2024 NFL Draft: Fantasy Football Day 2 Recap

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft was chock-full of offensive players including six quarterbacks and seven receivers.

That does not mean all the fantasy-relevant talent was gone.

Several potential fantasy contributors including our first running backs came off the board on Day 2.

Let’s take a look at all of them and their short and long-term fantasy outlooks.

Click here for Rich Hribar’s comprehensive Round 1 fantasy recap.

Wide Receiver Run Continues in Second Round

We started the second round like we ended the first with two receivers coming off the board in the first two picks and two more by No. 52 overall.

When it was all said and done, another nine receivers from this deep class heard their names called on Friday.

Bills select Keon Coleman at No. 33 overall

Keon Coleman was the first name off the board to the Bills, a team that caught flack on Thursday night for trading back twice but still ended up with the archetype of receiver they desperately need.

Coleman has rare size in this class, standing 6-foot-3, 213 pounds.

While his 4.61 40 time was rough even for his size, his 38-inch vertical and 10-foot-7 broad jump ranked extremely well, giving him a decent athletic profile.

Coleman has as good a highlight tape as anyone with several impressive plays climbing over defenders, but his down-to-down consistency was not as impressive.

Excluding screens and jet-sweeps, Keon Coleman caught 62.7% of his catchable targets… ranked 101st out of 101 WRs who saw at least 50 catchable targets, per @SportsInfo_SIS

— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) March 26, 2024

He also struggled to consistently get open, with a class-high 34.5% of his 2023 targets coming in contested situations.

Coleman has a concerning profile, but he is very young – only Malik Nabers is younger in this class – and at his best is the type of receiver Buffalo needs.

There is a pathway to a lot of targets from an elite quarterback if Coleman can prove his worth right out of the gate, especially in the scoring area.

Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs combined for eight targets in goal-to-go situations last season.

Davis and Diggs combined for 25 end zone targets with Davis’ 15 rankings sixth among all qualifying receivers.

The WR62 heading into the week, Coleman will almost certainly see an ADP jump moving forward.

Chargers select Ladd McConkey at No. 34 overall

Another team that caught flak for not drafting a receiver on Day 1, the Chargers moved up to select Georgia’s Ladd McConkey with the second pick in the second round.

McConkey earned some first-round buzz after destroying the lead-up to the draft.

He made waves at the Senior Bowl and then posted a 9.34 relative athletic score (out of 10) despite lackluster size (5-foot-11, 186 pounds).

His 4.39 40 time as well as 3.97 short shuttle time stand out as elite numbers.

The overall production at George was not eye-popping, but some of his per-opportunity metrics were very good.

He averaged 3.26 yards per route run, fourth among D1 prospects in this class, and forced a missed tackle on 30% of his receptions (seventh).

McConkey really dominated against zone, finishing behind just Malik Nabers with 4.27 yards per route run. That is promising given where NFL defenses are headed.

As for the landing spot, McConkey is walking into an immediate need with one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but it also remains to be seen how much volume we will get from this offense under Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman.

Under those two, the 49ers ranked 31st, 31st, 32nd, and 29th in passing attempts.

A Roman offense has finished higher than 28th in pass attempts once in his 10 seasons as an offensive coordinator.

Patriots select Ja’Lynn Polk at No. 37 overall

New England had to add some receiving help after selecting Drake Maye at No. 3 overall, and they got it with Ja’Lynn Polk early in the second round.

Polk broke out as part of that outstanding Washington offense last season, finishing with 1,159 yards and 9 touchdowns.

He was effective downfield with over a quarter of his targets coming on throws of at least 20 air yards, 11th in this class

He was sixth in this class with 14 catches on those throws.

Despite that downfield production, Polk ran an okay 4.52 40 at the Combine at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds.

That does raise some concerns about his ability to translate that production, but he was also solid after the catch, forcing a missed tackle on 21.7% of his career receptions.

The opportunity is there for a big role if he can come out firing.

New England had arguably the worst receiver room in the league last season, and their two notable offseason moves were re-signing Kendrick Bourne and bringing in K.J. Osborn.

The path is clear for Polk to take over as the No. 1 option if he is ready to take on that role.

Like with McConkey, though, even that role might not offer outstanding fantasy production in what is likely to be a below-average offense attached to what should be a quality defense.

Even so, Polk’s WR77 ADP heading into the week is sure to (rightfully) skyrocket with this landing spot.

Colts select Adonai Mitchell at No. 52 overall

Expected by many to be a first-round pick, Adonai Mitchell had to wait until the middle of the second round to hear his name called.

