Ian Hartitz's 2024 Top 150 Rankings for Fantasy Football

The masses are largely still months away from even thinking about drafting a fantasy football team.

But today isn’t a day for the masses—it’s a day for YOU, a fellow sicko who lives and breathes fantasy football 365 days a year, because what the hell else are we supposed to do with our time?

What follows are my initial top 150 rankings for fantasy football ahead of the 2024 season. Half-PPR scoring and single-QB leagues are the default settings. Check out the Fantasy Football Rankings page for updated ranks throughout the year from myself and the rest of the squad.

Underneath the below rankings you’ll find questions I asked and attempted to answer while coming up with these ranks.

Ian Hartitz's Top 150 Fantasy Football Rankings

Quarterback Fantasy Football Rankings for 2024

How much of a cheat code is the tush push in Fantasy Land?

Last season Jalen Hurts (16) and Josh Allen (14) led all QBs in rush attempts inside the five-yard line. The next-closest signal-caller finished with ... five. The Eagles’ franchise QB leads the NFL in rushing TDs (38) since taking over in 2021. Only Derrick Henry (35) and Austin Ekeler (30) have also reached 30.

Overall, Hurts has accounted for the fourth- and fifth-best seasons from a QB in Super Bowl history in terms of total fantasy points from purely rushing production. 

While Allen’s sky-high passing upside cements him as the overall QB1 (again), Hurts remains in the two-hole thanks to his cheat code caliber usage around the goal line.

How was the Anthony Richardson experience last season?

The Colts’ rising second-year QB started just two full games in 2023 … and he ripped off 20.9 and 29.6 fantasy points. Hell, he got to 17.7 in Week 2 vs. the Texans when he had two rushing TDs in just 18 snaps!

That said: The passing performance wasn’t pretty. Richardson ranked 45th in CPOE (-7.7%) among 49 qualified QBs. While his sub-60% completion rate isn’t a death blow considering guys like Jared Goff (54.6%), Andrew Luck (54.1%), Josh Allen (52.8%), and Jalen Hurts (52%) were all worse as rookies, it’s also not exactly ideal.

Ultimately, Shane Steichen looks a lot like one of the NFL’s best play-callers, and he’s been at the forefront of featuring his athletic QBs in the run game over the years. It’s awfully difficult to get Richardson out of the position’s top 10 without simply assuming he’ll get injured; just realize the 2023 NFL Draft’s No. 4 overall pick still has a LOT to prove as a passer—I’m not sure why he’s getting such a benefit of the doubt ahead of someone like Kyler Murray, who has proven capable of offering far more proven passing ability alongside still legit top-five upside.

Why do we still doubt Dak Prescott?

I don’t know. Prescott has led one high-powered scoring offense after another for the better part of the last half-decade.

Cowboys points per game:

• 2020 pre-Dak injury: 32.6 (No. 2)
• 2021: 31.2 (No. 1)
• 2022 post-Dak injury: 32.5 (No. 1)
• 2023: 29.9 (No. 1)

He’s my QB5 despite carrying a QB8 ADP. One of just four QBs to average at least 20 fantasy points per game last season.

Does Patrick Mahomes still deserve top-five treatment at the position?

Yeah, probably:

Mahomes fantasy points per game:

• 2023: 17.5 fantasy points per game (QB12)
• 2022: 24.5 (QB3)
• 2021: 21.3 (QB5)
• 2020: 25 (QB1)
• 2019: 20.5 (QB6)
• 2018: 26.1 (QB1)

Overall, Mahomes has averaged 22.4 fantasy points during his career—the most in NFL history. His 4.5% TD rate from 2023 is bound for some regression; he’s never gone two straight seasons without a TD rate of at least 6.3%. It’s also a bit fluky that he didn’t score a single rushing TD despite career-high marks in yards per game (24.3) and attempts per game (4.7).

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Throw in the addition of Marquise Brown, and it’d be surprising if the Chiefs’ current 10-game streak without scoring 30-plus points (fifth-longest in the NFL!) will still be prevalent by the time October rolls around.

Was Kyler back to QB1 ways in 23?

One of four QBs in NFL history to average 20-plus fantasy points per game for their career, Kyler managed to lead a top-10 offense in EPA per play, yards per play, and TD drive percentage during the final nine weeks of 2023. And he looked good doing it! 

