Hey nerds! As the 2024 NFL season approaches, every NFC team faces a unique set of challenges and uncertainties that will impact their fantasy success. In this article, I will dive into each team’s burning question for the 2024 season:
NFC EAST
DALLAS COWBOYS
“Who is the running back to roster?”
Many expected Dallas to address the departure of Tony Pollard in the NFL Draft. Jerry Jones’ love for rookie Jonathon Brooks was not a well-kept secret, ultimately allowing the Carolina Panthers to trade up to select the Longhorn running back. Dallas pivoted and re-signed Ezekiel Elliott, who should be in line for the most touches on the team and be the goal-line option. During his last season in Dallas (while splitting carries with Pollard), Elliott still finished as an RB3 in points per game with 10.3.
NEW YORK GIANTS
“Is Daniel Jones the answer in New York?”
HBO’s television show “Hard Knocks” clearly showed that New York had some interest in drafting a quarterback. Ultimately, they were unable to land a signal caller and drafted Malik Nabers, giving Daniel Jones the playmaker he’s lacked during his tenure in New York. Unfortunately, Jones only has one Top-12 quarterback fantasy finish in his 5 NFL seasons and does not appear to be the long-term answer for the Giants.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
“Can Saquon Barkley return to RB1 form?”
Philadelphia provides a dream landing spot for Saquon Barkley. Since 2020, no team has scored more rushing touchdowns than the Philadelphia Eagles (95). The Eagles also rank second in total rushing yards as a team since 2020 with 9,441 yards. Assuming he can stay healthy, Barkley should see a bulk of the touches. Look for Barkley to crack the top eight in fantasy points per game at the RB position.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
“What kind of fantasy season should we expect from Jayden Daniels?”
It would not shock me if Jayden Daniels was immediately a Top-12 quarterback in fantasy points per game. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury got strong production in the running and passing game from Kyler Murray as head coach in Arizona. Murray’s end-of-season fantasy points per game finishes were QB11, QB5, QB4, and QB9 (11 games) under Kingsbury.
NFC NORTH
CHICAGO BEARS
“Will Caleb Williams break the Bears’ single-season passing yards record?”
Erik Kramer owns the Chicago Bears’ single-season passing yards record with 3,838. Barring injury, this record is easily obtainable, as Caleb Williams will only need to average 225 passing yards per game over a 17-game season. In Williams’s two seasons at USC, he averaged over 300 yards per game, and he didn’t have an embarrassment of riches at the skill positions like he currently has in Chicago.
DETROIT LIONS
“Will this be Jameson Williams’ breakout season?”
The camp hype and coach speak on Jameson Williams is insane. His rookie year for the Lions served as a red-shirt season while he recovered from a torn ACL suffered in the national championship game. His sophomore season was also bumpy, as he served a 4-game suspension and finished with 24 receptions for 354 yards and 2 touchdowns. While those numbers will likely improve, I don’t view Williams as more than the fourth option on the field at any time behind Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and either Jahmyr Gibbs or David Montgomery.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
“Can Jordan Love continue his fantasy success?”
All the components are there for Jordan Love to continue his fantasy success with all his playmakers returning, including the additions of Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd at running back. Love has an envious collection of weapons. Love had 20 fantasy points in 8 of the final 9 games, and his 11 Top-12 weekly finishes at quarterback were behind only Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
“What can we expect from Justin Jefferson without Kirk Cousins?”
Many fantasy managers wonder what Justin Jefferson’s season will look like without Kirk Cousins throwing him passes. We have a small sample size for Jefferson with a different quarterback. Cousins’ 2023 season was cut short due to an Achilles injury. During the four games without Cousins, Jefferson saw 3, 10, 10, and 14 targets. It should be noted that in Jefferson’s game, where he received only three targets, he left early. Fantasy owners shouldn’t worry and expect “Jets” to flirt as the overall WR1.
NFC SOUTH
ATLANTA FALCONS
“What can we expect from Kyle Pitts’ fantasy value?”
