Fantasy Football Studs & Duds From Last Year’s Draft Class (Round 1)

The best football minds and coaching staffs prepare for NFL drafts each season. The incoming player pool is extremely large, with 25 starting positions to consider (I included place kicker, punter, and long snapper). At the same time, each franchise is moving in different directions – on the doorstep of the postseason, a Super Bowl contender, or in rebuild mode. I wanted to look at last year's draft class and see how each player performed at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end.

Last year, the first 14 picks were offensive players (23 total in the first round).

2024 NFL Draft Round 1 Positional Breakdown:

QB (6)

WR (7)

TE (1)

OT (7)

OG (1)

EDGE (5)

DT (1)

CB (3)

C (1)

2024 NFL Draft Round 1 Quarterbacks

Caleb Williams (1.1), CHI – 3,541 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, plus 489 rushing yards on 81 attempts.

Jayden Daniels (1.2), WAS – Despite only outgaining Caleb Williams by 429 combined yards, Daniels delivered wins on the scoreboard with a deep run in the postseason. He finished as the fifth-ranked quarterback in the fantasy market, with 4,459 combined yards, 31 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

SUPERSTAR: EVERY JAYDEN DANIELS TOUCHDOWN FROM HIS HISTORIC ROOKIE SEASON.

• Most TDs by a rookie ever
• Led to their first playoff win in almost 20 years & first conference championship game in 30 years
• 4,390 pass yards
• 1,026 rush yards

LEGEND 🔥pic.twitter.com/KQnR4No0aV
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 29, 2025

Drake Maye (1.3), NE – The Patriots gave Maye 12 starts, leading to 2,691 combined yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Michael Penix (1.8), ATL – After riding the bench for most of 14 games, Penix was mediocre at best over his three starts (737 passing yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions). He had seven rushes for 11 yards.

J.J. McCarthy (1.10), MIN – He blew out a knee over last summer, leading to no games played.

Bo Nix (1.12), DEN – Despite a slow start over his first seven games (1,501 combined yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions), Nix emerged as the second-best rookie quarterback (eighth overall QB). He gained 4,205 combined with 33 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, helping Denver make the postseason.

2024 NFL Draft Round 1 Running Backs

None Drafted

2024 NFL Draft Round 1 Wide Receivers

Malik Nabers (1.6), NYG – Even with two missed games, Nabers was the sixth-best wide receiver (109/1,206/7) in PPR formats while playing with subpar quarterbacks.

Romo Odunze (1.9), CHI – The wide receiver rotation hurt Odunze’s opportunity in his rookie campaign. He ranked 49th at wide receiver (54/749/3 with 101 targets).

Brian Thomas (1.23), JAX – The fantasy market started to move up Thomas late in the draft season, and he rewarded them with an excellent season (87/1,282/10 on 133 targets – fourth best wideout).

Xavier Worthy (1.28), KC – It took some time for Kansas City to figure out how to use Worthy in his rookie season, but he still finished as a WR3 (59/638/6 on 98 targets with 20 rushes for 104 yards and three touchdowns) while showing an uptick in his play in the Chiefs final two playoff games (6/101/1 and 8/157/2).

Xavier Worthy cooked all pass catchers in the playoffs 🍳:

• Most catches 🧤
• Most yards 📈
• Most TDs 🏟️
• Perfect passer rating when targeted 🎯

If he’s not a top WR prospect, I don’t know what we’re watching. 🔥

Legendary sophomore season en route! 😈 pic.twitter.com/0rHYEl5xnq
— Daily Chiefs (@Daily_Chiefs_) April 19, 2025

Ricky Pearsall (1.31), SF – He opened his rookie season with six missed games with a chest injury. Even with an injury to Brandon Aiyuk, Pearsall delivered empty stats (17/229/1 with a 4/73/1 game in Week 10) in eight of his first nine NFL games. The 49ers featured him in his final two matchups (8/147/1 and 6/69/1).

Xavier Legette (1.32), CAR – Carolina never got Legette rolling in his first season. He finished with 521 combined yards with 49 catches and four touchdowns (61st in PPR leagues).

2024 NFL Draft Round 1 Tight Ends

Brock Bowers (1.13), LV – Only 17 running backs and wide receivers outscored Bowers in his rookie season in PPR formats. He finished as the top tight end (112/1,194/5 on 153 targets), with the Raiders finishing ninth in passing yards (4,117).

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