Who Should I Draft? Ladd McConkey, Jonathon Brooks, Braelon Allen Fantasy Football Outlooks (2024)

Three rookies with different expectations to begin their debut campaigns.

One projects to contribute immediately, another begins the season on the PUP list, and the third solidifies his role as an insurance back for a top draft pick.

How a fantasy manager builds their team early in the draft could determine which of Ladd McConkey, Jonathon Brooks, and Braelon Allen makes the most sense for their roster.

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Ladd McConkey Fantasy Football Outlook

Ladd McConkey begins his rookie year with little competition at wide receiver. Joshua Palmer, who has been a depth piece for his professional career, could be the target leader. D.J. Chark and Quentin Johnston are the other major names in the Chargers' wide receiver room.

There are 239 vacated wide receiver targets in Los Angeles from a season ago. McConkey projects to operate primarily out of the slot and will see plenty of shallow and intermediate targets. Prioritize him in PPR leagues over other formats.

Chargers Round 2 rookie WR Ladd McConkey saw his first preseason action this weekend.

- 15 snaps
- 4 as the pre-snap motion man
- 60% slot rate
- Only played in 3+ WR sets

Here's his only target: pic.twitter.com/fBwZLINR3b

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 19, 2024

Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman ran one of the slowest offenses together in San Francisco. Roman's Baltimore offense led the league in running plays in 2021 and finished third in 2019. Even with a talented quarterback in Justin Herbert under center, this could be one of the slowest and run-happy offenses in the NFL.

Jonathon Brooks Fantasy Football Outlook

Patience will be tested for fantasy managers rostering Jonathon Brooks. The top running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft will miss the first four games of the season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in college.

Brooks totaled 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry in his junior season at Texas. He has incredible hands in the passing game and is explosive whenever he touches the ball.

Suck Jonathon Brooks is starting on PUP, but he’ll be cheaper this next week. When he returns he’ll be ~11 months removed from ACL. I still think this is a player you very much want and he still brings league winning upside pic.twitter.com/uUxWkfFOET

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) August 27, 2024

If fantasy managers want to select Brooks (9th-round ADP), it's vital that they have other startable running backs on their roster. Surviving early-season matchups with temporary starters like Jerome Ford or Brooks' teammate Chuba Hubbard is a smart strategy.

Braelon Allen Fantasy Football Outlook

Braelon Allen burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old lead running back at Wisconsin. After three straight seasons with 900+ rushing yards, Allen entered the NFL. Still just 20 years old, he exceeded expectations in his first training camp again.

Braelon Allen just trucked a dude into the spirit realm

BEAST 🦍#Jets | 🎥 @GrandCentralFan pic.twitter.com/eU7hPkiwxW

— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) August 21, 2024

Allen quickly cemented his status as the immediate backup to Breece Hall, beating out Israel Abanikanda. Unfortunately, that's all he'll be in 2024. Hall is one of the best running backs in the NFL and is being selected at the beginning of the first round in fantasy football drafts.

Allen is a handcuff in the truest sense, whether fantasy managers roster Hall or not. If the latter misses time with an injury, Allen's name will be called upon. He can be selected in the final rounds of standard-sized fantasy leagues and held onto in case of emergency.

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