My Yahoo Fantasy Football Draft Grade & Recap (2024)

2024 Rank: 2 - 2023 Rank: 2

A late charge allowed Lamb to overtake Tyreek Hill as the highest-scoring WR in fantasy football last year, with the Dallas standout putting up 443 yards and four TDs over the final three weeks to finish with a 135-1,749-12 receiving line. Lamb has improved his production with each passing season since the Cowboys drafted him 17th overall in 2020, but it was nonetheless surprising to see him leap another full tier forward after a 107-1,359-9 showing in 2022. Lamb even padded his stats with career highs for carries (14), rushing yards (113) and TDs (two), giving him a 43-318-3 career rushing line through four seasons. The combination of carries and a huge volume of short targets provides Lamb with easy fantasy points, and he's also capable of beating defenses deep or piling up yards after the catch. He broke double-digit tackles each of the past three seasons, and he's never had an aDOT below 9.3 or a YAC average below 4.2. Lamb doesn't have elite speed (4.50 40) or size (6-2, 200), but it hasn't really mattered so far as he enters his age-25 season looking to connect with QB Dak Prescott again.

2024 Rank: 18 - 2023 Rank: 18

A late-season shoulder injury cost Pacheco two games and Week 18 rest a third, but in the 14 games he played last season Pacheco showed a new level of skill (and fantasy value) relative to his promising 2022 rookie season. His fantasy value improved mostly because he jumped from 14 targets in 2022 to 49 last year, benefitting from Jerick McKinnon's injury but also an increase in Andy Reid's trust in Pacheco. The trust showed up in other forms, with Pacheco adding 35 carries (205-170) and four TDs (9-5) to his rookie-year totals despite playing three fewer games. If Pacheco can simply maintain last year's usage pace of roughly 250 carries and 50 catches per 17 games, we might be looking at a career year in 2024. Kansas City's depth chart is glaringly void of competition, with no incoming draft picks and Clyde Edwards-Helaire being the only other experienced running back. Pacheco already showed last year what this breakout might look like -- if you include four playoff games his season total was 286 carries for 1,248 yards (4.4 YPC) and 10 touchdowns in 18 games, plus 65 receptions for 304 yards and two TDs.

2024 Rank: 19 - 2023 Rank: 19

The stars truly aligned for London this offseason, setting him up as an almost-can't-miss breakout candidate for 2024. The Falcons fired Arthur Smith, replaced him with Raheem Morris (head coach) and Zac Robinson (playcaller), signed QB Kirk Cousins and then shocked everyone by drafting QB Michael Penix eighth overall. After playing with lousy quarterbacks his first two seasons, London may be set up for the next decade alongside competent passers. He had 2.03 yards per route as a rookie and 1.90 last season, recording 866 and 905 receiving yards in Smith's run-first offenses. Similar per-route production in a more pass-oriented offense would already be enough to push London over 1,000 yards, and in this case we could see huge volume gains combining with improved efficiency (thanks to Cousins/Robinson) to fuel a breakout season from the uber-talented 23-year-old wideout.

2024 Rank: 40 - 2023 Rank: 40

For the first time in three seasons, Jackson was healthy for a full schedule last year, resting only for a meaningless Week 18. Good health and the playcalling of new offensive coordinator Todd Monken returned Jackson to the top five of fantasy quarterbacks and led to his second MVP award. Monken propelled Jackson to career highs for pass attempts (457) and passing yards (3,678 yards), although the Ravens still ran more than most teams. Jackson only threw 24 touchdowns, but his elite rushing picked up the slack as he averaged a league-high 5.6 yards per carry to lead all quarterbacks with 821 yards, adding five rushing TDs. He's never run for more than seven TDs in a season and probably won't go much higher than that while sharing a backfield with offseason signing Derrick Henry, but Jackson could also see an uptick in TD passes if tight end Mark Andrews enjoys better health after missing seven games last season. Wide receiver Zay Flowers gives Jackson another reliable target, with WR Rashod Bateman and TE Isaiah Likely shaping up as solid secondary options. Jackson's combination of efficient passing and elite rushing should lead to another top-five fantasy finish among quarterbacks.

2024 Rank: 45 - 2023 Rank: 45

White was a big-play specialist at Arizona State, but he successfully rebranded as a high-volume workhorse for the Buccaneers last season, even as his big plays dried up with the transition. He took more carries in 2023 (272) than he did in his two years at Arizona State combined (224), also more than doubling his 2022 rookie-year total (129). White handled the burden with ease, averaging 50.6 snaps and 19.8 touches in 17 regular-season games en route to a No. 4 finish among RBs in PPR points (No. 8 in standard scoring). White averaged 3.6 yards per carry and had only three rushes of 20-plus yards, but his pass-catching production was elite by any measure. A 91.4 percent catch rate (64 receptions on 70 targets) led all qualified pass catchers, and his 8.6 yards per reception ranked fourth among running backs. Eight RBs got more targets, but only three caught more passes and only two had more receiving yards. The big concern with White is that he'll eventually lose playing time and touches (mostly carries) if he doesn't improve his rushing efficiency -- a risk that may be higher with Liam Coen replacing new Panthers coach Dave Canales as Tampa's offensive coordinator. The Bucs didn't sign any RBs of significance this offseason but did spend a fourth-round pick on Bucky Irving, whose draft stock had seemed to tumble after a 4.55 40-yard dash (at 192 pounds). White was a late-third-round pick, back in 2022, but he's bigger (6-0, 214) faster (4.44 40) and now much more experienced.

