The first-round pick is one of the most important you’ll make, as these players are the leaders of your fantasy football teams. At the top of the draft are Christian McCaffrey and CeeDee Lamb, fighting for the No. 1 overall pick.
Below, we’ll explore which you should take, examine a fantasy football strategy for taking them and more. Let’s dive in.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey finished 2023 as the No. 1 overall player in PPR leagues with 391.3 points. Behind him was Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen with 385.6 points.
According to TruMedia, McCaffrey averaged 5.1 yards per carry or better on first and second down. He had 248 of his 272 carries on these downs. This is also where all of his touchdowns came from. This kind of production makes fantasy team names like Run CMC mean even more. In 2023, McCaffrey finished the season with 1,459 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
He also caught 67 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. Since being in San Francisco, McCaffrey has averaged 4.4 receptions, 38.1 yards, and 0.41 touchdowns per game. The receptions and yards are down compared to his production in Carolina, but the touchdowns are up.
The 49ers added running back Isaac Guerendo, who’ll have a role to some extent, but the team is also in the midst of potentially trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, which would open up a plethora of targets.
McCaffrey will be the leader of this offense once again and is showing no signs of slowing down.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for CeeDee Lamb
Lamb enters 2024 with the main pass catchers behind him being Brandin Cooks, Jake Ferguson, and Ezekiel Elliott.
According to TruMedia, Lamb ran 624 routes, including 238 on first, 206 on second, and 166 on third down. Lamb finished with 181 targets, 135 receptions, 1,749 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Lamb’s 102.9 yards per game, 14 touchdowns, and 74.6% catch rate were all career-high returns.
The Cowboys said goodbye to wide receiver Michael Gallup and running back Tony Pollard. The only other potential receiving options are the three Jalens — Tolbert, Brooks, and Cropper. That leaves very little in the way of competition for the main pass catchers on the Cowboys.
Frustratingly, Lamb is currently holding out and hasn’t been with the Cowboys during training camp or any preseason game. However, the expectation is that Lamb’s holdout will not progress into the season, whether that be through him choosing to report or the Cowboys giving him a new deal.
Who Should I Draft in 2024?
Pro Football Network fantasy football consensus rankings will have these two going No. 1 and No. 2.
If you’re in a PPR league, it can be tempting to take Lamb because of how many targets and receptions he’ll rack up, but McCaffrey is in a much better spot.
The 49ers could ship out a player in Aiyuk who had 105 targets, 75 receptions, and 1,342 yards a season ago. McCaffrey’s a candidate to lead the league in rushing every year, plays at a position that doesn’t nearly have the depth a wide receiver does, and isn’t actively holding out.
If you can get McCaffrey, draft him 10 times out of 10 over Lamb.
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