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10 Guys Who Could Win You a Fantasy Championship

Draft These League Winners

We spent countless hours building the 2024 rankings and projections. We’ve hit you with: 

• Sleepers
• Breakouts
• Overvalued players
• Busts

But who are the guys you GOTTA have on your team?

We asked each member of the Draft Sharks staff for their two favorite league winners.

The result?

10 guys who could win you a 2024 fantasy championship.

Highlight these dudes on your fantasy football cheat sheet.

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

Smola: If you’ve read, watched, or listened to anything from me over the past few months, you already know how I feel about Daniels.

So apologies for repeating myself. 

But it would have been disingenuous to not include Daniels here. Because he’s the premier league-winning pick in 2024 fantasy drafts.

Daniels’ path to a league-winning season is simple: Score as many or more fantasy points than QBs going 5+ rounds earlier.

It’ll be a tough task for him to match Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen. Washington’s offense isn’t as prolific as Philaldelphia’s or Buffalo’s.

But guys like Anthony Richardson and Lamar Jackson? Daniels can out-score them.

This is an elite rushing QB. Daniels ran for 1,250 yards at LSU last year – more than Richardson tallied in any college season. Daniels averaged 10.4 yards per carry – better than Jackson ever averaged at Louisville. 

And he can throw! Daniels just led the FBS in yards per pass attempt (11.5) and passer rating (143.7) in his Heisman-winning 2023 campaign.

This guy is tailor-made to score fantasy points – and a huge value in Round 8 or 9 of fantasy drafts.

Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers

Hallam: If you draft Brooks, it’s for him to come in clutch during the fantasy playoffs and be your league winner.

After suffering an ACL tear this past November at Texas, Brooks was still selected 46th overall by the Panthers.

His burst, athleticism, and receiving ability all align with new HC Dave Canales's RB philosophy of having the best talent on the field to not only rush the ball but also be a receiving threat.

The ACL will cause Brooks to miss some games early in the season and likely have a slow start when he does get on the field.

But, similar to Breece Hall last year, once Brooks is fully healthy, he could absolutely dominate for your fantasy team.

Brooks is being drafted in the RB3 range and is a perfect bench player to stash until he is ready to be a league winner.

Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

English: At RB30, Williams looks like an excellent value with league-winning potential.

Only 24, the former UNC standout is now nearly two years removed from an ACL/LCL tear.

And it’s showing. He’s caught the eye of HC Sean Payton, who’s historically produced efficient ground games.

Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Audric Estime might limit the ceiling. But if Williams recaptures his rookie-year power and burst, he’ll be tough to keep off the field.

Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Schauf: This one probably looks goofy next to the other names listed … and it might be. But here’s what HC Doug Pederson said back in March: “We have to get Tank going, bottom line. He is too good — that’s why we drafted him.”

Bigsby has performed better this preseason than last. And the situation remains strong. The 2023 Jaguars ranked 13th in total yards and scoring, and supported top-4 fantasy finishes for Travis Etienne across formats.

Pederson has reiterated that he wants to lighten Etienne’s workload, but it’ll obviously take an Etienne injury for Bigsby to truly make a difference. Well, you can now buy that chance at a RB65-66 ADP vs. last August’s cost of around RB40.

Don’t want Bigsby? Apply the same logic points to other backup situations and/or players pushed down by recency bias.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

English: I’ll absorb some injury risk here.

Part of that is Kupp’s Round 3/4 ADP – comfortably behind his top-15 status last summer.

Then there’s the status of Puka Nacua, who’s returning from a knee issue. It’s the latest in a series of ailments he’s accumulated as a football player.

Of course, the same offensive infrastructure remains in place. This Matt Stafford-Sean McVay offense ranked top-8 in both yards and points last season.

You can question what’s left in the tank for Kupp. But just last year, he flashed his 2021-2022 ceiling with four games of 7+ catches and 100+ yards.

Consider the 31-year-old a strong WR2 target.

Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Hallam: Drafting Tee Higgins after his injury-riddled 2023 season is a tough pill to swallow, but it helps him be a value who could skyrocket into a league winner.

