Fantasy
8/29/24
6 min read
Fantasy Football 2024: Players To Add Before NFL Week 1
Finally, the NFL regular season kickoff is precisely one week away.
This means fantasy football will start again, and all will be right in the world. With this time of year comes plenty of camaraderie, smack talk, and the pursuit of millions looking to assemble a team that can bring home a championship.
But there can only be one winner in every league each year. You want to do your best to ensure that title doesn’t belong to anyone else, and the true difference-making key to success is identifing values.
A “value” can come in many forms. It can be a price discrepancy based on average draft position (ADP), the ability to anticipate trends based on player usage, or knowing when to stash a player on the bench on top of that prognostication.
Timing is everything. Treating your bench spots as fungible assets is a great way to gain an edge over your opponents.
Using rostership percentages from Yahoo and ESPN, and multi-site ADP information from 4for4, let’s identify some potential fantasy-relevant players with less than 50 percent roster occupancy who should be additions to the back-end of benches for managers looking to be ahead of the curve prior to Week 1 kickoff.
>> READ MORE: Full Top 100 Fantasy Rankings
Fantasy Players to Add Before Week 1
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers 
- Yahoo Rostership: 13 percent
- ESPN Rostership: 5 percent
- ADP: RB63
Jordan Mason finds himself elevated as the RB2 on the 49ers’ depth chart following a strong preseason and the recent news of teammate Elijah Mitchell landing on season-ending injured reserve. As such, he’s positioned as one of fantasy football’s most valuable handcuffs.
The former Georgia Tech product is the first in line to replace Christian McCaffrey should injury befall the superstar. That fact alone carries its weight in fantasy gold, but it’s fair to point out Mason’s limited track record as a reason for caution.
Since entering the league in 2022, he’s only averaged 37.3 rushing yards and 5.7 points per game in point-per-reception (PPR) scoring across 11 career contests with four or more touches — not the most comforting stat line to consider.
That said, prospective managers must understand how valuable Mason has been in the eyes of general manager John Lynch since being brought onto the team as an undrafted free agent rookie.
Per a report from Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area in 2022, Mason worked hard to earn his final roster spot ahead of then-promising second-year back and third-round pick of the franchise Trey Sermon.
Lynch is quoted as saying at the time that the decision to keep Mason “came down to us being so scared we were going to lose [him]” and that “the way he turned it on at the end of camp in practice and then what he showed in those preseason games, we just really felt we were going to lose him.”
Sure, that doesn’t sound too impressive. Still, if you’re a long-time fantasy football diehard, you remember how excited people were for Sermon’s potential in the patented run-heavy scheme of a Kyle Shanahan offense.
The fact that the coaching staff and management felt so strongly about keeping Mason over Sermon, particularly before McCaffrey was acquired from the Carolina Panthers, speaks volumes to the franchise's belief in him.
Mason is your man if you are in the market for an underappreciated value at the running back position.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Chicago Bears
- Yahoo Rostership: 33 percent
- ESPN Rostership: 14.2 percent
- ADP: RB54
Previously highlighted as a big fantasy “winner” from the preseason, Khalil Herbert remains one of the least heralded running backs across the fantasy landscape.
The fourth-year back is poised to receive early-down opportunities, sharing the Bears backfield with teammate D’Andre Swift. Though he won’t occupy a volume-laden role for Chicago, Herbert’s track record of success is nothing to shake a stick at.
Among 49 running backs with at least 200 carries since 2022, Herbert is tied for first in yards after contact per rush (2.3), 23rd in rushing yards per game (53.7), and 36th in PPR points per game (9.21) per Stathead.
Should we zoom in a bit and look at the 19 career games in which he’s received at least 10 touches since 2021? Herbert averages 86.6 scrimmage yards and 13.2 PPR points per game.
Why does this matter? In context, Herbert’s PPR average scoring in that sample would’ve ranked 21st in points per game among running backs last season.
Considering the relatively poor nature of the Bears’ offensive line, these totals and the fact that Herbert has churned out at least flex-level fantasy status throughout his young career is remarkable.