After a fantastic TE6 overall finish in his rookie year, Kyle Pitts had two disappointing seasons where he finished as TE33 and TE13. Those finishes were partially due to coaching philosophies and poor quarterback play. Former head coach Arthur Smith is gone, and Cousins takes over at quarterback. Over the past two seasons, Cousins helped T.J. Hockenson produce TE4 and TE2 overall seasons. I expect Pitts to have his best fantasy season to date and finish as a Top-5 tight end.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
“Can Bryce Young have a successful sophomore season?”
In 2023, no starting quarterback had a worse passer rating than Bryce Young (73.7), according to NFL.com. Carolina’s solution to “fixing” Young was to hire Dave Canales as head coach. Canales’ success stories include a QB5 overall finish for Geno Smith as his quarterback’s coach and a QB10 finish with Baker Mayfield as his offensive coordinator. Both were career-high finishes for each player. Add the fact that Carolina spent their first four rounds of draft capital adding three offensive weapons; Young should elevate his game in 2024.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
“Can Chris Olave break into WR1 territory?”
Coming off seasons where Chris Olave finished as WR27 and WR20 in fantasy points per game, he seems primed to take the next step into the WR1 realm. Olave had career highs in targets (138), receptions (87), receiving yards (1,123), and fantasy points per game (9), finishing as WR20 in the season. His 2024 season should be even better with Klint Kubiak as a playcaller. Kubiak’s last stint as an offensive coordinator was in 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings. In that season, Minnesota finished 11th in passing attempts per game.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
“Can Mike Evans continue his 1,000-yard receiving streak?”
There was speculation on whether Mike Evans would return to Tampa Bay as he entered free agency. To some surprise, Evans re-signed with the Buccaneers on a 2-year contract worth $52 million. Evans brings with him 10-straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards, which is an NFL record. All signs point to Evans adding another 1,000-yard season to that record, given that his WR7 overall finish with Baker Mayfield was his second-highest finish outside of 2016 when he finished as WR2.
NFC WEST
ARIZONA CARDINALS
“Can Marvin Harrison Jr. pay off his current ADP?”
After Puka Nacua‘s rookie season, where he finished as the WR6 in fantasy points per game, expectations for rookie receivers have increased. Since 2020, only three rookie receivers have produced a WR1 season: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Nacua. Marvin Harrison Jr. could finish as the fourth as quarterback Kyler Murray averaged 33.5 pass attempts last season and ranked sixth in the league with 217 vacated targets.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
“Can Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both hold fantasy value?”
The Rams led the tenth-ranked passing offense led by rookie phenom Nacua. He broke rookie receiving records with 105 receptions, 1,486 receiving yards, 15 receptions in a game, and the most receiving yards in a playoff game with 181. Nacua was nothing short of amazing, but one has to wonder what those numbers would have looked like if his counterpart Cooper Kupp wasn’t limited to just seven games due to injury. In games with both receivers in the lineup, Nacua finished with 62 receptions, 944 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns. During Weeks 13-17, Kupp averaged 14.8 points per game and ranked as WR11 during that stretch. Sean McVay says Nacua is battling a knee injury but should be ready to go in Week 1.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
“Was Brock Purdy’s QB1 season a fluke?”
In Brock Purdy’s first entire season as an NFL starter, he finished as the QB8 in fantasy points per game, throwing for 4,280 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. Purdy had seven finishes inside the top 12 for fantasy points. Of those seven finishes, two of them were QB2 overall finishes. This isn’t a fluke. Purdy can easily repeat another QB1 season.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
“Is this Jaxon Smith-Njibga’s breakout year?”
Coming off of a 63-reception, 628-receiving yard rookie campaign, many are hoping Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes that next jump into fantasy stardom. I look for those numbers to increase in his sophomore season. Remember that “JSN” had some rust to shed after he missed most of his junior season in college due to a hamstring injury. Once Smith-Njigba got comfortable in the offense, he saw 39 percent of his total target share in Weeks 13 through 18. Nearly 40 percent of his fantasy points were accumulated during that time frame. It also doesn’t hurt that former Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubbs is the new playcaller. Grubbs has shown he can make three receivers relevant, with Ja’Lynn Polk, Rome Odunze, and Jalen McMillan all being drafted in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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