We made it everyone! The 2024 NFL Draft is finally concluded. Now the focus can start to fully shift back to what our fantasy rosters are going to look like for the year. Sure, we will still have some veteran free agent movement now that teams know how the Draft impacted their rosters, but for the most part as a fantasy community we have the data we need. 

From a fantasy perspective, Day 3 of the Draft doesn’t have as much of an impact as the first two days, but there are almost always a few names that we need to pay attention to. Let’s dig into it and see if we can figure out who those names are for this year.

Wide Receiver

The first name I want to talk about is Troy Franklin. This is a guy that I expected to go much higher in the Draft. I thought he could have been in play as early as pick 33 to the Bills. I am really wondering what I missed in this evaluation that caused him to fall this far. That being said, the Broncos did trade up to get him, and pair him with his college Quarterback. The Broncos did have a need at receiver after trading away Jerry Jeudy, so this is a fit that I do like for fantasy. But, I am going to be cautious with it since the draft capital isn’t quite what I was expecting. I am currently going to place him fully in the Flex/WR3 kind of role for fantasy, so if you can target him late in redraft leagues, he may be a value. For dynasty leagues, I think he should be a guy you are looking at early in Round 2.

Javon Baker is a second name we need to take note of. The fact that he was drafted by the New England Patriots is very good for his potential fantasy value. The Patriots had a need at almost every WR position coming into the draft, and they began to rebuild the position very well. They took the big bodied guy they needed earlier in the Draft, and Baker will give Maye a good target over the middle of the field. I think that the Patriots are still going to struggle, so I am tempering my expectations a bit, but I think that Baker could very easily slot into a guy in the Flex/WR3 for fantasy. For redraft, this means that he is a late round target. In dynasty leagues, I think that he should be on your radar in the second round.

Devontez Walker landed in a great spot. It’s hard to argue that the Ravens didn’t need to add a receiver when you really look at what they have on the roster. The other part of this is that the Ravens are a strong playoff contender, so this a great situation for a rookie with upside. I do not expect Walker to have a large role this year. I think he will be used some situationally, but I think that this is a pick that is being made for the future. In redraft leagues, Tez Walker is not a guy that I am looking to draft, but for dynasty leagues…I am probably looking at him as a late second round pick.

Another interesting name is Jamari Thrash with the Cleveland Browns. As a player he reminds me a little of a guy that the Browns acquired earlier in the off-season in Jerry Jeudy. The Browns have done a good job at filling their WR room with above average route runners, and I think Thrash will fit right in. He has a chance to really earn a spot and get on the field in year 1. As much as anything though, I think this pick might be part of a succession plan if they need to move on from Amari Cooper next year. For fantasy purposes, in redraft, I might be considering Thrash as a late round stash/lottery ticket type pick. In dynasty, I would be considering him in round three.

The other two names that I think are the most interesting are Malik Washington with the Dolphins, and Bub Means with the Saints. Of the two, I think Washington has the best chance to make an impact this year, because he is another guy that I expected to be drafted much earlier than he was. But, I think both guys are worth a late round lottery ticket pick in redraft. And personally, I am considering both guy when I am on the clock in the third round for dynasty.

Running Back

Let’s start this position by talking about the guy that I think will be overdrafted based simply on his landing spot. That name is Kimani Vidal. I like both the player, and the spot with this pick. I think we all expected the Chargers to take a running back, but I don’t think many of us expected them to take “This” running back. The other issue is that they didn’t take him until the 6th round. Some of that is probably due to how much the position has been devalued, but we cannot ignore the lack of draft capital. For fantasy, let your leaguemates reach on him. If he is still there for you in the later rounds in redraft, he might be worth a pick…but don’t reach. In dynasty, I am a little more forgiving if you want to reach for him, but I would only start to consider him in the later second round.

Now let’s talk about a player that I love, and a situation that could be entertaining. Jaylen Wright to the Dolphins seems like a match made in heaven, if the Dolphins didn’t already have 2 speedy running backs. But, I do kind of like this pick because both of theDolphins current backs missed a little time due to injury last year, so having another rotational piece will let the offense run the way McDaniels wants it to. Wright is a guy that I would be looking at in redraft leagues as a late round lottery pick. In dynasty, I am starting to look at him in the mid to late second round.

Another fourth round pick that I think will trip up some of your leaguemates is Bucky Irving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Do not fall into the trap, Irving will not be much of a threat to Rashaad White this year. Based off of what I see, I think that Irving is simply an upgrade over the rotational guys that are currently on the roster. Sean Tucker truthers are the biggest losers with this pick. For redraft leagues, I do not have Irving on my radar, and for dynasty he is a guy that I am probably not interested in until the third round.

Other fourth round running backs were Will Shipley, Ray Davis, and Isaac Guerendo. While I like all three of these players, I don’t think any of them really move the needle for me in fantasy for this year. Of the three, the one that I think see the field the most is Ray Davis, he is a nice complementary power back to what James Cook does. In redraft, you might want to add these guys to a watch list just in case there are injuries ahead of them, but they are not guys that I would be considering drafting. For dynasty, I would rank them as Davis, Shipley, Guerendo.

Now, let’s talk about what the New York Jets did. In the fourth round the Jets drafted Braelon Allen, and in the fifth they took Isaiah Davis. These two picks are incredibly confusing to me. It must mean that team does not like the depth behind Breece Hall. For fantasy, I still love Breece Hall, but I will very likely be lowering him in my rankings a bit because this seems to signify that they are going to be employing more of a committee approach. In a different situation, both of these running backs are very draftable, but given this landing spot I am probably staying away. In dynasty, if they are available in the fourth round I might consider them, but I will let me leaguemates deal with the headache if they go earlier than that.

Tight End

Day 3 of the draft started a little bit of a run on the tight end position, and the Panthers started it with an extremely athletic guy in Ja’tavion Sanders. A lot of people thought he could be a day 2 pick, but I think this is a good spot for him. He will fit in well with the new look offense that the Panthers are trying to build, and I think he could have a very productive year as a rookie, as long as Bryce Young improves off of his rookie year. I’m not sure that he has the potential to finish as a year one TE1, but if you are in a league where you need two TE’s, I think he would definitely be a candidate to fall into that type of spot. For dynasty, he is a guy that I would start to consider late in round 2.

The Giants began to plan for a future without Darren Waller by drafting Theo Johnson. He is another athletic TE was considered by many as a Day 2 pick. His outlook depends a little bit on what Waller decides to do. If Waller retires before the season, Johnson will have an immediate role in this offense. That being said, I am not sure that he would be worth a pick in redraft leagues, but for dynasty he is a name that I would consider in the same range as Sanders.

The Cincinnati Bengals doubled down on the TE position on day 3 of the draft by selecting both Erick All and Tanner McLachlan. I think this will open up as a full blown competition between the two, and while I expect Erick All to win, it is a situation that is worth monitoring. The Bengals need a TE behind Gesicki, so the winner of this competition could be worth a late round dynasty pick.

That is going to do it for my fantasy wrap-up of the 2024 NFL Draft. If I didn’t discuss your favorite pick, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like them, I just focused on guys that I felt like had the most unique situations or opportunities. As always, if you have questions or comments, you can reach out to me on X(Twitter) @2fatguysff

Good luck with your fantasy preparation, and there will be much more to come…soon