Week 11 NFL Moneyline Underdogs
Mike Randle
Monday we highlighted some of the best rookie landing spots for fantasy football following the 2024 NFL Draft. Today, we’ll shift our attention toward the worst destinations, though I am happy to report that there weren’t too many awful landing spots to choose from this year.
Worst Fantasy Football Landing Spots in the 2024 NFL Draft
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Were the Raiders accidentally on auto draft in the first round? They are aware they drafted Michael Mayer at the top of the second round last year, right?
All jokes aside, this was an interesting selection by Las Vegas. Bowers isn’t just the best tight end prospect in this class, but one of the best we’ve seen in quite some time. And he can coexist with Mayer, especially because he is likely going to be utilized as a move tight end that lines up in the slot. During his time at Georgia, Bowers played in the slot over 52% of the time, while lining up out wide nearly 10% of the time. Still, there were so many better potential landing spots for Bowers to possibly post a Sam LaPorta-type rookie season. Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Los Angeles (you can stop me any time) all would have been ideal. Don’t get me wrong — the Raiders are going to get him on the field. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was calling plays with the Bears last season where Chicago operated out of 12 personnel (two tight ends) 17.7% of the time, the fourth-highest rate in the league. I expect that to be a staple of this offense with Bowers and Mayer, but the rookie will still have to compete with Mayer, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers for targets from (hopefully) mediocre quarterbacks.
Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Well, everyone was right. Blake Corum was drafted by Los Angeles.
Of course, we all thought it would be a reunion with Jim Harbaugh as a member of the Chargers. But Corum heads to the Rams, where he will back up 2023 breakout running back Kyren Williams. On the surface, this isn’t the worst landing spot in the world. We know Sean McVay’s offense is going to be fantasy-friendly, and he tends to rely on one player in the backfield. But, at the moment, that’s Williams, who is likely going to see his insane workload from last season come down a bit, but not to the point where this is a committee or anything. The selection was especially puzzling considering that Williams and Corum are so similar as players. Similar size and while both have underwhelming speed and breakaway ability, they make up for it with fantastic vision. Alas. What could have been if Corum had gone to the Chargers or Cowboys.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons
As the draft grew closer, it really felt like Penix was going to be drafted in the first round. The Falcons, however, were not the team many expected. With Atlanta having just dished out a massive contract to Kirk Cousins, this is a brutal landing spot for Penix, who is already almost 24, to have any immediate fantasy relevance. In a vacuum, throwing passes to Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson and Darnell Mooney is ideal, but by the time Penix gets his chance, it could legitimately be in 2027. Penix had a really good chance of playing as early as this season if he was drafted by the Raiders or Broncos but in Atlanta, he’ll have to be patient.
Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets
Not only did the Jets draft Allen in the fourth round, but they also selected Isaiah Davis in the fifth. Allen was a player I thought could land in Buffalo as the goal-line option or Dallas as, eventually, the lead running back, but now, he’ll at best be backing up Breece Hall in New York. Starting in Week 6 of last season, Hall once again established himself as the workhorse, logging almost 70% of the snaps and handling nearly 70% of the team rush attempts from that point on. Between the draft capital and uninspiring landing spot, it is extremely unlikely that Allen is on the fantasy radar anytime soon.
