With the 2024 fantasy football season fast approaching, we look to Fantasy Life analysts for their thoughts on how to stay ahead of your league mates and bring home fantasy titles this season. 

Here are Ian Hartitz, Dwain McFarland and Peter Overzet on how to spice up your league setup, plus their best fantasy advice and bold predictions for 2024.

What is one idea to make your home league more fun/interesting?

DWAIN — My favorite leagues aim to reduce luck. Personally, I prefer these formats because football already offers plenty of variance in the form of injuries, wild coaching decisions and other factors. If you and your league mates are on the same wavelength, there's one change that can hugely reduce the luck factor and make things more enjoyable.

Move to a blind bidding waiver system.

This system gives every manager an equal chance to land the top free agents. Why should the teams that lost Week 1 automatically get Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams? When your starting RB suffers a season-ending injury, why shouldn't you have an equal chance to acquire his backup?

When you move to a blind bidding format, every team gets a Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB). It represents an imaginary piggy bank that you can use to bid on free agents each week. Most leagues start with $1,000 in FAAB.

That budget must last for the entire season, so an element of strategy comes into play. Would you rather go big early in the season to try and maximize your investment, or do you want to wait out the competition and monopolize the free agent market close to the playoffs?

PETE — Here's a simple yet effective way to spice up your leagues: Add more spots to the starting lineup and reduce the number of bench spots.

My favorite leagues allow me to start a majority of the players on my team. This accomplishes a few different things. One, it rewards the more skilled drafters. When the starting lineups are shallow, there is more luck and randomness involved as most teams in the league will have strong starting lineups. But the more players you are forced to start, the more skill is required in drafting well and working the waiver wire.

Speaking of the waiver wire, reducing the number of bench spots forces everyone in the league to make tough decisions each week and keeps the waiver wire fresh, with teams constantly churning for immediate production and covering bye weeks. It's no fun when the waiver wire is completely picked over and all the sleepers are stashed on everyone's deep benches.

Implement these two subtle tweaks and watch the action start flying.

IAN — Add a last-place punishment if you don't have one already.

Here are some examples, courtesy of the Fantasy Life Punishment Generator:

  • You too can be Joey Chestnut: Eat one hot dog every inning of a baseball game. Here's to hoping the game doesn't go to extra innings!
  • Binge it: Loser must binge-watch a TV show of the winner's choosing and offer a full recap on social media without telling anyone why.
  • Date night: Put your favorite team's jersey on a giant stuffed animal and bring it to Buffalo Wild Wings, then enjoy the evening!
  • Hail to the winner: Get a poster of the league winner and put it on your bedroom wall for the year.

There are countless other possibilities, of course. The point here is that a last-place punishment keeps the entire league involved for the duration of the season, even if the championship dreams of many teams are already dashed by December.

FL Mag

What is your biggest piece of advice to fantasy football players that changed the way you play?

PETE — Stop playing scared.

So many drafters are more concerned with not looking stupid than they are with actually winning their league. If you play in a competitive league with 11 other solid managers, you have only an 8.3% (1 in 12) chance of winning the league. Let that sink in for a moment: If you play things conservatively, you're expected to win just once every 12 years.

So do whatever it takes to tilt the odds in your favor. Take on risk. Be willing to zig when everyone is zagging. Stack up an offense you think is undervalued. Go with the "Zero RB" strategy we detail elsewhere in this magazine. Send out a bunch of trade offers for star players who start the season slow. The objective: Do anything you can to increase your chances of winning above standard win rate expectations.

I mean, what's the worst thing that happens? You finish in last place, have to live in a Waffle House for 24 hours and end up on Matthew Berry's X feed for living the #fantasylife? Exactly.

IAN — Stay a week ahead on the waiver wire.

You know the only thing cooler than landing the consensus top waiver wire option in any given week?

Answer: already having them on your bench because you, a scholar, had the foresight to identify the player's upside a week before everyone else.

Obviously we can't predict injuries, and some NFL coaches always seem to find a way to disrupt our best-laid plans with peculiar depth chart decisions (looking at you, Arthur Smith). That said, making sure your bench is filled with high-upside players just an injury away from assuming a big-time role is something you can control.

Why roster multiple QBs, TEs or D/STs when you could use that extra spot on someone like Ty Chandler, Will Shipley or Elijah Mitchell? If you already have five baller WRs, doesn't it make sense to load up on legit handcuffs instead of fringe WR5 types like Jerry Jeudy and Rashod Bateman?

Dec 31, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler (32) runs with the ball against the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Even if you're already set at RB, many backups are truly just one injury away from entering the RB2 conversation, making the prospect of already having the popular handcuff option during any given week an enticing opportunity in the trade market — especially when discussing potential deals with the manager who just got their teeth kicked in by the feared injury gods.

DWAIN — Just pick the right players.

I know, I know. That's much easier said than done. So let's amend that statement to something more realistic: Just pick the right types of players.

Yes, that's right. In fantasy football, it pays to have a type. For each position, there are traits that we can think of as cheat codes, especially at QB and RB.

