MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 9/11)
Daniel Kelley
Our fantasy football rankers are some of the best in the business, but that doesn’t mean they always agree. Twice a week, our rankers will highlight some names they are furthest from the staff consensus fantasy rankings on and explain why you should either be targeting those players or steering clear in your 2024 drafts.
As we enter the last week of the 2024 NFL preseason, our opinions on players are getting cemented. The hours of researching statistics, calculating projections and watching preseason games has all culminated with a definitive list of players we are targeting and fading.
The goal here is to highlight my favorite fantasy football targets in drafts. Not only are the following players on my radar in fantasy drafts, they are players I have ranked higher than my fellow FTN rankers, according to our 2024 fantasy football rankings.
In today’s piece, I hit on a low-end QB1 who will finish in the top five, a consistent WR2 who is now being drafted as a borderline WR3 and a running back who is annually disrespected.
Be sure to reach out @RandleRant if you have any questions.
3 You’re Too Low On for 2024
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
Staff ranking: 75th overall, QB9
My ranking: 28th overall, QB2
I’ve been beating this drum all offseason. If you’ve missed my “love” for Love, here is my rationale.
The desire for fantasy drafters to select rushing quarterbacks is justified, as they provide opportunities to accumulate fantasy points through the air and on the ground. This has led to a gross mischaracterization of Love, allowing him to be available as late as Round 9 in Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts. There are two incorrect thoughts on Love.
First, he is actually a running quarterback. Love’s 4.74 speed is faster than Patrick Mahomes, who has rushed for over 300 yards in four straight seasons. As a first-time NFL starter last season, Love posted 247 yards and four rushing touchdowns. In Weeks 3-8 last year, Love averaged 25.3 rushing yards per game, which projects for 425 rushing yards over a full 17-game season. That would have placed him fifth among all quarterbacks last season, right behind Buffalo’s Josh Allen. Using our FTN StatsHub, Love was one of the most efficient rushing quarterbacks in the league last season, producing a higher yards per carry average than Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen. If he gets even a modicum of more volume, his rushing ability will become an even bigger weapon in this Green Bay offense.
The second — and more important — consideration is Love’s massive passing upside. In Weeks 11-18, Love posted 20 total touchdowns, 2,150 passing yards and just one interception. He continued his strong play into the playoffs, throwing five touchdowns in two playoff games against elite road opponents in Dallas and San Francisco. Projecting those numbers for a full season, Love comfortably eclipses 4,200 passing yards and 40 touchdowns. He now has a fully healthy Christian Watson, a second year of Jayden Reed and a full offseason of preparation entering his second year as a starting quarterback. Without even including his rushing yardage, those totals would place him comfortably inside the top five fantasy quarterbacks in any of the past 10 seasons.
We are always searching for fantasy edges, and I doubt a bigger one exists at quarterback than Jordan Love being drafted at his fantasy floor of QB9.
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