Murray has worked as the QB11, QB4, QB4, QB7, and most recently QB9 in fantasy points per game during his five-year career. There’s no post-injury concern—Murray’s 20.17 MPH scramble was his fastest speed since the end of 2021. The former No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft is one of my favorite picks at cost thanks to the potential for him to leap back into the top-five conversation in a hurry should the Cardinals add a certain generational WR to the squad with the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Is a Trevor Lawrence bounce-back imminent?

Hopefully. On the one hand, swapping Calvin Ridley with Gabe Davis is a net negative for Duval County.

On the other hand, Jaguars GM Trent Baalke was pretty direct when pinning Trevor Lawrence’s 2023 regression on the team’s failure to keep him upright … 

“Unfortunately, he had four key injuries this year. When your quarterback has a throwing-shoulder injury, a knee injury, an ankle injury, and a concussion all in one year, that’s alarming. So we’ve got to work to improve that.”

… and accordingly, the Jaguars brought in former Bills C Mitch Morse, re-signed LG Ezra Cleveland, and restructured RG Brandon Scherff’s contract.

Ridley might have been the best WR available on the open market, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t responsible for a LOT of near-miss TDs last season. This WR room remains the league’s fourth-most expensive group and offers a decent enough trio between Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Davis—and that’s before considering what they might do with the 17th overall pick come April 25th.

Ultimately, the Jaguars’ improvements to PFF’s reigning 27th-ranked offensive line arguably outweigh the loss of Ridley, who didn’t exactly bring out the best from Lawrence last season anyway. While this passing game will be very reliant on Christian Kirk and Evan Engram playing to the best of their abilities, the upgrades in the trenches should help lead to better health and improved consistency from the team’s franchise QB—which is hardly a bad goal to prioritize.

Are Deshaun Watson and Drake Maye the later-round options to prioritize?

It’s looking that way. Watson actually posted top-10 finishes in three of his five full games last season. His 17.7 fantasy points per game, removing the injury-shortened affair against the Colts, would have put him on the QB1 borderline. Expecting Watson to return to top-five production at this point might as well be a pipe dream, but his current ADP seems far more impacted by off-the-field issues than what we should actually expect him to produce in 2024.

Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass as Duke Blue Devils linebacker Tre Freeman (12) defends in the first overtime at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

And then there’s Maye, who quietly posted the second-best rushing numbers of any incoming QB:

Fantasy points per game from purely rushing production over the last two seasons: 

• Jayden Daniels (13.8)
• Drake Maye (9.4)
• Caleb Williams (8.6)
• Bo Nix (7.3)
• J.J. McCarthy (4.2)
• Michael Penix (2.2)

While I agree that Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels deserve to go ahead of Maye in 2024 redraft formats, the near 39- and 18-pick differences between their respective overall ADPs don’t make too much sense at the moment with it hardly being guaranteed Maye gets the worst landing spot.

Maye to the Patriots? Okay, yeah, that would suck. But Washington? Minnesota? We would be in business there.

Running Back Fantasy Football Rankings for 2024

Why exactly are Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley ahead of Travis Etienne and Rachaad White?

The allure for the former backs: 

• JT only had three games with a workhorse 70%-plus snap rate last season while splitting time with (now Bengals) RB Zack Moss. Still, Taylor racked up 23, 24, and 32 touches in those games, and Moss posted elite 94% and 98% snap rates in a couple of performances without JT. This sort of every-down role would help mitigate the negative impact that high-end dual-threat QBs typically have on their running backs' fantasy value.
• Saquon isn’t exactly washed; the man finished 13th in rush yards over expected per carry (+0.39) right next to Jahmyr Gibbs (+0.4) and Bijan Robinson (+0.39) last season. However, Eagles RBs rank first in rush attempts from the opponent’s two-to-five-yard lines since 2010 … and 30th from the one-yard line specifically. Throw in the fact that Eagles RBs rank 25th in targets since 2021, and Barkley will need to be incredibly efficient on the ground to make up for a probable lack of overall fantasy-friendly touches.

Meanwhile, White (336 touches) and Etienne (325) touched the ball more than anyone not named Christian McCaffrey last season and both continue to operate in offenses that are tentatively expected to, you know, not suck.

Who are the better real-life RBs? Probably JT and Barkley, although their respective performances over the past two years haven’t exactly been prime. However, the potential volume discrepancy in KEY fantasy-friendly spots like targets and goal line carries has me leaning to White and ETN over these higher-priced veteran backs. There’s a difference between an offense being great in real life and great for RBs specifically in fantasy land.

What were the Lions RB splits like last season?

