With the 2024 NFL Draft just days away, it will soon become clearer what to expect from the upcoming football season. While a handful of impactful veteran free agents remain, the draft is the final major hurdle for fantasy football managers. Consider yourself lucky if you escape unscathed in your favorite sleeper this weekend.
Before you sit back and enjoy the biggest event of the year, let's take a look at where things stand. After an intense free agency period and some disappointing off-field issues, here's an updated look at which players are trending up and which players are trending down across the National Football League. Sho.
Up and Down Trends in Fantasy Football Players
upward trend
CJ Stroud (QB – HOU)
One of the biggest dominoes of the offseason didn't fall until just a few weeks ago. After a year and a half of demanding a trade, Stefon Diggs finally got what he wanted. Bye-bye, Buffalo. Hello, Houston.
After starring alongside Josh Allen in Buffalo, Diggs joins a star-studded Texans receiver group that already includes Nico Collins and Tank Dell. The trio may siphon off targets from each other in 2024, but Houston quarterback CJ Stroud will be the main beneficiary. Collins and Dell are two very good wide receivers, but adding an elite player like Diggs should jump into another fantasy dimension for Stroud.
Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF)
With many around the league predicting a trade out of San Francisco, 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has moved up to No. 16 overall (WR9) in Fantasy Pro's Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR). This is a bit of a luxury given his current situation in a low-volume passing offense, but it's no problem for fantasy managers looking to get ahead of a potential trade.
Aiyuk is a very talented wide receiver who will bang if given the same volume as his peers around the league. Unfortunately, 49ers GM John Lynch put a little damper on the matter, declaring that Aiyuk and the team are “having good talks.”
It's hard to tell what's true and what's not these days, but the Aiyuk hype may be spiraling out of control. If he stays where he is now, it's hard to justify his current status above Davante Adams, Chris Olave, and many other true WR1s.
downward trend
Nico Collins (WR – HOU)
I mentioned earlier how much the addition of Stefon Diggs will help quarterback CJ Stroud this season. Conversely, it is expected to be a pain for other Houston wide receivers. Fresh off a career-high 80 receptions, 1,297 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns, many expected Nico Collins to move into low-end WR1/high-end WR2 territory.
Instead of splitting targets evenly with 2023 breakout rookie Tank Dell, the duo will have to settle for what's left. When you trade someone as vocal as Diggs, you do so with the intention of acquiring as many targets as possible to keep him happy. Collins and Dell still have a chance in 2024, but the steady volume may not be what we expected a month ago.
Laci Rice (WR – KC)
Kansas City wide receiver Lachie Rice looked like the league's rising star after breaking out late last season. That may still come true, but his off-field actions are putting that in jeopardy in the short term. Rice is currently charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of crash with serious injury, and six counts of crash with injury resulting in an entirely avoidable accident.
Fantasy football managers may want to start looking at other options in 2024. Details are unknown, but Rice is expected to be suspended for at least multiple games. Given that uncertainty and the competition for targets in Kansas City (Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown, potential Round 1 WR), Rice is a tough sell at his current average draft position (ADP) of No. 24 WR.
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