League Winners? Fantasy Football Rookies With League-Winning Upside

Rookies have notoriously been difficult to predict for fantasy football. For years, managers tried their best to avoid rookies due to the uncertainty and volatility surrounding them.

In more recent years, though, we have seen rookies make an immediate impact. Just last year, we saw C.J. Stroud and Puka Nacua emerge as top fantasy options. It’s rare for rookie players to present league-winning ability, but such instances do occur. So, which rookies possess this kind of upside for 2024?

Make sure you keep up to date with all your fantasy football needs by following RotoBaller on X and checking out RotoBaller.com. Here are five rookies with league-winning upside to target in your 2024 fantasy football draft.

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Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

Drafted second overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniels will provide fantasy gamers with immediate upside at the position thanks to his rushing abilities.

Jayden Daniels keeps it for the TD on his opening drive 🔥 @JayD__5

📱: Stream #WASvsNYJ on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HbRsYFo9m6

— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2024

Daniels ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final collegiate season. If he combines quality passing with this type of rushing ability, then the sky's the limit. Quarterbacks with rushing chops have long been fantasy football cheat codes. If you miss out on the top quarterbacks in your draft, Daniels is a good fallback option.

He has a solid floor and could be a huge steal if he hits the ground running.

Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Vidal finished second in the nation in rushing last year while playing for the Troy Trojans. He totaled 1,661 rushing yards. The competition in the Sun Belt Conference is lacking, which is part of the reason why he fell to the sixth round of April’s draft. However, the Chargers are a fine landing spot for the rookie.

The competition standing in Vidal’s way is currently Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Jaret Patterson, and Isaiah Spiller. Dobbins is coming off another devastating injury after tearing his Achilles tendon. Patterson and Spiller have not amounted to much and may not make the final roster.

Edwards is coming off a career year with the Baltimore Ravens and finished a respectable 18th in RYOE. However, he enters his age-29 season and has never handled more than 198 carries in a year. There is plenty of room for another back to emerge in this offense.

There have been some murmurs that Vidal is behind Patterson for the RB3 job and could be on the roster bubble. This is something to monitor going forward. Although Vidal may have surpassed Patterson after his performance in the Chargers' Week 2 preseason contest.

Los Angeles Chargers sixth-round rookie RB Kimani Vidal:

- 28 of 49 rushing yards gained after contact
- Three avoided tackles, per @TruMediaSports

Some tough running on display in his preseason debut. pic.twitter.com/EvmyUMD3VB

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 18, 2024

Vidal has enough talent to be a fantasy difference-maker if he carves out a role. If injuries strike the depth chart, Vidal could be a league-winner. He makes for a good late-round dart throw in all formats.

Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams

Corum was one of the most talented running backs in the 2024 rookie class.

Blake Corum

Michigan Football’s all time leader in rushing touchdowns.

Scored in overtime of the CFP semi finals in The Rose Bowl against Alabama
January 1 2024 to win the game.

Watch the jump cut that sucks up 2 defenders who then get blocked by Colston Loveland. pic.twitter.com/DE0sVN0Pt4

— Due# (@JDue51) January 3, 2024

He has great vision and quickness and is an ideal fit for head coach Sean McVay’s scheme. The team has made it known that it wants to lighten incumbent starter Kyren Williams’ workload this season.

General manager Les Snead also stated that the team was looking to trade its third-round pick before it saw Corum falling to it. At that point, they decided to keep the pick and take Corum.

Based on their words and actions, it sure seems like the Rams have big plans for the rookie. Despite having a front-row seat to Williams’ amazing 2023 season, the team still felt the need to use a Day 2 pick on Corum. This speaks to its thoughts on both backs.

Williams also has a history of injuries since he entered the league. He has missed action due to injury in each of his first two seasons. Williams also missed a portion of the Rams' offseason program with a foot injury. Williams has been a full go this summer and, by all accounts, looks sharp, but his latest injury is a reminder of his fragility.

We shouldn’t expect Corum to immediately supplant Williams as starter. It’s more likely he slowly carves out his own role in the offense and takes over the majority of touches by season’s end.

However, if Williams were to miss significant time, then Corum would be in line for a massive role. At the very least, consider Corum a priority handcuff in all formats.

Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Worthy was selected 28th overall in April’s draft and brings record-breaking speed to an already deadly Kansas City offensive attack.

With an official 4.21, Texas’ Xavier Worthy now holds the NFL Combine’s fastest 40 time 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WHllJpRTP5

— The Players' Lounge (@ThPlayersLounge) March 3, 2024

Xavier Worthy with a great reception downfield for a Texas Longhorns touchdown.

Worthy is a great deep threat target who should be on every teams radar. #CollegeFootball | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/KlN5thpYeH

— Daniel Adams (@imdjadams) September 10, 2023

Worthy brings a true speed element to the Chiefs offense that we haven’t seen since Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.

The Chiefs have stated they don't intend to bring Worthy along as slowly as Rashee Rice last year and want him immediately on the field. He could wind up as Patrick Mahomes’ WR1 as the season progresses. We have seen that be a very productive role for several years now.

Combining Mahomes' unique arm strength with Worthy’s field-stretching abilities is a match made in heaven. It might be only a matter of time before this duo finds their groove. Whenever they do, Worthy will become a fantasy monster.

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

Nabers is a uniquely talented player and some NFL teams even had him ranked as the WR1 in this year’s draft class.

Malik Nabers is a stud though. Impressive catch here

pic.twitter.com/C1AkHEXfYM

— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) August 17, 2024

The rookie immediately steps in as New York’s WR1, and he should be peppered with targets. If the Giants’ Week 2 preseason game is any preview, we could be in store for a big season. Per PFF, Nabers was targeted six times on 17 routes and posted a 4-54-0 line. This kind of usage is highly encouraging for his 2024 outlook.

There is a legitimate concern regarding the quality of targets coming from Daniel Jones and potentially Drew Lock/Tommy Devito. However, Nabers has a strong offensive head coach behind him in Brian Daboll. He famously hyper-targeted Stefon Diggs when he was play-caller for the Buffalo Bills in 2020. Diggs was a huge draft day bargain that year and proved to be a league winner.

Daboll will make it a point to get his rookie receiver the ball and be sure to get him open on some easy looks that don’t require too much from the quarterback.

Nabers is also appealing when we compare his draft price to that of fellow rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.:

Yahoo ADP

Harrison - 18.6 Overall, WR9
Nabers - 63.2 Overall, WR23

It feels like the gap between these two players is a little too far even with Nabers’ quarterback concerns. If he hits, you’ll have a nice advantage over the rest of your league.

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