Fantasy Football 2024 Rookie Rankings: Honorable Mentions

We have had time to digest the NFL draft, peruse depth charts and dig into the picks a bit. Now it’s time for the real work to begin for fantasy owners – preparing for draft season. As always, my prep begins in earnest post-draft, as I start thinking about these newcomers and the effect they’ll have on the existing players. These five rookies probably won’t be super impactful in 2024, but they have a chance. Keep them in mind as fliers when draft day hits later this summer, and keep tabs on their progress throughout the preseason.

Re'Mahn (Ray) Davis, RB, Bills (Round 4, Pick No. 128)

Davis had a big senior season for Kentucky in 2023, totaling 1,452 yards from scrimmage and finding the end zone 21 times. In a draft that was light on elite RB talent, Davis stood out because he had some of the best pass-catching chops in the class, hauling in 33 passes for 323 yards and seven scores through the air. Davis is not a burner, but he has excellent vision, can break tackles, and has shown that he can withstand the wear and tear of every-down work. Of course, James Cook appears entrenched as the lead back for the Bills, hence why Davis rates as an honorable mention, but this is a player who could step into a big role pretty quickly for the Bills if called upon and be very fantasy relevant.

Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers (Round 1, Pick No. 31)

Pearsall might rate higher for Year 1 had he been drafted to a more WR-needy team, but as it stands the 49ers represent an exciting opportunity for him in their own way. Volume is likely to be an issue for Pearsall’s Year 1 production, because as it stands, Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are all still in red and gold, and those players will monopolize touches for good reason. But none of that is a reflection on Pearsall, who shares some similarities to Aiyuk and may demand touches on his own merit. Pearsall doesn’t have the suddenness that Aiyuk possesses that makes him so lethal down the field – which shows in subpar success rates on nines and comebacks – but he’s a real pain for DBs to cover. Pearsall’s 75.8% success rate vs. man was elite (87th percentile), and he cleared 80% vs. zone coverage as well.

He's an advanced route runner with a lot of variety, putting up monster success rates on digs (88.6%), curls (83.8%), slants (82.5%) and outs (77.8%). It’s funny to think about the 49ers offense “needing” anything, but Pearsall walks in on Day 1 and provides a super crisp route running option that can be a safety blanket for Brock Purdy, who is very accurate and should develop a deadly connection with him. Pearsall’s college production doesn’t quite match some of the other elite WR prospects in the class, but it’s also not bad, and he did not have good QB play really at any point in his college career. Pearsall will be a fantasy stalwart for years in this offense, but as a rookie I believe we’ll see glimpses that excite us for the future.

Ladd McConkey, WR., Chargers (Round 2, Pick No. 34)

McConkey was the second pick of Round 2, and while his college production doesn’t scream big time receiver, there are signs that McConkey could be a pretty prolific player. A combination of injuries and, simply put, an overload of talent at Georgia put a cap on his production and playing time but Reception Perception exists to find these diamonds in the rough that don’t jump off the page.

While McConkey is terrible vs. press coverage, he absolutely destroyed zone coverages at an 83.3% clip and was also beating man at a nearly 75% rate, ranking above the 80th percentile in both areas. He also ran a very diverse set of routes, running posts, outs, digs, curls, slants and nine routes all more than 10% of the time, and posting above average success rates on all but the dig. McConkey is a very sound technician, and while he’s not going to dominate as an X receiver, that’s not what the Chargers will ask of him. After getting rid of Keenan Allen and letting Mike Williams leave in free agency, Jim Harbaugh is rebuilding the Chargers’ offensive identity. He still has an A+ franchise QB in Justin Herbert, and McConkey is well suited to be a volume hog right away. I wouldn’t project big touchdown totals, but he should be an asset in half and full-PPR formats, and he very well could lead the team in receptions.

Blake Corum, RB, Rams (Round 3, Pick No. 83)

Corum isn’t a big back, nor is he going to leap off the screen with blazing sped like De’Von Achane did last season. All Corum did was be one of the most prolific backs in college football for the last three seasons and be absolutely dominant. Corum was a highly productive workhorse as a sophomore and junior at Michigan, but he took it to another level as a senior, rushing for 1,245 yards and scoring an insane 27 touchdowns. That number is absurd, but consider that it was his third straight year with double-digit scores. Corum isn’t known as a dual threat player, but he did catch 24 passes in his sophomore season, and he’s a bona fide bell cow having logged 247 carries as a junior and 258 as a senior. He was drafted by the Rams, who already have a big time RB in Kyren Williams in place, but Williams has been far from durable in his young career. Corum will absolutely have a role right away, even if it’s just reducing the wear and tear on Williams, and should Williams get hurt then Corum might be a league-winner in Sean McVay’s offense.

The fantasy community will rightfully have high expectations of Kyren Williams, and his high draft price will likely depress Corum’s. I would absolutely be spending a late round pick on Corum as a high-upside flier.

Javon Baker, WR, Patriots (Round 4, Pick No. 110)

Baker is exactly what the Patriots offense has been missing for years, a big old playmaking WR on the outside who can pick up chunks of yardage and bail out the offense. Baker had the quote of the draft stating “I make people in wheelchairs stand up.” Well alright then!

Baker wasn’t exactly in a premier offense at UCF last season, but he still put up 1,139 yards and seven touchdowns in efficient fashion on only 52 receptions. He posted an insane 21.9 yards per catch mark, and posted a 61.5% success rate on nine routes, which made up an astonishing 35.6% of his routes. The Pats spent the No. 3 overall pick on a big armed QB in Drake Maye, and boy did they give him a high-end toy to play with when he gets on the field. Baker is not a one-trick pony though, beating zone at an 80.2% clip, and grading in the 88th percentile vs. press coverage.

New England’s offense was among the NFL’s worst in 2023, and while the new coaching staff is upgrading it this offseason, a Jacoby Brissett-led attack in 2024 isn’t likely to bring forth an elite rookie receiver for fantasy. But Baker’s talent is such that he could very well be a FLEX-worthy guy, because he could end up as the No. 1 target in a low-output offense. A big piece of a small pie can still be pretty valuable.