him.

Point being, if there was ever an opportunity for Will Levis to succeed in a big way, this is it and he is basically free in most fantasy drafts.

RB1 - Sam’s Pick: James Conner

James Conner was relatively quiet most of 2023, primarily due to some nagging injuries and due to how bad the Cardinals were without Kyler Murray for most of the year.

However, he ended the season absolutely on fire after Murray got back and the offense picked up a bit. His last five games he was averaging over 23 ppg in PPR formats.

This year Murray is fully healthy and the Cardinals drafted Marvin Harrison Junior, so I expect Conner to face relatively light boxes compared to last season. Sure, the addition of Trey Benson is cause for some concern, but I think as long as Conner stays healthy then he can be in for a monster season.

RB1 - Kyle’s Pick: Ty Chandler

When we get into the deeper rounds, looking at potential handcuffs to older, banged-up RBs is a great way to potentially get value late into your drafts.

We saw Ty Chandler play pretty well in some limited opportunities for the Vikings last year, and this year the starting RB for the Vikings is Aaron Jones.

Jones is obviously a stud when he’s healthy, but it’s hard to remember the last time Jones didn’t miss a decent chunk of time at some point in a season. Considering Jones isn’t getting any younger, Chandler might be one of the best handcuffs you can grab at the very end of your draft.

RB2 - Sam’s Pick: Chase Brown

Chase Brown is currently being drafted like he’s a backup to Zach Moss, but I think the fantasy community has this one wrong.

Sure, Moss had a great year last year in Indianapolis, but every year we seem to get a new one-year-wonder at the RB position that comes crashing back down to earth the next year, and my bet is that it will be Zach Moss who fits the bill for that this year.

Brown, on the other hand, is an extremely explosive RB with good size, speed and pass-catching ability. I don’t expect it to take long before he is the clear cut number 1 in the Bengals offense.

RB2 - Kyle’s Pick: Audric Estime

The Broncos’ backfield is one of the more interesting situations to watch heading into the season. They had Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin already, and they added Estime in the 5th round of this year’s draft.

Williams is now two years removed from injury and reportedly looking a lot better at mini-camp, but it was just a few weeks ago there were rumors swirling of Williams getting cut. McLaughlin has been receiving a lot of hype out of camp as well, but he really only has the build to be a third-down receiving back.

And then there is Audric Estime. The man is built like a brick house, but his highlights include him hurdling several defenders and cutting so hard that defenders nearly fall out of their cleats.

There are obviously a few things that will need to break Estime’s way, but if he can grow into a larger snap share as the season progresses, my comp for him in a Payton-led offense is Mark Ingram

WR1 - Sam’s Pick: Malik Nabers

I know, I know, Malik Nabers is not exactly a deep sleeper. But, and it’s a big but, I think it is criminal how late he is going in ESPN drafts right now.

He’s currently going as WR25, somewhere in the 5th or 6th round, and I think he is one of the guys that can put up WR1 numbers right out of the gate. The Giants have been waiting on a guy like Nabers ever since OBJ left, and I am pretty sure New York may have finally struck gold here.

We’re two weeks into camp and Nabers has already been roasting the Giants and Lions secondary in practices, making some cartoonishly amazing catches.

This dude is a DAWG, and don’t be surprised if the conversation next year is “should I take Nabers in the Top 10 overall picks?”

WR1 - Kyle’s Pick: Ja’Lynn Polk

Polk is going somewhere in the round 14 range right now in drafts right now, and when you can get the potential top WR in an offense that late, it’s a chance you have to take.

It’s a bit unclear if Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye will be the starting QB for New England this season, but either way, they’re going to have to throw the ball to someone. Demario Douglas will likely operate out of the slot, and I’d expect Polk to be their top outside option.

Don’t forget that Kendrick Bourne was thriving in the Pats offense for a bit last year before getting hurt, and that was with Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe. We are excited to see what a talent like Ja’Lynn Polk can do as the top option in an offense.

WR2 - Sam’s Pick: Jayden Reed

There is no good reason that Jayden Reed should be going as late as the WR36 right now in drafts. Reed had a monster rookie season and formed a very clear connection with breakout QB, Jordan Love.

I think the reason that he is falling as that people don’t know how Watson, Wicks, Doubs and Reed all work into the same offense, but I think the former 3 all compete against each other more than they do against Reed.

Reed is the most versatile amongst that group in terms of what kind of roles he can fill, and I expect him to be used all over the field and hold strong as the top option for Jordan Love.

WR2 - Kyle’s Pick: Joshua Palmer

Sometimes a situation is just too good to pass up on.

Good QB? Check.

Limited target competition? Check

Potential WR1 in the offense? Check

Palmer’s biggest threat this year is the potential emergence of Ladd McConkey, who I expect to eventually take over that WR1 role, but that may very well take some time.

We’ve seen Palmer put up flex-worthy numbers as the second best option on the Chargers before, and now that he has the opportunity to grow that target-share as the number one option for a while, grabbing him in the 11th or 12th round is fantastic value.

TE - Sam’s Pick: Noah Fant

For both our TE picks, we wanted to pick some streaming TE options that are available very late into your drafts.

My pick for you here is Noah Fant. Fant had a very promising rookie season with the Broncos, but his career has kind of sputtered out ever since getting traded to the Seahawks in the Russel Wilson trade.

Pete Carroll just didn’t seem to use TEs all that frequently in the pass game, and as a result Fant lost a lot of snaps to Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson. Now, Dissly and Parkinson are both gone, there’s a new coaching regime in Seattle that wants to implement more of an air-raid style offense, and Fant could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of all those changes.

It’s a dart throw at this point, but you’re only giving up a 16th or 17th round pick to take your shot here.

TE - Kyle’s Pick: Pat Freiermuth

At the time of writing this, Brandon Aiyuk is still on the 49ers and has not been traded to the Steelers, so keep that in mind as you read this.

Currently, Freiermuth is looking like he will be the number 2 target in Pittsburg’s offense behind George Pickens. The former PSU TE has shown he has top 8 potential at his position earlier in his career, but has faced some injury struggles.

If he can stay health and if Arthur Smith continues to design offenses around Tight Ends, then Freiermuth could be a fantastic option for you especially if you missed out on one of the elite guys at the position.

Flex - Sam’s Pick: Josh Downs

This is more for our full PPR audience, but Josh Downs can easily turn into one of the next slot WR fantasy studs.

Downs is a smaller receiver, but he’s got great hands, can be used in the slot or on the outside, and is very efficient with his targets and YAC.

I think he is a great candidate for taking a huge step forward in year 2 and it really comes down to what kind of relationship he can forge with QB Anthony Richardson

Flex - Kyle’s Pick: J.K. Dobbins

Dobbins has had a bit of a misfortunate career. He’s an extremely talented player, but has struggled with several major injuries in back-to-back years.

He now finds himself on a Jim Harbaugh offense, and if we know anything about how Harbaugh runs a team, it’s that he needs to have effective runners. Dobbins is probably the most talented RB in the Chargers’ backfield, and if he can stay healthy, he can massively outperform his current ADP.

Sleeper Pick Recap:

Position

Sam’s Picks

Kyle’s Picks

QB

Jayden Daniels

Will Levis

RB

James Conner

Ty Chandler

RB

Chase Brown

Audric Estime

WR

Malik Nabers

Ja’Lynn Polk

WR

Jayden Reed

Joshua Palmer

TE

Noah Fant

Pat Freiermuth

Flex

Josh Downs

J.K. Dobbins