Former Pro bowler Darren Waller recently announced his retirement, which has caused a shuffle in the 2024 Fantasy football rankings. Despite an injury-plagued 2023 season, Waller still ranked in the top 15 in Fantasy points per game at the position, beating out the likes of Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid and Pat Freiermuth. The elite at the position in Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews isn't going anywhere, but who are the rising candidates at tight end that could become 2024 Fantasy football breakouts?
Arizona's Trey McBride is trending in that direction and could be one to target during your 2024 Fantasy football draft prep after showing flashes last year. He ranked fourth in positional Fantasy points from Weeks 8 to 18, which coincided with Zach Ertz leaving the lineup. How late can you wait before grabbing McBride with one of your 2024 Fantasy football picks? Before crafting your 2024 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2024 Fantasy football rankings and 2024 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs would carry significantly more value than expected during his rookie season. The result: Gibbs rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns while also catching 52 passes for 316 yards and a score. Gibbs was coming off the board in the middle of the fourth round on average but finished as a top-10 running back in CBS Sports PPR leagues.
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 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 Fantasy football rankings 2024, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2024 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Titans running back Tyjae Spears. As the No. 2 behind Derrick Henry last year as a rookie, Spears was an asset both in and out of the backfield. Amongst first-year RBs, Spears ranked fifth in rushing yards (453), second in receiving yards (385) and fourth in total yards (838). Tennessee replaced Henry with Tony Pollard in the offseason, but that's seen as good news for Spears as Pollard shouldn't dominate the touches share like Henry did previously.
Over the seven games in which Spears had 10-plus touches last year, he averaged 66.1 scrimmage yards, which projects to over 1,100 total yards over a 17-game season. Meanwhile, Pollard's yards per carry have dipped in back-to-back seasons, so there's a chance Spears could overtake him on the depth chart. Add in that Tennessee added WR Calvin Ridley, which will mean boxes won't be as stacked and should allow for more rushing lanes for Titans RBs. The model loves Spears as a Fantasy football breakout 2024 and slots him above Chuba Hubbard, despite Hubbard being drafted earlier on average.
Another breakout that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2024 have identified: Bengals running back Chase Brown. A fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Brown had two 1,000-yard seasons at Illinois and spent the first half of his rookie season primarily playing special teams.
However, he worked his way into the rotation late in the year and with Joe Mixon leaving this offseason, he should be in line for a major role in the Cincinnati offense. He'll compete with Zack Moss for first-team reps and there's early optimism in Cincinnati about the duo. That's a big reason why the model ranks Brown ahead of veterans like Antonio Gibson and Gus Edwards. See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2024 to pick here.
How to find proven 2024 Fantasy football football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising running back you aren't even thinking about being taken in the middle rounds of 2024 Fantasy football drafts. This running back is listed as a shocking top-10 option ahead of superstars like Jonathan Taylor and Joe Mixon. You can only see who it is, and the 2024 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2024 Fantasy Football breakouts should you target? And which RB 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 called Jahmyr Gibbs' breakout season, and find out.
