Time To Learn About The 2024 Rookie Class
Now is the time to start learning about the 2024 NFL Draft prospects.
This year’s class boasts major QB talent, multiple exciting WRs, and a TE who will likely walk into the league as a top-5 dynasty asset.
You could wait until spring to learn about these guys. After all, that’s what most of your league mates will do.
And that’s the best reason to start now.
Get Ahead of Your League
Dig in now and you’ll get ahead on the lesser-known names. Maybe you’ll use that to pick up some extra rookie picks and get in position to grab guys before their values skyrocket.
This time last year, QB Anthony Richardson was a fringe first-rounder with questions about his readiness. By the end of the Scouting Combine, he was basically a top-3 lock in superflex drafts.
Wouldn’t you rather be proactive than reactive?
Our way-too-early 2024 dynasty rookie rankings are here to help:
2024 Superflex Rookie Rankings
- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
- Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
- Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
- Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
- Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
- J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
- Tre’Veyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
- Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
- Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
- Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
2024 1-QB Rookie Rankings
- Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
- Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
- Rome Odunze, WR Washingon
- Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
- Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
- Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
- Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
- Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
Top QBs
If you’re looking for QB help, you’ll have several players to choose from.
The 2024 class features the last two Heisman Trophy winners (LSU’s Jayden Daniels and USC’s Caleb Williams) and tantalizing prospect Drake Maye from North Carolina.
All three finished the regular season ranked within the top ten of passing yards and Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing grade among FBS QBs with 400+ dropbacks.
On top of being our highest-ranked in the class for dynasty, Williams and Maye are also expected to be the first two QBs selected in the NFL Draft – likely inside the top 5.
Tier 2 QBs
If you’re not projected to have a high enough pick to select anyone from that trio, get familiar with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
A four-star high school recruit, McCarthy has been the Wolverines’ starter for the past two seasons. He hasn’t lit up the box score due to Michigan’s offense (121st in pass rate in 2023), but there’s plenty to like about him.
McCarthy consistently makes tight-window throws and shows impressive arm talent. He ranks second this year among qualified QBs in adjusted completion percentage on deep passes (20+ yards downfield) at 59.1%, according to PFF.
Penix Jr., a 6’3 lefty, is a sixth-year player with many injuries to his name. He sustained two ACL tears and a shoulder injury while at Indiana, limiting him to just 20 games across four seasons before he transferred to Washington.
He has led the FBS in regular-season passing yards over the past two years as Huskies starter and ended 2023 as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
There are legitimate concerns about his injury history, age (turning 24 in May), and his throwing mechanics. But Penix Jr. possesses many of the traits you look for in an NFL pocket passer.
The RB Problem
Unfortunately, the 2024 class doesn’t offer much high-end RB talent.
There aren’t multiple players worthy of being selected in the first round of either superflex or 1-QB drafts, and it’s unlikely that we’ll see anyone from the position taken on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
One key issue: The likely RB1 in the class may not take the leap.
Will He, Won’t He?
Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson – highlighted in our October preview of the 2024 class – has reportedly received an NIL deal that would rival (and likely exceed) the money he’d receive by declaring for the draft.
Should he return to Columbus, the class would take a massive hit.
Henderson set the Ohio State freshman record for total TDs (19) and finished fourth in the Big Ten with 1,248 rushing yards in 2021. Despite being limited by a broken foot in 2022 and being handled lightly this past season, he has shown more than enough breakaway speed and agility to be considered the top back in the class.
If Henderson were to declare, it’s feasible he’d receive Day 2 capital and be an immediate impact player in the right opportunity.
Other RBs
Beyond Henderson, there are interesting prospects who look like potential Round 3 or 4 selections. Each faces a unique challenge, though.
Jonathon Brooks, Texas
Brooks took over the Longhorns’ starting job this season and soared. He ranked 12th in PFF rushing grade and tied for 19th in yards after contact per attempt (3.91) among RBs with at least 100+ carries.
Unfortunately, he tore his right ACL in November vs. TCU, bringing into question whether he’ll declare for the draft or be ready for pre-draft testing.
Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
A stout 6’2, 245-pound back, Allen will enter the NFL at age 20 and profile as a downhill gap runner.
The primary concerns with Allen are fumbles (9 in his career) and limited receiving ability. Still, he finished just shy of recording three consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns, showed some growth as a pass-catcher (28 receptions on 30 targets for 131 yards in 2023), and ran for 10+ TDs each year.
Audric Estime, Notre Dame
He’s only got one year of college production, but Estime has fairly quick feet and runs with noticeable decisiveness for a bigger guy (listed at 227 pounds).
He finished 2023 as PFF’s second-highest RB in rushing grade and 10th in yards after contact per attempt (4.27) among those who received at least 100 carries in regular-season play.
Top WRs
The 2024 class is headlined by Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Colts great Marvin Harrison Sr.
You probably saw him on the receiving end of several C.J. Stroud highlights in 2022.
MHJ won the 2023 Biletnikoff Award (college football’s top WR) and ended this year as a Heisman finalist.
He finished 2023 tied for first in receiving TDs (14), ninth in receiving yards (1,211), and fifth in PFF receiving grade among wideouts with at least 75 targets.
MHJ is every bit the talent that his name suggests, will almost assuredly be the first pick in 1-QB leagues, and should be the first non-QB selected in superflex drafts this spring.
Not far behind him is Malik Nabers of LSU, PFF’s top-rated WR in receiving grade and the nation’s leader in receiving yards (1,545) in 2023.
He displays excellent awareness and body control while operating as a downfield threat. But Nabers is also versatile (53.6% slot rate in 2023) and can create space with the ball in his hands. The well-rounded playmaker will appeal to anyone.
Other WRs
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
There are many reasons why Egbuka’s college resume looks incomplete.
He spent his freshman year at Ohio State in 2021 behind Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He also missed time this past season due to an ankle injury.
So his sophomore campaign from 2022 is the only “concrete” source of statistical evidence.
That season compares favorably with some 2023 rookie WRs you probably know.
Among WRs with at least 75 targets in 2022, Egbuka ranked:
- Tied for sixth in yards per route run (3.05) with Rashee Rice
- Tied for 10th in yards after catch per reception (7.3) with Jalin Hyatt
- 17th in receiving yards (1,039), ahead of Josh Downs and Marvin Mims Jr.
- Tied for 18th in PFF receiving grade, ahead of Quentin Johnston and Zay Flowers
Pretty good, huh?
Rome Odunze, Washington
Odunze and the next guy listed fit the mold of traditional “X” receivers, each listed at 6’3.
On top of being a talented football player, Odunze won Nevada titles in the 200-meter and 4×1000 relay as a high school junior in 2019. Expect him to register a swift 40 time at the Scouting Combine.
Odunze tied for eighth in PFF receiving grade and 10th in yards per route run (3.04) among WRs with at least 75 targets, serving as Penix Jr.’s top target at Washington this year.
Troy Franklin, Oregon
Franklin is lanky (listed generously at 187 pounds) and not physically imposing. But he ended the 2023 regular season ranked fifth in yards per route run (3.32) and has a bright future as a creative playmaker in open space.
Top TEs (aka Brock Bowers)
This Georgia standout occupied a hefty portion of our October preview for good reason.
Not only is Bowers the lone prominent name at TE in the 2024 class, but he is perhaps the most “complete” prospect at his position to enter the league in a long time.
Bowers fits the prototype of an NFL TE in size (6’4, 240 pounds) and blocking (top-24 in PFF pass-blocking grade among TEs in 2022 and 2023) to go along with his pass-catching prowess.
Bowers only appeared in seven games in 2023 due to an ankle injury that required surgery, but he has a long record of success. He set the Georgia receiving-TD record (13) as an 18-year-old true freshman in 2021 and then won the John Mackey Award (college’s top TE) in 2022 with 63 catches and 943 yards.
Other TEs will pop up as intriguing options in this class (Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders? Florida State’s Jaheim Bell?), but Bowers is the only transcendent difference-maker for your dynasty roster(s).
If you like George Kittle, you’ll love Bowers.
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