Fantasy football rankings 2024: Sleepers, busts, breakouts by model that nailed Deebo Samuel’s rough NFL year

Fantasy football 2024 owners can start tracking their results when the new NFL season begins on Thursday with Chiefs vs. Ravens, which means there is not much time left to start your 2024 Fantasy football draft prep. Teams with 2024 Fantasy football quarterback competitions have been naming their starters over the past few weeks, while several 2024 Fantasy football rookies will start in Week 1. Broncos rookie Bo Nix beat out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting job, which gives him a path to finishing among the 2024 Fantasy football breakouts. Nix is coming off a storied college career, wrapping it up with 4,508 passing yards and 45 touchdowns last season.

Nix’s top wide receiver targets include Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds and Marvin Mims. Are any of them 2024 Fantasy football sleepers you should target in the 2024 Fantasy football rankings? Before setting your 2024 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2024 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, the model accurately predicted that Buccaneers running back Rachaad White was being dramatically undervalued. White was coming off the board in the seventh round on average in 12-team PPR leagues, but he emerged as Tampa Bay’s workhorse ball carrier and provided significantly more value than expected, finishing No. 4 at his position. White rushed for 990 yards and six touchdowns while adding 64 catches for 549 yards and three more scores as a receiver. Anybody who followed the model’s advice scored an every week starting running back in the middle rounds.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020 and nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2024 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2024 Fantasy football standard projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest 2024 Fantasy football rankings, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2024 Fantasy football sleepers

One of the 2024 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Saints quarterback Derek Carr. The 33-year-old has finished in the QB2 range in each of the last seven years, so his Fantasy owners know what to expect from him. Carr has averaged 4,072 passing yards and 24 touchdowns over the last five years, which are solid numbers even without any rushing upside.

His single-season high in rushing yards is 140, and his last rushing touchdown came in 2020. Carr has a strong supporting cast in New Orleans though, including Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. SportsLine’s model ranks Carr ahead of Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford, who are all being drafted before him in average drafts. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2024 here.

Top 2024 Fantasy football breakouts

One of the 2024 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said Dowdle will spend less time on special teams this season due to an increase in his workload on offense. Dowdle racked up a career-high 106 touches last season, finishing with 505 total yards and four touchdowns.

The Cowboys moved on from running back Tony Pollard this offseason, signing Ezekiel Elliott to share time with Dowdle. They also recently added Dalvin Cook, but he will open the season on the practice squad and is listed third on the depth chart. Dowdle has a three-down skill set and could wind up as the workhorse back in the offense, which is why the model has identified him as a Fantasy football breakout. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2024 here.

Top 2024 Fantasy football busts

As for players to avoid, the model lists Packers wide receiver Christian Watson as one of its 2024 Fantasy football busts. He had his second season disrupted by multiple hamstring injuries, playing in just nine games in the regular season. Watson was held under 40 receiving yards in five of those games, and he did not play a major role in either of Green Bay’s playoff games.

The Packers do not have a true WR1 in their offense, as Watson split targets with Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks last season. Any of them could realistically step into the WR1 role this season, so banking on Watson to be that player is certainly a risk. He is going off the board before six wide receivers who are ranked ahead of him in the model’s latest update, qualifying him as a Fantasy football bust. See more Fantasy football busts 2024 here

How to find proven 2024 Fantasy football football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising quarterback you aren’t even thinking about being taken in the middle rounds of 2024 Fantasy football drafts. This quarterback is listed as a shocking top-10 option ahead of stars like Trevor Lawrence and Aaron Rodgers. You can only see who it is, and the 2023 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2024 Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade, and which QB shocks the NFL with a top-10 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2024 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that nailed Deebo Samuel as a bust last year, and find out.