2024 NFL Draft - Best and Worst Landing Spots For Fantasy Football

May 1, 2024

Does landing spot matter in rookie drafts? Brant Henson drops his five favorite and five least favorite landing spots from the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now that the draft has finally come and gone, fantasy season is kicking into full swing. The 2024 draft class is potent with offensive talent, but some prospects were luckier than others were with their landing spots.

In rookie drafts, you should always focus on drafting talent because talent wins out long-term. However, landing spot plays a huge part in maximizing talent and has shaken up ADPs accordingly. If Drake Maye landed in Chicago and Caleb Williams was heading to New England, the outlook of both prospects would look a lot different.

RotoBaller’s Brant Henson is looking at five prospects who fell into a perfect situation, along with five who are in not-so-ideal spots.

Best Landing Spots - 2024 NFL Draft

Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams is not only touted as a “generational quarterback prospect,” but he also landed in generationally the best offense a first overall quarterback has ever seen. Let’s compare the Chicago offense that Justin Fields was drafted into four years ago.

Fields’ Rookie Season:

• RB David Montgomery
• WR Darnell Mooney
• WR Allen Robinson
• TE Cole Kmet
• TE Jimmy Graham
• LT Elijah Wilkinson
• LG Cody Whitehair
• C Sam Mustipher
• RG James Daniels
• RT Germain Ifedi

Williams’ Rookie Season:

• RB D’Andre Swift
• WR D.J. Moore
• WR Keenan Allen
• WR Rome Odunze
• TE Cole Kmet
• TE Gerald Everett
• LT Braxton Jones
• LG Teven Jenkins
• C Ryan Bates
• RG Nate Davis
• RT Darnell Wright

Williams already has the league’s best receiver trio at his fingertips. He is in a prime spot to light the league on fire as a rookie.

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

J.J. McCarthy goes from playing behind the best offensive line in college football history to immediately throwing to one of the most talented groups of pass catchers out there. Nick Mullens and Joshua Dobbs put up fantasy points in Kevin O’Connell’s scheme last season while throwing to the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson. The NFC North rookie quarterbacks landed in easily the two most favorable spots for a young signal caller. Buckle up for a fun division for the foreseeable future.

JJ McCarthy on what the #Vikings are getting in him:

“I want to be the best teammate and quarterback I could possibly be, and do whatever is asked of me. The only stat I care about is W’s.”

(Art via @hrxdzn) pic.twitter.com/zW3E5Jvus3

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) April 30, 2024

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

The draft’s WR1 fell into the arms of a team with a franchise quarterback lacking any weapons at all. Arizona’s WR1 before the draft was Michael Wilson, a third-rounder in the 2023 draft who had 565 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie. Marvin Harrison Jr. will be Kyler Murray’s best friend from day 1 and is a back-end Round 1 selection in redraft. Don’t overthink it - his target share will be immense from the jump.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Speaking of target share, the Los Angeles Chargers cut Mike Williams and traded Keenan Allen this offseason. Tight end Gerald Everett also left in free agency, as the Chargers vacated 63% of their targets from 2023. Los Angeles was left with a receiver room containing Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston as the top two options prior to the draft. 

Ladd McConkey has an opportunity to soak up targets in a role similar to the one he held at Georgia. As the defacto chain mover, McConkey is a solid bet to pace the team in targets as a rookie.

Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills

The Florida State prospect has an opportunity to instantly become an impact playmaker tied to one of the league’s elite quarterbacks in Josh Allen. Keon Coleman has the talent to blossom into an inside-outside receiver who can move all over the field and become a matchup nightmare. Don’t let his 4.6 combine speed fool you: he is quick on his feet, and even returned punts at Florida State. With Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis departed, Buffalo was a dream landing spot for any rookie receiver and the talented Coleman now can capitalize.

It’s very possible Keon Coleman is a 9-year old in the body of a Greek god pic.twitter.com/OVIKWpzBtE

— MANIAC (@ZachSheldon) April 29, 2024

Worst Landing Spots - 2024 NFL Draft

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

On the bright side, New England has a trusted veteran in Jacoby Brissett on the roster for Maye to learn from and even sit behind if needed. They also bolstered the receiver room through the draft, bringing in Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. However, this is a team that just put together one of the most atrocious offensive displays in recent memory in 2023, and is now led by a first-year defensive-minded head coach. Maye is talented, but he would be set up much better if he landed in Minnesota rather than New England.

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons

One of the most head-scratching draft picks in NFL history, Michael Penix Jr. came off the board at number eight just months after Atlanta had signed Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year deal. After six seasons of college football, Penix is not exactly a young prospect who has the luxury of waiting behind a veteran for four years. He will be 27 years old by the time Cousins’ deal is up, although it is possible that Atlanta could move on after two seasons. Penix’s immediate fantasy value tanked after the selection given that he won’t see the field unless Cousins is hurt. Had he landed somewhere like Denver or Las Vegas, we could have been talking about him as a surefire Round 1 rookie draft pick.

I've heard the arguments for the Penix pick. I just can't get there.

Two big issues:

1) this is not a typical Top-10 QB prospect. Just because you took him at 8 doesn't mean he's worth 8.
2) the Kirk contract was 6 WEEKS AGO. Less benefit from Penix's rookie deal now pic.twitter.com/0Fa22joq9O

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 30, 2024

MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Green Bay Packers

A number of fantasy analysts propped up MarShawn Lloyd all throughout the draft process, but at the end of the day the NFL-built runner will be buried on a deep depth chart as a rookie. With Green Bay having just signed Josh Jacobs and resigning A.J. Dillon, Lloyd finds himself as the third option in the backfield. He is an injury away from even seeing the field at this point, and would be much more intriguing in an offense like the Chargers’.

Green Bay Packers can move on from Josh Jacob's contract in 2025, there would be a $9 million dead cap hit. Moreover, in 2026, there would be a $6 million dead cap hit. I beg you to stop drafting Marshawn Lloyd over 1st round WR in rookie drafts. pic.twitter.com/CwVRQimJVv

— Jesse Moeller (@JMoeller05) April 30, 2024

Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets

Bruising running back Braelon Allen was viewed as a potential instant committee member as an early down back coming into the draft, but he landed in New York where Breece Hall is set to do the heavy lifting out of the backfield. While Allen could still see some work in goal-line situations and could give Hall a breather at times, he still has to hold off 2023 fifth-rounder Israel Abanikanda and 2024 fifth-rounder Isaiah Davis. This is a very crowded running back room at the moment, and Allen’s value would have been much stronger had he landed somewhere like Dallas or Las Vegas.

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

Disclaimer: Brock Bowers is still an elite tight end prospect and has no business falling beyond 1.07 at the very latest in rookie drafts. That being said, he fell a bit in the NFL Draft due to the quarterback run and the Raiders smartly pounced on him. This is not an ideal landing spot given the quarterback play (Gardner Minshew/Aidan O’Connell) and competition for targets (Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Michael Mayer) in a scheme that generally is more run-heavy than pass-heavy. Bowers would be a surefire slam early in rookie drafts had he landed in Los Angeles at pick five or had he fallen to Cincinnati, but instead he lands in Sin City behind Davante Adams in the pecking order.

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