It’s also worth pointing out that new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron produced offenses with a pass rate over expectation of no lower than -2 percent and no higher than 1.5 percent across three years of experience in the same position with the Seattle Seahawks between 2021 and 2023, according to NFELO.
The Bears' typical game script can be anticipated as somewhat neutral. That's good news for runners in the Waldron system in terms of not losing potential relevance to a heavy passing attack.
Herbert may not win your league if everything works out in his favor, but he can be a weekly production supplement that can make the difference between a win and a loss.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers
- Yahoo Rostership: 54 percent
- ESPN Rostership: 37.5 percent
- ADP: WR52
The potential viability of pass-catchers in the Packers’ offense following last season’s collective breakout trek has been a fascinating undercurrent of fantasy drafts for months between best ball and more recent redraft contests.
Aside from Jayden Reed, no other Green Bay wideout carries a top 36 ADP price tag. As a result, you could consider all other names, including Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks, as values in drafts.
Regardless, sharp minds should hone in on Romeo Doubs as the primo value pick of the bunch.
The quartet of receivers above appeared in eight games together at full health (Week 4-5, 7-11, and 13) in 2023. In that span, Doubs led the group in target share (17 percent), targets per game (6.25), and red zone targets per game (1.12).
The former Nevada standout also ranked tied-for-eighth in red zone targets (18) among all NFL pass-catchers and occupied a 20 percent target share in that area of the field en route to scoring seven of his eight touchdowns last season.
Doubs demonstrates all the attributes of an under-the-radar contributor, and fantasy managers should hop all over off the waiver wire or at the end of drafts. He is a favorite target for QB Jordan Love and can easily follow a path toward a 1,000-yard campaign in 2024, assuming he is healthy.
Be sure to get in on Doubs now before it’s too late.
Greg Dortch, WR, Arizona Cardinals
- Yahoo Rostership: 4 percent
- ESPN Rostership: 0.8 percent
- ADP: WR82
What Greg Dortch lacks in stature (5-foot-7, 175 pounds), he more than makes up for with production when given the opportunity.
Most people think of the former UDFA for his contributions as a kick returner. While that’s been the primary source of Dortch’s value, he’s also been a quality offensive contributor when asked to start.
In 12 career games with at least four targets, Dortch averages 5.6 receptions, 57.3 receiving yards, and 13.2 PPR points per game.
That type of scoring output is more than enough for him to be a flex option. However, the question is, does he have a path to fantasy viability in front of him?
That answer: perhaps so.
With teammate Zay Jones slated to miss five games due to suspension and the unclear nature of what kind of impact second-year WR Michael Wilson will have, it’s entirely possible for Dortch to secure a secondary role in the pecking order running slot routes behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and TE Trey McBride.
The fact that he'll likely only ascend to third in line for targets means Dortch is more of a deep-league luxury than a “must-add,” unlike the other players on this list.
Managers in 10 or 12-team leagues can likely leave the wily speedster on waivers to begin the season. But if you’ve got a bench with enough empty real estate on it, why not take the plunge?
Isaiah Likely, TE, Baltimore Ravens
- Yahoo Rostership: 21 percent
- ESPN Rostership: 6.7 percent
- ADP: TE19
This call is a very simple one.
We all know that Mark Andrews is among the most reliable stalwarts at tight end when healthy. The veteran has been named to three Pro Bowls, finished as a first-team All-Pro in 2021, and ranks first among his position mates in targets (153) during the past five seasons.
That all is a big part of why Andrews carries the fifth-highest annual contract value ($14 million) among tight ends, per Over The Cap. However, various injuries have led to Andrews missing nine games in the past two seasons since Isaiah Likely entered the league.
Not every offense operates in consistent order when a star player is missing. In the Ravens' case, they’ll still heavily involve the tight end when Andrews is out.
Likely has averaged 3.4 catches, 50.3 receiving yards, and 12.5 PPR points per game in those nine contests without a healthy Andrews. During an entire season, that would’ve ranked just a tick behind seventh among tight ends in 2024, just behind David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns at 12.6.
Likely occupies rarified air as the one-and-only tight end “handcuff.” Should you play in a league with deep enough benches, it would behoove you to stash him.
