2024 NFL Draft: Dynasty Fantasy Football Winners and Losers from the NFC North

Jordan Addison | © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Francesconi Posted On May 13, 2024

With the 2023 NFL Draft now over, we can accurately re-assess the depth charts of teams around the NFL. In this series, we’ll be taking a look at players who either gained or lost value based on what their team did this off-season and during the draft.

First up, the NFC North!

Minnesota Vikings

Draft Class

Round One, Pick 10: JJ McCarthy, QB Michigan
Round One, Pick 17: Dallas Turner, DE Alabama
Round Four, Pick 108: Khyree Jackson, CB Oregon
Round Six, Pick 177: Walter Rouse, OT Oklahoma
Round Six, Pick 203: Will Reichard, K Alabama
Round Seven, Pick 230: Michael Jurgens, C Wake Forest
Round Seven, Pick 232: Levi Drake Rodriguez, DT Texas A&M-Commerce

Winner: JJ McCarthy, QB

Similar to another winner later in the article, I think the biggest winner for Minnesota following the draft is the rookie QB they selected in the first round. While McCarthy slid a few spots past where most mock drafts had him going, he was still selected in the top ten and is heading to an excellent situation.

Minnesota as an offense is built for a young, raw QB to succeed. McCarthy will have the best WR in football, a capable WR2, one of the best tight ends, a solid run game, and two great book-end tackles. Further, McCarthy has an excellent coach in Kevin O’Connell which will aid in his growth and development. McCarthy couldn’t have asked for a better landing spot.

Loser: Jordan Addison, WR

I think Addison is the clear loser for the Vikings after what happened this off-season. Minnesota is clearly downgrading in quarterback play going from Kirk Cousins to JJ McCarthy and there will almost certainly also be a decrease in passing volume next season as well.

Addison was already due for a bit of touchdown regression after scoring on over 14% of his catches last season, but the move away from Cousins should hurt him even more. Last season, Addison averaged 15.8 fantasy PPG with Cousins and only 10.5 fantasy PPG without Cousins.

McCarthy is a better option for the long-term health of the franchise, but I struggle to see a world where he can support Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson, and Addison at a sufficient level. Add in Aaron Jones out of the backfield and targets will be tougher to come by for the next few seasons.

Detroit Lions

Draft Class

Round One, Pick 24: Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama
Round Two, Pick 61: Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB Missouri
Round Four, Pick 126: Giovanni Manu, OT British Columbia
Round Four, Pick 132: Sione Vaki, RB Utah
Round Six, Pick 189: Mekhi Wingo, DT LSU
Round Six, Pick 210: Christian Mahogany, G Boston College

Winner: Jameson Williams, WR

We as a dynasty community have been waiting for Williams to break out ever since he was drafted in 2021. This is the year it has to happen or else I’ll be ready to say it never will. The Lions let Josh Reynolds walk in free agency and did not select another pass catcher in the 2024 draft.

Williams is the unquestioned WR2 in one of the better offenses in the NFL and is finally two years removed from his ACL injury. Everything is lining up for Williams to finally take that next step, let’s see if he takes advantage of this opportunity.

Loser: Craig Reynolds, RB

I’m not sure there really is a loser on the Detroit Lions offense following the draft and free agency period. The Lions used most of their draft picks on other core positions like DB and offensive line rather than offensive skill positions. I’m forcing the issue by declaring Reynolds a loser because I have to come up with someone for the structure of the article. Leaving one out of eight empty would just be silly.

While Reynolds is not really a dynasty-relevant player, he is the RB3 on an offense that runs it a lot and likes to feature two backs. He’s one injury away from relevancy. However, when the Lions drafted Sione Vaki out of Utah, Vaki was announced as a running back. That’s meaningful because he split time between RB and safety last year at Utah and was pretty good at both. The Lions announcing him as an RB could indicate that’s how they intend to use him which could put Reynolds’s RB3 job in jeopardy.

I’m sorry this “Loser” wasn’t as juicy.