Higgins finished 14th among WRs in PPR points per game in 2021 and 13th in 2022, the two healthy Joe Burrow seasons.

Despite being a massive injury risk, Higgins performs when on the field with Burrow at QB. Tyler Boyd is gone, and Higgins could take some of those 98 targets from last season.

Being a contract year for Higgins, his motivation to perform should be through the roof.

If Ja’Marr Chase misses time, Higgins becomes an instant top-12 WR option week-to-week.

You can replace Higgins if he gets hurt. But a full, healthy season means Higgins is an easy league winner at his WR3 cost. 

Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers

Schauf: You might have already read my case for why Johnson belongs on your 2024 teams. But the key points are worth hitting again:

1.) He’s good. The guy has earned the league’s eighth-most targets since he arrived in 2019. And he has performed at a top-24 level for more than half of his five seasons, including a WR8 finish in 2021. 

2.) The Panthers supported a WR1 last year. A 33-year-old Adam Thielen ranked 17th among WRs in PPR points in 2023 – WR10 through Week 11, before HC Frank Reich got canned and the targets went elsewhere.

A 28-year-old Johnson is unquestionably better than a 33-year-old Thielen. The QB and offense can only improve vs. last year.

And this proven, target-commanding vet sits at just WR38 in PPR ADP.

Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Smola: We’ve seen Chiefs rookie WRs disappoint plenty lately. 

Mecole Hardman. Skyy Moore. Even Rashee Rice underwhelmed for the first half of last season.

But Worthy feels different.

For starters, he’s a better prospect than those other guys. Worthy broke out as an 18-year-old true freshman at a big-time college program. He averaged 14.0 yards per reception over his three seasons at Texas, busting off big plays downfield and after the catch. Then he clocked a Combine-record 4.21-second 40 time.

The Chiefs traded up to select Worthy with the 28th overall pick of this spring’s draft and seemingly have no intention of slow-playing him. Worthy has run a route on 16 of QB Patrick Mahomes’ 18 routes this preseason — and turned six targets into 62 yards and a score.

Simply put, we might be looking at a high-end WR set to play a big role for the most talented QB in football. And he’s available in the seventh or eighth round of fantasy drafts.

Sounds like a potential league-winner.

Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions

Pappano: Williams has been a perpetual disappointment since being drafted 12th by the Lions in the 2022 draft. Injuries and a 6-game gambling suspension have been the lowlights of his two-year career.  But there have been flashes of his 4.39 speed and big-play ability.

The last time we saw him in a meaningful game, Williams scored a receiving and rushing TD against the Niners in the NFC Championship Game. And he has been a standout this offseason and in training camp.

HC Dan Campbell has said that Jamo has been the most improved player from last season, adding that the third-year receiver is a “man on a mission.”

He’s got the skill set, the surrounding talent, and the opportunity to break out in 2024. His current ADP of 10.04 makes him a smart add as a WR4 on most teams. 

Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills

Pappano: With Josh Allen slingin’ it every Sunday, someone’s gotta catch the ball in Buffalo. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis – last year’s top-2 WRs – are gone. That leaves Khalil Shakir as the team’s most experienced returning WR from 2023. This will be his third year with the Bills.

Last year was a breakout of sorts for the nifty slot receiver. He notched 39 catches for 611 yards plus 2 TDs through the regular season, adding another 10 grabs for 75 yards and 2 scores in the postseason. What makes this statline more impressive is the efficiency in which Shakir got there:

According to Pro Football Focus, Shakir and Josh Allen had a “catchable target rate” of 91.1% last year. That was tops in the league. If you’re in a PPR league – especially a best ball – his ADP of 11.03 makes him a tasty add to your WR corps.

Find Your League Winners

Your league-winning picks depend on all the factors that make your fantasy league unique, including:

• League size
• Starting requirements
• Scoring system
• ADP
• And more

All those variables are factored into customized and dynamic rankings on your Draft War Room.

Get your league-winning cheat sheet.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.