2024 Rank: 66 - 2023 Rank: 66

Kittle epitomized the phrase "quality over quantity" last season. Despite ranking ninth among tight ends with 90 targets and finishing 10th with 65 catches, he had a position-leading 1,020 receiving yards while setting career highs in both yards per target (15.7) and yards per catch (11.3), thanks in large part to an impressive 7.5 YAC per reception. Kittle also tied for second among TEs with six TDs, marking the third consecutive season in which he has scored at least that many. As long as Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are all playing, Kittle is unlikely to see a major increase in target volume even though he's capable of carrying San Francisco's offense any given week -- as evidenced by his three games with at least 116 yards in 2023. While his only absence of 2023 came in Week 18, the 30-year-old has a lengthy history of missing time and playing through injuries. Kittle hasn't played a full season since 2018, and he missed OTAs and minicamp while recovering from core muscle surgery for an injury he reportedly played through for much of last season.

2024 Rank: 58 - 2023 Rank: 58

Pickens almost immediately became a starter as a 21-year-old rookie and progressed to the 1,000-yard threshold in 2023, his second NFL season. A strong finish last year allowed Pickens to improve on his rookie-year totals by margins of 22 targets, 11 catches, 339 yards and one touchdown, with his target rate per route jumping from 14.2 percent to 19.6 percent (which made up for Pittsburgh running the ball more). He figures to again be in a run-heavy offense for his age-23 season, only this time under Arthur Smith rather than Matt Canada. It's probably an upgrade for the offense overall, but it might be a downgrade for WR fantasy production. The good news is that Pickens won't have tough target competition from Pittsburgh's other receivers, as the Steelers traded away Diontae Johnson and will either start third-round rookie Roman Wilson or a journeyman veteran across from Pickens. The other good news is that Kenny Pickett is gone, even if a well-aged Russell Wilson (plus Justin Fields) is far from the ideal QB situation.

2024 Rank: 69 - 2023 Rank: 69

It took half the season, but the Packers found their next franchise quarterback. Love struggled a bit in the first eight weeks last year, throwing 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions as the team went 2-5. But the light switched on in the second half, and he threw 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions as the Packers went 7-3 to make the playoffs. In that span, Love was top eight in the NFL for completion percentage, on-target percentage, TD percentage and YPA. He dominated with the deep ball as well, with 20 completions on attempts of 20-plus yards (second only to Dak Prescott's 26). Love finished the season seventh in passing yards (4,159) and second in touchdown passes (32). The Packers' skill players are young and talented, led by wide receivers Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks as well as tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Green Bay swapped out RB Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs and drafted running back MarShawn Lloyd in the third round for improved backfield depth. Love even adds a bit of rushing production (247 yards, four TDs), which gives him a shot at repeating last year's QB5 fantasy finish.

2024 Rank: 98 - 2023 Rank: 98

Moss was one of the league's better backup RBs in Indianapolis the past two years, and after signing a two-year, $8 million contract with Cincinnati to replace Joe Mixon, it appears the former Utah star will get a real shot to start, perhaps even in a workhorse role. Although injuries have interrupted each of his four NFL seasons, Moss is capable as a runner, blocker and pass catcher, which allows him to handle large, three-down workloads when needed (like he did for the Colts last season when Jonathan Taylor was out). It remains to be seen how much the Bengals will rotate Moss with promising second-year back Chase Brown, who barely played before December last season but then took 53 touches for 322 yards over the final six weeks. Brown is much faster, boasting 4.43 speed, but Moss' wealth of experience and reputation for good pass blocking could earn him a lot of playing time (and easy fantasy points) even if big plays are few and far between -- a formula that that worked quite well for Mixon in Cincinnati the last few years.

