Top Candidates for the No. 1 Overall Pick in 2024 Fantasy Football

The first overall pick hasn't panned out for fantasy managers in recent years. In 2022, running back Jonathan Taylor was the consensus No. 1 pick after rushing for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns the year before. Then, last season, wide receiver Justin Jefferson was the consensus No. 1 overall pick following his WR1 finish the year prior.

However, both Taylor and Jefferson join a long list of names that have busted as the first overall pick over the last decade. The Colts running back finished as the RB34 in half-PPR formats during that 2022 season, while the Vikings wideout finished as the WR29 in half-PPR formats in 2023. 

Fantasy managers are hoping that trend ends this season. So, let's look at the top three candidates for the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 fantasy football drafts. In this article, we will analyze the pros and cons of selecting these three players at the 1.01 in drafts. 

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RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers 

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is coming off the best season of his career in 2023. McCaffrey totaled 272 carries for a career-high 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first full season with the team. The All-Pro back also reeled in 67 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns in the passing game. 

His 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns helped him finish as the overall RB1 for the second time in his career. McCaffrey was clearly the best fantasy running back last year and scored 100 more PPR fantasy points than the RB2 (Breece Hall). As a result, he finds himself as a potential candidate to go first overall in 2024 fantasy football drafts. 

Christian McCaffrey is the scariest player in fantasy football... You either

Draft the 28 year old RB coming off 400+ touches & dealing with a calf strain at 1.01

or

You pass on a running back that can score 100 more points than the RB 2

— Mason Dodd (@MasonDoddFFN) August 8, 2024

Argument for McCaffrey at 1.01: McCaffrey might be the biggest potential advantage at any position this year. He was one of only two running backs (Kyren Williams) to average over 18 PPR fantasy points last year, and he scored a whopping 391.3 PPR fantasy points. The 28-year-old also scored in double figures in every game in 2023 while scoring at least 20 PPR fantasy points in 12 of 16 contests. 

Argument against McCaffrey at 1.01: Drafting injured players is always risky in fantasy, and McCaffrey is dealing with a strained calf that will keep him out of practice for the next few weeks. While he should be ready to go for Week 1, a soft tissue injury this early in the year is not great news. The 49ers back is also 28 years old and coming off a 339-touch season, so there's a chance his body can't handle that high workload two years in a row. 

WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys 

Since Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb entered the league in 2020, he has upped his stats every year. Last season, Lamb finished with a career-high 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. That helped him finish as the overall WR1 for the first time in his career. 

Lamb was one of the best fantasy players last year. He scored the second most PPR fantasy points among all players -- only behind Josh Allen --  and averaged 23.7 PPR fantasy points per game. The All-Pro wideout also won many fantasy managers their leagues in 2023 after averaging 28.5 PPR points in the final six weeks of the season. Following that strong campaign, the 25-year-old has every chance to repeat as the WR1 again in 2024. 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on contract talks with CeeDee Lamb: “I don’t have any urgency to get it done.” pic.twitter.com/Hfq2Rjk65C

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 8, 2024

Argument for Lamb at 1.01: Lamb was the best fantasy wide receiver in 2023, and that shouldn't change this season. He is attached to an elite quarterback (Dak Prescott) on an offense that scored the most points per game last year. The Cowboys wideout also saw a league-high 181 targets while averaging 12.6 targets per game from Week 8 onward. During those final 11 weeks, he scored over 20 PPR fantasy points seven times.

Argument against Lamb at 1.01: The only argument against Lamb entering the fantasy season is a potential holdout. Owner Jerry Jones isn't rushing to pay the All-Pro wideout, which has led to him holding out of training camp this offseason. If he doesn't get a deal before Week 1, will he hold out and not play? If you are drafting in the next couple of days, there is some risk in selecting him first overall. 

WR Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins 

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been one of the most consistent fantasy options in recent years. Hill has finished as the WR2 in three of the past four seasons, including last year. The veteran wideout averaged 23.5 PPR fantasy points in 2023 while totaling at least 1,700 yards for the second straight season. 

Hill scored the fourth most PPR fantasy points last year (376.4) -- only behind Allen (410.6), Lamb (403.2), and McCaffrey (391.3). While the Dolphins wideout hasn't finished as the overall WR1 since 2018, his time could be coming, as he just had the best fantasy season of his career in 2023. 

Tyreek Hill voted the No.1 player in the NFL by his peers — the players. Nobody in this world is like the @cheetah. And he will be making highlight TDs again for Dolphins this season. pic.twitter.com/UkfhGqfdu0

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 3, 2024

Argument for Hill at 1.01: No wideout has been more consistent in fantasy over the past four years than Hill. He has missed just two games since 2020 while averaging 20.7 PPR fantasy points across those four years. Last season, the Dolphins wideout scored in double figures in PPR formats in all 16 games and over 25 PPR points in nine of those contests. Given that he has scored less than 10 PPR points just once (Week 3, 2022) since joining Miami, he is a safe pick at the 1.01. 

Argument against Hill at 1.01: The only argument against taking Hill with the first overall pick is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa struggles against elite defenses and in the cold weather, both of which hurt the wideout's fantasy value toward the end of the last year. The veteran averaged 16.3 PPR fantasy points in Week 16 and Week 17 of the fantasy football playoffs. In 2024, Miami goes up against the 49ers in Week 16 and is on the road to face the Cleveland Browns in what should be a cold game in Week 17.

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