Fantasy Football: 3 Buy-Low Options in 2024

When searching for value in fantasy football drafts, oftentimes the best targets to identify are the players coming off disappointing campaigns who have seen their stock drop.

A decline in performance comes in many forms, and in some cases, it might just be a player's new normal. Age and/or chronic injuries can sap a former star of his past glory, or perhaps he's switched to a poor team environment that now limits his potential.

But in other scenarios, maybe it's the down year(s) that was the outlier, and they're now in the right situation to post a bounce-back season.

Let's see if we can pinpoint some players who fit that mold. Here are three who we should considering buying low on in 2024 fantasy drafts.

3 Buy-Low Options for 2024

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Given that Kyler Murray was returning from a torn ACL last year and didn't start until Week 10, we need to go back to prior seasons to really see how much his draft stock has dipped.

According to FantasyPros' consensus average draft position (ADP) data, after a successful rookie campaign in 2019, Murray was drafted at QB6, QB3, and QB5 from 2020-2022. By comparison, Murray is being taken as the QB10 in 2024 at roughly 74th overall, which is far lower than any of those three years.

While an ankle issue caused Murray to miss three games in 2021, and the ACL took out big chunks of 2022 and 2023, he's demonstrated both a high floor and ceiling throughout his career when healthy. Including his rookie year, Murray has averaged 18.6, 24.4, 22.2, 18.9, and 18.9 fantasy points per game.

Given that last year's 18.9-point average was ninth-best at the position, Murray is essentially being drafted at his floor. Let's not forget that he has a QB2 finish on his resume when he was healthy from start to finish in 2020. It remains to be seen if he can ever reach those heights again, but even getting partway there would put him in the mix to finish in the top five.

Despite coming off a torn ACL, Murray still averaged 5.5 carries and 30.5 rushing yards per game in 2023, and it isn't outlandish to think he could bump that up closer to his career averages of 6.5 carries and 37.7 yards.

From a passing perspective, he might finally have his new DeAndre Hopkins -- who was a big part of Murray's ceiling 2020 year -- after the Arizona Cardinals drafted Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Cardinals didn't have a single wide receiver reach even 600 receiving yards in 2023, whereas Harrison is already being pegged for 1,200-plus in FanDuel Research's fantasy football projections. The rookie and rising tight end Trey McBride could make a strong one-two punch.

Further helping Murray from a fantasy perspective will be Arizona's likely inept defense, which will force the offense into a slew of shootouts. Not only were the Cardinals numberFire's 32nd-ranked adjusted defense, but there's little evidence that they'll see significant improvements, as PFF ranks every unit of their defense (d-line, linebackers, and secondary) in last place, as well.

Murray has several factors working in his favor, and his trajectory should continue to point upward as he distances himself from his injury. He's being drafted well behind other established dual-threats, yet has just as much potential finish near the top of the QB ranks when it's all said and done.

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Research has shown a lot of love for Cooper Kupp this offseason, and he even cracked our recent list of potential league-winners.

While there's inherent risk in drafting a 31-year-old receiver who's coming off back-to-back injury-riddled campaigns due to ankle and hamstring issues, reports out of training camp have been overwhelmingly positive. Kupp has been called a "surprise offseason standout" and is "all the way back."

Kupp with the overall WR1 as recently as 2021, and while he played just nine games in 2022, he averaged the most half-PPR points per game at the position (18.2).

While he clearly fell off that elite pace last season, there were still encouraging signs. In the 11 games that Kupp played over 50% of the snaps alongside teammate Puka Nacua, the two shared an identical 27.5% target share, and Kupp actually carried the higher snap rate (96.5%) and route rate (96.6%).

Nacua has been dealing with a week-to-week injury this offseason, and although he's expected to be ready by Week 1, it isn't crazy to think a healthy Kupp could be reestablishing himself as the top option in this Los Angeles Rams passing attack.

Kupp was being drafted as the WR7 and inside the top 15 overall in last year's drafts. Now, he's typically being taken well outside the first 30 picks as the WR18. His age and injury history remain a concern, but we shouldn't discount his potential upside at a very, very tempting asking price.

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

When tight end Kyle Pitts burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2021 with an 1,000-yard season, he was expected to be mainstay among the position's elite for years to come, and he would quickly rise up the ranks as a top-three TE pick in 2022 behind just Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews.

Well, as we all know, it hasn't quite worked out as planned.

A season-ending knee injury would hold him to just 10 games in 2020, and then despite playing all 17 in 2023, he was never 100% following MCL/PCL surgery. Catching passes from names like Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Heinicke didn't help his cause, either. He would ultimately average under seven fantasy points per game across the past two seasons.

Fast forward to now, and everything is lining up for Pitts to finally build off of that promising rookie campaign. He's fully healthy -- dubbing himself a "super rookie" -- and that fresh start includes a new coaching staff and upgrade at quarterback in veteran Kirk Cousins. The team is reportedly planning to utilize the 23-year-old as both a tight end and wideout, and reports out of training camp have been incredibly positive.

Pitts is being drafted as the TE7 and outside the top 60 overall, and he's arguably going off the board as the last tight end with the upside to lead the position. With everything starting to break his way, he could perhaps find himself back inside the top three next offseason.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.