Every time a door opens in the NFL, another door closes. When players are drafted, someone else’s job and usage are in jeopardy. This is a league of continual change and touches being earned. This year’s NFL Draft was no different. There were winners and there were losers. Dynasty Fantasy Football Managers ride an emotional rollercoaster and leave the draft either feeling a sense of relief and optimism or dread. In a series of articles, I will examine Dynasty’s Winners and Losers post-NFL Draft. In this first article, I examine some players who were big winners. These players came out of the NFL Draft unscathed and potentially gained Dynasty value.
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Winners
QB Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
Good players can be Dynasty Fantasy Football winners too. I will keep this one brief. Kansas City drafted a WR in the first round for the first time since 2011. Xavier Worthy joins Hollywood Brown in a significantly upgraded WR room. Mahomes should finish closer to his QB1 finish of 2022 than his QB10 (PPG) finish of 2023.
QB Caleb Williams – Chicago Bears
Williams is already a winner. He stepped into a situation that was already very good the moment he was picked, but by the end of the NFL Draft his situation had turned to GREAT. There has never been a QB picked at No. 1 overall with this many weapons.
He has the best WR trio in the league to go along with an improving offensive line, depth, talent at RB, and two TEs. Williams should be a top 9 QB in Dynast Startups immediately- and that ranking could look laughably low a year from now.
QB Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals
Murray gained one of the best WR prospects in recent memory in Marvin Harrison Jr.– the highest WR selected in the NFL Draft since 2015. Arizona now has a true Alpha WR1 with potential to be the best in the game. The Cardinals continued to lean into the offensive side of the ball with the selections of RB Trey Benson and TE Tip Reiman. Kyler Murray has top 5 QB potential in 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football and leads one of the NFL’s ascending offenses.
QB Daniel Jones – New York Giants
Jones is officially the Dynasty Houdini. What a turn of events for Dynasty Fantasy Football managers. Jones not only avoided a first round QB, but ended up with Malik Nabers – the best WR he has ever played with. The dynamic Nabers now becomes the young focal point of New York’s offense, and Jones should be the big beneficiary.
The Giants passed on three QBs that went onto be top 12 selections. The shelf life could still be short, but if the Giants get back to their 2022 win total, Jones may have bought himself two more seasons as a starter.
QB Gardner Minshew – Las Vegas Raiders
Minshew will have to beat out Aidan O’Connell, but that is a much easier ask than holding off a J.J. McCarthy or Michael Penix Jr. Much like Jones, Minshew avoided competition AND added an elite weapon. Brock Bowers provides another bigtime weapon to an offense that could have way more downfield targets this season. Minshew mania? Maybe not, but Superflex managers should be feeling optimistic about stealing some cheap starts this year.
RB Jaylen Warren/Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers adding Arthur Smith as OC this offseason already made Warren and Harris winners. Smith was Tennessee’s OC during Derrick Henry‘s dominant 2,000 yard season. He also oversaw fantasy success from Tyler Allgeier, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Bijan Robinson in Atlanta. To add even more optimism with the Pittsburgh RBs, the Steelers drafted Amarius Mims and Jackson Powers-Johnson– two of the better offensive linemen in the 2024 class.
RB Zamir White – Las Vegas Raiders
White finished the 2023 season strongly. He stepped in for the injured Josh Jacobs and posted four straight RB2 or better performances. Dynasty managers rostering him held cautious optimism that this could be the offseason where he finally locked in a full-time role. Every domino started to fall White’s way.
Jacobs signed with Green Bay. The only free agent that Las Vegas brought in was Alexander Mattison– hardly a threat for volume. All White had to do was survive the NFL Draft, and he did just that. The only RB that Vegas selected was Dylan Laube in the sixth round. White enters the season as the unquestioned leader at RB under a Head Coach Antonio Pierce who wants to run the ball.
RB Gus Edwards – Los Angeles Chargers
Edwards signed with LA this offseason, reuniting with OC Greg Roman. It was widely assumed that LA would draft a Day 2 RB such as Blake Corum, and Edwards would be a committee back. While Edwards could still be in a committee, his competition for touches is promising. The Chargers selected a running back on Day 3 from Troy, Kimani Vidal. That leaves oft injured former Baltimore teammate J.K. Dobbins and Vidal as the two running backs that will compete with Edwards for touches. Dobbins and Vidal are talented, but Edwards will enter the season as the odds on favorite to lead the Chargers in RB production.
RB Isiah Pacheco – Kansas City Chiefs
Pacheco took a big step forward in 2023, finishing as RB15. After avoiding any RB competition in free agency, Pacheco came out of the NFL Draft unscathed. The Chiefs offense should be better this season. There is no reason Pacheco cannot take another leap forward in production and finish as an RB1.
RB Travis Etienne – Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars avoided bringing in any RBs through free agency or the NFL Draft. Etienne’s 2024 competition will be Tank Bigsby.
Last season, Etienne finished as RB3 overall, while Bigsby was nonexistent. The 25-year-old former first round pick will continue to thrive. Jacksonville got faster, bigger, and younger at the WR position with the signing of Gabe Davis and the selection of Brian Thomas Jr. Etienne will continue to thrive.
RB Rachaad White – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucky Irving is a very good pass catcher, which could sometimes be annoying for White this season. But Irving is not a threat to take on volume in the run game, and White (272 carries in 2023) should continue to be an integral part of the Tampa Bay offense. With 114 catches during his first two NFL seasons, don’t expect White’s numbers to go down in that category either. Irving caps White’s ceiling, but his floor remains intact.
WR Terry McLaurin – Washington Commanders
McLaurin could be this year’s version of 2023 D.J. Moore – a veteran WR who posts a career year with upgraded QB play. The 28-year-old McLaurin has posted four seasons of 1000+ yards and at least 77 receptions.
But what he has not had is a WR finish higher than WR20 in PPG. The potential is there for a HUGE year and a top 10 season. McLaurin managers have long waited for a season like that, and their patience could be rewarded.
WR Jameson Williams – Detroit Lions
Detroit was a wildcard to add WR competition for Williams, and the No. 29 pick was viewed as a wildcard pick that could have gone in a number of ways. Detroit ultimately selected CB Terrion Arnold in the first round. They again passed on WR on Day 2 and ultimately ignored the position altogether. Williams looks poised for a fulltime WR2 role, and his breakout year could be on the horizon. Josh Reynolds departed for Denver, and his usage should be absorbed by Williams. This offense has enough quality pieces that Williams could thrive on spike weeks alone.
For more from PlayerProfiler, check out this article – 2024 NFL Draft Day 2 and 3 Recap – Fantasy Football Takeaways (playerprofiler.com)
