Fantasy Football 2024: Players to add before NFL Week 1
After all, it is exactly one week until the start of the regular NFL season.
That means fantasy football is back on and everything will be OK. This time of year is full of camaraderie, trash talk, and the hunt for millions to put together a team that can bring home the championship.
But there can only be one winner in each league each year. You want to do your best to make sure that title doesn’t belong to anyone else, and the real key to success is identifying value.
“Value” can take many forms. It can be a price discrepancy based on average draft position (ADP), the ability to predict trends based on player usage, or knowing when to bench a player in addition to that projection.
Timing is everything. Treating your substitutes as interchangeable assets can give you an advantage over your opponents.
Using roster percentages from Yahoo and ESPN, as well as multi-site ADP information from 4for4, we’re going to identify some potential fantasy-relevant players whose rosters are less than 50 percent full to serve as reinforcements for the back rows of managers looking to get a head start before Week 1 kicks off.
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Fantasy players to add before Week 1
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers 
- Yahoo membership: 13 percent
- ESPN squad: 5 percent
- ADP: RB63
Jordan Mason is listed as the RB2 in the 49ers’ rankings after a strong preseason and the recent news that teammate Elijah Mitchell was placed on the injured list, ending his season, making him one of the most valuable players in fantasy football.
The former Georgia Tech player is the first man in line to replace Christian McCaffrey should the superstar get injured. That fact alone is good fantasy gold, but Mason’s limited track record is a reason for caution.
Since entering the league in 2022, he has averaged just 37.3 rushing yards and 5.7 points per game in points-per-reception (PPR) in 11 career games with four or more touches – not exactly the most reassuring stat.
Still, potential managers need to be aware of how valuable Mason has been in the eyes of general manager John Lynch since he was brought into the team as an undrafted free agent rookie.
According to a 2022 report from Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area, Mason worked hard to earn his final roster spot ahead of then-promising second-year running back and franchise third-round pick Trey Sermon.
Lynch is quoted as saying at the time: “The decision to keep Mason was because we were so afraid of losing him,” and “given how he turned on at the end of training camp and then what he showed in the preseason games, we really felt like we were losing him.”
That doesn’t sound too impressive, of course, but if you’re a long-time fantasy football fan, you probably remember how excited people were about Sermon’s potential in Kyle Shanahan’s patented run-heavy offensive scheme.
The fact that the coaching staff and management pushed so hard to keep Mason over Sermon, especially before McCaffrey was signed by the Carolina Panthers, speaks volumes about the franchise’s confidence in him.
Mason is your man if you are looking for an underrated running back.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Chicago Bears 
- Yahoo membership: 33 percent
- ESPN squad: 14.2 percent
- ADP: RB54
Although Khalil Herbert has already been highlighted as a big fantasy “winner” of the preseason, he remains one of the least-heralded running backs in the fantasy landscape.
The fourth-year running back will be able to secure opportunities in the early going as he shares the Bears backfield with teammate D’Andre Swift. While he won’t be in a high-volume role with Chicago, Herbert’s track record is nothing to sneeze at.
Among the 49 running backs with at least 200 runs since 2022, Herbert ranks first in yards after contact per run (2.3), 23rd in rushing yards per game (53.7) and 36th in PPR points per game (9.21), according to Stathead.
Should we zoom in a little closer and look at the 19 career games in which he has had at least 10 touches since 2021? Herbert is averaging 86.6 scrimmage yards and 13.2 PPR points per game.
Why does this matter? For context, Herbert’s average PPR score in this sample would have ranked 21st among running backs in points per game last season.
Considering the relatively weak nature of the Bears’ offensive line, these totals and the fact that Herbert has at least achieved flex-level fantasy status during his young career are notable.
It is also worth noting that new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, according to NFLO, in three years of experience at the same position with the Seattle Seahawks between 2021 and 2023, produced offenses with an above-expected pass rate of no less than -2 percent and no more than 1.5 percent.
The Bears’ typical game can be considered fairly neutral. This is good news for runners in the Waldron system, as they don’t lose potential relevance in a tough passing attack.
Herbert may not win your league if everything goes his way, but he can be a weekly production addition that can make the difference between winning and losing.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers 
- Yahoo membership: 54 percent
- ESPN squad: 37.5 percent
- ADP: WR52
The potential suitability of pass-catchers in the Packers’ offense after last season’s collective breakthrough has been an intriguing undertone in fantasy drafts for months between best-ball and more recent redraft contests.
Aside from Jayden Reed, no other Green Bay wide receiver is priced above 36 ADP, so you could consider all of the other names, including Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks, as valuable draft picks.
Regardless, smart people should turn their attention to Romeo Doubs because the choice with the best value for money is the best.
The above quartet of receivers appeared in eight games together at full health in 2023 (Weeks 4-5, 7-11 and 13). During that time, 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 star also ranked eighth among all NFL pass catchers in red zone targets (18) and had a 20% target share in that area of the field, scoring seven of his eight touchdowns along the way last season.
Doubs has all the characteristics of a stealth player, and fantasy managers should target him immediately or at the tail end of the draft. He’s a popular target for QB Jordan Love and, assuming he’s healthy, can easily chart a path toward a 1,000-yard season in 2024.
Get into the Doubs now before it’s too late.
Greg Dortch, WR, Arizona Cardinals 
- Yahoo membership: 4 percent
- ESPN squad: 0.8 percent
- ADP: WR82
What Greg Dortch lacks in stature (5’7″, 175 lbs), he more than makes up for in performance when given the opportunity.
Most people think of the former UDFA for his performance as a kick returner. While that is the primary source of Dortch’s value, he was also a good offensive player when he was called into action.
In 12 career games with at least four targets, Dortch averaged 5.6 pass catches, 57.3 receiving yards and 13.2 PPR points per game.
This kind of scoring stat is more than enough to consider him as a flexible option, but the question is, can he also be successful in the fantasy world?
The answer is: maybe.
With teammate Zay Jones set to miss five games due to suspension and it’s unclear what impact wide receiver Michael Wilson will have on performance in his second year, it’s entirely possible Dortch will secure a supporting role in the pecking order running slot routes behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and TE Trey McBride.
The fact that he will likely only rise to third on the target list means that, unlike the other players on this list, Dortch is more of a luxury in the minor leagues than a “must have.”
Managers in 10- or 12-team leagues can probably leave the crafty speedster on the waiver list early in the season, but if you have a bench with enough spots, why not take the plunge?
Isaiah Likely, TE, Baltimore Ravens 
- Yahoo membership: 21 percent
- ESPN squad: 6.7 percent
- ADP: TE19
This call is very simple.
We all know that Mark Andrews is one of the most reliable tight ends when healthy. The veteran has been named to the Pro Bowl three times, was selected to the All-Pro first team in 2021, and ranks first among his positional peers in targets (153) over the past five seasons.
This is all a big reason why Andrews has the fifth-highest annual contract value ($14 million) among tight ends, according to Over The Cap. However, due to various injuries, Andrews has missed nine games over the past two seasons since Isaiah Likely entered the league.
Not every offense operates in the same order when a star player is missing. In the Ravens’ case, they will heavily involve the tight end even if Andrews is out.
Likely has averaged 3.4 catches, 50.3 receiving yards and 12.5 PPR points per game in those nine games without a healthy Andrews. Over the entire season, that would have put him just behind seventh among tight ends in 2024, just behind David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns with 12.6.
He probably has the status of the only true “handcuff” for tight ends. If you are in a league with enough reserve players, it would be wise to bench him.