Well, the first half of the season regularly featured one of either Jahmyr Gibbs or David Montgomery being banged up and playing without the other. It’s great knowing that each is capable of supplying RB1 goodness as the featured back, but the latter RB did drag down the stretch when both were healthy:

If anything, Gibbs’s price tag seems a bit optimistic. The ability certainly seems to be there; just realize he caught fewer than five passes in all but three games last season and only cleared the 15-carry mark twice. The rising second-year talent needs to be one of the league’s best talents with the football in his hands in order to meet his present RB4 value.

What top-24 RBs are “washed” based on performance last year?

Shoutout to Tru Media for the following chart that shows 2023 performance in both yards after contact and missed tackles forced per carry. Spoiler: Elderly RBs typically aren’t great high-end fantasy assets.

But not James Conner! The Cardinals’ featured RB just keeps on keeping on. Fresh off an RB13 finish (15.5 PPR points per game), Conner again profiles as one of fantasy’s better mid-to-late-round additions at the position thanks to his demonstrated ability to rack up volume in an offense that should have more consistent scoring opportunities to go around in 2024 with a fully healthy Kyler Murray.

Is James Cook a trap?

I’m a little worried. His four-game stretch of dominance was a lot of fun, but Josh Allen’s goal-line prowess isn’t going anywhere, and Cook finished the season with zero TDs or games with even 85 total yards during his last five contests.

Reminder: Cook really didn't have much competition throughout 2023 … and finished as the RB19 in PPR points per game. Bills RBs ranked 24th in targets (84) and Cook received just four carries inside the five-yard line all season.

Kudos to Cook for posting the position’s 10th-best mark in rushing yards over expected per carry (+0.45), but his RB13 price tag is a hefty price inside of an offense that hasn’t enabled fantasy-friendly RBs for more years than not with Allen under center.

Are Najee Harris and Javonte Williams low-key good values?

In terms of expected PPR points: Yes.

• The Falcons ranked fifth, and the Steelers sixth, in expected PPR fantasy points last season. AKA: If the presence of Arthur Smith is good for anyone, it’s probably Najee (and Jaylen Warren).
• The Broncos were fourth in expected PPR fantasy points last season and haven’t made any additions to their backfield this offseason. No backfield had more total targets than Denver (144) last season.

Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) runs the ball in the first half against the Buffalo Bills in a 2024 AFC wild card game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Harris played the best football of his professional career last season by most metrics, while Williams’s efficiency took a big hit in his first year removed from major knee surgery (as expected). Neither is completely without competition, but it’s also rare to find RBs with 250-plus touch projections available after Round 8.

How injured is Nick Chubb?

Sam Sherman’s excellent PUP-candidate breakdown over at Establish The Run featured Dr. Porras stating that 10 months may be the minimum return-to-play timeline for Chubb’s specific injury, as opposed to nine months for a clean tear.

This sentiment is echoed by other learned doctors: Chubb’s multi-ligament injury required two separate surgeries and places him in uncharted territory. 

While there is some hope for a “full recovery” by Week 1, this injury could be a true issue for Chubb in the long-term even if he does manage to get back to looking like 90% of his usual baller self in 2024. Of course, many RBs would LOVE to simply be 90% as good as Chubb; just realize this could be problematic to his fantasy upside considering the Browns haven’t exactly handed him the world’s most fantasy-friendly role over the years:

• 2022: RB18 in expected PPR points per game, RB8 in real PPR points per game
• 2021: RB20 expected, RB12 real
• 2020: RB28 expected, RB9 real

This looks far more aligned with the “Javonte Williams” level of concern than “Breece Hall” from last season. Expect severely reduced efficiency even if Chubb manages to avoid starting the season on the PUP list.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Rankings for 2024

What should we make of Justin Jefferson but without Kirk Cousins?

Good questions! Long story short: It’s not good, but the 24-year-old superstar is far too good at the game to drop too far in the ranks. Here’s the long story from Fantasy Life director of analytics Dwain McFarland.

What did the return of Cooper Kupp do to Puka Nacua’s fantasy value?

The duo played 12 full games together last season:

• Nacua: 100 targets, 66 receptions-1,055 yards-4 TD
• Kupp: 99 targets, 63-753-5

That production amounted to solid PPR per game numbers for both Nacua (16.3) and Kupp (14)—marks that would have ranked them as the WR12 and WR23 on a per-game basis across the entire season.

Jan 14, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) runs from Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during the second half of a 2024 NFC wild card game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to be too down on Puka, but at a minimum, the discrepancy between his WR6 ADP and Kupp’s WR26 price tag seems a bit too wide. Reminder: Kupp is just one (injury-riddled) season removed from back-to-back overall WR1 campaigns in PPR points per game.

