Fantasy Football 2024: Top Player Rankings, Ideas for Team Names, League Names

Fantasy Football 2024: Top Player Rankings, Ideas for Team Names, League Names0 of 3

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It’s almost time to put all of your fantasy football research to good use.

The 2024 NFL season is off and running—well, the preseason portion of it at least—meaning it’s only a matter of time until fantasy leagues are won and lost.

Let’s make sure your league isn’t lost before it starts by clueing you in on our pre-draft rankings at the marquee position. Then, we’ll make sure your league is as fun as possible by laying out league and team names worth considering.

Positional Rankings1 of 3

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Quarterback

1. Josh Allen, BUF

2. Jalen Hurts, PHI

3. Lamar Jackson, BAL

4. Patrick Mahomes, KC

5. Anthony Richardson, IND

6. C.J. Stroud, HOU

7. Joe Burrow, CIN

8. Kyler Murray, ARI

9. Dak Prescott, DAL

10. Tua Tagovailoa, MIA

While you’ll often be advised to not pay top-dollar at the quarterback position, it’s still worth nothing that those players cost a premium for a reason.

Allen led all scorers with 410.6 standard fantasy points last season, per FantasyPros. Only four other players—all of them quarterbacks—topped 325 points.

Taking an early quarterback requires some deft navigation through the middle of the draft, but it can be highly rewarding if you pick the right star signal-caller and find some values at the other positions.

Running back

1. Christian McCaffrey, SF

2. Breece Hall, NYJ

3. Bijan Robinson, ATL

4. Jonathan Taylor, IND

5. Saquon Barkley, PHI

6. Jahmyr Gibbs, DET

7. Kyren Williams, LAR

8. Travis Etienne Jr., JAX

9. Isiah Pacheco, KC

10. De’Von Achane, MIA

As elite as Josh Allen was, McCaffrey was perhaps the biggest difference-maker in fantasy last season.

There were 14 players who scored 270-plus standard fantasy points. McCaffrey was the only non-quarterback of the bunch. Even more impressively, he was sixth on that list with 342.3 points. The next non-quarterback was CeeDee Lamb with 268.2. The closest running back was Raheem Mostert with 242.7.

McCaffrey doesn’t have the cleanest injury history, but that’s the full extent of his fantasy concerns. If he stays healthy, there’s a non-zero chance he could be even better this season should the 49ers trade Brandon Aiyuk and need to replace his playmaking.

Wide receiver

1. CeeDee Lamb, DAL

2. Ja’Marr Chase, CIN

3. Tyreek Hill, MIA

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET

5. Justin Jefferson, MIN

6. Garrett Wilson, NYJ

7. A.J. Brown, PHI

8. Puka Nacua, LAR

9. Davante Adams, LV

10. Chris Olave, NO

Lamb had been a fantasy star before, but last season he elevated to juggernaut status.

He essentially shouldered Dallas’ offense and delivered the best production at the position. His career-high 181 targets allowed him to hold top-three rankings across the league in receptions (135, first), receiving yards (1,749, second) and touchdown catches (12, third).

Who is bumping Lamb down the pecking order for the Cowboys? No one. If Ezekiel Elliott can’t turn back the clock, Dallas could be as dependent on Lamb as ever.