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Fantasy Football Rankings 2024: NFL sleepers, breakouts, busts from model that nailed Deebo Samuel's slow year
By CBS Sports Staff,
21 hours ago
USATSI
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has never thrown for 4,000 yards during his first five seasons in the NFL, but he has a career-high of 26 touchdown passes and offers rushing upside in the 2024 Fantasy football rankings. Murray rushed for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2020, although he has not hit 500 rushing yards in any other season. The Oklahoma alum has a new weapon to work with this year, rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who is expected to be one of the 2024 Fantasy football breakouts. Together, Murray and Harrison Jr. could be highly popular 2024 Fantasy football picks. Evaluating a player's 2024 Fantasy football ADP is a crucial part of building a winning 2024 Fantasy football strategy since you want your lineups to be full of 2024 Fantasy football sleepers.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Buccaneers running back Rachaad White was being dramatically undervalued. White was coming off the board in the seventh round on average in 12-team PPR leagues, but he emerged as Tampa Bay's workhorse ball carrier and provided significantly more value than expected, finishing No. 4 at his position. White rushed for 990 yards and six touchdowns while adding 64 catches for 549 yards and three more scores as a receiver. Anybody who followed the model's advice scored an every week starting running back in the middle rounds.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020 and nailing Jonathan Taylor's monstrous season in 2021. Additionally, it's called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2024 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2024 Fantasy football standard projections update multiple times daily, so you're always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest 2024 Fantasy football rankings, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them .
Top 2024 Fantasy football sleepers
One of the 2024 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell. Saquon Barkley will be the starter in Philadelphia's offense to open the season, but Gainwell should play a key role as well. He tallied a career-high 84 carries for 364 yards while catching 30 passes for 183 yards last season.
Gainwell played 41% of the offensive snaps despite sitting behind D'Andre Swift on the Eagles depth chart. He can finish as a sleeper without a high usage rate this year and has plenty of upside if Barkley is unable to stay healthy. SportsLine's model ranks Gainwell ahead of running backs like Jaylen Wright, Zach Charbonnet and Khalil Herbert, who are all going off the board before him. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2024 here .
Top 2024 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2024 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The rookie had 63 receptions for 628 yards and four touchdowns last season and was underutilized compared to what many expected from him in the Seattle offense after being the first WR selected in the 2023 NFL Draft at No. 20 overall.
Smith-Njigba didn't play at least 60% of the snaps until Week 6 and only played more than 70% of snaps in four weeks. He did play at least 65% of snaps in seven of the final eight games of his rookie season though and had a touchdown in two of his final four contests. Pete Carroll stepped down as head coach, but general manager John Schneider remains at the helm, so the new regime may want a heavier Smith-Njigba usage. With Tyler Lockett turning 32 in September, the 22-year-old JSN may be more of a factor this season. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2024 here .
Top 2024 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Ravens running back Derrick Henry as one of its 2024 Fantasy football busts. Henry is likely a future Hall of Famer and he's been a Fantasy goldmine for years, but he turned 30 in January and he's averaged over 300 touches per season over the last six years with the Titans while leading the NFL in carries four of the last five seasons.
Even for a 6-foot-3, 247-pound powerhouse like Henry, that workload is bound to catch up with him at some point and the presence of Lamar Jackson in Baltimore should lead to fewer carries. Henry is being drafted in the first or second round of most 12-team PPR leagues but the model is predicting that he finishes behind third or fourth-rounders like Rachaad White and Alvin Kamara in the 2024 Fantasy football rankings. See more Fantasy football busts 2024 here
How to find proven 2024 Fantasy football football rankings
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