Quarterback

We want QBs who can run. Since 2010, 26 QBs have reached 600-plus rushing yards in a season. They averaged 22.1 fantasy points per game, and only two of them finished outside the top 12.

Here are candidates to reach 600-plus rushing yards and their best ball ADP:

  • Josh Allen – Round 3
  • Jalen Hurts – Round 4
  • Lamar Jackson – Round 4
  • Anthony Richardson – Round 5
  • Kyler Murray – Round 7
  • Jayden Daniels – Round 9
  • Justin Fields – Round 18

Running back

We want RBs who earn targets. Yes, we still want the carries, but work in the passing game has been the calling card of elite backs. Since 2011, there have been 25 RBs to eclipse 20 points per game in half PPR. Only seven of them failed to reach 60-plus targets.

Candidates to reach 60-plus targets and their best-ball ADP:

  • Christian McCaffrey – Round 1
  • Breece Hall – Round 1
  • Bijan Robinson – Round 1
  • Jahmyr Gibbs – Round 2
  • De'Von Achane – Round 3
  • Josh Jacobs – Round 4
  • James Cook – Round 5
  • Rachaad White – Round 5
  • Alvin Kamara – Round 6
  • Aaron Jones – Round 7
  • Jaylen Warren – Round 8

What is your boldest prediction for the 2024 NFL season?

IAN — Rookie WRs go absolutely nuclear.

I'm not just talking about the consensus Big Three entering the NFL Draft. Sure, Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and, to a lesser extent, Rome Odunze are set up well fantasy-wise ahead of 2024, but it's the other Day 1 and Day 2 options who managed to land on soft depth charts with upside QBs who are especially enticing at cost.

  • Brian Thomas Jr. already profiles as the Jaguars' lead outside WR and has a decent chance of working as QB Trevor Lawrence's No. 1 target.
  • Xavier Worthy has already earned some "D-Jax" (DeSean Jackson) praise from Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and could be heavily leaned on early, especially if Rashee Rice is suspended.
  • Keon Coleman has a legit chance of leading the Bills in targets in his rookie year, which is pretty cool considering his QB is Josh f***ing Allen.
  • Ladd McConkey profiles as the Chargers' fairly undisputed No. 1 WR. His targets figure to be plentiful coming from Justin Herbert, even if the offense ultimately runs the ball more than fantasy managers would prefer.

Even guys like Ja'Lynn Polk and Xavier Legette also could realistically lead their offense in targets, while Jermaine Burton, Malachi Corley, Ricky Pearsall and Adonai Mitchell at least profile as early-season starters in offenses led by QBs that fantasy managers generally approve of.

A total of 16 WRs were selected among the top 100 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Don't be surprised if at least a handful of them turn into higher-end fantasy options sooner rather than later.

DWAIN — The Falcons become a top-three offense, with RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts all delivering huge fantasy seasons.

Atlanta has invested high-end draft capital in offensive skill positions over the past few years:

  • Pitts: Round 1, Pick 4 (2021)
  • London: Round 1, Pick 8 (2022)
  • Robinson: Round 1, Pick 8 (2023)

Unfortunately, abysmal QB play and bizarre personnel utilization by former head coach Arthur Smith subdued fantasy production.

Over the last three seasons, the Falcons averaged 195 yards and 1.1 TDs through the air, the fifth-worst production in the NFL. In that same span, the Falcons' new starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, averaged the sixth-most yards (271) and TDs (1.9). Atlanta also added QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick in April, completing a massive upgrade to the QB room.

Dec 24, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) carries the ball against Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Zac Robinson, formerly of the Rams, will take over as offensive coordinator and stabilize the playing time of his star players. Last season, Smith's deployment of his stars was laughable:

  • Bijan Robinson: under 50% of rushing attempts in 12 of 16 non-injury games. LOL
  • Drake London: under 90% route participation in 7 of 15 non-injury games. LMAO
  • Kyle Pitts: under 80% route participation in 9 of 17 games. ROFL

It's hard to run so pure as an offense in one offseason, but the Falcons have threaded the needle. There's a world in which all three players lead their position in fantasy points in 2024.

PETE — Every year we seem to get one undervalued offense that comes out of nowhere. Last year it was the Houston Texans, led by a blistering campaign from rookie QB C.J. Stroud. 

This year, I think we will get multiple dark horse teams who surprise everyone.

Maybe it's Patriots QB Drake Maye pulling a Justin Herbert-like rookie year and scorching the league after coming into the NFL as a polarizing prospect.

Maybe Steelers QB Russell Wilson, finally separated from a coach who hated him in Denver, gives us some vintage Russell performances and vaults Pittsburgh to the playoffs.

Maybe Carolina QB Bryce Young, left for dead by most commentators, bounces back with a new head coach and an influx of new offensive weaponry?

Or maybe Broncos QB Bo Nix shocks everyone, morphs into Sean Payton's new Drew Brees and gives Denver its first legit QB since Peyton Manning.

Don't make me pinpoint exactly which offenses are going to shock the world … just know it's the Year of the Sleeper Team.