Mitchell certainly looks the part of a No. 1 receiver, standing 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and recording a 4.34 40 time with a 39.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-4 broad jump at the Combine.

Those traits did not always convert into production in college, however, with Mitchell ranking 29th in the class in career catches per game and 31st in career yards per game.

It was not any better from a rate perspective.

His 1.72 yards per route run last season was second to last in this draft class.

His 3.2 yards after the catch per reception was third to last in this draft class.

Mitchell did consistently find the end zone in college, converting 8-of-16 red zone targets last season, and showed outstanding hands.

For the Colts, Mitchell should push Alec Pierce for the downfield role in this offense.

Pierce averaged 15 air yards per target last season, close to the 16 Mitchell averaged in 2023 at Texas.

That role did not lead to many targets for Pierce even when Anthony Richardson was healthy last season, but Indy’s offense theoretically should be more equipped to attack downfield with Richardson.

Either way, this is a disappointing fall and landing spot from a target competition perspective for a guy who was being drafted as the WR45 heading into this week.

Jets select Malachi Corley at No. 65 overall

Even after adding Mike Williams in free agency, the Jets were always expected to find more receiver help in the draft.

They did that by selecting Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley with the first pick in the third round.

Corley had a productive three-year run with the Hilltoppers, recording lines of 73-691-7, 101-1,295-11, and 79-984-11 from 2021 to 2023.

Much of that production came after the catch including nearly 70% of his yards last season, easily the highest rate in the class.

At 5-foot-11 and a solid 215 pounds, Corley has drawn Deebo Samuel comparisons thanks to his build and after-catch ability.

Chasing the next Samuel has tended to be a fruitless endeavor, and the concern for Corley is how much of what he does is really transferable.

51.4% of his career catches came on screens in an offense that was dedicated to getting him the ball.

The dedication to getting him the ball will almost certainly not translate with Williams and alpha WR1 Garrett Wilson ahead of him on the depth chart in New York.

Williams is on a one-year deal, however, and coming off a serious injury, at least opening up the possibility of a No. 2 role both in the short and (more likely) long term.

Corley’s draft capital also suggests the Jets will be heavily invested in helping him succeed.

It remains to be seen if that will amount to fantasy success as a rookie, but assuming health, there are worse landing spots than being attached to Aaron Rodgers.

Bengals select Jermaine Burton at No. 80 overall

Tee Higgins remains a Bengal as it stands, but the team still added some receiver help in the third round, selecting Jermaine Burton No. 80 overall.

Burton played for both George and Alabama during his college career, finishing with a 39-798-8 line with the Crimson Tide last season.

He topped out at 40 receptions in a season over four years, but he averaged 18 yards per catch during his career, the highest in this draft class.

His 20.2 air yards per target also ranked first in this class.

Unsurprisingly given that usage, Burton was targeted on just 19.7% of his career routes, and he ran a good but not great 4.45 40 at the Combine.

From a redraft perspective, Burton’s value likely depends on the status of Higgins and the health of both Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

Those two commanded 49.3% of the targets when healthy last season.

It is also worth noting Joe Burrow finished 31st among 32 qualified quarterbacks in deep throw rate last season, and Jake Browning finished 28th.

Burrow’s injury issues could have played some role in that rate, but Burrow was 31st among 33 qualified quarterbacks in deep throw rate in 2022.

Even if Higgins ends up leaving after this season, Burton also has some longer-term competition for the No. 2 spot from 2023 fourth-rounder Charlie Jones and 2023 sixth-rounder Andrei Iosivas without the Bengals even adding anyone.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Burton’s current WR82 price, especially given the injury history of the people ahead of him on the depth chart, but this is not the cleanest path to targets.

Steelers select Roman Wilson at No. 84 overall

The Steelers may have gotten a steal with Roman Wilson.

Ryan McCrystal, who had the best big board in 2019 and the third-best in 2020 according to Wide Left, had Wilson as his WR4 in this class.

Restricted by Michigan’s passing game, Wilson’s counting stats are not impressive.

His 48-789-12 line from 2023 makes up the bulk of his career production.

That said, Wilson’s efficiency numbers are solid.

His 2.68 yards per route run ranks 14th in this class, and he caught 50% of Michigan’s passing touchdowns last year.

He pulled in 12 of his 18 deep targets last season (66.7%) and backed that up with a 4.39 40 at the Combine.

His size (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) is a concern, but he should fit in well with how the Steelers seemingly want to run their offense.

As I wrote about after free agency, both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were near the top of the league in the percentage of their passes targeting the deep parts of the field.