2024 Rank: 92 - 2023 Rank: 92

With 4.36 speed in a 6-4, 208-pound frame, it perhaps shouldn't be surprising that Watson has at times looked like a No. 1 receiver since the Packers took him 34th overall in the 2022 Draft. Most analysts didn't like the pick at the time, but it now seems Watson was a good selection in terms of skill and talent, with health/durability standing as the biggest question after two seasons. He's scored 14 touchdowns in 23 games, but he's piled up injuries at nearly as high a rate, including three stints of missed time due to hamstring troubles and two issues with his right knee. Watson has missed 11 full games and been limited in others, undoing much of the goodwill from a four-game stretch in his rookie season (Weeks 10-14) with 362 total yards and eight touchdowns. Watson was quiet early last season before eventually coming around mid-year, only to miss the final five games with a hamstring injury (after putting up 5-94-1 in Week 13 and 7-71-2 in Week 14). He made it back for the playoffs, but at that point he was losing a bunch of snaps to surging rookie Dontayvion Wicks, the latest standout in a young, talented WR room that also includes Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Bo Melton. The Packers believe Watson's hamstring problems are under control now, but that doesn't mean he'll see big-time volume from QB Jordan Love.

2024 Rank: 159 - 2023 Rank: 159

Baltimore led the NFL in points allowed, sacks, takeaways, and D/ST scoring in 2023, after finishing top 10 in all those categories the previous year. Mike McDonald, their defensive coordinator for two seasons, became Seattle's head coach this offseason, with internal promotion Zach Orr taking over as Baltimore's new DC. The Ravens also lost OLB Jadeveon Clowney, LB Patrick Queen, S Geno Stone and CB Ronald Darby, leaving them with less depth. However, star power remains, and first-round pick Nate Wiggins adds 4.28 speed to the secondary. LB Roquan Smith, S Kyle Hamilton, and DT Justin Madubuike are among the league's best at their positions, and they're joined by other quality, veteran starters. Despite this, the combination of offseason losses, a coaching change, and a tough schedule (.536 opponent win percentage) suggests Baltimore's defense isn't far ahead of the pack the way it was for much of last season.

2024 Rank: 117 - 2023 Rank: 117

Although Benson fell to the third round of the 2024 Draft, there's a plenty good chance he ends up being the best running back from his class. The Cardinals made him the second running back selected, near the top of the third round, and that pick looks like a good value for an improving offense. The esteemed James Conner remains the starter, but Conner's extensive injury history gives reason to identify Benson as one of the league's high-upside backup runners. Benson proved his speed with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 Scouting Combine, where he weighed in at 6-0, 216. He may only be a rotational runner for the Cardinals initially, but if Conner misses any time it could be a Wheels Up situation for Benson.

2024 Rank: 113 - 2023 Rank: 113

Goedert has averaged 55 catches, 651 receiving yards and 3.6 TDs over the past five seasons, consistently producing like a low-end fantasy starter. He'll likely continue to cede the majority of targets to WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and splashy offseason addition Saquon Barkley presents stiffer competition for targets underneath. Still, Philadelphia's lack of playmakers beyond those three should keep Goedert's floor respectable. He's a reliable target who can keep the offense on schedule and move the chains, but he doesn't get many goal-line targets or deep passes, instead relying on short receptions and yards after the catch. High-value touches are at a premium in Philadelphia, where QB Jalen Hurts always get a ton of goal-line carries and A.J. Brown tends to suck up the most valuable targets. Since the start of the 2022 season, Hurts has 28 rushing TDs and Brown has 18 receiving TDs, while Goedert has scored only six times. If you're drafting Goedert, it's for the safety of his floor -- five straight years with at least 3.7 catches and 40.5 yards per game -- rather than any hope for a new ceiling.

2024 Rank: 116 - 2023 Rank: 116

Doubs has been a starter for the Packers since early in his 2022 rookie season, but he's never been targeted at an especially high rate, finishing with 425 yards on 67 chances in 2022 (13 games) and 674 yards on 96 targets in 2023 (17 games). His only 100-yard game was a 151-yard effort at Dallas in the playoffs last year, which he followed with 83 yards in a loss to San Francisco the next week. Doubs' strong finish to 2024 may be especially important because there's tough competition for WR snaps from other young players on Green Bay's roster. Doubs and fellow 2022 draft pick Christian Watson (second round) are the elder statesmen, but rookie Jayden Reed (second round) and Dontayvion Wicks (fifth round) both had superior per-route production and target rates last year. Reed figures to spend a lot of time in the slot, leaving Doubs, Wicks and Watson to compete for perimeter snaps in an offense that also got two promising tight ends from the 2024 Draft (Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft).

2024 Rank: 256 - 2023 Rank: 256

Dicker went undrafted in 2022 and bounced around four different organizations before eventually becoming the Chargers' top placekicker. He's done nothing but make kicks since then, going 50 of 53 on field-goal attempts (94.5 percent) and 59 of 59 on PATs (in 27 games). Dicker didn't have the volume to be a top fantasy kicker last year, but he helped his own cause by going 7-for-9 from 50-plus yards and 9-for-9 in the 40-49 range. The lack of misses allowed him to tie for eighth among kickers in fantasy points without ranking top 12 in either field-goal or extra-point tries. Dicker's accuracy is bound to regress, at least a little, but he could make up for it with more volume if new coach Jim Harbaugh is quick to turn the Chargers around.