How good were Nico Collins and Tank Dell together?

Both cost a pretty penny in early drafts, and it makes sense: C.J. Stroud looks like the next big thing at QB, and (so far) the team hasn’t added any additional competition at WR.

In seven games together where each played at least 50% of the offense's snaps:

• Collins: 52 targets, 37 receptions-601 yards-5 TD
• Dell: 52 targets, 35-562-6

Dr. Morse believes Dell will be 100% with no issues for 2024. Dr. Chona also notes that data projects no lingering impact. Dr. Mueller adds Dell’s best return-to-play comp is Jaylen Waddle and not Tony Pollard.

Add it all together, and Nico (WR9 ADP) is probably going a bit too far ahead of Dell (WR20) at the moment. I have the duo ranked within just three spots of each other to reflect this reality.

How hyped should we be for Drake London WR1 szn?

Rising stars Drake London (23 in July), Kyle Pitts (24 in October), and Bijan Robinson (turned 22 in January) form one of the youngest and most exciting skill-position cores in the NFL. The ascension of London is particularly exciting considering his flashes and how prolific Cousins’s top WRs have been in the past.

Throw in the newfound presence of Kirk Cousins and return of PFF’s reigning No. 4 ranked offensive line, and suddenly 2023’s 26th-ranked scoring offense looks like a group that could vie for a top-10 spot in 2024.

High-end pocket passers like Cousins tend to bring out the best in their teammates in fantasy land thanks to their lack of added rushing volume. It remains to be seen just how well Cousins will mesh with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson; just realize this passing game looks poised to see rare big-time advances in terms of overall volume and efficiency.

Should we be HYPED for a potential George Pickens year-three breakout?

Yes, and no more Diontae Johnson is the main reason why. Pickens certainly took advantage of his time without Johnson on the field in 2023:

• 4-127-1
• 4-75-0
• 3-25-0
• 6-130-1

The presence of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields also helps matters when, you know, comparing things against the Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph experiences. Still not exactly fishing with dynamite, but both Courtland Sutton (59-772-10) and (especially) D.J. Moore (96-1,364-8) proved capable of being fantasy studs with those signal-callers last season.

It’s not a given that Pickens reaches the same heights as those two receivers, especially considering new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has a history of establishing the ole run at very high levels.

That said: The upside here is tantalizing. Pickens just turned 23 in March and has largely made the most out of his opportunities during his first two seasons in the league.

Most yards per target among 63 players with 150-plus targets 2022-23:

1. Brandon Aiyuk (10.8)
2. Jaylen Waddle (10.7)
3. Tyreek Hill (10.3)
4. George Pickens (10.2)

The tape backs up the idea that Pickens might be ready to truly explode in year three—something that has been commonplace in fantasy land over the years. It’s at least a little bit curious that Pickens hasn’t received nearly the same sort of bump in fantasy land as someone like Drake London despite experiencing similar good news over the last two weeks.

Are we buying low-ish on Diontae Johnson?

Yessir. ESPN analytics' “Open Score” WR rating has done a good job of quantifying Johnson’s elite ability at creating separation in recent years: 

• 2023: 78 (No. 11 among all qualified WRs)
• 2022: 99 (No. 1)
• 2021: 87 (No. 4)
• 2020: 92 (No. 3)
• 2019: 91 (No. 2)

Overall, Johnson profiles as the new No. 1 target in Carolina ahead of soon-to-be 34-year-old WR Adam Thielen. Whether or not this amounts to a boatload of fantasy production depends more so on if Bryce Young can prove his miserable rookie season was more due to his porous offensive environment as opposed to, you know, him just sucking.

Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) runs the ball pressured by Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Klein (52) in the second half in a 2024 AFC wild card game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Probable lack of scoring upside be damned: Johnson profiles as one of fantasy's cheapest WRs with the upside to EASILY command triple-digit targets. Is this Carolina passing game REALLY that much worse than the one he just left and in which he previously posted WR29 production in PPR points per game over the past three years?

How fantasy-friendly is Deebo Samuel’s workload really?

When healthy, Deebo is arguably the NFL’s most beastly WR, regularly racking up ridiculous YAC and forcing missed tackles like his life depends on it.

That said: He needs to be at his best pretty much all the time to make up for a less-than-ideal overall workload. Extra RB carries are fine, but not when they come at the expense of targets.

