Welcome to Players to Win You a Championship, the latest article in The FFU 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit. Here we are going to use Fantasy Pros 1/2 PPR 1QB ADP to pick out some great targets who are not only late-round targets but who may be available on waiver wires after fantasy drafts. To see how these players rank in our FFU Consensus Rankings, check out our FFU Rankings Page.
Isiah Pacheco, RB (Chiefs)
Two years into his NFL career Pacheco has been the definition of consistency. In both seasons he has totaled at least 800 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, he has also chipped in with at least 100 receiving yards in both. Going into this season, he will see the least competition for touches that he has ever seen and should easily run away with the RB1 job in Kansas City. In a league where true workhorses are becoming more and more rare, Pacheco has the potential to be exactly that.
The other factor that is working in his favor is that Travis Kelce is starting to show signs of age and is likely in line for a lighter workload than in years past. That in combination with a disjointed wide receiving corps surrounded by questions leaves Pacheco as the most likely player to increase his workload. Rashee Rice faces a potential suspension, Hollywood Brown is going to miss time with an injury, and Xavier Worthy is a speedy but raw rookie. Pacheco should see more volume than most of the running backs in the league and at a third-round price tag, he is a massive value. Don’t let the lack of a big name fool you. Isiah Pacheco is about to post a top-10 running back season.
Michael Pittman, WR (Colts)
Pittman can be had in the fourth round of fantasy drafts and that is part of what makes him so enticing. By the time the draft rolls around to the fourth round, all of the guaranteed, high-volume receivers who will be WR1 on their teams are long gone. The Ja’Marr Chase‘s and Justin Jefferson‘s of the world are long gone by three rounds. What we are left with instead is a collection of wide receivers on bad offenses, and lots of competition for targets. In this range, we see names like Devonta Smith and Tee Higgins who are uber talented but are the WR2 on their team. We also see a group of receivers like Tank Dell, Deebo Samuel, and DJ Moore who could be the WR1 on their squad, but have loads of competition to beat out.
So, why then are we passing on an obvious WR1 in a solid offense with an up-and-coming quarterback? The answer is that I am not. I’m drafting Michael Pittman everywhere I can because he is exactly that. He is on a solid offense and is a lock to be the WR1 for the Colts with little competition. Pittman finished last season as the WR13 overall and that’s with Anthony Richardson missing most of the season. Richardson is back and healthy and it’s all systems go for this offense. At cost, Richardson and Pittman are my favorite QB/WR stack.
Anthony Richardson, QB (Colts)
As I stated above, this Colts offensive duo is my favorite stack opportunity at cost. Anthony Richardson was injured in the fourth game of his NFL career but was the QB1 overall at the point he went down. This Colts roster is one of my favorites to target as it’s very much a condensed roster. There are essentially only three players on the team that are fantasy-relevant and all three are going to be studs.
We knew when he was drafted that Richardson was going to offer a unique rushing upside not seen outside the likes of Lamar Jackson, but what was truly impressive was just how well he played as a passer. Richardson showed the ability to protect the ball and not turn it over as well as the ability to use his cannon arm to push the ball deep downfield. There is a distinct possibility of Richardson finishing the season as a top 3 quarterback at his fifth-round price tag he comes at a much more palatable cost than that of Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, or Patrick Mahomes.
Evan Engram, TE (Jaguars)
Engram finished 2023 as the TE2 and it’s like no one even noticed. He is currently going off the board in the seventh round and that’s borderline criminal. This marks his second consecutive top 5 tight end finish and yet he typically goes off the board as TE8, he is the anti-Dallas Goedert. In addition to finishing as TE5 and TE2 over the past two seasons, he saw Jaguars WR1 Calvin Ridley walk out the door leaving only Christian Kirk and rookie Brian Thomas Jr to compete with him for targets. Engram finished last year with 143 targets and is very likely to lead the Jaguars in targets in 2023.
This one isn’t rocket science. Everything about his situation has improved, nothing has gotten worse, and yet he is going later than all the tight ends he outperformed. It’s truly mystifying why nobody is drafting Engram higher. Many fantasy managers have cooled on Trevor Lawrence as a quarterback and are inching closer to declaring him a bust, but even if that’s true, and that’s a big if, he had Lawrence as his quarterback for his past two monster seasons. Let your league-mates waste a second or third-round pick on Sam LaPorta or Trey McBride who are likely for a small amount of regression and instead draft Engram in the seventh round.
Diontae Johnson, WR (Panthers)
Johnson is coming off the worst fantasy season of his NFL career since his rookie season and it’s easy to see why. Whether it was a result of injuries or Kenny Pickett, his 2023 season was doomed from the start. He now finds himself in Carolina where even a struggling Bryce Young is still miles ahead of Kenny Pickett at his best. The quarterback upgrade with a bad Young is still enough to boost him up 10 spots, if Young takes a step forward, it could be game-breaking for Johnson.
Not only did he get a quarterback upgrade with his new squad, but he is the only tangible weapon on the roster. Adam Thielen is well past his prime, Jonathan Mingo was a bust last season, and Xavier Legette is a risky rookie pick who was likely way overdrafted by the Panthers. That leaves Johnson as the only reliable pass-catcher on the roster. The best tight end on the team is rookie Ja’Tavion Sanders and the best running back on the team is rookie Jonathon Brooks. There is no chance that either rookie carves out enough of a role to hurt Johnson’s fantasy production. Johnson will find himself as a WR2 once again, and at an eighth-round cost, that’s a huge bargain.
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