The Steelers also traded away Diontae Johnson, a player who lived in the intermediate areas of the field.

Pittsburgh’s only offseason additions were journeyman types like Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, giving Wilson a clean path to immediate targets, albeit in a passing game that is likely to finish near the bottom of the league in attempts.

New OC Arthur Smith was 11% under his expected pass rate over his final two seasons with the Falcons, and that fits with how the Steelers have played. Pittsburgh was 5% under last year.

Even so, Wilson is worth a look at his current WR72 ADP, although that is almost certain to rise.

Buccaneers select Jalen McMillan at No. 92 overall

Even after re-signing Mike Evans, the Bucs are remaining proactive with their receiver room, a good idea with Chris Godwin heading into the final year of his deal.

Tampa nabbed the third Washington receiver of the draft late in the third round, selecting Jalen McMillan at No. 92 overall.

McMillan posted a 79-1,098-9 line in 2022, but he took a step back last season with Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk taking the lead.

McMillan also dealt with a knee issue for most of the season.

While he has decent size at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, McMillan ran over 90% of his routes from the slot at Washington.

Godwin has been a bigger slot receiver for most of his career, but he actually ran just 37.4% of his routes from inside last year, easily his lowest mark since 2018.

If that usage continues under new OC Liam Coen, McMillan has a path to immediate targets.

The Bucs were already near the top of the league in 11 personnel usage, but that could go even higher under Coen, who made his name with the Rams.

That profile could also mean the Bucs view McMillan as the eventual replacement for Godwin, giving him an even better long-term outlook.

Commanders select Luke McCaffrey at No. 100 overall

Fittingly, Day 2 was bookended by wide receivers.

Luke McCaffrey was the final selection of the night with the former Rice receiver and member of a famous football family going to the Commanders.

A quarterback at Nebraska to start his career, McCaffrey made the switch to receiver in 2022 and posted a 71-992-13 line last season.

He dominated the Rice passing game, recording 26.5% of the team’s receptions and 44.8% of their receiving touchdowns.

He ran at solid 4.46 40 at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds at the Combine, but he really shined in the agility drills, finishing with a 6.7 three-cone time.

That number is nearly as good as what his brother Christian did at the Combine in 2017.

Still relatively new at playing receiver, it remains to be seen how big of an early impact McCaffrey can have, but there is an opening for him to have a big role with the Commanders, who lost Curtis Samuel in free agency.

Running Backs Get on the Board

In what was considered a down year for the position, it was not surprising to see running backs blanked in Round 1, but they got on the board on Friday night.

Panthers select Jonathon Brooks at No. 46 overall

Even coming off a November torn ACL, Brooks was generally expected to be the first running back off the board, and the Panthers made that happen in the second round.

Stuck behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson at Texas, Brooks had more career touches in college than just one other back in this class.

When given the opportunity, though, he excelled.

He averaged 6.7 yards per touch last season including 6.2 yards per carry against heavy boxes.

While his injury prevented any athletic testing, Brooks was 6-foot-even and 216 pounds at the Combine.

He is stepping into a somewhat crowded situation in Carolina, but the new front office and coaching staff have no ties to Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders.

Hubbard is headed into the final year of his rookie contract, and the Panthers can easily get out of Sanders’ contract next offseason even if he sticks on the roster in 2024.

The injury, competition, and overall offensive environment are big questions for Brooks, but the most likely outcome is Brooks emerging as the No. 1 option at some point this season assuming his health cooperates.

Cardinals select Trey Benson at No. 66 overall

Likely stuck behind James Conner this season, the people who were drafting Trey Benson as the RB31 are sure to be disappointed with this landing spot, but the longer-term outlook remains good.

Transferring from Oregon, Benson went over 1,100 total yards in each of his two seasons at Florida State, scoring 24 touchdowns along the way.

At 6-foot-even, 216 pounds, he lit up the Combine with a 4.39 40 including a 1.55 10-yard split.

There are some red flags, though.

While the offensive line did not help, allowing Benson to be hit behind the line on nearly 50% of his carries last season, he also did not create after contact at an elite level.

Benson was 15th in this class in yards after contact per carry and 14th in missed tackle rate.

It was especially concerning on inside runs, where he ranked second to last in this class in yards after contact per rush.

Not surprisingly, only a third of his carries came on those inside runs last season.

He was a home run hitter with nearly 60% of his 2023 rushing yards coming on breakaway runs, suggesting he will make the defense pay if the blocking is there.

Arizona’s running game was outstanding last season even in a lackluster offensive environment, but they were more midpack in yards before contact created per carry.

