2024 Previews
2024 Offseason Preview
We're just a few weeks away from the NFL Draft, which means that the Dynasty non-points-scoring-season is about to start percolating. I took a look at every team's current outlook for 2024 based on their projected starting lineups and what pieces they could hope to add based on their draft picks and FA budgets.
Obviously its just April, projections are very preliminary and players outperform (or underperform) expectations all the time, so take this all with a grain of salt. Its all in good fun and just meant to piss people off while stimulating conversation (spoiler alert, new pod recording soon).
Chart Key:
Yellow Highlights: Team weaknesses
Projected PPG: Based on current consensus ranks aligned with historical scoring for our league
Points Above Stream: How many points the player is projected to score above a "replacement-level" player at the position
Win Now Index: Difference between redraft & dynasty ranks; higher numbers indicate a higher redraft rank (indicating a win-now-skewing player)
Mark
The most stacked team in the league has a nice budget to add a key piece or two.
Improvements at WR3 or TE appear to be the most impactful, with multiple options available at each position.
Mike
The defending champ won't be favored to win again, but should be in the mix.
If Marvin Harrison Jr. is there at 1.02, he projects to be an instant improvement at Flex. If MHJ is gone, Caleb Williams would be a good long-term piece.
Although FA funds are limited, there seem to be quite a few options at RB & WR that could help improve this squad.
Ian
Ian has traded significant draft capital for what looks like a solid, though shallow, roster.
Shaheed fills a need, but doesn't project to be much better than what the team already had.
With no high picks, the best route for the squad may be to go all-in on a 2nd tier RB or WR that could shore up the flex spot.
blake
Blake comes into 2024 with a strong, deep team and a lot of valuable picks to add depth and hopefully hit on some guys that can start right away.
The team is so good that the rookies projected to be available between 1.05 and 1.08 can't even be penciled in as starters here.
The only downside is that the team won't be a major player in FA.
Rich
Rich's team looks great, with the huge exception of the QB2 position-where Justin Fields looks likely to ride the bench for at least the 2024 season.
Pick 1.10 may be a good spot to take a flyer on a 2nd-tier QB like Penix or Nix. Alternatively, Rich's limited FA budget should still be enough to land a QB who can count on starting some games this year.
Hope is not dead despite the epic fall for Fields from being a locked-in QB1.
Scott
Despite losing a lot from the team that finished 2nd last year and not having any impact draft picks this year, Scott's team seems to be alive for another run in 2024.
Weaknesses at TE, RB2, and Flex can be addressed in Free Agency and Scott's budget should afford multiple impact additions.
Mick
Mick made a blockbuster move to move up to the 1.01, and he now has a tough choice between some excellent prospects. QB and WR can both be improved-upon, so both Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. are in play.
MHJ projects to make the bigger impact on this team in 2024, but Caleb might be the smarter long-term play if Mick isn't comfortable with a Baker/Geno Smith QB2 rotation.
Free Agent funds are limited, so the 1.01, 1.11, and 2.05 picks are crucial for setting the team up to compete in 2024.
Eric
Despite having the QB1 and a very strong WR group, this team might just have too many weaknesses to address in order to make a strong run in 2024.
1.09 may be a good spot to take the top RB (or TE), or even nab a second-tier QB that falls. But Eric will have to hit on some bargain-bin FAs and hope for some players to take a big step up above their current projections.
Emil
Emil's team doesn't look like its close to competing in 2024, so the modest FA budget that this team has can be used a number of ways.
Adding talent at WR or TE is the way to improve the team in the short-term, but may not be the best moves for a rebuilding team.
It will be interesting to see whether a QB or RB may be the priority in order to be moved to a contender during the season.
Robby
Robby's team has the 2nd-most funds to spend in FA and also has a valuable top-6 pick, but at this point its hard to see a path for this team to match up with the top teams (without some players massively outperforming their current projections).
Taking the WR3 in the draft seems to be the chalk move at 1.06 since its a bet for now as well as for the future. That should give this team the flexibility to go after the best available RBs and WRs to either make a run or use as trade bait.
Vlad
On paper, Vlad is also far from a contender at this moment in time. However, the 1.03 pick should add an instant starter at QB2 and the team's massive FA budget can add a hyper-productive piece in CMC.
Those moves alone will take this team up a few notches, and the idea beyond that might be to improve TE and Flex with the remaining FA funds.
If all goes well and players stay healthy, this team should project to be among the playoff contenders.
Matt
The trade to move up to the 1.04 pick will add a hugely-needed franchise QB for this team. Additionally, the fact that the teams with the most FA money don't need QBs means that Matt might have the best crack at the best QB available.
Still, the lack of QBs is only one of the many holes that this team has. It is still a rebuild, but at least Matt's draft capital is finally in good shape in 2025 and beyond.