🤫 2024's Rookie Sleepers Revealed

Round 2 & 3 fantasy breakdown...

April 27, 2024

Draft Show

Googling “what is a Tip Reiman” brb…

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter:

  • Fantasy fallout from Rounds 2 & 3

  • WATERCOOLER: David Tepper loses his…temper.

  • Day 2 takeaways: A WR winner and a WR loser.

  • It's 4/27. Take it away, Peter Overzet…

Round 1 of the NFL Draft features all of the guys your leaguemates will know about—the mainstream rookies.

But Round 2 and Round 3 is where the real fantasy diehards roll up their sleeves and hunt for the next sleeper who will deliver league-winning performances at a fraction of the cost.

Here's a quick rundown of every RB, WR, and TE selected last night who could be the sleeper you need in 2024…

🤝WR-desperate teams finally got serious

The Bills, Chargers, and Patriots—arguably three of the five worst WR rooms in the league pre-draft—passed on WRs in Round 1, but finally got their QBs some help at the top of Round 2:

From a pure opportunity standpoint, all three of these young guns will have the chance to emerge as the No. 1 WR on their team by the end of the season. They all face very little competition on their respective depth charts. 

That said, all of them have boom/bust elements to their profile: Coleman (all the tools, but very raw), McConkey (versatile, but not a full time player in college), and Polk (natural WR, but not super athletic).

Check out full breakdowns on each selection in the Draft Tracker for more on these team fits.

⚖️Veteran RBs to worry about

This 2024 RB class might not feature any superstars, but that doesn't mean they can't muddy up some backfields and tip the scales in their favor.

Here are the veteran RBs who will face a volume squeeze from the new kids on the block, starting with the biggest threats:

The Panthers and Cardinals aren't on the same level as the Cowboys and Chargers for dream landing spots, but they are still plus destinations for Brooks and Benson, who are the two best RB prospects in the draft. They'll make quick work of the incumbents and push for RB1 status by season's end.

As for Corum and Lloyd, they are unlikely to unseat the starter, but they are guaranteed to be a thorn in their side. Neither Wiliams or Jacobs are hyper-efficient or explosive runners. Their selling point is volume, which is now much more in question than it was a few days ago.

💪This year's Sam LaPorta?

Like the RB group, this TE class left a lot to be desired beyond Brock Bowers, but it's worth getting excited about Ben Sinnott going 53rd overall to the Commanders.

While Sinnott isn't as strong of a prospect as Sam LaPorta, they both went in Round 2 to teams with plenty of opportunity for a rookie TE and they both share plus athleticism.

Pete, aren't you forgetting to discuss Tip Reiman? No, no I'm not. 

🤫Sleeper WR Szn

None of these WRs have a clear runway to fantasy stardom, but the draft capital and/or team fit put them firmly on the sleeper radar:

Mitchell should quickly surpass Alec Pierce as the deep threat in Indy and deliver a few spike weeks…Corley profiles as the gadget guy the Jets hoped Mecole Hardman would be…Wilson has the easiest path to targets of anyone listed above…Burton is the perfect near-term Tyler Boyd replacement and could ascend even more depending on what happens with Tee Higgins…McMillan will struggle for targets early, but the contingent upside will be there in a condensed offense…McCaffrey could potentially vacuum up some of those underneath targets Curtis Samuel vacated. 

🤠⚡ When will the Chargers and Cowboys draft a RB?

The two biggest fantasy questions heading into the final rounds today is if (and when) the Chargers and Cowboys will select a RB. Both teams have a ton of opportunity available and any rookie RB drafted to either spot will immediately have some fantasy intrigue.

Or the Cowboys could just say screw it and resign Zeke. Ugh.

Round 2 Recap

📺 Everything you may have missed from Day 2. Fantasy winners and losers.

🧢 David Tepper? More like David Temper. Seriously, what a weirdo.

💀 The Falcons just can’t stop reaching. Even at a charity auction.

🤷‍♂️ Running backs? Don’t need ‘em - Jerry Jones, probably.

👀 Nobody mock drafts like Freedman mock drafts. An absolute sicko.

👿 Malik Nabers is pissed he's not playing with Justin Herbert. Me too, man. Me too.

🎉Hey, it's Ian Hartitz's birthday. Great day to tell him to continue being great.

🐴 The ultimate Joe Alt comp. Not the one you wanted, but the one you need.

🏀 New Eagles CB balled out in high school…in basketball.

🤔Did the Broncos troll the Vikings on draft night?! Sounds like it.

📲An inside look at the Jets DMs. No matter what.

NFL Draft Winners and Losers

Day 2 of the NFL Draft has come and gone and here to break down the biggest winners and losers from a fantasy football standpoint is Fantasy Life’s Content Manager Joe Metz, with some assists from an array of our draft-day content…

🏆 Winners

⚡️ Ladd McConkey

I should also list Justin Herbert here. He's spent an entire offseason looking like Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air meme as the last man standing in what we once viewed as an elite fantasy environment.

Now, he finally welcomes a new friend.

While the expected scheme changes with the new coaching regime will certainly have the Chargers' offense looking different in 2024, McConkey steps into an immediate role. As Jonathan Fuller noted in our 2024 NFL Draft Tracker, "McConkey fits well with what the Chargers need, as he provides versatility and the ability to separate in the blink of an eye. He has some Keenan Allen to his game and he will likely be asked to step in and fill that role now that Allen is in Chicago.

McConkey played 30% of his college snaps in the slot, showcasing his ability to play inside and outside which should be valuable for his new team considering their overall lack of pass catchers. He will give Herbert a reliable target who can win underneath and over the top. While McConkey won't solve all their problems, this is at least a start for rebuilding the Chargers' WR room.

This is a pretty good landing spot for McConkey as he has a real chance to be Herbert's top target if the Chargers don't make any other major moves at the position."

😭 Losers

🐴 Adonai Mitchell

Joining a run-first Colts offense that already has an established WR1 in Michael Pittman, a viable WR2 in Josh Downs, and even a usable WR3 in Alec Pierce certainly isn't how fantasy managers hoped Adonai Mitchell's career would start.

Mitchell has the talent to overtake Pierce in the pecking order here, but as Ian Hartitz pointed out on the Round 2 recap podcast, Anthony Richardson is still an incredibly raw quarterback as a player who only played in two full games, one of which he went 11-25 passing while trailing most of the game. So, not only does Mitchell join a crowded WR room in a run-first offense, but inconsistent and potentially unpredictable quarterback play is likely to aid in the capping of his ceiling.

Dwain McFarland also noted on the podcast that Mitchell's closest comps in his WR Super Model were Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Myles Boykin, which could paint a picture of what his role could look like in Year 1.

This is a landing spot that feels much better for the Colts from a real football standpoint upgrading their offense than it does for the hopes of fantasy football managers.

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