Lance's 2024 Fantasy Football Ninjas

I gotta keep this article going because Puka Nacua (he was #4 on my list for 2023) kept it alive. It seems like every year there's at least one late-round or undrafted rookie that comes out of nowhere in the fantasy world, and this article is a list of five players that I think could pick up where those guys left off in 2024. Rules are simple, in order to be considered for this the player has to be flying relatively under the radar and has to have been a day 3 NFL draft pick or went undrafted, and an added incentive for my Dynasty perspective, the players have to carry a current rookie ADP of 30+ (via FantasyPros rookie list).

My running list of recent examples is:

Darius Slayton (5th round pick in 2019 and #35 WR in fantasy)

James Robinson (Undrafted in 2020 and #7 RB in fantasy)

Elijah Mitchell (6th round pick in 2021 and #26 RB in fantasy)

Tyler Allgeier (5th round pick in 2022 and #28 RB in fantasy)

Puka Nacua (5th round pick in 2023 and #4 WR in fantasy)

Here are my top five ninjas to watchout for in 2024:

5) Theo Johnson (NY Giants - 4th round) Current ADP: 44.0

Rookie Tight Ends are a hard play which is why I wouldn't typically consider one for this list. Now that Darren Waller has announced he is retiring, Johnson could suddenly find himself in a position for a starting role as a 4th round pick in an offensive scheme that really likes to utilize their Tight Ends. And from what I've been reading, Johnson has been a bright light through OTAs so far. His Quarterback could hold him back though, as could the difficulty of transitioning from college to the pros at the Tight End position.

4) Tyrone Tracy (NY Giants - 5th round) Current ADP: 38.0

Two Giants in a row?! I know, a little crazy, but the situations are ripe. Tracy went to a Giants team that let their top two leaders in carries (Barkley and Breida) walk this offseason. In their place they signed Devin Singletary and drafted Tracy. I think we'll see Tracy more as a route runner out of the backfield, he was a Receiver turned RB after all, but I won't be surprised if he's managed to push that backfield closer to a 50/50 split by the end of the year.

3) Dylan Laube (Las Vegas - 6th round) Current ADP: 46.0

I was pretty high on Laube heading into the draft. I figured he wouldn't hear his name called until day 3, but I thought round 6 was much later than where he should've gone. By all accounts Vegas has made a statement this offseason in favor of Zamir White. Which is actually where Laube comes in. He's quite the receiver out of the backfield. That's not one of White's strengths, which is why I think we'll see Laube get work early. And that could open the door for a switch in starters should White fail to build off his late season success from last year.

2) Devontez Walker (Baltimore - 4th round) Current ADP: 42.0

When you play the deep sleeper game you need to look for opportunities. That's something Walker has in front of him. To clarify, he isn't going to just be given a starting role, when you're picked on day 3 you have to fight for everything. But a starting role is definitely available in his situation. Walker's potential to steal a starting spot is a bit more difficult to determine the value of. Namely because even if he does win the WR2 or WR3 spot, he'd still be behind Flowers, Andrews, and maybe even Likely for targets. That hurts the value a bit. However, Lamar Jackson is coming off his highest pass attempt total (457) of his career and it was just Todd Monken's first season as OC. There's growth potential there. All he has to do is beat out Rashod Bateman, a former first round pick who has to be at the end of that long leash teams give to their first round selections, and/or Nelson Agholor. Agholor has become one of those solid veteran presences that you like to have around, but he hasn't had a fantasy impact since 2020.

1) Kimani Vidal (LA Chargers - 6th round) Current ADP: 32.0

Vidal landed with the Chargers, where Harbaugh just spent the offseason bulking up the Offensive Line. He also added J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. The former is coming off his second major injury in three years. The latter is a bruiser, with an injury history of his own, and had his highest carry total of his career (198) last season. The door is most open for Vidal which is somewhat reflected in his ADP.