Positional Strengths of the NFL Draft: Offense Edition
QB1. RB1. WR1. TE1. Those accolades mean something different with every passing draft class. Sometimes your QB1 is Andrew Luck, other years the QB1 is Kenny Pickett. It is important to know the positional strengths and weaknesses of each incoming draft class to analyze where the values of these players should be.
For this exercise, we’ll analyze each offensive position from strongest to weakest, identifying and categorizing each of the top players for dynasty fantasy football. These aren’t rankings so much as a projection of what these prospects can develop into at the NFL level. Be sure to check out the DLF Expert Rankings for a more of a top-to-bottom view of this draft class!
Quarterbacks – Massive Potential and Depth
Quarterback is the best position in this draft class. Three quarterbacks are expected to go with the first three picks. Another should be a top-ten pick. Two more could sneak into the first round and there are several interesting depth quarterbacks who could have long careers as backups in the NFL. The draft capital alone could be historic, and these signal-callers have the talent to back that up. Here’s an overview of the top quarterbacks (in no particular order) broken down by quick-hit career projections:
- Future MVP Candidate – Caleb Williams
- Long-term Franchise QB – Drake Maye (let him develop for a year or two); Jayden Daniels
- Career Fringe Top 20 QB – JJ McCarthy
- Will Get a Chance to be a Starter at Some Point – Michael Penix
- Always In a Competition – Bo Nix
- Keep an Eye on Them if They Ever Get a Chance – Spencer Rattler; Jordan Travis
- Career Sought-After Backup – Michael Pratt
These are lofty expectations for a draft class that’s loaded with talent. Many have said that McCarthy, the fourth-ranked QB in this class, could be the number one in many other classes. I think Penix would be an established first-round pick in many other draft classes as well. This is a great group that could shift the landscape of the QB position in dynasty fantasy football for years to come.
Wide Receivers – Imminent Drop-Off
Most analysts would likely say the wide receivers are the strongest position of the 2024 class, and they certainly have an argument! This class is loaded with high-end studs and plenty of players who will be on the fantasy radar for years to come. I am a bit concerned about the supposed depth of this class though. The top three wide receivers are outstanding, so much so that the dropoff from the number three wide receiver and the number five wide receiver could be immense. There’s something for everyone to like with this group of wide receivers, but in three years, I wouldn’t be surprised to look back at this crop of wide receivers as a very top-heavy group.
- STUD – Marvin Harrison Jr
- Stud – Malik Nabers; Rome Odunze
- High Draft Capital, but Flawed – Brian Thomas Jr.; Xavier Worthy; Troy Franklin
- Undersized Route-Running Wizard – Ladd McConkey; Ricky Pearsall; Roman Wilson
- Loaded With Talent, Loaded With Risk – Jermaine Burton; Xavier Legette
- WR2 Withy Plenty of Upside – Adonai Mitchell; Keon Coleman
Landing spot, draft capital and team context will be crucial to analyzing this group of wide receivers, after the top three. There’s plenty of talent, but it’s talent that needs to be utilized correctly.
Tight Ends – One Brock Doesn’t Make A Summer
Brock Bowers is absolutely incredible, one of the best tight end prospects we’ve ever seen. But, after him, there is a valley of projects, question marks and blockers. For fantasy football, this could absolutely be a class of just one player, but there are some interesting names to keep in mind further down the board.
- TE1 From Day One – Brock Bowers
- Solid TE Who Should Have Some Years in the Top 10 – Ja’Tavion Sanders
- Underdeveloped with Plenty of Athleticism – Ben Sinnott; Theo Johnson; Cade Stover (much less athletic than the other two)
- Undersized Weapon – Jahiem Bell
- Iowa TE – Erick All
After Bowers, Sanders is widely considered the second tight end in this group. He should be a starter in this league for years to come, but he doesn’t have the ceiling of some of the elite young tight ends we’ve seen in recent years. I believe that one of Sinnott, Johnson, Stover and Bell will develop into a useful player for fantasy football, but they’ll take some coaching and patience to get there.
Running Backs – More Committees Than Congress
This will likely be the second time in ten years we won’t see a running back selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The last time that happened, 2022, we saw Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker go on to have successful starts to their fantasy football careers. But, Hall and Walker were picked at 36 and 41. This year, we may not see a back go in the top 50, or even in the first two rounds. It’s a down year for the running backs, with no high-end talent and flaws on every resume. It’ll be tough for anyone in this group to become a bellcow, but there’s bound to be some fantasy football value from this group.
- Three-Down Back When Healthy – Jonathon Brooks
- Clear Leader of a Committee – Trey Benson; Blake Corum
- 1B in a Committee With a Potential to Earn More – MarShawn Lloyd; Will Shipley
- Change-Of-Pace Back – Jaylen Wright, Bucky Irving, Dylan Laube
- Early-Down Bruisers – Braelon Allen; Ray Davis, Audric Estime
I believe that Jonathon Brooks would have separated himself from the pack if he hadn’t torn his ACL at the end of last season. The ACL injury was enough for me to pass on him at his ADP in early mock drafts, but recent reports of his medicals have been glowing, and he could see plenty of the field as a rookie. The group of Lloyd and Shipley above is one spot that could bring about value in rookie drafts this year. I could see them being selected to a team with an established veteran (ala Tyjae Spears last year) with the opportunity to earn touches away from that veteran.
This exercise should give you an idea of what each rookie prospect brings to their NFL teams, and fantasy football teams, after they’re drafted this week. Wrapping up the pre-draft process, this class has seen plenty of pomp and circumstance. We’ve heard positive and negative takes on every player, and now we wait and see where and when they get drafted!
- Dynasty Fantasy Football: Analyzing the 2024 UDFA Class - May 3, 2024
- Positional Strengths of the NFL Draft: Offense Edition - April 24, 2024
- DLF Team Dynasty Predictions for 2024 NFL Draft: Tight Ends - April 23, 2024
