Target these 5 fantasy football players in your draft (2024)

You won't always necessarily lose in your fantasy football drafts by taking overvalued players, but you can absolutely win your league by taking undervalued players. Quite frankly, these players are the complete opposite. Maybe they have struggled recently, are on a new team, or are awaiting a breakout. There can be a million reasons a player is undervalued, and you're at an extreme advantage if you can draft them at their ADP.

The draft picks used to take undervalued players aren't always as valuable, even though you can potentially get a starting-caliber player later in fantasy football drafts. That's how you win your leagues. Who would've known someone like Puka Nacua would finish as the WR4 despite not being drafted in many leagues?

There is a legitimate advantage when you can draft undervalued players who perform. If they're in the later rounds, tossing a flier at these players is not a big deal. Go win your fantasy football leagues with these five undervalued NFL players.

1 Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars

Lawrence is being drafted below his floor of QB13, leaving him a steal in fantasy drafts

Trevor Lawrence's QB15 ADP is completely baffling, considering he finished as the QB13 in a down year and QB8 in his best season. While Lawrence isn't a running quarterback, he does have some mobility in his game, which allows him to stand out against similarly priced quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert.

Lawrence wasn't overly productive last season but was still one of the better fantasy football quarterbacks. There's a legitimate conversation to be had that the Jacksonville Jaguars offense should be better in 2024, allowing Lawrence to have a bounce-back season.

Most fans expected the Jaguars to be better with Calvin Ridley, but it was quite the opposite. Ridley wasn't the player he was before his suspension, so losing him may benefit Lawrence and the Jaguars.

However, the team got two new weapons, with Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. Both wide receivers are explosive and can stretch the field vertically, allowing the Jaguars to be more versatile.

If Lawrence has the bounce-back year that he should, you're drafting a top-10 fantasy quarterback in the seventh or eighth round of drafts. If he plays similarly to what he did last season, you're still getting a slightly better quarterback than the ADP he's being drafted at.

2 Tony Pollard - Tennessee Titans

Pollard might be one of the most undervalued fantasy RBs of all time in 2024

It's pretty impressive that Tyjae Spears' rookie season warrants completely tanking Tony Pollard's fantasy value in 2024. Spears played well backing up Derrick Henry last year, but is he poised to take over the starting job right after the Tennessee Titanssigned Pollard to a contract extension? Probably not.

Many fantasy managers have a sour taste in their mouths after Pollard disappointed as the Dallas Cowboys started running back in 2023. People forget that Pollard's 2022 season ended when he broke his leg and suffered a high ankle sprain in the playoffs.

It was even clear in his play that Pollard was still recovering from his 2022 injury, and he finished the season strong as PFF's highest-graded running back from Week 11 and beyond.

More than a year after his injury, Pollard will be running behind an improved offensive line with 280 vacant carries. Sure, Spears will likely carve into that, but it would be arrogant to believe Pollard won't receive the bulk of the carries. His RB29 ADP feels like pure disrespect, considering he has top-10 fantasy potential. Take Pollard in every fantasy football draft that you can.

3 Rachaad White - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucky Irving's presence isn't enough to knock White out of the top-10 running backs

Rachaad White's ADP fell outside the top-10 due to his inefficient 2023 season in the ground game, and the addition of Bucky Irving. White's inefficiencies are accurate, but a large part was due to poor run blocking from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line.

The Bucs improved the offensive line through free agency and in the draft, which automatically should improve the run game in Tampa Bay.

The biggest part of White's game, which helped him RB5 finish last year, was his success in the passing game. White finished with the third-most receiving yards among running backs last season. Even if Irving comes in and has more of a presence than expected, White will still have a ton of involvement since he's one of the best pass catchers on this Buccaneers team.

Where the problem lies for the Irving agenda is that he's a similar player to White. It's more likely that the Buccaneers drafted Irving to be an insurance policy for White, rather than a replacement. Since Irving has a similar style of play, he could replace White if needed without having to change much of the offense.

White was a true workhorse last season, and while he may not lead the NFL once again in snaps, he's likely to be the Buccaneers' feature back once again in 2024. Drafting White as the RB12 after he just had a top-5 fantasy finish in 2023 is a great way to take advantage of fantasy owners overreacting after the NFL draft.

4 Diontae Johnson - Carolina Panthers

Johnson gives Bryce Young an elite separator who can receive 150+ targets

Diontae Johnson's ADP is so undervalued that it seems like everyone is beginning to catch on. Johnson joins the Carolina Panthers with a clear path to becoming the WR1 with very little competition in year one. His value is low due to the Panthers' struggles last season and Johnson's lack of production in the last two years, but both look ready to take a turn.

Johnson has been surrounded by poor quarterback play in Pittsburgh, leading to a dip in his numbers from 2021, when he caught for over 1,100 yards. The Panthers were bad, but there were plenty of positives to see from Bryce Young in a terrible situation.

It feels like the perfect marriage: a wide receiver and a quarterback who were put in bad situations can now help each other improve in 2024.

Johnson is still at the top of his game from a route-running standpoint. As the WR37, he's being drafted at rock bottom despite the tremendous upside that he can have in Carolina. The risk feels minimal, assuming he stays healthy, and the situation presents a high upside that could sneak Johnson into the top 15 highest-scoring fantasy wide receivers in 2024.

5 Jake Ferguson - Dallas Cowboys

2023 was only the beginning of Ferguson's road to becoming a star TE

Tight ends are hard to predict, and the position lacks depth, making it hard to find the diamonds in the rough. Although he's being drafted as the TE10, that still feels too low for Dallas Cowboys' Jake Ferguson. In Ferguson's breakout season, he finished as the TE8, with the potential to become even better moving forward.

Heading into year three, Ferguson should see improvements in his game, with little offensive change. The Cowboys made minimal moves to their receiving corps while opening up 124 targets with the losses to Pollard and Michael Gallup. It would be hard to imagine they target CeeDee Lamb any more than they already did in 2023, leaving most of these targets to go to Ferguson and Brandin Cooks.

If Dak Prescott stays healthy, there's a legitimate shot that Ferguson finishes as a top-5 fantasy tight end in 2024. He received at least six targets in the season's final six games, with a career day in the Wild Card Round against the Green Bay Packers.

Ferguson was one of the few bright spots in a game where the Cowboys were hopeless. Tight ends need time to develop, and Ferguson can go back and review the film to see what parts of his game he can refine to take his talent to the next level. If you miss out on the top-5 tight ends in fantasy football drafts, Ferguson is the guy you should be eyeing.

All stats are courtesy of Pro Football Reference.