Deebo expected and realized PPR points per game:

• 2023: 16.2 realized (WR13), 12.1 expected (WR33)
• 2022: 13.3 realized (WR28), 13.5 expected (WR21)
• 2021: 21.1 realized (WR3), 15 expected (WR14)

Essentially the Nick Chubb of WRs, Samuel’s current WR17 ADP is a bit lofty for my liking considering the 28-year-old veteran simply hasn’t come close to seeing the sort of WR1-level volume that most players of his talents should be getting.

Is Stefon Diggs simply washed?

He certainly didn’t play too well down the stretch of last season.

That said, Josh Allen’s long-time No. 1 WR has caught at least 100 passes for 1,100-plus yards and eight scores in four consecutive seasons. Father Time is coming for the 30-year-old veteran; just realize there remains little overall target competition inside of a passing attack that has been among the league’s best over the past half-decade.

Diggs isn’t someone I’m dying to land in every draft, but he joins Cooper Kupp as potential buy-low-ish options who are suddenly available outside of the Round 1 discussion for the first time in a minute.

Tight End Fantasy Football Rankings for 2024

Does Travis Kelce deserve to be knocked off his No. 1 perch?

Many have been quick to anoint Lions TE Sam LaPorta and Trey McBride ahead of Kelce in 2024, but I’m not quite ready to do so. After all: Kelce’s 14.6 PPR points per game last season led all TEs to suit up in at least eight contests. He continues to play with the game’s best QB and projects for more targets than basically anyone at the position.

Maybe a drastic falloff courtesy of Father Time is coming, but his 7-71-0, 5-75-2, 11-116-1, and 9-93-0 playoff performances sure didn’t look like someone who is suddenly incapable of putting up big-time numbers.

Here’s last season’s TE leaderboard when we include playoff production:

1. Travis Kelce (16.1)
2. T.J. Hockenson (14.6)
3. Sam LaPorta (14.2)
4. Evan Engram (13.6)
5. David Njoku (12.8)

I’ve been drafting Kelce in Round 4 every chance I get in early 2024 drafts. While I don’t think ranking LaPorta higher is necessarily “stupid,” the rising second-year TE certainly doesn’t deserve to be going a full round ahead of the future Hall of Famer.

Where’s the love for Evan Engram?

Engram caught 114 of 143 (!) targets last season for 963 yards and four scores. If anything, the 29-year-old talent was a bit unlucky in the scoring department, something that he could be leaned on more for in 2024 after Calvin Ridley took his talents to Nashville.

Jan 7, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) makes a catch as Tennessee Titans safety Terrell Edmunds (38) defends during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

There simply isn’t much of a history of Doug Pederson doing anything other than enabling high-end fantasy TEs. During his seven years as a head coach:

• 2016 (Zach Ertz): TE3
• 2017 (Ertz): TE3
• 2018 (Ertz): TE2
• 2019 (Ertz): TE4
• 2020 (Dallas Goedert): TE9
• 2022 (Evan Engram): TE7
• 2023 (Engram): TE4

Engram’s TE9 ADP doesn’t make too much sense to me; he’s my TE5 ahead of guys like Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts, and George Kittle due to his likely superior volume and solid enough QB situation.

Is Michael Mayer a PRIME late-round option at the position?

Abso-lutely. Through 18 offseason drafts Mayer is my most-drafted TE thanks to the hope that he assumes more of a full-time role in year two. The Raiders letting Austin Hooper sign with the Patriots is a good start toward that goal.

Many believed Mayer to be the most-talented TE in his rookie class … and now he’s priced (TE18) well behind guys like Sam LaPorta (TE1), Dalton Kincaid (TE6), and even Luke Musgrave (TE17).

Betting on Mayer is betting on the 35th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft having his best football ahead of him inside of an offense without too much room to go other than up. Still just 22 years old, Mayer likely won’t still be available outside of the draft’s top 150 picks come August, so load up while you can.

How injured is T.J. Hockenson?

Very!

Hockenson was putting together the most productive season of his career before tearing both his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve. His 1/29/24 surgery date won’t help his chances of returning by Week 1.

Both Dr. Morse and Dr. Mueller believe Hockenson could miss half of the 2024 season with an overall performance dip until 2025. Ninety percent of Hockenson would still be better than most TEs—he and Travis f*cking Kelce were the top two players at the position in PPR points per game last season after all—but there’s an added wild card here if Kirk Cousins (Achilles) also comes back at less than 100% next season.

Hockenson is expected to miss half of next season and could struggle to provide his usual production even upon returning, making him a VERY risky pick anywhere near the position’s top 12 options.