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Fantasy football championships delivered by NFL's stars of tomorrow — today

scott pianowski
Fantasy analyst
·7 min read

The 2024 wide receiver rookie class was rated as a strong one last spring, a bunch of potential game-changers. And now that the fantasy football season is all but complete, we can emphatically give the final conclusion.

The kids are alright.

Rookies splashed all over TV screens in the fantasy football finals, intent on delivering championships to managers who believed in youth over experience. Consider the WR leaderboard as Sunday closed, with 15 games in the books.

Malik Nabers (7-171-2 good for 32.6 fantasy points) ranked as the WR2 for the week, Ladd McConkey (9-84-2 for 25.4 points) the WR7. Jalen McMillan (5-51-2 for 20.5 points), Brian Thomas Jr. (7-91-1 for 20.4 points) and Xavier Worthy (8-79-1 for 18.9 points) were bunched up, holding down the 10th, 11th and 13th spots, respectively. Heck, even Marvin Harrison Jr. (6-96-0) had a solid game from Saturday, while Keon Coleman (3-27-1) landed a circus catch for a touchdown.

Thomas and Nabers were college teammates at LSU (along with another super rookie, QB Jayden Daniels), and the Thomas vs. Nabers fantasy draft debate should be a fun one next year. Thomas has been remarkably productive and consistent this year despite mediocre quarterback play from Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones (to be fair, the touchdown Thomas caught on Sunday came on a gorgeous Jones throw). The New York quarterback situation has held Nabers down at times, although Drew Lock had his good stuff in Sunday's upset of Indianapolis. The Giants are sure to draft a signature quarterback next year.

Nabers, of course, went 17 picks earlier in 2024's NFL Draft. But it was Thomas who was the higher-rated prospect coming out of high school. Given what Thomas overcame this year, I give him the slight edge over Nabers in 2025, but it's a tiny difference. They might go back-to-back in a lot of leagues. For now, I figure they'll land somewhere around the Pick 12-13 turn, but I wouldn't be shocked if they become even pricier than that. Forget landing them in Round 3, that's not going to happen.

McConkey's clinic at New England was doubly stinging for the Patriots, who traded the pick that became McConkey to the Chargers back in April, then shortly after selected one of the rookie flops of the year, WR Ja'Lynn Polk. McConkey's true upside was likely shielded at Georgia, where he and TE Brock Bowers didn't get to play in weekly shootouts. Does McConkey have potential Cooper Kupp upside down the road? It sure seems like the rookie is constantly open. He feels like a perfect Round 3 pick next year.

The flow of Worthy's rookie season was similar to how the Chiefs handled Rashee Rice last year — soft-pedal things early, then turn it on late. Of course, Worthy and Rice play much different roles, but the cadence of their seasons was similar. I suspect Worthy probably lands around Round 5 in 2025 drafts.

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McMillan was slow to earn fantasy trust from managers, as he finally climbed over the 50% rostered tag late this week. But with two touchdowns Sunday, that gives him six spikes in his last four games, part of the reliable Tampa Bay carnival. It will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay handles Chris Godwin, a pending free agent, after the season. If Godwin doesn't return, McMillan probably makes sense around Rounds 5-6. With Godwin back, it's a trickier call. The Buccaneers might also lose OC Liam Coen, who's been brilliant with the play sheet.

I suspect Harrison is a third-round pick next year — a bet on the talent, even if you don't trust the infrastructure. Kyler Murray and Harrison never completely worked out the kinks.

Two other non-quarterback rookies deserve a Week 17 nod as we complete this look-ahead.

Bucky Irving grabbed the RB4 slot in championship week on the strength of 190 total yards against the Carolina sieve. He basically threw Rachaad White out of the way in the Tampa backfield — Irving collected 20 carries and 24 touches compared to six and seven, respectively, for White. I don't think White is a bad player but Irving sure looks like a special one. Sounds like Irving might be a second-round pick next year, no later than Round 3.

Bowers, of course, rewrote all those rookie tight end rules that Sam LaPorta worked on a year ago. Bowers came on late in Sunday's win over the Saints, securing all of his targets for a solid 7-77-0 line. His touchdown count of four is a little light, but consider the limited quarterbacks he's been playing with. And let's also acknowledge Bowers moved past Mike Ditka on the all-time rookie TE yardage chart, albeit Bowers had the benefit of a thicker schedule.

Kyle Pitts once challenged that Ditka yardage record, falling just short. Pitts has been a maddening fantasy player since, but Bowers looks like something that will last. Maybe the Raiders upgrade at QB, maybe not, but I don't think it matters. Bowers should be the first tight end selected next year, figuring that will be Round 2-3 in pretty much every league.

I hadn't intended on including the rookie quarterbacks in this piece — they've been written about constantly all year and the Exit Interview series kicks off Thursday with the quarterback position. But after watching Jayden Daniels will his Washington team to an overtime win Sunday night, it's worth the addition.

Daniels has given us a perfect trajectory to his fantasy season, charting as the QB1, QB2, QB7, QB1 and QB4 (in progress) the last five weeks. Talk about smashing your ADP. The fast finish speaks to a couple of things — Daniels learning how to spread the ball around (and not force the ball to Terry McLaurin, as great as he is) and his rib injury healing up, allowing Daniels to run proactively again.

What particularly excites me about Daniels is that he's a dynamic passer who can run as a secondary thing — the running isn't the entrée on the menu. As for his 2025 ADP, I suspect he won't be drafted first at the position but he'll be close behind, maybe a round later. Quarterback drafting habits vary from league to league; whatever round usually starts the QB push in your pool, add one round and that's where you'll likely find Daniels. And of course in Superflex formats, he's sure to go in the first round.

Who are some of these young players displacing in 2025 drafts? Perhaps we start with Tyreek Hill. The Miami alpha had a solid 9-105-0 log at Cleveland, considering he was working with backup quarterback Snoop Huntley. But Hill is also stuck on six touchdowns for the season and his YPC had dropped significantly. Next year is his age-32 season. It's not that Hill can't be a useful player, but we probably need to stop considering him a game-wrecking player.

Cooper Kupp is another wideout stepping into his age-32 season next year. His yards per catch and yards per target have both hit new lows this year. He's missed chunks of playing time in three straight seasons. Matthew Stafford turns 37 next year, and obviously the Rams passing game is routed through Puka Nacua. Even with Kupp's ADP likely to come at a discount next season, I doubt I'll be waiting in that line.

Deebo Samuel is another tricky call, too. Full disclosure, I was encouraged by his excellent game at Miami last week and I proactively told others to start him Monday at Detroit. But Samuel turns 29 next year and his yards per touch collapsed this season. It's a prove-it year for him, as he's a free agent after the 2025 season. But you wonder if the 49ers would rather be a year early than a year late, and find a way to move on. They obviously have cap issues and a roster at the crossroads.