For this season, Benson should initially be a complement to Conner who brings more of a big-play threat.

Of course, Conner has missed time in every season including playing 13 games each of the last two years, giving some shorter-term upside for Benson.

For the long-term, Conner is heading into the final year of his deal, giving Benson the opportunity to seize the starting job if he proves up to the task as a rookie.

Rams select Blake Corum at No. 83 overall

Also being drafted among the top 40 fantasy running backs heading into the week, Blake Corum finds himself in an even more questionable situation than Benson.

Corum’s counting stats at Michigan are beyond reproach, with the running back logging nearly 4,000 yards from scrimmage and 59 touchdowns over the last three seasons.

His yards per touch dropped last season, however, and he struggled to create big plays, gaining 15 or more yards on just 5% of his carries.

There was buzz he was playing through an injury, and his explosive run rates of 8.9% in 2022 and 9% in 2021 support that.

He also played in an offense that invited heavy boxes, with nearly 80% of his carries last season coming with 7 or more defenders in the box.

At 5-foot-8, 205 pounds, Corum did not blow up the Combine, running a 4.53 40, but he was considerably above average in the agility drills.

An effective but not eye-popping back with lackluster size, Corum shares some similarities with new teammate Kyren Williams.

With Williams missing four games due to injury last season after struggling with his health as a rookie, the Rams likely want to ease back on his workload moving forward, but that does not mean there is an immediate fantasy-level role here for Corum.

Williams handled 69.3% of the carries when healthy last season and played over 75% of the running back snaps.

He would have to cede a large share of his workload to make Corum fantasy viable in the short term.

Of course, Williams has dealt with injuries in his career, as mentioned above, and Sean McVay has been known to surprise us at running back.

At this time last year, Cam Akers was expected to lead the Los Angeles backfield.

With Corum’s ADP likely to fall based on this landing spot, he could end up looking like a value and zero RB target.

Packers select MarShawn Lloyd at No. 88 overall

We have another example of a popular running back landing in a less-than-ideal situation.

The Packers, who just signed Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million contract, drafted MarShawn Lloyd in the third round.

Lloyd did not stack opportunities or production in college, finishing with 2,073 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns across three seasons with South Carolina and the other USC.

He did make the most of his work, though, averaging a class-best 8.2 yards per touch and forcing a missed tackle on a class-best 37.1% of his carries last season.

He was able to post that yards per touch number despite being hit behind the line of scrimmage on 41% of his carries (fifth highest).

At 5-foot-9, 220 pounds, Lloyd ran a 4.46 40 at the Combine.

From a usage perspective, the Packers have shown a tendency to use two backs under Matt LaFleur.

AJ Dillon has played 60 games since joining the team in 2020. Aaron Jones played 57 games over that span.

Jones had 727 carries during that run. Dillon had 597 even with Jamaal Williams grabbing 119 himself in Dillon’s rookie season.

Even with Jacobs around, Lloyd could see a decent number of opportunities.

That said, Dillon maintained at least a semblance of fantasy value thanks to his usage around the end zone (47.6% of goal-to-go carries over the last four seasons), and Lloyd is less likely to take those carries from Jacobs.

That’s a concern, but it also has to be noted Jacobs has played a full season just once since joining the league and is coming off a rough season in which he averaged a career-low 4.1 yards per touch.

This is not a great landing spot for immediate production. There is no getting around that.

But it might not be as bad as it looks on the surface.

Two More Tight Ends Come Off the Board

While he does not have the name recognition of Brock Bowers, an interesting fantasy option at tight end heard their name on Friday night.

Commanders select Ben Sinnott at No. 53 overall

The Commanders made Ben Sinnott the second tight end off the board in the second round.

It is an interesting landing spot for a player with an interesting profile.

Sinnott’s production at Kansas State does not pop out.

He finished with 85 catches for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns including a 49-676-6 line last year.

Those 676 yards led the team, though, and he tied Bowers with 1.57 yards per team pass attempt.

Sinnott shined at the Combine despite below-average size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds).

He ran a 4.68 40, jumped 40 inches in the vertical, and ran a 6.82 three-cone time. Overall, he finished with a 9.73 (out of 10) relative athletic score.

Now he is headed to a depth chart led by 33-year-old Zach Ertz, who spent part of last season out of the league.

Sam LaPorta’s and Dalton Kincaid’s success last season does not wash away the long history of rookie tight ends struggling to contribute for fantasy, but it does at least offer hope.

Sinnott looks like a worthy dart throw at his current TE33 ADP.