NFL Combine: 10 prospects set to impact fantasy football in 2024
It’s NFL Scouting Combine week in Indianapolis, and for all those who call it the “underwear Olympics” or something even less flattering, this is one of the most important weeks on the NFL calendar. It’s especially key for those fantasy managers who like to invest draft picks in rookies in a league that gets increasingly younger every year.
This could have an impact on the plethora of mock drafts that will keep coming out between now and the first pick of the real draft on April 27. Players will rise or fall in the rankings, based on how fast — or slow — they run in one of the many events happening in Indianapolis.
This rookie class is loaded at two of the main skill positions, so in this space, we’ll highlight some of the quarterbacks and wide receivers who could be real fantasy contributors in the 2024 season. Tight end has a clear-cut top talent, while this running back crop is considered a step below last year’s class, which featured two first-rounders.
Since the running back position is still so important, one player will be highlighted below, though as Matt Harmon and JJ Zachariason said on the NFL Combine Primer episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Show, there are about six players who are clustered together and could be drafted one after the other in late April, likely on Day 2.
But there are several miles to travel before then, and they only slightly feel like they’re being traversed in 40-yard increments. In the meantime, here are 10 prospects whom fantasy managers both need to know and will hear plenty about in these coming days.
Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Watching Williams, there really is no play that’s ever dead as long as he is upright. He was chased out of the pocket early and often this season, so he was making off-schedule plays on the regular. And often made them look easy. He has a great deep ball and regularly hit his receivers in stride.
The comps to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are just unfair. It’s no secret he’s going with either the first or second pick in the draft. The good news is those teams slotted there now have some good receivers he can make beautiful music with. After passing for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns in his 2022 Heisman-winning season, Williams went for only 3,633 yards and 30 scores (in two fewer games).
Quarterbacks always get over-scrutinized in the lead-up to the draft. Just watch some highlights. The kid can play.
Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
Maye saw a dropoff in production from 2022 to 2023 of more than 700 passing yards — 4,321 to 3,608 — partly due to losing wide receiver Josh Downs to the NFL. Yet the passing talent is very much there when watching Maye throw footballs on a rope and hitting receivers in stride. He may have the strongest arm in the group. He is, however, very much a pocket passer, as he did not rush for more than 184 yards in either of his seasons as a starter. There are very good receivers in Chicago and Washington, not so much in New England at No. 3.
The talent is there, but is he more Justin Herbert or Will Levis?
Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner put up a mind-boggling game with over 600 total yards — 372 passing and 234 rushing — and five touchdowns against Florida. He had two other games with over 500 total yards in a season that sometimes mimicked video-game numbers. He torched college football — and primarily SEC defenses — to the tune of 3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns. Daniels has a strong and accurate arm that he put to good use with two wide receivers who will join him in being drafted in the first round.
Daniels has playmaking ability outside the pocket, with an aggressive running style that sometimes brought some hard hits. Anthony Richardson’s cautionary tale had better be drilled into Daniels so he can prioritize sliding and running out of bounds. The talent package, though, is immense.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
It almost seems unfair to watch Harrison glide through secondaries with relative ease. He’s a long strider, so it’s deceptive how fast he is ... except for when he keeps running away from defenders on long touchdown receptions. At 6-foot-4, he’s much taller than his Hall of Fame father, Marvin Sr., but is just as smooth. Harrison went past 1,200 yards and caught 14 touchdowns each of the past two seasons, even with a quarterback downgrade this past season when he was named the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner. Any team that drafts him, the expectation will be of a No. 1 wide receiver. For fantasy managers, the hope is that he lands with a good quarterback who can unlock Harrison’s superhuman abilities.
Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
The NCAA leader in receiving yards with 1,640, Odunze has the size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and speed teams covet out of an alpha receiver. He’s physical and uses his size to win against college defenders who were overmatched against him. Daniel Jeremiah and our amigo Matt Harmon are both incredibly high on Odunze, and the college football universe got to see his skills in a pair of College Football Playoff games. Fans of the Chargers, Giants and Bears could all be hoping to go to Rome in late April.
Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
With Daniels, Nabers and the next receiver, it’s no wonder LSU scored under 30 points in just two of 13 games — and no less than 24 in any game. Nabers is very much in the tradition of recent LSU star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. He has great hands and is very smooth. At 6-foot and 200 pounds, he’s built very similarly to Chase. He can do anything on a football field, with great hands and a smooth running style that leads to plenty of YAC. His 89 catches for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns played a big part in boosting Daniels to the Heisman Trophy. Many current mock drafts have him going shortly after Harrison.
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
Standing 6-foot-4 with great leaping ability, it’s easy to see why Thomas received basketball scholarships to play at Florida and Texas A&M. He uses his gifts so well, going in the air to snatch balls that defenders can’t even dream of catching. Thomas led the NCAA with 17 touchdown receptions and had six games over 100 yards. Against Ole Miss, he caught eight balls for 124 yards and three scores, completely overmatching defensive backs. He scored in 10 of LSU’s 13 games. Thomas is another great wide receiver with a size/speed combo who could reward teams that miss out on the big three earlier in the first round.
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Coleman is another tall target who was also a high school basketball star and played hoops at Michigan State before joining the Seminoles. That athletic ability comes through especially on jump balls, and he had his share of one-handed grabs that he makes look easy.
For someone so talented, however, his production on the field was uneven. He did have 11 touchdowns, but caught just 50 balls for 658 yards. Coleman could just leap out of the building in the vertical jump at the combine, but there will be plenty of attention paid to how fast he runs the 40. If it’s fast, he’ll also climb up draft boards.
Jaylen Wright, RB, Tennessee
One of the leaders of what is being described as a tepid running back class, Wright showed power between the tackles and the speed to turn 25.7% of his runs into plays of 10-plus yards. With only 368 collegiate rush attempts, the meter is low on Wright. He could break in as an early-down back for NFL teams, as he caught only 22 balls last year in the passing game. Landing spot will be huge for Wright and so many other backs who are drafted on Day 2. With so much running back upheaval in the NFL — the free agent class is stocked with talent — Wright could be part of one of many committees.
Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
The most anticipated tight end prospect since Kyle Pitts three years ago, Bowers suffered a high-ankle sprain after three straight 100-yard games last season. He had tightrope surgery and performed unevenly in the final three games, but the excitement for him is palpable. He’s built similarly to George Kittle and plays with similar ferocity. He’ll make leaping grabs and then bull into defenders for extra yards. Bowers lines up all over the field and is as much an offensive weapon as he is a traditional tight end.
After Sam LaPorta’s big fantasy season, Bowers will aim to keep raising the bar for rookie tight ends.