Green Bay Packers

Draft Class

Round One, Pick 25: Jordan Morgan, OL Arizona
Round Two, Pick 45: Edgerrin Cooper, LB Texas A&M
Round Two, Pick 58: Javon Bullard, S Georgia
Round Three, Pick 88: MarShawn Lloyd, RB USC
Round Three, Pick 91: Ty’Ron Hopper, LB Missouri
Round Four, Pick 111: Evan Williams, S Oregon
Round Five, Pick 163: Jacob Monk, OL Duke
Round Five, Pick 169: Kitan Oladapo, S Oregon State
Round Six, Pick 202: Travis Glover, OT Georgia State
Round Seven, Pick 245: Michael Pratt, QB Tulane
Round Seven, Pick 255: Kalen King, CB Penn State

Winner: Jordan Love, QB

This might be a bit of a stretch, but I’m going with Love as the winner for the Packers. Without him under contract past the 2025 season following the weird contract negotiations between him and the front office, I thought there was a somewhat slim chance Green Bay would hedge their bet with a day two QB selection. That ultimately didn’t happen and we should anticipate the Packers locking Love up long term.

Not only did Green Bay not look for a potential replacement, but they went out and selected three offensive linemen, including Jordan Morgan in the first round. That offensive line was aging quickly and this infusion of youth and talent should help protect Love in the future. Love already had the weapons at WR, now he has a line that can hopefully protect him.

Loser: Josh Jacobs, RB

When Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million deal with Green Bay this off-season I think everyone was a bit shocked. However, after further digging, the contract is structured like a one-year deal with three successive one-year options if Green Bay wants to keep Jacobs around.

To make matters worse for Jacobs, the Packers were the fourth team to select a running back in the NFL draft and did so in the third round when they chose MarShawn Lloyd out of USC. Lloyd is explosive and a weapon in the passing game, two things Jacobs really lacks in his game.

If Lloyd impresses in year one, Jacobs might be looking for new real estate less than a year after moving to Green Bay.

Chicago Bears

Draft Class

Round One, Pick 1: Caleb Williams, QB USC
Round One, Pick 9: Rome Odunze, WR Washington
Round Three, Pick 75: Kiran Amegadjie, OT Yale
Round Four, Pick 122: Tory Taylor, P Iowa
Round Five, Pick 144: Austin Booker, DE Kansas

Winner: Caleb Williams, QB

It’s hard to identify a winner that’s already on Chicago’s roster, so I’m going with the #1 overall pick instead. It’s rare to see a QB selected first in the draft land in a situation that’s this favorable to his success. The team has a solid defense and has gone out of their way to surround him with weapons to make his transition as smooth as possible.

Williams has two established WR1s alongside the ninth overall pick Rome Odunze. This trio of WRs is arguably the best trio in the NFL. Williams also has a stable of running backs behind him to help shoulder some of the load as he matures as an NFL quarterback. Williams is a huge winner going to a franchise intent on him succeeding, rather than whatever happened in Carolina last year to Bryce Young.

Loser: Cole Kmet, TE

While the Bears are clearly upgrading at quarterback going from Justin Fields to Caleb Williams, some of the other off-season moves make it hard to find opportunities for Kmet in this offense. After drafting Williams first overall, the Bears followed up by selecting Odunze ninth overall. That wasn’t the only pass catcher that Chicago added this season. Before the draft, they also traded for six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen.

To make matters even worse for Kmet, the Bears also signed D’Andre Swift in free agency. Swift might not be another WR, but he’s proved himself to be a weapon in the receiving game out of the backfield. Swift has caught 39 or more passes in each of his four seasons in the NFL.

Kmet is the fourth option at best in the passing game and could be the fifth option any given week depending on Swift’s matchup. It’s hard to imagine a big role for Kmet in this offense with so many mouths to feed.

Author
Recent Posts

Andrew Francesconi

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I’m a former college basketball player and a recent law school graduate from Northeast Ohio. I began playing fantasy football as a way to enjoy the NFL without having to root for the Cleveland Browns as they routinely produced losing seasons. Voted “Most Likely to Try and Trade for Your First Round Pick in Next Year’s Rookie Draft”.

Latest posts by Andrew Francesconi (see all)